1,720,969 research outputs found
Social Capital and SME Performance: The Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence
Get PDFLack of extant studies on the moderating role of emotional intelligence on the relationship between social capital and firm performance necessitated this study. The main purpose of this research was to examine the extent to which Emotional Intelligence moderates the relationship between social capital and SMEs performance .
A total of 1532 SMEs were selected through simple random sampling technique from a population of 5009 SMEs. Structural Eqaution Modelling using AMOS was used to analyse the relationship between the variables.
The results revealed that social capital has a positive and significant relationship with emotional intelligence. Moreover, the study also showed that emotional intelligence has a positive and significant relationship with SME performance. Lastly, the study found that emotional intelligence enhances the relationship between social capital and SME performance.
SME owner/managers are advised to enact polices that encourage the establishment of meaningful social networks and also help employees understand their emotions while creating social capital as both would help improve the performance of their firms.
This paper breaks new ground by identifying emotional intelligence as an enabler of SMEs performance where there is adequate social capital
Do the approaches to entrepreneurship education matter in start-up intentions?
No full textEntrepreneurship education serves a conduit for new venture creation as it provides the knowledge and skills needed to increase the self-efficacy of individuals to start and run new businesses and to grow existing ones. This study, therefore, sought to assess the relationship between the approaches to the teaching of entrepreneur-ship and entrepreneurial intention on a cohort of 292 respondents consisting of students who have studied entrepreneurship in three selected Universities. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data randomly from students. The canonical correlation results indicate that education for and through entrepreneurship is the best approach to promoting entrepreneurial intensity among University students, if the aim of teaching entrepreneur-ship is to promote start-up activities. The findings provide valuable insights for institutions of higher learning and policy makers in Ghana with respect to the appropriate methodologies to be adopted in the teaching of entrepreneurship in our universities
Antecedents of Customer Retention of Ghana Commercial Bank within Agona Swedru Municipality
Get PDFThe sole purpose of a business Drucker (1973) once famously claimed was “to create a customer”. However, keeping the customer has become or regarded as equally, if not more important. Reichheld (1996) emphasised that a 5 per cent increase in customer retention generated an increase in customer net present value of between 25 per cent and 95 per cent across a wide range of business environments. Customer attraction and retention is becoming an important element of any banking strategy in today’s increasingly competitive environment (Verhoef, 2003). The study investigated the determinants of customer retention in Ghana Commercial Bank within Agona Swedru Municipality. The main variables of concern were service quality, customer satisfaction, customer trust, commitment and switching barrier. The correlational design was used for the research. Simple random sampling and self administered questionnaire were utilised to obtain data from 480 customers of the bank. Mean and Step-wise regression techniques were used to examine the level of retention and contribution of these factors to customer retention. It was concluded that; switching barrier, customer commitment and customer trust were the three variables in the conceptual framework of the study that emerged as the most significant factors contributing to customer retention. The study has documented that switching barrier is the most significant factor in retaining customers. The above conclusions indicate a need for certain strategies to be applied by organisations so that customer retention would continue to be high. It suggested that management of Ghana Commercial Bank, and other banks should pay more attention to customer retention by increasing customer satisfaction through the provision of accurate and timely information on products and services to its customers. There is also the need to pay more attention to service quality through the continuous provision of fast, reliable and error-free transaction to customers. Keywords: Service quality, Customer satisfaction, Commitment, Customer trust, switching barrier, SERVQUAL model
Examining activities in the E-waste Sector: Evidence from Two Metropolis in Ghana
No full textOver the past decades, growing trends in social media, e-literacy and globalisation have led to the increased use of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in offices, schools, homes, hospitals and other institutions. Although, there are more efforts at introducing diversity, innovation and increased use of EEE, there had been limited effort at managing the end?of?life of these electronic devices. Evidence from previous research showed that the management of the end of life of electronic waste is highly dominated by Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in the informal sector who employ more crude technology in their operations. This exploratory study therefore, sought to examine the activities of corporate bodies and MSMEs (formal and informal) in the e-waste sector in the Accra and Kumasi Metropolitan Areas in Ghana. Data was collected via questionnaires and interview from randomly selected respondents in the two metropolises. Results reveal that even though corporate institutions import a lot of electrical and electronic equipment, they do not have any policies on disposal of the e-waste generated. Thus, a high percentage of the e-waste generated is processed by the informal sector. The implications of the results are that policy makers and other stakeholders should encourage MSMEs to formalize their activities, support investment and green business development as well as funding and training for MSMEs operating in the sector
Social capital and SME’s performance in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana
No full textThis 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
Resistance to Organisational Change: A Case Study of Oti Yeboah Complex Limited
Get PDFResistance to organisational change is seen as one of the impediments to organisational expansion and growth due to its negative repercussions. This study therefore sought to investigate the factors that influence resistance to organisational change at Oti-Yeboah Complex Limited. Descriptive survey design was adopted to collect information using stratified sampling and self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, bi-variate correlation, regression analysis and t-test were used to analyse the data. The results indicated that less employee participation in decision making and lack of trust in management contributed highly to resistance at Oti-Yeboah Complex Limited. In addition, factors such as lack of motivation, poor channels of communication, and information exchange also contributed to resistance. The study suggests that management should encourage employee participation in decision making, build confidence, accept constructive criticism, be transparent and communicate clearly the need for change to employees. Key words: Resistance; Change; Oti Yeboah Comple
Theorising the Relationship between Television Programmes and Promotion of Entrepreneurial Culture among University Students in Kenya
Get PDFThis paper examined the relationship between television programmes and promotion of entrepreneurial culture among final year university students drawn from ten private and public universities in Kenya. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used to test the association between television programmes and entrepreneurial culture. A significant positive relationship was found between TV programmes and promotion of entrepreneurial culture in Kenya. It is recommended that policymakers develop more relevant and effective public policies and programmes to increase the level of the kind of entrepreneurial activities that will contribute to economic growth. Further, efforts should be made to increase the awareness of stakeholders of the role of the media in promoting entrepreneurial culture and the need for intensified links between the media and institutions of higher learning. Keywords: TV programmes, entrepreneurial culture, University Students, Keny
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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