ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Supply Chain Collaboration, Innovation and Performance of Private Healthcare Organisations Supply Chain Collaboration, Innovation and Performance of Private Healthcare Organisations

The aim of this research is to examine the mediating effect of supply chain innovation on supply chain collaboration and private healthcare performance. An explanatory research design was adopted and was supported by the quantitative research approach. A total of 206 private healthcare organizations in the Greater Accra region was used as the sampling frame and questionnaires were employed in collecting the data. A sample size 178 was used. SPSS, version 26 software was employed for data analysis. The study indicated that supply chain collaboration and supply chain innovation have a statistically significant positive relationship. Moreover, the results indicated that when the effects of other variables are statistically controlled, supply chain collaboration contributes to a statistically significant positive change in supply chain innovation of private healthcare organizations. Finally, the study asserted that supply chain innovation partially mediates the predictive relationship between supply chain collaboration and the performance of private healthcare organizations. Therefore, private healthcare organizations must be willing to collaborate with member in the supply chain to procure and supply drugs and non-drugs items.

Source: UCC
Supply Chain Cost Drivers and Operational Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Ghana: Moderating Effect of Lean Manufacturing

The Food and Beverage industry faces unique challenges and complexities in managing its supply chain operations due to the perishable nature of the products, regulatory requirements, and consumer demand for high-quality and safe food products. One key concern for Food and Beverage manufacturing firms is managing supply chain costs while maintaining operational performance. The study aimed to examine the effect of supply chain cost drivers' effect on operational performance and lean manufacturing's moderating effect on the relationship between IC and OP, TC and OP and QC and OP. The study employed a quantitative research approach and explanatory research design. The data for the study was collected from 110 Food and Beverage manufacturing firms registered with the Association of Ghana Industries. The PLS-SEM technique was used to analyse the data. The SMART-PLS software version 4.0.9.1 was used to process the data for the study. Inventory, transportation, and quality costs were found to have a significant and positive effect on the operational performance of the Food and Beverage manufacturing firms. The study also found that lean manufacturing significantly moderates the relationship between IC and OP and QC and OP of the Food and Beverage manufacturing firms. However, the study also found that LM does not moderate the relationship between TC and OP among the firms. The study concluded that SCCD affects OP, and LM is a significant moderator in the relationship between SCCD and OP. The study recommends that food and beverage manufacturing firms strengthen their lean manufacturing practices to enhance their cost performance, thereby improving operational performance.

Source: UCC
Supply chain flexibility and sustainable performance of packaged water manufacturing firms in Ghana

This study emphasised on supply chain flexibility as an innovative strategic capability that links sustainable performance. The specific objectives were to examine: the effect of product flexibility on sustainable performance; the effect of product flexibility on sustainable performance; the effect of logistics flexibility on sustainable performance. The theories underpinning the study were the resource base view and dynamic capability View Theory. The study was based on the quantitative and positivism philosophy which was adopted together with an explanatory research design. A self-administered survey questionnaire was used as the research instrument for data collection. In all, 120 managers of packaged water manufacturing firms located in the Greater Accra were consulted. The study employed the partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS- SEM) as the statistical tool for data analysis. The findings of the study indicated that all the dimensions of the supply chain flexibility namely: product flexibility, modification flexibility and logistics flexibility have positive and significant effects on sustainable performance. Based on the study findings, it was recommended that managers need to incorporate supply chain flexibility in their strategic decisions when considering how to improve upon sustainable performance. This practice should be part of the long term strategy since supply chain flexibility does not happen overnight.

