Department of Organisation and Human Resource Management

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    Cultural orientation, perceived support and participation of female students in formal entrepreneurship in the sub-Saharan economy of Ghana
    (International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 2019-06-12) Anlesinya, A.; Adepoju, O.A.; Richter, U.H.
    Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to examine cultural orientations and intention of Ghanaian women to engage in entrepreneurship while assessing the role of perceived support system. The aim is to contribute to the literature in the sub-Saharan African context where women entrepreneurs are generally underresearched, despite their increasing significant roles in socio-economic development in the continent even in the face of huge cultural barriers. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a hierarchical regression analysis and Hay’s PROCESS moderation technique to analyze survey data from 190 female students fromGhana, Africa. Findings – The results indicate that uncertainty avoidance and power distance cultural orientations have significant positive and negative effects, respectively, on women’s participation in formal entrepreneurship. However, collectivism and masculine cultural orientations do not have any effect on their intention to engage in formal entrepreneurial activity. The study further shows that perceived support system has a buffering effect on the destructive consequences of power distance culture on formal entrepreneurship intentions. On the contrary, perceived support does not moderate the relationship between uncertainty avoidance, collectivism and masculine cultural and formal entrepreneurial intention. Practical implications – Given the fact that most African governments are making efforts to accelerate the growth and development of their economies via entrepreneurship and economic empowerment, this study’s findings encourage stakeholders to implement measures to leverage on the positive dimensions of cultures to facilitate the development of formal entrepreneurship among Ghanaian women while mitigating the negative consequences of cultural practices. The findings further highlight the need to evaluate the current level of support given to women in Ghana. The study suggests that provision of sufficient level of support can make women more willing to challenge the status quo in power distance cultures and take personal initiatives, thereby leading to more formal entrepreneurial actions. Originality/value – This study is a significant addition to women entrepreneurship literature because the role of culture in females’ intention to participate in entrepreneurship is generally an under-researched area. Besides, our examination of national cultural variation at the individual level on formal entrepreneurshipintention in a heterogeneous setting is novel. The study also highlights the buffering roles of perceived support on the destructive consequences of power distance cultural orientation on formal entrepreneurial development among women
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    Cross-cultural communication imperatives: Critical lessons for Western expatriates in multinational companies (MNCs) in sub-Saharan Africa
    (Critical Perspectives on International Business, 2018-05) Abugre, J.B.
    Purpose Given the rising expansion of Western multinational companies (MNCs) to the African contexts, the development of expatriates and local employees has become increasingly important to the human resource management of these MNCs. This paper aims to provide critical lessons on cross-cultural communication competences for Western expatriates working in the sub-Saharan Africa business environment. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a qualitative phenomenology that makes use of lived experiences of senior expatriate staff working in Ghana in the form of direct interviews. Findings Results showed that cross-cultural communication competence is very important for Western expatriates’ functioning in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings also established a plethora of cross-cultural communication skills that are essential for Western expatriates’ successful adaptation and work outcomes in Africa. Practical implications This research argues that there is the need for the appreciations of the differing cultural patterns of expatriates and local staff, and this provides the underlying assumptions of intercultural and cross-cultural communication in global business. Originality/value A critical perspective of international business that has scarcely been studied offers lessons for Western expatriates working in sub-Saharan Africa.
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    Entrepreneurial education, self-efficacy and intentions in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 2018-07) Puni, A.; Anlesinya, A.; Korsorku, P.D.A.
    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and intention in Ghana, Africa. Design/methodology/approach In all, 357 questionnaires from final year undergraduate students at a public university in Ghana are analysed using linear multiple regression. Findings The study reveals that entrepreneurship knowledge acquisition and opportunity recognition as dimensions of entrepreneurship education positively affect entrepreneurial intention (EI) and self-efficacy. Also, ESE increases the development of EI. The results further show that ESE mediated the relationship between the two measures of entrepreneurship education and EI. Practical implications The findings imply that when students are exposed to entrepreneurship knowledge and opportunity recognition skills via entrepreneurship education, they can develop high ESE and intention to engage in venture creation. Findings therefore urge stakeholders in the education sector in Africa to formulate policy guidelines for the design and teaching of entrepreneurship education. Such policies and guidelines should emphasise more students’ acquisition of adequate knowledge in venture creation and management, and the development of skills for identifying business opportunities while instilling confidence in their abilities to become successful entrepreneurs. Originality/value The mediating role of ESE in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and intention has been under-researched globally not just in Africa. Hence, this first study to the best of the knowledge in a Sub-Saharan African context, contributes further empirical evidence by demonstrating that ESE is a central psychological mechanism that can convert entrepreneurship education into EI. Besides, the study defies some of the findings in advanced economies by indicating that a theoretical entrepreneurship education course in Africa may work differently than in advanced economies and may actually foster the development of EI unlike in advanced economies.
