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Trust and Social Capital: Revisiting an Offshoring Failure Story of a Small German Software Company
(2009)
Software offshoring has been established as an important business strategy over the last decade. While research on such forms of Global Software Development (GSD) has mainly focused on the situation of large enterprises, small enterprises are increasingly engaging in offshoring, too. Representing the biggest share of the German software industry, small companies are known to be important innovators and market pioneers. They often regard their flexibility and customer-orientation as core competitive advantages. Unlike large corporations, their small size allows them to adopt software development approaches that are characterized by a high agility and flat hierarchies. At the same time, their distinct strategies make it unlikely that they can simply adopt management strategies that were developed for larger companies.
Flexible development approaches like the ones preferred by small corporations have proven to be problematic in the context of offshoring, as their strong dependency on constant communication is strongly affected by the various barriers of international cooperation between companies. Cooperating closely over companies’ borders in different time zones and in culturally diverse teams poses complex obstacles for flexible management approaches. It is still a matter of discussion in fields like Software Engineering and Computer Supported Cooperative Work how these obstacles can be tackled and how they affect companies in the long term. Hence, it is agreed that we need a more detailed understanding of distributed software development practices in order to come to feasible technological and organizational solutions.
This dissertation presents results from two ethnographically-informed case studies of software offshoring in small German enterprises. By adopting Anselm Strauss’ concept of articulation work, we want to deepen the understanding of managing distributed software development in flexible, customer-oriented organizations. In doing so, we show how practices of coordinating inter-organizational software development are closely related to aspects of organizational learning in small enterprises. By means of interviews with developers and project managers from both parties of the cooperation, we do not only take into account the multiple perspectives of the cooperation, but also include the socio-cultural background of international software development projects into our analysis.
People are getting older because of the demographic changes and the rate of disabled people is also going up. This article shows the challenge for BPMTool developer due to these circumstances. It illustrates how these changes impact the usage of BPM-Tools based on an Evaluation of an exemplary BPMTool (Cooper & Patterson, 2007) in terms of IT-Usability and IT-Accessibility. This evaluation was conducted in a research laboratory at the university.
Appropriating Digital Fabrication Technologies — A comparative study of two 3D Printing Communities
(2015)
Digital fabrication technologies have a great potential for empowering consumers to produce their own creations. However, despite the growing availability of digital fabrication technologies in shared machine shops such as FabLabs or University Labs, they are often perceived as difficult to use, especially by users with limited technological aptitude. Hence, it is not yet clear if the potentials of the technology can be made accessible to a broader public, or if they will remain limited to some form of “maker elite”. In this paper, we study the appropriation of digital fabrication on the example of the use of 3D printers in two different communities. In doing so, we analyze how users conceptualize their use of the 3D printers, what kind of contextual understanding is necessary to work with the machines, and how users document and share their knowledge. Based on our empirical findings, we identify the potentials that the machines offer to the communities, and what kind of challenges have to be overcome in their appropriation of the technology.
In Africa slowly but steadily a transformation is taking place in the management styles of enterprises. There is a trend towards more precise time management, more precision in dealing with increasingly sophisticated technology, more feedback from the bottom to the top in order to manage the processes properly, more professionalism and independence of the individual worker.
This contribution makes two points: first, neither cultures nor the so-called mental states of individuals are ever static, but always on the move. Second, the force of passion and inspiration by which particular cultural values are endorsed in a particular context makes all the difference in their impact.
The importance of these two propositions comes to the fore, if the concept of an “economic culture” is taken into consideration. The claim of the authors is that the ongoing cultural transformation can be better understood in the dynamic approach of cultural values as proposed here.
Entrepreneurship Development and New Business Challenges and Prospects for Ghanaian Entrepreneurs’
(2017)
This paper presents a framework for formulating strategies for business start-ups within the context of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in diverse industries. Using Ghana as a case study, it addresses how to increase entrepreneurs’ success rate in business ventures in developing countries. The objective of the study is to identify avenues through which entrepreneurs could address the challenges they face, and to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in the domestic and global business environments. The questions addressed are, what challenges face Ghanaian entrepreneurs’ new business start-ups and existing SME’s in developing countries? How could these challenges be addressed appropriately to make the private sector the engine of growth in Ghana’s economy? The methodology is based on the qualitative approach, involving interviews to achieve the study’s objectives. Four main themes emerged as challenges faced by the entrepreneurs business start-ups and operations which include the following: Funding availability & accessibility; Lack of planning, Skilled labour & proper management skills; Lack of competitiveness, technology innovation & customer loyalty; and finally, Legal & regulatory framework & social factors. Recommendations for entrepreneurs, policy makers, and scholars are discussed in the study.
Examining the Effect of Corruption and Bureaucracy on SMEs Growth in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana
(2017)
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are considered a seed-bed of entrepreneurship and innovation in most emerging economies; nevertheless, SMEs sometimes lack an enabling business climate, which hinders their potential growth. This paper examines the effect of corruption and bureaucracy on SMEs growth in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The study was a quantitative research, and convenience sampling method was employed to select 373 owners/managers as respondents for the study. Employing questionnaire as its main data collection instrument, the study used Gretl version 3.0 Statistical Software for the analysis of data collected. The results of the study revealed that 1% increase in corruption in the SMEs sector leads to 36.12% decline in SMEs growth (sales and employment), and 1% increase in bureaucracy leads to 28.76% decrease in the growth of SMEs. An interesting outcome of the study was that the excessive bureaucratic bottlenecks in the SMEs sector are implied by corruption. We, therefore, conclude that there is a significant negative relationship between corruption and bureaucracy and SMEs growth. It is, therefore, recommended that the government takes a giant-step to fight corruption in the SMEs sector by ensuring transparency and accountability of public officials and also streamline its systems and activities in the sector to reduce the excessive administrative barriers. The present study adds substantial value to the body of research on SMEs as it is the first research to have considered the joint effect of corruption and bureaucracy on SMEs growth in an emerging economy like Ghana.
