ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage: A developing country perspective

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has attracted wider research interests over recent decades. While some studies have examined the impact of CSR activities on firm competitive advantage (CA), the findings so far remain contradictory. Moreover, the role of export orientation, firm strategy, and structure on the association between CSR and CA has not been explicitly examined. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of export orientation, firm strategy, structure, and firm size on the association between CSR and CA. Using a sample of 179 responses from management staff in organizations across five sectors in a developing country context of Ghana, the study found positive effects of CSR on CA. The study contributes to the resource‐based view (RBV) scholarship by confirming the important complementary effect of export orientation and organizational structure as important resources and capabilities on the CSR–competitiveness relationship. However, no evidence of a moderating effect of firm strategy, or firm size on the CSR–CA relationship was found. These findings are instructive, impactful, and enrich the existing literature on CSR and strategy. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.

Source: UG
Corporate social responsibility and employee attitudes: The moderating role of employee age

This study examines the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employee engagement and job satisfaction. Using 322 responses from employees of selected companies in Ghana, and employing hierarchical regression analysis, the study examines the direct impact of economic, legal, ethical and discretionary CSR practices on employee satisfaction and engagement in organisations. The study further explores the moderating role of employee age on the relationship between CSR and employee engagement and satisfaction. The results provide evidence that economic, legal, ethical and discretionary CSR practices influence higher employee engagement and satisfaction levels at work. However, the study finds no evidence of employee age moderating the association between each of the four CSR dimensions and employee job attitudes (engagement and satisfaction). These findings are insightful and provide a response to calls for research on these issues. The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that ethical CSR practices strongly influence employees' satisfaction and engagement levels; legal and discretionary CSR activities also have an influence, though to a lesser extent; and the economic dimension of CSR activities has the least impact. The managerial, practical and further research implications of these findings are discussed.

Source: UG
Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: Fact or Fiction? A Look at Ghanaian Banks

Orientation: With banks faced with fulfilling the increasing demands of diverse stakeholders, this study sought to explore the views and motives for corporate social responsibility practices in the Ghanaian banking sector and also to investigate any possible relationship between these practices and financial performance. Research purpose: This article examined the impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance using empirical evidence from the Ghanaian banking sector. Motivation for the study: Although corporate social responsibility is a hot topic in Ghana and banks do practise it, no detailed study has been conducted to ascertain whether banks derive any benefits therefrom. Research design, approach and method: A sample size of 22 banks was involved. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain primary data whilst archival records were used to gather the secondary data. Main findings: The findings revealed that banks in Ghana view corporate social responsibility practices to be a strategic tool; banks are motivated to practise corporate social responsibility by legitimate reasons as much as they are motivated by profitability and sustainability reasons. Also, although there is a positive relationship between corporate social responsibility practices and financial performance, the financial performance of banks in Ghana does not depend significantly on their corporate social responsibility practices but rather on other control variables, such as growth, origin, debt ratio, and size. Practical implications: Properly adopted and implemented, corporate social responsibility can pay its way by contributing toward firm performance. Contribution: There is a positive but currently insignificant relationship between corporate social responsibility and financial performance amongst Ghanaian banks. However, given the numerous benefits of corporate social responsibility, it is recommended that firms continue to give priority to this practice.

Source: UG
Corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD), corporate governance and the degree of multinational activities: Evidence from a developing economy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of corporate governance and degree of multinational activities (DMAs) on corporate social responsibility disclosures (CSRD) within the context of a developing country. Design/methodology/approach Using the annual report of 33 listed firms spanning from 2008 to 2013, the authors employed content analysis based on an adapted index score of CSRD developed by Hackston and Milne (1996) as applied in similar studies (e.g. Deegan et al., 2002; Hassan, 2014). Guided by the authors’ hypotheses, the authors model quantity and quality of CSRD (two separate econometric models) as functions of multinational activity and corporate governance. Findings The results show that the DMA has a positive association with both quality and quality of CSRD. The results also show that certain corporate governance characteristics such as board size (quality and quantity) as well as the presence of a social responsibility sub-committee of the board (quality) have a positive relationship with CSRD. However, increasing the number of non-executive directors (NEDs) may not necessarily improve the quantity or quality of disclosure. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by theory and geography. Theoretically, the study is based on the legitimacy theory and feels compelled to reiterate the importance of considering alternative theoretical perspective in future research. Again the study is limited geographically as the investigation is based on Ghana only and the authors suggest that future research be extended to other countries. Practical implications This study is important as it demonstrates the importance of providing quality of CSRD to stakeholders when the board of a firm has a sub-committee responsible for corporate social responsibility. Originality/value The results of the study extend the literature on CSRD by demonstrating a new evidence on how the degree of firm’s multinational activities together with corporate government mechanism affects both quantity and quality of CSRD in the context of unchartered developing country. The results support the theoretical view that companies engage in CSRD in attempt to legitimize their operations based on the pressure exerted on them and the mechanism put in place to respond to those pressures.

