ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Examining the marketing-corporate social responsibility nexus

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how corporate social responsibility is incorporated into marketing strategy for a leading telecommunications firm (MTN) in Ghana. The paper examines the corporate social responsibility practices of this firm by focussing on various dimensions of stakeholder interests, norms and values. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework was adopted from the extant literature and used as the basis for the single case study analysis. The authors interviewed senior management of the company and also analysed corporate social responsibility (CSR) information posted on the company's website. Findings – MTN has a strong commitment to social responsibility programmes. A separate independent unit, dubbed, “MTN Foundation”, has been established with its own Board of Directors and management team to manage CSR-related programmes. However, there seems to be lack of coordination of activities of other departments such as marketing and human resources which are of equal interest to major stakeholders. Again, in an effort to identify stakeholders' interests, there appears to be a lack of a proactive approach in examining the actual needs of prospective beneficiaries of CSR programmes of the company. Originality/value – The paper serves as a guide to managers in the planning and implementation of social responsibility programmes within the context of developing countries and also adds to the relatively parsimonious literature on CSR practices of firms operating in Africa.

Source: UG
Examining the nexus between human resource leadership and corporate sustainability: views of human resource professionals in Ghanaian SMEs

Abstract This paper examines the nexus between human resource leadership (HRL) and corporate sustainability (CS) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. Though HRL and CS are interrelated, the growing strategic concern is recognising senior human resource professionals as leaders capable of corporate change towards more sustainable organisations. This paper utilised exploratory qualitative research techniques by interviewing 15 senior human resource managers working in SMEs in Ghana. The data were analysed using the grounded theory method. The findings suggest that some of the HRL practices are being utilised more than the others, with some activities critical to CS design and implementation. Some of the CS practices supported by HR leaders are traditional and basic. Certain organisational factors were discovered as critical to the effective design and implementation of sustainability practices. Some practical, theoretical, and research implications for understanding and embedding sustainability within organisations were discussed.

Source: UG
Examining the Paths from Export Strategic Orientations to Export Performance: The Mediating Role of Export Resource Transformation Capability

Export strategic orientation research suggests that export entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) directly affect export performance. Based on the dynamic capability theory, this study hypothesizes that export resource transformation capability is an intervening factor that helps explain how EO and MO, individually and jointly, impact export performance. Using archival and survey data from small- and medium-sized exporters in the United Kingdom and Nigeria, the study finds that export resource transformation capability partially mediates the individual effects of EO and MO on export performance in both samples. Results further show that export resource transformation capability does not mediate the joint effect of EO and MO on export performance. The findings help provide a more complete understanding of how export strategic orientations might be related to export performance.

Source: UG
Examining the potential for liquid biofuels production and usage in Ghana

The perennial political and social upheavals in major oil-producing regions, the increasing energy demand from emerging economies, the global economic crisis and even environmental disasters, like the recent major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, all contribute to price fluctuations and escalations. Usually price instability affects the least-developed countries with the most fragile economies, like Ghana, the most. This paper gives a brief overview of the Ghanaian energy situation, describes the liquid biofuel production processes and examines the possibility of replacing some of the fossil fuels consumed annually, with locally produced renewable biofuels. Various scenarios for substituting different portions of petrol and diesel with biofuels derived from cassava and palm oil are examined. Based on 2009 crop production and fuel consumption data, replacement of 5% of both petrol and diesel with biofuels would require 1.96% and 17.3% of the cassava and palm oil produced in that year, respectively; while replacement of 10% of both fossil fuels would need 3.91% and 34.6% of the corresponding biofuels. Thus while petrol replacement could be initiated with little difficulty, regarding raw material availability, biodiesel would require enhanced palm oil production and/or oil supplement from other sources, including, potentially, jatropha. An implementation strategy is proposed. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Source: UG
Examining the predictors of fraud in state-owned enterprises: an application of the fraud triangle theory

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the views of employees on the motives behind frequently reported fraudulent activities at the workplace. Using the fraud triangle theory (FTT) as the theoretical lens, the study examines the effect of pressure, opportunity and rationalization on fraudulent acts by employees at the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – The study follows a correlational-quantitative approach using questionnaires as the main data collection tool. A total of 243 valid responses from employees working in different state-owned enterprises in Ghana were used in the empirical analysis. The hypothesized relationships in the study were tested using the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique. Findings: The results from the structural analysis showed that pressure, rationalization and opportunity are important in explaining why employees engage in fraudulent activities at the workplace. Originality/value: The findings do not only provide empirical support for the applicability of the FTT in the Ghanaian context but most importantly, offer some useful insights into the fraud discourse from the public sector workers’ perspective.