Source: UCC
Supply Chain Integration, Trust and Operational Performance of Commercial Poultry Farms in Dormaa Municipality, Ghana

The study examined the effect of supply chain integration on operational performance of commercial poultry farms in Ghana. Trust and firm size were statistically controlled for as intervening variables. Four hundred and thirteen commercial poultry farms in Dormaa Municipality in the Bono Region were targeted. Explanatory researched design was adopted. Although 262 farms were initially approached, 248 questionnaires were however retrieved. Proportional stratified sampling technique was used for the selection of the respondents. Adoption of the quantitative research approach made it easy for the application of statistical techniques for analysing the primary data. SMART pls application was used for the configuration of the structural models and the multigroup analysis given the nature of the specific research objectives. The unit of analysis include commercial poultry farms. Supply chain integration accounted for 67.8% significant change operational performance. Financial flow integration and internal integration were significant positive predictors of operational performance. Logistics integration and supplier integration negatively related significantly with operational performance. Trust mediated the predictive relationship between supply chain integration and operational performance. Commercial poultry farms should continue to rely on supply chain integration strategies such as financial flow integration and internal integration to improve their operational performance. Compared to small-scale and medium-scale commercial farms, supply chain integration is more efficient at improving the operational performance of large-scale commercial poultry farms, hence large-scale commercial farms are encouraged to integrate more with their supply chain actors than small-scale and medium-scale commercial enterprises.

Source: UCC
Supply Chain Quality Management Practices and Competitive Advantage of Food Processing Firms in Ghana: the Moderating Role of Innovation

ABSTRACT Over the years, firms in the food processing sector have heavily relied on internal quality management approaches as a measure of quality performance, but these approaches were limited to the boundaries of the firms. However, competition among businesses has incrementally shifted from individual organisations to entire supply chains. Therefore, the adoption of supply chain quality management which takes a holistic approach to quality management at the supply chain level of firms. Dwelling on the resource-based theory extended resource-based theory, and resource-advantage theory, this study examined the relationship between supply chain quality management practices and the competitive advantage of food processing firms in Ghana, and how innovation influenced the relationship. The study employed the explanatory research design and the quantitative research approach. The census sampling technique was used to determine the sample size of 206 food processing firms within the Accra Metropolis. Self-administered structured questionnaires were used for data collection and the response rate was 166, constituting 80.5% of the sample size. The SPSS v26 and SmartPLS 3 software were used for data processing to generate statistical test results, and the partial least square structural equation modelling was the data analytical technique employed. Results of the study indicated that all four practices– customer focus, supplier quality, supplier selection, and supplier involvement– had a significantly positive impact on competitive advantage of the food processing firms. However, innovation signified no effect on the relationship. It is recommended that the scope of future research will be broadened to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon studied. The firms should also explore avenues for innovation.

Source: UCC
Supply Chain Quality Management Practices And Operational Performance Of Pharmaceutical Distributors And Wholesalers In Ghana

Improvement in the market share for the Pharmaceutical Distributors and Wholesalers in Ghana have been very slow due to challenges over quality of product and services provided by these supply firms. Thus, using positivism paradigm mainly through survey and questionnaire, this study examined the different practices in supply chain quality management and operational performance levels of these pharmaceutical companies. Data was sourced from 159 pharmaceutical distributors and wholesalers in Greater Accra and Ashanti region of Ghana. Using structured questionnaires, the data analysis was carried out using SmartPLS-SEM. The study revealed that supply chain quality management practices including strategic supplier partnership, information sharing and customer relationship have significant positive effect on operational performance of these firms. The study, however, also found that top management, has no significant effect on the operational performance of these pharmaceutical distributors and wholesalers. In view of this it is recommended that pharmaceutical distributors and wholesalers should pay more attention to strategic supplier partnership and customer relationship practices during supply chain quality management because it was found to greatly improve the firms’ operational performance.

Source: UCC
Supply Chain Resilience Strategies and Operational Performance: The Mediating Role of Information Technology

This study's main goal is to investigate the relationship between operational performance and supply chain resilience techniques, as well as the mediating influence of information technology. In this essay, the idea developed in the literature on resource-based views is expanded, and it is connected to the supply chain in the Greater Accra region. Using research that is empirical, an investigation on managers, administrators and officers from some key firms in Greater Accra Region were performed. The study employed a quantitative method with a positivist approach directed the study. It adopted an objective measurement of reality. And to determine whether the validity of the study hypotheses, structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied. The study achieved this by developing significant objectives and, for the most part, productive hypotheses. The following deductions were made from the main findings: Information technology is the top-ranked method for achieving Supply Chain Resilience (SCR) among the food processing SMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to objective one. Prior to and throughout the pandemic, collaboration was found to considerably and favourably improve the businesses' operational performance. The study also discovered that agility helped food processing SMEs perform better operationally before and during the Covid-19. Collaboration, agility, and organizational success were all mediated by information technology. According to the report, managers of food processing SMEs should keep emphasizing IT as a means of guaranteeing supply chain resilience.