Gender disproportions have been part and parcel of most African cultures since time immemorial. Demographically, women are over a half population in most of the African countries but their participation in sectors of socio-economic and political spheres have remained inadequately represented. The enduring and biased beliefs on gender roles that view women much less important as compared to men are what forms the basis of concern to the welfare of women and most importantly the women entrepreneurs. This study reveals the long-standing cultural practices that have contributed to gender inequality and goes further to demystify areas in which women have continually experienced inequality and thus affecting their entrepreneurial spirit. Through the desk research methodology, it can be deduced that the following are key areas that pause a threat to women socio-economic and political development and hence the inequality being experienced even today in the twenty first century: harmful marriage, female genital mutilation, wife inheritance and HIV scourge, access to land including land rights and right to property, over-emphasizing patriarchal system of family, and gender violence. These factors compounded together, have resulted for unfortunate experiences that have been witnessed in the education sector, political participation, participation in policy making, gender division of labour and inaccess to credit facility. These experiences have severely thwarted entrepreneurial growth of women. The study therefore recommends that there is imperative need for a paradigm shift in these areas to ensure women are not only liberated and empowered but also their full participation in the entrepreneurship activities are highly strengthened and promoted.
Climate change is having drastic effects on various areas of the planet, including extreme impacts on weather and rainfall, in various Sub-Saharan East African countries (Hendrix, C. S., & Glaser, S. M. (2007). The willingness (and need) of a niche market to actively improve the damaged ecosystems in small ways is rising. Weaver and Lawton (2007, p 1170) maintain that ecotourism should satisfy three core criteria: "(1) attractions should be predominantly nature-based; (2) visitor interactions with those attractions should be focused on learning or education, and (3) experience and product management should follow principles and practices associated with ecological, socio-cultural and economic sustainability." In this study, the niche market of active German "tree-planters" is to be defined and the potential willingness to travel to, learn from and invest in the ecosystem through tree-planting, specifically in Kenya, is explored.
This study sought to contribute to knowledge by assessing the moderating effect of industry forces on the relationship between linkage strategies and performance of universities in Kenya. Porter’s five forces model and Resource Based View (RBV) are the main theories anchoring the study. Cross-Sectional survey was adopted as the research design. The population of the study consists of sixtyfive (65) public and private universities incorporated in Kenya. Out of this, a sample of forty seven (47) universities which had undergone at least one graduation cycle was taken. Primary and secondary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and review of existing university documents and regulatory bodies websites respectively. The instrument was tested for reliability and found fit. Analysis was undertaken using correlation and regression analyses to test hypotheses. Analysis of variance was also used to determine the differences between group means. Coefficient of variation (C.V) was also used to measure variability and consistency in scores of different universities when standard deviation and arithmetic means are compared. Out of the targeted forty seven (47) respondents from forty seven (47) universities, a total of forty four (44) questionnaires were returned, representing 94% response rate. It was established that there is a moderating effect of industry forces on the relationship between linkage strategies and organizational performance. The results provided rich implications for theory, policy and practice. The significance of industry forces in strategy formulation and implementation requires concentrated attention. The findings offer insights to university authorities and policy makers by answering the question on the influence of industry forces on performance of higher learning institutions. The key recommendation that the study offers to the stakeholders, is the need to consider industry forces as critical determinants during strategy formulation and implementation process in order to enhance university performance. The main limitation of this study is that primary data was collected from only one respondent per university but common methods bias was mitigated through the use of additional secondary data to validate primary data. Thus, the limitation did not affect the credence of the results as presented and discussed. Secondly, although it was not possible to include all the determinants of institutional performance, balanced score card was appropriately used to represent financial and non-financial aspects that constitute performance indicators.
This paper focuses on entrepreneurship and private sector development in Ghana with regard to the government’s initiative towards supporting private sector development through the Microfinance & Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) and the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) initiatives to support new and existing small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in diverse industries. The study addresses some of the main problems facing the two government-sponsored initiatives and issues with accessing venture capital for business start-ups in Ghana. The objective of the study is to identify possible strategies through which the MASLOC and NBSSI could be improved to serve the needs of their customers more effectively and efficiently. Enhancing the performance of these public organizations could offer many SMEs in Ghana take advantage of the new opportunities in the domestic and global business environments. The questions to be addressed are; to what extent do the activities of the NBSSI and MASLOC meet the needs of SMEs in Ghana? What challenges are associated with their services and how can management of the two organizations address the challenges they face more appropriately? The methodology is based on the qualitative and quantitative approaches, involving interviews and the administration of questionnaires and surveys to achieve the study’s objectives and goals. Based on the identified challenges, the study concludes with findings and recommendations for the management of NBSSI and MASLOC as well as entrepreneurs engaged in different SMEs in diverse industries and policy makers.
