Partnerships as a Mechanism for Building Telecom Ecosystems: Evidence from an Emerging Market (Kazakhstan)

Abstract

This article investigates partnership management as a central mechanism for developing a telecom operator’s business ecosystem in emerging markets. The Kazakhstani market serves as a case study, where a fintech company established the leading digital ecosystem and three operator groups pursue distinct ecosystem strategies. The analysis focuses on the partnership model, including the structure of value exchange between operators and partners, a replicable stage-gate process for managing the partnership lifecycle, and factors influencing the success or failure of partnership projects. The empirical foundation comprises public data and the author’s professional experience in partnership management at Tele2/Altel Kazakhstan. The findings indicate that, due to a limited pool of mature local partners, operators often act as quasi-venture-capital entities, partially offsetting the lack of venture-capital institutions and product expertise. The article provides practical recommendations for operators in emerging markets and suggests avenues for future research, such as quantitatively measuring behavioral retention mechanisms in ecosystem products.