Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to enhance the knowledge of the antecedents of political behaviour. Whereas political behaviour in strategic decision-making (SDM) has received sustained interest in the literature, empirical examination of its antecedents has been meagre.

Design/methodology/approach
– The authors conducted a constructive replication to examine the impact of three layers of context, namely, decision, firm and environment, on political behaviour. In Study 1, Greece, we gathered data on 143 strategic decisions, while in Study 2, Egypt, we collected data on 169 strategic decisions.

Findings
– The evidence suggests that both decision-specific and firm factors act as antecedents to political behaviour, while environmental factors do not.

Practical implications
– The findings support enhanced practitioner education regarding political behaviour and provide practitioners with a place from which to start by identifying the factors which might influence the occurrence of political behaviour in SDM.

Originality/value
– The paper fills important gaps in the existing research on the influence of context on political behaviour and delineates interesting areas for further research.