Ghanaian tertiary graduates' perception of entrepreneurship education on employment opportunities
(2017)
This study focuses on whether entrepreneurship education increases entrepreneurial interest in students to set up new businesses. Entrepreneurship is a core course taken in the third year by all students of Ho Technical University. Out of the 1329 population of level 300 students of the 2016/2017 academic year, data were collected by convenience sampling from 325 (217 males and 108 females) with mean age of 24.75 years from 14 departments of four faculties. The students responded to 43-survey items derived from reviewed literature on a 5-Point Likert-Scale. It is concluded that more than 84% of the respondents agreed that entrepreneurship education informed students about entrepreneurship through the acquisition of practical skills, knowledge about acquisition of personal orientation, knowledge about business management principles and the availability of entrepreneurial support agencies. This shows that the students are highly confident of setting up their own businesses through the knowledge acquired. The study therefore has important implications for policy makers, management of tertiary institutions, students and educational evaluators on how to ensure that tertiary graduates set up entrepreneurship ventures in order to partially solve the unemployment problem in Ghana.
ICT integration by universities teaching professionals is emerging as a major concern, this study demonstrate the need to address the integration problem by encouraging existing metrics use in indexing ICT integration as an ICT governance strategy. Quality of integration depends on quality indexing which also depend on quality of existing metrics and their use. Considering the role that University Information Technology Teaching Professionals’ (UITTPs) continuous improvement indexing can offer, towards autonomic governance of the continuous emerging ICTs in the university teaching, this study examined extent in use of existing ICT integration metrics to index ICT integration by the UITTPs. Six metrics for ICT integration were investigated; time, workshop course content relevance, technical malfunctions, support conditions, support services, and motivation and commitment to student learning and staff professional development metrics. Descriptive survey design was used in which interviews were conducted to UITTPs in three (3) public and three (3) private purposively selected universities in Kenya. The findings were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using Kendall’s correlation of concordance and tested using Chi-square on the extent of concordance and presented with help of frequency tables, figures and percentages. The findings revealed that all the metrics are rarely used for indexing ICT integration (32.8%), and most UITTPs were in discordance on this level of all the six metrics use except for support condition. This implied that the use of metrics for indexing integration has not been formalized across the Kenyan universities. Universities need to be encouraged to identify suitable metrics, formalize them and improve their frequency in use. Secondly, socio based metrics such as content relevance are used more frequently for indexing integration as compared to Technical metrics, socio-technical metrics balance therefore need to be emphasized by the universities management when determining and using metrics for indexing ICT integration.
Experiential Learning through the Transformational Incubation Programme: a Ghanaian case study
(2017)
This paper explores experiential learning theory (ELT) from a case study describing the Transformational Incubation Programme for Coventry University Alumni in Ghana. The incubator represents a collaboration between Coventry University and British Council Ghana. The aim of the programme is to embed a blended, experiential learning approach to practice-based entrepreneurship education via an incubator designed to support scalable business start-up and growth. world venture creation, business development and acceleration. The paper offers a generic framework for Transformational entrepreneurship experiential learning in this context. The incubator offers an opportunity to engage with practice-oriented and experience based learning applied to real.
With trainings and research oriented towards sustainable development since 2006 (Water and Sanitation, Infrastructure, Renewable Energies and Energy Processes), Foundation 2iE is positioning itself as a reference institute that trains innovative engineers-entrepreneurs for the needs and challenges of Africa’s development. Center of Excellence of the UEMOA and the World Bank, CSR is at the heart of the Strategy of the institute which aims to be a showcase in this field in Africa.
Over the years, entrepreneurship has proven to be one of the key roles towards development. The cycle of business start-ups and growth are linked to the socio-economic benefits of the global world at large. With a growing world population of over 7billion people, the existence of universities (both public &private) as well as enterprises has increased globally in the 21st century. The mission and purpose behind Universities, Entrepreneurship and Enterprises thrive on development in the areas of capacity building, skill acquisition, training and knowledge amongst others. Africa alone has a population of over 1.2billion people with about 650 recognized universities and over 140,000 registered businesses (enterprises) in Ghana alone. A case study in Ghana reveals three key drivers towards entrepreneurship and the role university education has played in various business establishments. The drivers are problem statements, resources and research findings. Some of these notions to business include the management of risk, research findings and customer relationship. These are major features that need critical attention and play a role in business and entrepreneurship in Africa. A major success in business and entrepreneurship is the utilization of the human resource population and the lifeline support given to households in terms of income, while a barrier being the limited access to credit support from the financial companies at the inception stages. In conclusion, this conference should develop a practical book guide on business start-ups and entrepreneurship knowledge to be used at the various universities in Africa to enhance development.
“Building Bridges Across Continents” (BBAC) is an intercultural and student-centered project that seeks to promote international communication and helps students develop competencies in entrepreneurship, international trade and global cultural awareness. The project, which is in its fourth phase of implementation, connects students from the United States, Germany, Ghana and Kenya with the help of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) in order to work on a common research assignment for a period of ten calendar weeks. The main ICTs used in the project are Skype, Facebook, wiki, email and WhatsApp. This paper describes and analyzes the background, structure, and results of the project.
This study contributes to the growing body of research concerning management consultancies by linking two previously disparate fields of study: (1) the examination of the effectiveness of consulting interventions and (2) the examination of the social processes that aim to create and legitimize the insights, knowledge and capabilities of management consultancies. We propose that consulting firms accumulate social authority in the course of pre-intervention discourse processes that is reflected in their reputation and celebrity. With respect to intervention, this social authority affects change recipients’ commitment to and compliance with the requirements of change implementation. We test the proposed relationships by conducting a measured variable path analysis of 117 change initiatives in German companies that were set up and implemented with the assistance of external consultancies. Our findings indicate that a consulting firm’s levels of both celebrity and reputation affect the change recipients’ commitment to proposed change strategies and thus, indirectly affect their behavioral compliance with the explicit requirements of change implementation.
