Between the Russian state and world markets: the strategic transformations of Gazprom and Rosneft (1989-2017)

Résumé 0

Rosneft and Gazprom, two prominent state-owned enterprises in the energy sector, are examples of the interaction between firms and political power that has characterized the sector since the Soviet period. This article seeks to understand the changing way in which their relations with the State have influenced their strategies. We find that managers must balance a “triangle of negotiation” among constraints that are linked to three strategic objectives that may at times contradict each other. One of the strategic objectives is to gain decision-making autonomy, a second is to attract foreign partners, and the third is to maintain coherence between company strategy and national energy policy. During the 1990s, Gazprom chose to pursue its own strategic goals while Rosneft tended to align itself with the State. In the beginning of the next decade, the State made a comeback and took control of the management of Gazprom, at the same time as it began to encourage the autonomous development of Rosneft. At the end of the 2000s and during the 2010s, internationalization became a top priority for both companies. The firms’ efforts to internationalize, however, were increasingly constrained by the impact of the growing tension between Russia and its Western partners, initially for Gazprom and subsequently for Rosneft. As a result, both companies reoriented their international strategies towards Asia.