Strat. Change 11: 339–340 (2002)Published online in Wiley InterScience(www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jsc.598

Book review

Strategy in Emerging Markets: Telecommunications Establish-ments in Europe, Anders Pehrsson, Routledge Publishing, Lon-don, 2001, 261pp (and xv), ISBN: 0-415-27052-9.

I have come across the work of Anders Pehrsson as partof my own research on a number of occasions. Though Iam not a necessarily a fan of his style, I feel he has madesome worthwhile contributions not only to the developmentof diagnostic techniques but also to an understanding ofthe internationalization of the telecommunications industry.This volume seeks to deploy the results of previous workto examine recent developments in the emerging market fortelecommunications in Europe.

Utilizing his own market establishment and strategic statesmodels, Professor Pehrsson examines the entry strategiesdeployed by a number of leading European operators as theyrespond to the appearance of new opportunities derived fromchanges in the market environment. The market establishmentmodel suggests that entry strategy is determined by perceptionof entry barriers coupled by the ability of the enterprise toenter new markets successfully through possessing the necessary‘strategic competence’. Following the entry decision, ProfessorPehrsson contends that the direction taken by the enterprisecan be analysed through the ‘strategic states’ model. This modelestablishes a framework for strategic direction based upon thedecision taken as to the number of market segments entered andthe extent to which product offerings are adapted to meet theneeds of the segment(s) entered.

In choosing to apply this framework, Professor Pehrssonfocuses upon the two European states with the most experiencein liberalizing telecommunications markets: the UK and Sweden.Examining the strategies of both incumbent and new entrants,Professor Pehrsson draws the following conclusions. First,entrants are very capital-intensive in their need to establishthemselves. Second, the incumbents need high levels of resourcesto respond to the market segmentation. Third, price pressures aregrowing in traditional telephony and finally, adapting services tothe needs of the corporate communications is a relatively recentphenomenon. These trends are all a direct derivative of theon-going liberalization process.

While it is not difficult to dispute the conclusions drawn in thebook, the fact that much of the research undertaken for this bookstems from 1995–1997 dates much of the analysis and could limit

Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Strategic Change, Sept–Oct 2002

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the further application of the techniques followed. The dynamicswithin the telecommunications sector renders the industryalmost unrecognizable from that identified within the volume.For example, the segmentation of the telecommunicationsmarket is more pronounced than suggested by the strategicstates model with the consequence that the strategy developmentprocess has become more complicated. The extent of suchchanges can be borne out by a brief understanding of whathas happened to the case studies in the period since the researchwas undertaken. On a practical level, the book could have donewith being better edited. In parts, it is repetitive and I felt somesections (such as the chapter on reviewing basic strategy theory)were largely superfluous.

These flaws aside, the book does take an interesting perspectiveon the major developments in the European telecommunicationssector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Anyone with an active interestinto the sector could do worse than read this book thoughthe style of the volume is clearly directed more towards theacademic observer than the practitioner. It would be interestingto know if Professor Pehrsson has sought to account for recentdevelopments within the framework he has developed.

Colin TurnerHuddersfield University Business School

The University of HuddersfieldHuddersfield

UK

Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Strategic Change, Sept–Oct 2002