3D Printers as Sociable Technologies: Taking Appropriation Infrastructures to the Internet of Things
(2017)
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) should, on the one hand, provide theoretical and practical knowledge to students and, on the other hand, make valuable contributions to theoretical knowledge and provide new insights by means of research. However, HEIs have to face changing and increasing demands with respect to what they are expected to achieve. Education and research issues are no longer enough, what matters today is the so called “third mission”. A specific example for implementing a third mission is the cooperation between HEIs and business incubators. With this in mind, a local consortium consisting of regional HEIs, e.g. Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, as well as public and private institutions and partners initiated and established an incubator hub for the region Bonn/Rhein-Sieg in 2016, called “Digital Hub Region Bonn”. This conference contribution reports on our experience with regards to this cooperation approach resulting from the above- mentioned case. Furthermore the pros and cons as well as some issues of this kind of cooperation will be discussed. Last but not least this paper initiates the opportunity to share and compare the experiences of other university business incubators in Africa as well as in Germany. As we will describe, the financial investment of HEIs in a joint-incubator with other public as well as private partners offers substantial benefits, such as mutual know-how transfer from HEIs to the economy and vice versa. This strengthens entrepreneurial mindsets and activities and contributes to the development and growth of the local economy. Consequently, this cooperation sometimes creates challenges at various levels, for example due to differing interests between HEIs and business partners. This conference contribution offers approaches to solve these issues and to support private public partnership in business incubation.
Universities, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development in Africa – Conference Proceedings 2016
(2017)
These proceedings are the outcome of the 5th annual joint conference on “Universities Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development in Africa” between the University of Nairobi, Kenya, the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, and Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Germany, held on 10-11 November 2016 on Campus Sankt Augustin, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.
This Handbook of Applied Marketing and Personnel Services is part of the project "German-African University Partnership Platform for the Development of Entrepreneurship and SMEs", financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and jointly conducted by Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, University of Cape Coast in Ghana and University of Nairobi in Kenya.
The main objective of this chapter is to give insights into how H-BRS as a German University of Applied Sciences supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in exploring African markets. The university achieves this objective by engaging its Bachelor and Master level students in applied market research. Students engage in this research as part of their final thesis writing. This chapter lays out a process for successful marketing research projects for German SMEs in nine steps.
Due to regionalization and global competition, many companies have turned their attention to other markets outside the domestic ones in anticipation of securing profitable market(s) for their products. Cormart (Nigeria) Limited is one of such companies, seeking to expand beyond its domestic borders. Cormart is a Nigerian trading company specializing in Industrial Raw Materials and Chemicals. It represents the business interests of top Multinational Companies that wish to do business in Nigeria. In line with its expansion strategy, Cormart seeks to introduce its newly developed spray starch product (RENEW) into the Ghanaian market.
While Anglo-Saxon HEIs focus on a strong educational background and personal development of students, the German system, in particular Universities of Applied Sciences, emphasize employability through the transfer of job-related professional and soft skills. In this context, learning by practical application of skills has become an important instrument. Concepts for linking theory and application include research-based learning, practical internships or service learning – methods, which also maintain high standards of academic education.
This case study is based on Azuri Health Ltd, a small company in Kenya that specializes mainly in the manufacture of dried fruit and flours. The company was started in 2010 and currently has 15 employees. It buys fruits, especially mangoes from farmers, processes them and markets them in- and outside of Kenya as dried fruits. This value addition enhances the shelf life of the products which would otherwise spoil within a few days after ripening.
Introduction
(2018)
This handbook describes the processes and success factors of marketoriented university services to the non-academic world, and the processes to integrate these services into teaching. It aims to highlight benchmark examples from Africa and Germany in order to outline motivational factors, influencing aspects, as well as drivers and barriers to applied university services in developing countries.
Internships and professional experience are becoming more and more important requisites for students and graduates and are almost taken for granted by many HR officials. In opposition to this, many newly created Bachelor and Master programmes make it difficult for students to integrate internships into their studies without having to add another semester and thereby "losing" valuable time. This becomes all the more relevant with private universities or universities generally that charge considerable tuition fees.
This research was conducted to determine the relationship between entrepreneurship educations, venture intention on venture creation among entrepreneurial graduate in Kenya focusing on selected universities in Kenya. The study was grounded on the economic entrepreneurship theory, an attitude-based view on entrepreneurship education and resource-based theory. This research embraced a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. Study population was 2500 student taking entrepreneurship course in various universities of whom a sample of 345 students was chosen using purposive and simple random sampling technique. The study used both primary and secondary data. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 21) was used to analyse quantitative date. The findings of the study revealed that entrepreneurial education had a noteworthy influence on venture creation (r= 0. 512, p = .001<0.05, t= 10.904) increase in entrepreneurial education would lead to significant increase in venture creation. The study revealed that entrepreneurial training has significance influence in venture creation among graduate as indicated by β1=-0.670, p=0.002<0.05, t= 10.304. Study established that increase in entrepreneurial orientation would lead to increase in venture creation among graduates by a factor of 0.519 with P value of 0.002 (r =0.519, P=0.03< 0.05). The research conclusion was that entrepreneurial knowledge acquisition, entrepreneurial training and entrepreneurial orientation combined have important and positive relationship with venture creation among the graduates.