Source: UG
Examining The Risk Mitigation Strategies Of Farm Households In Ghana: The Role Of Community Water Resources.

Agricultural water is indispensable for fostering resilient and sustainable agricultural practices. However, empirical evidence regarding the relationship between community water resources (CWR) and risk mitigation behaviours among farm households remains scant. Utilising nationally-representative household survey data and geospatial information on household locations, we investigate how access to CWR influences crop diversification and sharecropping. By employing instrumental variable techniques and conducting various robustness checks to address potential endogeneity concerns, our results consistently show that communities with access to water resources experience greater crop diversification and reduced sharecropping compared to those with limited access. This effect is particularly pronounced among male-headed, youth-headed, and smallholder farm households in the northern zone. While CWR may not be the sole determinant of crop diversification and sharecropping, it plays a significant role in shaping adaptive strategies amid drought challenges. Moreover, we identify committed time as a critical mechanism through which CWR influences these outcomes. Our findings offer valuable insights for policymakers aiming to allocate resources effectively, especially for vulnerable populations, in enhancing resilience to climate change-induced water scarcity.

Source: UG
Examining the Roles of the European Union, France and the United States in Combating Terrorism in the Sahel

Global security has taken a new dimension since the horrific incident that took place during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack in the United States of America. The global war against terror took effect after this incident in order to put an end to the threats terrorism poses. The African continent has not been spared in the rise of terrorism. The Sahel region of the continent has become a hotspot of terrorism for almost a decade now. Countries like Mali, Nigeria and Burkina Faso have been the major crisis corridors of the region. This has drawn global attention and interventions from the international community even outside the continent. After almost a decade of foreign interventions in the region, the situation seems unchanging. For this reason, the study analyzes the situation in the region and the reason for a prolonged crisis in the midst of several interventions. It investigates the root causes of terrorism in the region as well as what causes further exacerbations even in the midst of interventions. The investigations reveal that most of the so-called terrorist groups in the region are mostly aggrieved interest groups, either ethnic or religious in nature, who use radical means to register their plights when their grievances are unaddressed. The involvements and interventions of foreign players especially through military means is resulting in further worsening the situation in the region as these groups retaliate even more. The major international players at the fore-front of the fight in the region are; the European Union, France and the United States. Even though these players have played some positive roles, these radical groups keep carrying out operations in the region in a form of retaliation to these players. The research also reveals that resource reserves such as uranium, oil, ore, etc…which are in large deposits, are the major reason for not only the interventions of these players but their prolonged stay in the region. Their personal interests are tied to the vase supply of these resources and thus use their interventions in the region as a means to also secure a share of these reserves. The research recommends some of the necessary steps that could be taken in order to deal with the situation in the region. A major means is to strengthen focus more on negotiations with aggrieved groups rather than the current focus on military means. It also recommends that regional bodies such as the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) should be at the forefront with the United Nations (UN) in dealing with the situation in the region, rather than leaving them in the hands of individual countries and other regional bodies who may fall prey to their personal interests in the region.

Source: UG
Examining toxic leadership, pay satisfaction and LMX among nurses: evidence from Ghana

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish a relationship between pay satisfaction and leader–member relationship and examine pay satisfaction as a moderator of the relationship between toxic leadership and LMX among public sector nurses in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – Using a cross-sectional survey approach, the authors used questionnaires to collect data from 225 nurses working in public hospitals in Ghana. The hypotheses were tested using covariance-based structural equation modelling. Findings – The results of this study revealed that pay satisfaction levels of nurses had an influence on leader–member exchange (LMX). The results further showed that pay satisfaction as a moderator of the relationship between toxic leadership and LMX was not statistically significant. Research limitations/implications – Cross-sectional surveys are often criticised for causality issue. The causality issue here is that the link between toxic leadership, pay satisfaction and LMX was explored at a given point in time and ignores changes through time. Practical implications – Hospitals must encourage their leaders to demonstrate more supportive and positive behaviours to foster positive leader–member relationships. Maladjusted, malcontent and malevolent leadership behaviours are dangerous for nurses and hospitals and can be addressed through leadership training and development. Social implications – Toxic leadership has considerable organisational costs of low productivity and negative work relationship at the workplace. The indirect effects of toxic leadership at the workplace on employees’ families and friends are often silent in organisations. Originality/value – Nurses have been ignored in toxic leadership research in emerging economies. LMX is extended to examine toxic leadership and pay satisfaction in public hospitals in an emerging economy

