Abstract
During these last years, Algeria, like some other developing countries, is undergoing important institutional changes. The structural adjustment plan (1990s) and the association agreement signed with the European Union (2005) are some of the political tools that guide these profound changes that have considerable impacts on the strategic behaviour of local enterprises. Beyond these mutations at national level, important policy changes are observed at the international level, like the recent reform of the European sugar policy that constitutes a considerable shifter on the behaviour of enterprises operating in the Algerian sugar refining industry. The present research aims to measure the weight of the institutional criteria on the strategic decision of sugar refining companies in Algeria, by the combination of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis and the analytical hierarchy process. The ultimate purpose is to contribute to the analysis of interactions that exist between institutional changes induced by the globalization process and the strategic choices of local enterprises in an emergent economy. Copyright ยฉ 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.