For years, the common logic that underpinned entrepreneurship was to find a niche within in a market/sector and then solidify business practice to achieve success in the market segment. The dawn of technologically-based disruptive enterprises, such as Uber and Air B&B, coupled with the nearing Fourth Industrial revolution seriously call into question the conventional business logic. In this article, the projected impact of these forces on African entrepreneurs is explored. We look at the role of government, business and education systems to prepare for the impact of the Fourth Industrial revolution. Specific focus is placed on the need for entrepreneurial skills and training to prepare for the impact of the Fourth Industrial revolution. We also explore the importance of innovation, both in terms of products and processes to mitigate against the impact of these forces.
Namibia’s hunting industry is increasingly threatened by animal rightists and opponent groups whose adversarial mindset is mostly based on emotion orientated information. The fatal consequences if closing hunting tourism in a country like Namibia are expounded in this study by critically investigating the input of well-regulated hunting tourism towards conservation in Namibia. Different factors have to be taken into consideration, regarding the country’s attributes that differ significantly from other countries and their methods to achieve successful conservation management strategies. By conducting an in-depth interview with Mr. Volker Grellmann and by obtaining secondary data from local authorities and organizations, the current research investigates how well-regulated hunting tourism in Namibia is an important part of biodiversity conservation. The results outline that hunting tourism is crucial for the value of wildlife and yields for wildlife to have a greater benefit than livestock and crop farming in Namibia. Likewise, the country takes care of their valuable natural recourse. As a result, natural habitats are induced, and subsequently a steeply growing number of wildlife was recorded over the last 50 years in Namibia. Among others hunting tourism favors the development of rural areas and yields incentives to fight poaching and the illegal trade of wild animal products.
Pan-African University (PAU) is an initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC) that started in 2008 with the objective to promote higher education, science and technology on the African continent at a high academic level. The Pan-African University Institute of Water and Energy Sciences (including Climate Change) (PAUWES) is one of the five hubs of the Pan African University (PAU) and hosted at the University of Tlemcen in Algeria. PAUWES offers graduate students access to leading academic research and the latest theoretical and hands-on training in areas vital to the future of Africa’s development in water, energy and the challenge of climate change.
The aim of the descriptive study is to gain an understanding of the perceived level of fairness in their experience of security screening relation to their satisfaction. The context of the study was a major aviation hub in East Africa. The target population was all departing international passengers. Primary data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The respondents were selected using convenience sampling of passengers who had just completed the final security check at the departure area of the airport. A total of 251 usable responses were collected from a target of 384 respondents giving a response rate of 65 percent.
The findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the relationship between the perceptions of fairness of security procedures and their influence on satisfaction. One way between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to test for statistical significance. A Cronbach’s alpha of 88.7 was computed demonstrating a high level of internal consistency of the survey instrument. The adequacy of security procedures, level of communication provided before and during the screening process, consistency and fairness were found to have a significant relationship to the level of satisfaction reported by passengers. The findings suggest that there are significant differences between groups’ perception of different elements security procedures.
The implications of the study are twofold. The study was cross sectional and indeed was impacted by significant changes in security procedures at the airport at the time of the study. A longitudinal survey may further mitigate the impact of the variances of responses and support a robust contribution to the development of a theoretical model of airport passenger satisfaction. Airport managers could use the results of this study as inputs to enhance the design of screening procedures in modern hubs to enhance the passenger experience to drive revenue growth.
This study sought to examine the relationship between the components of SMEs social capital and firm performance. Using the social capital theory and the resource-based view as the theoretical foundations and census, 1,532 SMEs were selected in the Accra Metropolis for the study. Empirical results from 717 SMEs, utilising the hierarchical linear regression model, revealed that owner/manger’s network relationships are beneficial to the firm depending on when the relationships are closed or opened. Moreover, the study found that social capital has a significant impact on the sales and market performance of small and medium-sized enterprises. The results also brought to the fore the fact that most social networks of SME entrepreneurs are family, friends and relatives, which most times can only be used for expressive purposes and not for instrumental gain. The practical implications of the results are also discussed.
This paper stresses the importance of entrepreneurship education towards enhancing sustainable development in Kenya. The problems facing the country ranging from high rate of poverty, youth and graduate unemployment; overdependence on foreign goods and technology.
This paper therefore argues that entrepreneurship education will equip the students with the skills with which to not only be self-reliant, but to become wealth creators. The intervention level of entrepreneurship education has been at tertiary institutions and universities. This paper argues that attitudes and values are acquired at formative stage in life. Based on literature review of the models that have been used and yielded positive results, this paper proposes an innovative approach to the teaching of entrepreneurship education that is inclusive of pre-school, primary, secondary, tertiary and university levels. This paper explores the “Mully Model of Applied Entrepreneurship Teaching” as a case study, using interviews, surveys and reviewing relevant MCF data. The organization’s success factors within the Kenyan context are discussed.
The paper also recommended that educational programs at all levels of education should be made relevant to provide the youth the needed entrepreneurial skills. Further, it recommends that experiential learning methodologies be emphasized in the delivery of entrepreneurship education.