Source: UG
Exchange Rate Uncertainty And Foreign Direct Investment In Africa: Does Financial Development Matter?

The orthodox view is that uncertainty deters investments and, by extension, private capital inflows. Paying With specific attention to the volatility of the domestic exchange rate, foreign direct investment (FDI), and financial development indicators, this study investigates the impact of exchange rate uncertainty on FDI and whether financial development matters in such a situation. We establish our empirical relationship with a system general methods of moments (GMM) two-step robust estimator with orthogonal deviations. We found evidence supporting a nonlinear U-shaped relationship between uncertainty and FDI and that the impact of uncertainty on FDI depends on varying levels of uncertainty. We also document that uncertainty deters FDI flows and that countries with a well-functioning financial development can transform the adverse impact of volatility on FDI. However, curbing the adverse effect depends on the specific indicator and the threshold value of financial development (financial institutions or financial markets).

Source: UG
Excluding pregnancy among women initiating antiretroviral therapy: efficacy of a family planning job aid

Background: Guidelines for initiating ART recommend pregnancy testing, typically a urine test, as part of the basic laboratory package. The principal reason for this recommendation is that Efavirenz, a first-line antiretroviral medication, has the potential of causing birth defects when used in the first trimester of pregnancy and is therefore contraindicated for use by pregnant women. Unfortunately, in many African countries pregnancy tests are not routinely provided or available in ART clinics, and, when available outside clinics, are often not affordable for clients. Recently, the World Health Organization added a family planning job aid called the 'pregnancy checklist,' developed by researchers at Family Health International, as a recommended tool for screening new ART clients to exclude pregnancy. Although the checklist has been validated for excluding pregnancy among family planning clients, there are no data on its efficacy among ART clients. This study was conducted to assess the clinical performance of a job aid to exclude pregnancy among HIV positive women initiating ART. Methods: Non-menstruating women eligible for ART were enrolled from 20 sites in four provinces in Zambia. The pregnancy checklist was administered followed by a urine pregnancy test as a reference standard. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were estimated. Results: Of the 200 women for whom the checklist ruled out pregnancy, 198 were not pregnant, for an estimated negative predictive value of 99%. The sensitivity of the checklist was 90.0%, and specificity was 38.7%. Among the women, 416 out of 534 (77.9%) did not abstain from sex since their last menses. Only 72 out of the 534 women (13.4%) reported using reliable contraception. Among the 416 women who did not abstain, 376 (90.4%) did not use reliable contraception. Conclusion: The pregnancy checklist is effective for excluding pregnancy in many women initiating ART, but its moderate sensitivity and specificity precludes its use to completely replace pregnancy testing. Its use should be encouraged in low resource settings where pregnancy tests are unavailable or must be rationed. Family planning methods should be available and integrated into ART clinics.

Source: UG
Executive and Management Attitudes on Social Responsibility and Ethics in Ghana: Some Initial Exploratory Insights

This article reports the findings of an empirical study as the vies of top executive and management on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ethnics in Ghana. The study adopted an in-depth, exploratory, and comparative approach to sample seven key companies listed in the major business sectors of the Ghana Club 100 database, an annual ranking of the most prestigious firms in Ghana. The initial findings of the study were that, although there is no legal framework for CSR in Ghana, companies are involved in various CSR activities like support for education, sponsorship of events and cash donations. Managers and executives believe that it is important for their firms to be socially responsible and to be seen to be behaving ethnically. The study also revealed ethnical values of both individual mangers and their firms are the major factors determining mangers’ attitudes toward CSR, whilst a majority of respondents assert that CSR and ethnical behaviour is good for corporate reputation. One of the key recommendations is the institutions of a national policy framework for CSR to help ensure proper accountability of CSR activities by companies.