Source: UG
Corporate Social Responsibility in Ghana

Societies and institutions the world over are remarkably similar. They all aim, to different degrees, at attaining political equality; social justice; human dignity; freedom from want, disease and exploitation; equal opportunities; and high per capita income equitably distributed. While different societies attach different weights and priorities to these objectives, it is largely in the political and economic means adopted for achieving these ends that societies and institutions differ. However, it is largely agreed that good governance is a fundamental building block of a just and economically prosperous society. This is as true for public governance as it is for corporate governance. Good corporate governance requires managing the cost and benefits of business activity to both internal stakeholders such as workers, shareholders, and investors; and external stakeholders such as institutions of public governance, community members, civil society etc. Setting the boundaries for how these costs and benefits are managed is partly a question of business policy and strategy and partly a question of public governance. It is within the interstices of this latter concept that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) may be found.

Source: UG
Corporate Social Responsibility in Ghana

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) an ethical, non-legislative, non-forcing approach to promoting responsible behaviours within organisations employs the central route of persuasion which consists of thoughtful considerations of arguments to achieve desired results. Studies suggest that attitudes that change through persuasion are more likely to persist temporally, resist counter persuasion and are more likely to predict behaviour (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). It is therefore worthwhile examining the usage of the CSR concept in Ghana particularly in the mining industry where it enjoys some popularity. This paper defined CSR as the strategic decision of an organisation to voluntary act upon the social factors that have the potential of militating against the fulfillment of corporate goals and examines the CSR concept in the Ghanaian mining industry. In Ghana the concept has tended to focus on the external environment to the neglect of the internal environment from where employees operate.

Source: UG
Corporate Social Responsibility in Ghana.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) an ethical, non-legislative, non-forcing approach to promoting responsible behaviours within organisations employs the central route of persuasion which consists of thoughtful considerations of arguments to achieve desired results. Studies suggest that attitudes that change through persuasion are more likely to persist temporally, resist counter persuasion and are more likely to predict behaviour (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). It is therefore worthwhile examining the usage of the CSR concept in Ghana particularly in the mining industry where it enjoys some popularity. This paper defined CSR as the strategic decision of an organisation to voluntary act upon the social factors that have the potential of militating against the fulfillment of corporate goals and examines the CSR concept in the Ghanaian mining industry. In Ghana the concept has tended to focus on the external environment to the neglect of the internal environment from where employees operate.

Source: UG
Corporate Social Responsibility in Ghana: A Sectoral Analysis. In Corporate Social Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa

CSR as the strategic decision of an organisation to voluntary act upon the social factors that have the potential of militating against the fulfilment of corporate goals is a fast evolving concept in Ghana, led by large scale multinational companies. The concept has been “bastardised” in the country with various sectors of the economy having a different interpretation to it. It is common to read daily in the news print various activities which are classified as part of the social responsibilities of various organisations. The lack of uniformity in the definition/description of the concept is worrying and therefore calls for a baseline understanding of the concept as practiced by different sectors of the Ghanaian economy. This work therefore adopts a sectoral approach to the classification and understanding of the concept. A documentation review, specifically, a thematic analysis of various newspaper reports, website information on CSR undertakings of companies and previous literature of CSR activities undertaken by various organisations from 2007 to 2015 formed the framework and methodological approach for the study. The various organisations were classified based on their main operations and based on the CSR activities undertaken. Notable amongst the findings were the following; Organisations in the mining industry were more into community relations, curative and preventive health issues and environmental protection activities. The telecommunication sector was into health related activities, education and infrastructure development. The banks were into donating to the underprivileged and offering scholarships to needy but brilliant students and also involved in refurbishing school buildings and financing adult literacy programmes. The manufacturing sector on the other hand support education and health related activities and sometimes lend extension services to producers of their raw materials. The CSR activities of the agriculture sector are geared towards the betterment of the lives of farmers who supply produce to them and the development of farming communities in which they operate. For religious bodies’ especially Christians and Muslims, the concept of CSR has been one of charity. This is because of the belief that God blesses those who give especially to the needy and the underprivileged such as orphans, the sick and the poor. Generally in Ghana, the concept has tended to focus on externalities to the neglect of the internal issues that bother on employee well-being.