Innovation has been touted to be the central catalyst of entrepreneurship. This view has dominated research in start-ups as well as small and medium enterprises. Therefore, the relationship between innovation and firm performance has been a subject of interest to many researchers and policy makers. Through a longitudinal approach, this study investigated the influence of product innovation on the performance of Haco Tiger Brands, a medium sized fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company in Kenya’s East Africa market. The study looked at the product innovation activities within the company for a period of 7 years for a total of 35 products across the five major brand categories of the company. Using a secondary data capture form, data on sales revenues for both the company and innovated products for the past 7 years was obtained. Data on the innovated products launch time and type of innovation was also obtained. Using time series and linear regression analysis, the results indicate that the total company sales revenues less innovation grew at a slower rate of 50% as compared to growth when product innovation sales revenues were included in the total company sales revenues accounting for a faster sales growth rate of 76%. The influence of product innovation on performance was statistically significant (p<0.05) accounting for 92.19% variation in performance. These findings provide irrefutable empirical basis that product innovations have significant revenue growth rates, hence the need for managers of medium sized companies to invest in research and development to sustain product innovation and spur growth. The results sit well within theory and other empirical studies with additional contribution to methodology. Based on the study limitations, further areas for research have been suggested.
Destination Development for Entrepreneurial Tourism in Lake Bosomtwe and Kintampo falls (Ghana)
(2019)
The tourism industry is one of the world’s largest industries (direct, indirect and induced Africa has the potential with its cultural and natural resources to outpace other regions in attracting valuable tourism dollars. The main aim of the study is to improve visitor experience on the two tourist sites. To do this it is necessary to explore the elements and success factors of Tourism Destination Development and using these as a checklist to identify the strength and weaknesses of the selected Tourist Destinations in Ghana West Africa. The rationale behind the study is to outline the crucial Destination Management (DM) criteria of all aspect that contribute to boost ultimate visitor experience, articulating the roles of the different stakeholders and identifying clear actions for effective Tourism Development in Ghana. The interview technique was employed to collect data from staff and management of the selected destinations. Data was analyzed for themes related to elements, success factors and challenges of destination development and new ideas for development was also solicited. It was revealed that some of the elements that feature for tourists’ attraction are good hotels, high hygiene and sanitation standards, good food and activities of amusements. Competency gaps identified suggest collaboration with academia to secure a high level of knowledge through research in this present world of dynamism. Some of the critical success factors found are: systematic provision of cultural events, advance knowledge of agents and tour operators and quality leisure and recreation. It is recommended that product and service development should be a joint idea of all stakeholders. The research team therefore, have plans underway to proceed on the second phase of the project: that is to gather resources together to make lake Bosomtwe and Kintampo falls sites attractive to tourists.
Kenya, like all other developing countries in the world, is faced with the task of working strategically towards the achievement of the Sustained Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. These goals whose due date of accomplishment coincides with those of the national development blueprint, namely, the Kenya Vision 2030, have become a major focus of attention in the country. Conferences, workshops, and seminars are organized throughout the country on regular bases by joint multiplicity of organizations to address modalities of ensuring a timely achievement of SDGs in the country. Universities either individually or jointly are working towards this same target. More specifically, there are great areas of concern or priority areas that the country is focusing on as a strategic focus towards the achievement of the Kenya Vision 2030 and SDGs 2030. These strategic areas of focus have been isolated and declared by the President of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, as the country’s “big four priority areas”, namely, affordable housing, affordable health care, food security, and manufacturing as a grandiose effort towards achievement of the SDGs, Kenya Vision 2030 as well as job and wealth creation. Similarly, Mount Kenya University’s top management established the Graduate Enterprise Academy (GEA) in 2013 under the direct Patronage of the university’s Founder with the primary aim of assisting graduates to be job and wealth creators rather than being job seekers. So far, over twenty start-ups are running throughout the country under Graduate Enterprise Academy (GEA). Incidentally, although the Graduate Enterprise Academy’s diverse areas of focus extend beyond the President of Kenya’s “Big Four” to include ICT and creative arts, among others, there are justifiable cases to indicate that GEA’s activities are also in support of the national “Big Four” agenda. This paper gives an exposition of different start-ups under MKU’s Graduate Enterprise Academy and are show-cased as evidence of MKU’s support towards the achievement of the national “Big Four” agenda. The paper covers a part of an ongoing program through desk-top analyses of reports, with an objective of show-casing MKU’s contribution to the national agenda through the Graduate Enterprise Academy for possible scale - up.
The link between universities and the industry has been of concern both locally as well as globally for a long time, for the obvious reason that it is perceived to enhance organizational performance. The gap between universities and the industry has been widening in developing countries leading to lost opportunities for joint research, product development and job creation. Marketing and entrepreneurship could play a pivotal role in reversing the weakened linkages by building mutual relationship and strengthening bonds between universities and industry. This study sought to examine the role of marketing and entrepreneurship as important tools for enhancing the university industry linkages. The study sought to determine the aspects of marketing and entrepreneurship that have the highest influence on enhancing the university industry linkages. It considered the nexus of entrepreneurship and marketing exemplified by the attributes of innovativeness, creativity, risk taking; proactive orientation and value creation as crucial for creating, nurturing and developing sustained linkages between universities and industry. The study targeted 150 small and medium sized enterprises in Nairobi City County, out of which 143 responded, giving a response rate of 95 %. Data was collected using structured questionnaire administered to managers of small and medium sized enterprises engaged in manufacturing, retail, banking and hospitals. Survey data collected from small and medium enterprises will be analyzed through descriptive statistics including mean scores and standard deviation. We will test our hypothesis through regression analysis. The study found that marketing practices especially those focused on the product, promotion and distribution were key in enhancing University industry linkage. With regards to entrepreneurial orientation, risk taking, and creativity indicators were found to be more important than innovation in enhancing university-industry linkages.