Source: UG
The Executive and State Institutions as Primary Actors in Articulating Ghana’s Integration Policies in West Africa: Challenges and the Way Forward

Regional integration generally involves a somewhat complex web of cooperation between countries within a given geographical area. It demands harmonization of policies in sectors such as trade, investment, infrastructural development as well as fiscal and monetary policies of member states. Ensuring stability and sustainable economic growth and development within the integrating area has often been the prime objective of regional integration. However, decision making powers completely reside with national governments of member states as well as commitment to implementing regional programmes. Despite the crucial role of the executive and related institutions in promoting regional integration, they are often tempted to pursue what suit them. It is in line with this, that this paper examines the following issues, thus, what role has the government of Ghana played so far in the regional integration project in West Africa? What institutions under the Executive have roles to play and what strategies do they have in that respect? How are the activities of the various institutions coordinated? What challenges exist and what is the way forward?

Source: UG
Executive compensation, corporate governance and corporate performance: A simultaneous equation approach

This paper investigates the association between executive compensation and performance. It uniquely utilises a comprehensive set of corporate governance mechanisms within a three-stage least squares (3SLS) simultaneous equation framework. Results based on estimating a conventional single equation model indicate that the executive pay and performance sensitivity is relatively weak, whereas those based on estimating a 3SLS model generally suggest improved executive pay and performance sensitivity. Our findings highlight the need for future research to control for possible simultaneous interdependencies when estimating the executive pay and performance link. The findings are generally robust across a raft of econometric models that control for different types of endogeneities, executive pay and performance proxies. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Source: UG
Executive compensation, ownership structure and loan quality of banks in Ghana

This paper analyses the effects of executive compensation and ownership structure on loan quality of banks. The study uses a panel data on 26 Ghanaian banks over the period, 2003–2011.Using a dynamic panel model, estimations are made using the Generalized Method of Moments. The results show that management is efﬁcient when director shareholding is very prominent in banks. Institutional ownership and public listing of banks also have a signiﬁcantly negative relationship with non-performing loans, while lag of non-performing loans, equity ratio, exchange rate depreciation and increases in net interest margins are seen to have a negative effect on loan quality. Executive compensation had no signiﬁcant effect on loan monitoring.

Source: UG
Exercise training improves walking function in an African group of stroke survivors: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of treadmill walking and overground walking exercise training on recovery of walking function in an African group of stroke survivors. Design: Prospective, randomized controlled study. Setting: Outpatient stroke rehabilitation unit in a tertiary hospital. Subjects: Sixty patients with chronic stroke (?3 months). Intervention: All subjects received individual outpatient conventional physiotherapy rehabilitation for 12 weeks. In addition, subjects in Group A (n = 20) received treadmill walking exercise training (TWET) while those in Group B (n = 20) received overground walking exercise training (OWET). Those in Group C (control) (n = 20) received conventional physiotherapy rehabilitation only. Main measures: Outcome measures were (i) 10-metre walk time (10MWT) test and (ii) six-minute walk distance (6MWD) test. These were evaluated at entry into the study and at the end of every four weeks. Paired t-tests were used to evaluate the significance of the difference between pre-training and post-training scores on the two measures (P < 0.05). Results: Subjects in the TWET group recorded 22.6 ± 1.5% decrease in 10MWT and 31.0 ± 4.3% increase in 6MWD; those in the OWET group made 26.8 ± 1.3% and 45.2 ± 4.6% improvement in 10MWT and 6MWD respectively. Subjects in the control group made 2.2 ± 0.7% and 2.9 ± 0.8% improvement in the two functions. These changes were significant for the TWET and OWET groups (P < 0.05). Conclusion: This study indicated that treadmill and overground walking exercise training programmes, combined with conventional rehabilitation, improved walking function in an African group of adult stroke survivors. Therefore, professionals who conduct stroke rehabilitation programmes should utilize exercise training to optimize patient outcomes.

Source: UG
Exfoliative skin manifestations in acute lymphatic filariasis.

The Department of Parasitology conducts research into parasitic diseases of public health importance with the overall goal of reducing their transmission and the heavy disease burden that they impose on affected populations. The Department maintains focus on parasitic diseases in general. These include major diseases such as malaria, and others listed under the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) control initiative such as, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Source: UG