Source: UG
Corporate Social Responsibility in Sub-Saharan Africa: Hindering and Supporting Factors.

Purpose ‐ In recent years, the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained recognition and importance in both business and political settings. While considerable research has been conducted on CSR in developed countries, the extant literature on CSR in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is scant and CSR is seen in terms of philanthropy. This paper aims to examine CSR from a broader perspective and in particular to identify the factors that hinder and promote CSR activities in SSA using the Smit (2009) CSR Value Chain Model. Design/methodology/approach ‐ This paper is based on data obtained from a survey conducted by GTZ (now GIZ) on factors promoting and hindering CSR in SSA. The study surveyed 85 companies from six countries, namely; South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Namibia. The study essentially examined the internal and external CSR environments of the companies in the participating countries. Findings ‐ The study revealed that there are nine key promoting and hindering factors of CSR for businesses in SSA. These include: leadership and governance, policy framework, project management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting, stakeholder engagement, staff engagement, government, funding and beneficiation. The study recommends a systemic and context-sensitive approach that relies on the potential of organisations and communities to design and implement their own solution within global frameworks in order to further develop CSR in the region. Research limitations/implications ‐ There are a number of limitations in this study. First, this study did not include any informants from the responding organisations' stakeholder groups, but relied mainly on information obtained from single respondents from organisations. Further research should include responses from other stakeholder groups. Practical implications ‐ To promote or achieve the successful implementation of CSR and broaden its scope within the region beyond its current focus on philanthropy, managers must build bridges with their stakeholders through both formal and informal dialogues and engagement practices. Additionally, firms may enhance and maximise both social and economic value created when managers link their CSR activities to areas that improve firms' long-term competitive potential by collectively and systematically applying their distinctive strengths to such activities in accordance with the value chain model. Originality/value ‐ The finding in this study is novel and adds an important contribution to the developing CSR literature in the SSA region.

Source: UG
Corporate Social Responsibility, Myth, Reality or Empty Rhetoric: Perspectives from the Ghana Stock Exchange.

This article reports the findings of an empirical study documenting the extent of recognition, nature, content and perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by firms quoted on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE). The study derives its justification from the explosion in attention to CSR worldwide in recent times. Although several studies have examined firm CSR actions in African contexts, none have studied CSR amongst quoted companies. The study's key findings were that a majority of the companies on the GSE subscribe more to the contemporary notion of CSR; their perceptions are strategic, moral, and ethical, as well as economic.

Source: UG
Corporate Social Responsibility: Perspectives of Foreign and Local Oil Marketing Companies in Ghana

CSR activities in Ghana are undoubtedly receiving spectacular approval, either through companies’ voluntary acts to improve social conditions in the communities in which they operate or purely as a corporate strategy to enhance reputation and potentially increase profitability in the organization. It is in light of this, the researchers selected both foreign and locally based oil marketing companies in Ghana to examine their expressive social actions in the communities they operate in. The researchers found that as part of their CSR activities, the oil marketing companies focus on meeting educational needs, healthcare-related projects, safety issues, environmental interests, and community-related outreach programs such as providing potable water and donating towards community festivities.

Source: UG
Corpus D'analyse Des Erreurs Pré Positionnelles Chez Les Anglophones Apprenants Du Fle Au Ghana

In higher education in English-speaking communities, learning French as a foreign language (FLE) is becoming increasingly important, seeing its essential role in intercommunication and intercomprehension with Francophone speakers in various sectors on a global scale. This learning, although in most cases started at the secondary level in Ghana, continues to face errors committed by learners. These errors are felt at several levels of the language including those grammatical and lexical categories such as prepositions. This article seeks therefore to analyze the sources, following an identification of errors related to the use of prepositions in the written corpus of learners and finally propose a strategy to remedy these errors thereby facilitating the teaching / learning of prepositions in FFL class