While universities are mandated to teach, research and do community outreach, studies reveal that typical university communities live in relative isolation where research is more basic than applied. This study focused on; 1) determining how WWE could be fostered through linkages between universities and external agencies (communities, public and private sectors); 2) establishing how universities’ resources could be optimized to promote research and capacity building for WWE. The dimensions of WWE studied were; 1) Technical & Business Models; 2) Capacity building; and 3) institutional frameworks. Baseline studies were conducted in which qualitative and quantitative data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, documents analysis. Experimentations were carried out whereby Laboratory tests on Bio-methane Potential (BMP) for different biomass types was conducted. A complete chain of briquettes production and consumption has been successfully piloted at St Kizito High School in Namugongo, near Kampala. The 20,000 kg of briquettes produced (from municipal bio-waste) by students monthly are used to cook in three schools whose total population is 2000 students. With an average net profit of $ 3000, the project makes business sense even in absence of social-benefit accounting. Based on start-up capital of $ 12,250, the payback period on investment is 14.7 months. Bio-char (from carbonized waste) and briquette-ash are used as organic fertilizers and biocide in vegetable gardens at the schools. New pathways for municipal waste management based on stakeholder engagement and entrepreneurship are demonstrated; departing from the conventional waste collection and disposal models. This circular enterprise which enhances Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-use and Energy (FABLE) nexus will scale-up to incorporate non-student communities (youths/women), private waste-collectors and entrepreneurs. The application of entrepreneurial models for engaging students in green enterprises integrates technological, social, economic and governance dimensions for promoting municipal sanitation, environment; energy and food security.
Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) are widely recognised as playing a pivotal role in economic development and job creation. This is particularly so in Africa, where SMMEs are responsible for 80% of all formal jobs. While this is recognised by various African continental and national developments plans, the nefarious practice of late payment, by especially governments, not only stunt the growth of SMMEs, but often-time leads to business failure. This article investigates the impact of late payment, with a specific focus on South Africa and touches on international good practice that may be employed to address this phenomenon.
Beyond HCI and CSCW: Challenges and Useful Practices Towards a Human-Centred Vision of AI and IA
(2019)
Due to the popularity of the Internet and the networked services that it facilitates, networked devices have become increasingly common in both the workplace and everyday life in recent years—following the trail blazed by smartphones. The data provided by these devices allow for the creation of rich user profiles. As a result, the collection, processing and exchange of such personal data have become drivers of economic growth. History shows that the adoption of new technologies is likely to influence both individual and societal concepts of privacy. Research into privacy has therefore been confronted with continuously changing concepts due to technological progress. From a legal perspective, privacy laws that reflect social values are sought. Privacy enhancing technologies are developed or adapted to take account of technological development. Organizations must also identify protective measures that are effective in terms of scalability and automation. Similarly, research is being conducted from the perspective of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) to explore design spaces that empower individuals to manage their protection needs with regard to novel data, which they may perceive as sensitive. Taking such an HCI perspective with regard to understanding privacy management on the Internet of Things (IoT), this research mainly focuses on three interrelated goals across the fields of application: 1. Exploring and analyzing how people make sense of data, especially when managing privacy and data disclosure; 2. Identifying, framing and evaluating potential resources for designing sense-making processes; and 3. Exploring the fitness of the identified concepts for inclusion in legal and technical perspectives on supporting decisions regarding privacy on the IoT. Although this work's point of departure is the HCI perspective, it emphasizes the importance of the interrelationships among seemingly independent perspectives. Their interdependence is therefore also emphasized and taken into account by subscribing to a user-centered design process throughout this study. More specifically, this thesis adopts a design case study approach. This approach makes it possible to conduct full user-centered design lifecycles in a concrete application case with participants in the context of everyday life. Based on this approach, it was possible to investigate several domains of the IoT that are currently relevant, namely smart metering, smartphones, smart homes and connected cars. The results show that the participants were less concerned about (raw) data than about the information that could potentially be derived from it. Against the background of the constant collection of highly technical and abstract data, the content of which only becomes visible through the application of complex algorithms, this study indicates that people should learn to explore and understand these data flexibly, and provides insights in how to design for supporting this aim. From the point of view of design for usable privacy protection measures, the information that is provided to users about data disclosure should be focused on the consequences thereof for users' environments and life. A related concept from law is “informed consent,” which I propose should be further developed in order to implement usable mechanisms for individual privacy protection in the era of the IoT. Finally, this thesis demonstrates how research on HCI can be methodologically embedded in a regulative process that will inform both the development of technology and the drafting of legislation.
This paper aspires to develop a deeper understanding of the sharing/collaborative/platform economy, and in particular of the technical mechanisms upon which the digital platforms supporting it are built. In surveying the research literature, the paper identifies a gap between studies from economical, social or socio-technical angles, and presentations of detailed technical solutions. Most cases study larger, ‘monotechnological’ platforms, rather than local platforms that lend components from several technologies. Almost no literature takes a design perspective. Rooted in Sharing & Caring, an EU COST Action (network), the paper presents work to systematically map out functionalities across domains of the sharing economy. The 145 technical mechanisms we collected illustrate how most platforms are depending on a limited number of functionalities that lack in terms of holding communities together. The paper points to the necessity of a better terminology and concludes by discussing challenges and opportunities for the design of future and more inclusive platforms.