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    Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Value of Multinational Companies: Lessons from a Sub-Saharan African Environment
    (Journal of African Business, 2019-03) Abugre, J.B.; Anlesinya, A.
    The issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an approach for businesses to independently take actions that lead to better levels of societal development as well as higher value creation for the business, particularly in developing countries has gained much advocacy. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between CSR and business value of multinational companies (MNCs) in sub-Saharan Africa. The study adopted quantitative research methodology and using multiple regression analysis, findings show that CSR can positively and significantly predict business values in the multinational subsidiaries. These values include direct (economic value) and indirect (human capital value and reputational business value). This paper therefore contributes to a novel CSR index from the perspective of business value and sustainability of MNCs in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) environment. Thus, the paper recommends MNCs operating in Africa to enhance their social investment through their CSR strategy with the aim that CSR must not be regarded as a cost center, but an investment instrument that can accrue various dividends.
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    The Moderating Role of Affective Interpersonal Conflict on Managerial Decision-making and Organizational Performance in Private Sector Organizations: A Study of Ghana
    (Journal of African Business, 2019-04) Abugre, J.B.
    The issue of interpersonal conflict has been a thorny issue in high-power distant environments due to disagreement and divergence of superior and subordinate views resulting from managerial decision-making. This work looks at the moderating role of affective interpersonal conflict on managerial decision-making and organizational performance. A quantitative methodology was used to sample 197 managers from 10 private sector organizations in Ghana. By means of structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression, findings showed that there is a significant positive relationship between managerial decision-making and how organizations performance. Findings also showed that there is a negative relationship between affective interpersonal conflict and organizational performance. Our major finding revealed that affective interpersonal conflict moderates the relationship between managerial decision-making and organizational performance. The article recommends prudence in decision-making by managers in the sub-Saharan African business environment. Prudent decision-making by managers is akin to ethical decision-making, which resides in moral and theological philosophies that are fundamentally in the realm of management and business and are also concerned with explaining and predicting employees’ actual behaviors.
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    Institutional governance and management systems in Sub-Saharan Africa higher education: developments and challenges in a Ghanaian Research University
    (Springer Netherlands, 2017-03-24) Abugre, J.
    This article examines the developments and challenges of higher education in developing countries. Using a thorough qualitative interview of deans, directors and heads of Department of the University of Ghana, this paper draws on their analysis to discover unexplored issues that affect the universities in developing countries. The study identifies weakness in institutional policies and infrastructure deficiency of higher education in Ghana as key challenging factors. Findings also show congestion of students in academic facilities of learning, teaching overloads and lack of research facilities as key factors hampering academic development in higher education. Therefore, the work advocates for the development of policies that take into account the institutional realities in the field of higher education. Governmental policies aimed at enhancing higher education in developing economies must first improve the existing institutional set up for their chance of success.
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    Understanding Small Business International Strategic Change: The Influence of Internal Resource Capacity – Evidence from a Developing Country
    (2010) Damoah, O. B. O.,; Hall, G.,
    With the advent of globalisation, it could be argued that internationalisation is a necessity for the proportion of SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa. Most governments in sub-Saharan Africa have embraced this phenomenon. Currently, there are a number of on-going programmes designed by governments, international organisations and local associations to attract as many small businesses in sub-Saharan Africa to engage in the export business as possible because of the macro and micro benefits that is derived from the event. Yet, export involvement by small firms from this region of the world continues to be low, but it is argued that for SMEs, regardless of the amount of the macro programmes offered to them, their actual export success resides within the firm capacity. As a result, this study uses empirical data from Ghana, and employs logistic regression to predict the type of SME which will successfully change its strategy from being a wholly domestic business and becoming an international business firm, given a set of resource stocks. Based on the logit model, it is found that small firms with educated workforce, those with foreign ownership and those that possess large size will be more likely to change their strategy from being a wholly domestic business to an international business firms. Implications for future research, public policy and practice, based on the findings of the study are suggested.