Realizing Partnership Needs: A Grounded Theory of Mobile Banking Service Providers in Zimbabwe

Mobile banking in Zimbabwe as a new phenomenon has been generally unexplored academically. The infant industry has seen various stakeholders step up to partake in the development of mobile banking services with various renditions of the phenomenon surfacing. The coming together of the stakeholders from different backgrounds has not been without complications. This study employs the Classic Grounded Theory methodology in an effort to discover the main concerns of the stakeholders involved in the development of mobile banking in Zimbabwe. The study finds that the main concern of these people is partnering. A grounded theory on how the need for partnering is realized and pursued through a three stage process named the Realizations Process is developed. The Realizations Process is how the stakeholders involved resolve their main concern by initially realizing their need for partnering, reaching out to and engaging potential partners and eventually partnering with them on the condition they similarly realize the need to partner.