Business Management
(2020)
The Concept of Purpose, Travelling, and Connectivity: Three Pillars of Organization and Leadership
(2020)
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in psychological need satisfaction and its role in promoting optimal functioning. The DRAMMA model integrates existing need and recovery models to explain why leisure is connected to optimal functioning (i.e., high well-being and low ill-being). It encompasses six psychological needs: detachment, relaxation, autonomy, mastery, meaning, and affiliation (DRAMMA). While the individual needs of the DRAMMA model have been previously shown to relate to different aspects of optimal functioning, a longitudinal study examining the entire model has not been conducted before. In this longitudinal field study covering leisure and work episodes, we tested the within-person reliability and (construct and criterion) validity of the operationalization of the DRAMMA model in a sample of 279 German employees. Participants filled out measures of DRAMMA need satisfaction and optimal functioning at five measurement times before, during, and after vacation periods in 2016 and 2017. The six-factor model showed good fit to the data. In the multilevel models, relaxation, detachment, autonomy, and mastery had the most consistent within-person effects on optimal functioning, while the relationships between optimal functioning, meaning, and affiliation were considerably weaker. In conclusion, DRAMMA need satisfaction can aid and nurture employees’ optimal functioning.
Many workers experience their jobs as effortful or even stressful, which can result in strain. Although recovery from work would be an adaptive strategy to prevent the adverse effects of work-related strain, many workers face problems finding enough time to rest and to mentally disconnect from work during nonwork time. What goes on in workers’ minds after a stressful workday? What is it about their jobs that makes them think about their work? This special issue aims to bridge the gap between research on recovery processes mainly examined in Occupational Health Psychology, and research on work stress and working hours, often investigated in the field of Human Resource Management. We first summarize conceptual and theoretical streams from both fields of research. In the following, we discuss the contributions of the five special issue papers and conclude with key messages and directions for further research.
Intercultural Management
(2021)
HR Management & Leadership
(2021)
The backdated research dedicated to digital entrepreneurship education is immense, which makes it difficult to create an overview. Conversely, forward-thinking bibliometric visualization mapping and clustering can assist in visualizing and structuring difficult research literature. Hence, the goal of this mapping visualization study is to thoroughly discover and create clusters of EE to convey a taxonomic structure that can oblige as a basis for upcoming research. The analyzed data, which is drawn from Google Scholar through Publish or Perish tool, contain 1000 documents published between 2007 and 2022. This taxonomy should generate stronger bonds with digital entrepreneurial education research; on the other, it should stand in international research association to boost both interdisciplinary digital entrepreneurial education and its influence on a universal basis. This work strengthens student’s understanding of current digital entrepreneurial education research by classifying and decontaminating the most powerful knowledgeable relationship among its contributions and contributors. The bibliographic analysis includes ‘citation network’, ‘author’s research area’ and ‘paper content’ regarding the desired topic. In this paper, the above three mentioned terms are integrated which produces a bibliographic model of authors, titles of their papers, keywords and abstract by using Harzing’s Publish or Perish tool for extracting data from Google Scholar and further using VOSViewer to visualize networking map of co-authorship and term co-occurrence to administer the data for an instinctive and appropriate understanding of university students concerning ‘digital entrepreneurial intention’ research. This paper uses bibliometric analysis to analyze the keyword co-occurrence and co-authorship and VOSViewer is used for visualization.
Purpose: Both Hungary and Germany belong to the old-world wine-producing countries and have long winemaking traditions. This paper aims at exploring and comparing online branding strategies of family SME (small and medium sized enterprises) wineries at Lake Balaton (Hungary) and Lake Constance (Germany), as two wine regions with similar geographic characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper, based on a total sample of 37 family wineries, 15 at Lake Balaton and 22 at Lake Constance, investigates the differences in brand identity on the website, brand image in social media and online communication channels deployed in both wine regions. The study applies a qualitative methodology using MaxQDA software for conducting content analysis of texts in websites and social media. Descriptive statistics and t-test were conducted to compare the usage of different communication channels and determine statistical significance.
Findings: At Lake Balaton, the vineyard, the winery and the family, while at Lake Constance, the lake itself and the grape are highlighted regarding family winery brand identity. The customer-based brand image of Hungarian family wineries emphasizes wine, food and service, with the predominant use of Facebook. In the German family wineries, the focus of brand identity is on wine, friendliness and taste and includes more extensive usage of websites.
Originality/value: The paper deploys a novel methodology, both in terms of tools used as well as geographic focus to uncover online branding patterns of family wineries, thereby providing implications for wine and tourism industries at lake regions. It compares the share of selected most-used words in the overall text in websites and in social media, and presents the key findings from this innovative approach.
The purpose of the study is to provide empirical evidence about the under-researched area of university–government relations in building a culture of entrepreneurial initiatives inside the triple helix model in a rural region. The study deploys a qualitative case study research method based on the content analysis of project documentation and further internal documents both from universities and municipalities. The propositions in the research question are guided by the previous literature and were then analyzed through an “open coding” process to iteratively analyze, verify, and validate the results from the documents against the previous literature. Results presented in the case study are related both to the project of a municipality–university innovation partnership, as well as the historic development of the university in its three missions, and, related to the important third mission, themes relevant for the project. In addition, a “toolkit” of relevant project activities is presented against the major identified themes, major project stakeholders, as well as relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Universities should look beyond a purely economic contribution and should augment all three missions (teaching, research, engagement) by considering social, environmental, and economic aspects of its activities. Instead of considering a government’s role solely as that of a regulator, a much more creative and purposeful cooperation between university and government is possible for creating a regional culture of entrepreneurial initiatives in a rural region.