Source: UG
Correcting Students' Concord Errors

This study is an endeavor to design a strategy or teaching model by which Subject-Verb concord could be taught. to enhance the performance of students in Senior Secondary Schools (SSS), which have been re-named in 2007 as Senior High Schools" Errors of concord, including Subject-Verb concord, have been a problem to many Ghanaian students and a concern to many interested parties such as parents and the West Africa Examinations Council. Consequently, some researchers have studied the errors of students and others have designed methods to solve some of these student errors. This work considers the pronoun as the basis for teaching Subject- Verb concord. The research methodology is eclectic. combining elements of quantitative and qualitative research; oral interviews were conducted and a questionnaire administered to students to Identify their peculiar problems as second language leaners. In addition, diagnostic tests (pre- intervention and post- intervention tests)were conducted to examine the possible difficulties of the learners. An experiment class was selected and the language teaching model which is being proposed in this study for the teaching of Subject-verb agreement was taught to that class, while the: other two classes were excluded. Measurement of the effects of the treatment was done through a post intervention test. The results of the post-intervention test show that the experiment class did better than the other two classes, which indicates that the model could be useful in the teaching of subject-verb concord in Ghanaian schools.

Source: UG
Correction to: Correlations of cap diameter (pileus width), stipe length and biological efficiency of Pleurotus ostreatus (Ex.Fr.) Kummer cultivated on gamma-irradiated and steam-sterilized composted sawdust as an index of quality for pricing

Background: Consumption patterns of mushrooms have increased in Ghana recently owing to its acknowledgement as a functional food. Different mushroom cultivation methods and substrate types have been linked to the quality of mushrooms produced, thereby affecting its pricing. Methods: A comparative regression analysis was carried out to assess the correlation of stipe lengths, cap diameters and biological efficiencies of mushroom fruit bodies of Pleurotus ostreatus cultivated on steam-sterilized and gamma-irradiated sawdust after exposure to ionizing radiations of doses 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 24 and 32 kGy from a 60 CO source (SL 515, Hungary) at a dose rate of 1.7 kGy/h. Steam sterilization of composted substrates was also done at a temperature of 100-105 °C for 2 h. Results: Cap diameters of the mushrooms ranged 41-71.5 and 0-73 mm for gamma-irradiated samples depending on dose and steam-sterilized composted sawdust, respectively. Stipe lengths ranged between 4.4-61 and 0-58.1 for gamma-irradiated samples depending on dose and steam-treated substrates, respectively. Total yields of P. ostreatus grown on the gamma irradiation-treated composted sawdust ranged between 8.8 and 1517 g/kg, while mushrooms from steam sterilized recorded 0-1642 g/kg. Biological efficiencies of mushrooms grown on irradiated sawdust ranged 3-93.3%, while steamed sawdust ranged 0-97%. Good linear correlations were established between the cap diameter and biological efficiency (r 2 = 0.70), stipe length and biological efficiency (r 2 = 0.91) for mushrooms cultivated on gamma-irradiated sawdust. Similarly, good correlations were established between cap diameter and biological efficiency (r 2 = 0.89) stipe length and biological efficiency (r 2 = 0.95) for mushrooms cultivated on steam-sterilized sawdust. Conclusion: These correlations provide the possibility to use only the cap diameter and stipe lengths to predict their biological efficiency and also use this parameter for grading and pricing of mushrooms earmarked for the consumer market. © 2018 The Author(s).

Source: UG
Correction to: Escherichia coli bacteriuria in pregnant women in Ghana: antibiotic resistance patterns and virulence factors

Objectives The relevance of Escherichia coli associated bacteriuria infection in pregnant women is poorly understood, despite these strains sharing a similar virulence profile with other pathogenic E. coli causing severe obstetric and neonatal infections. We characterized and determined the antimicrobial susceptibility, resistance genes and virulence profiles of 82 E. coli isolates associated with asymptomatic bacteriuria in some pregnant in Ghana from February to August 2016 using Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion and polymerase chain reaction. Results High levels of antimicrobial resistance were observed to ampicillin (79.3%), tetracycline (70.7%) and cotrimoxazole (59.8%), except for cefuroxime (32.9%). Resistance genes analyses revealed 58.5% were positive for BlaTEM and 7.3% for aph(3)-Ia(aphA2). Virulence factors (VFs) was more widespread in pregnant women in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters than 1st trimester. VFs relating to adhesion (papC and iha), Protectins (traT), aerobactin acquisition (iutA) and iron acquisition systems (fyuA and irp2) were more prevalent in the resistant E. coli isolates. This study provides evidence for a link in bacteriuria and transmission of extra-intestinal E. coli in pregnant women to cause multi-resistant obstetric or neonatal infections. Considering the involvement of extra-intestinal E. coli in infections, results are helpful to develop strategies to prevent maternal and/ neonatal infections.

Source: UG