Source: UCC
Supply Chain Risk Management and Performance of Selected Hospitals in the Upper-West Region of Ghana

Health is an outcome indicator of economic growth and development of a country. Thus, adopting inappropriate supply chain risk management strategies in managing healthcare supply chain could have serious repercussions on hospital’s performance which could lead to loss of many lives. The study, therefore, examined the effect of supply chain risk management strategies on the performance of hospitals in Upper West Region of Ghana. More importantly, the study examined how supplier management strategy, inventory management strategy and last mass distribution strategy affect healthcare supply chain performance and how it could impact on patients’ satisfaction of the hospitals under studied. The examination was supported by network hypothesis and asset-based view hypothesis. The examination receives the positivism reasoning, quantitative methodology and logical plan. Utilizing the enumeration and basic arbitrary examining strategies, organized surveys were regulated to 96-unit heads of emergency clinics and 132 patients in the Upper West Region. Out of this, a solid informational index of 96 and 102 respondents was prepared utilizing IBM SPSS Statistics form 25 and Smart PLS adaptation 3 programming. Utilizing the Partial Least Square – Structural Equation Modelling, the investigation found that store network hazard the board techniques including provider the executives, stock administration and last mass circulation the board have critical effect on medical care inventory network execution which prompts patients' fulfilment. The study therefore recommends that hospitals in the Upper West Region should adopt all the above management strategies in order to improve hospitals’ performances.

Source: UCC
Supply Chain Transparency and Firm Performance in Ghana: the Role of Institutional Quality

ABSTRACT This study investigates supply chain transparency (SCT) and firm performance in Ghana: the role of institutional quality, focusing on agri-food processing firms. The study relied on the positivists’ research paradigm and employed the explanatory research design and the quantitative research approach. The research used a questionnaire to collect data from 320 out of the 396 sampled agri-food processing firms and analysed using Kendal`s coefficient of concordance and structural equation modelling. The results show that (1) there is a high degree of concordance of supply chain transparency practices among firms in the agri-food processing industry in Ghana, (2) SCT positively influences the performance of agri-food processing firms in Ghana, (3) Institutional quality positively influences the performance and (4) supply chain transparency of agri-food processing firms in Ghana, and (5) Institutional quality positively moderates the relationship between SCT and the performance of agri-food processing firms in Ghana. Therefore, the study recommends that the stakeholders of the agri-food processing sector continue to institute sound policies that inspire SCT and institutional quality to enhance firm performance. However, with the fifth hypothesis, such efforts will yield much more improved firm performance if policies are also implemented to improve the institutional quality. Additionally, the improvements in institutional quality on their own will positively impact SCT and firm performance per the third and fourth hypotheses. For the first hypothesis, the study recommends that managers diversify their attempts to create transparent supply chains by giving the needed attention to the other forms of transparency in addition to the highly held legal requirements.

Source: UCC
Support for girls' participation in education by non-governmental organizations in the Northern Region

The purpose of the study was to find out whether the popular notion that the presence of many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the education sector in the Northern Region has resulted in increased enrolment of girls in schools is a myth or a reality. Four districts of the Northern Region, namely, Tolon-Kumbungu, Savelugu-Nanton, GusheguKaraga and the Tamale Metropolis were involved in the study. Also involved were four Non-Governmental Organisations, namely, Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCFC), Action Aid Ghana, Regional Advisory Information Networks Systems/Campaign for Female Education (RAINS/CAMFED) and the School for Life. Data for the study were obtained through participatory rural appraisal techniques and questionnaires administered to the selected NGOs, interviews conducted on headteachers and a focus group discussion organized for parents of girls who benefited from the interventions ofthe NGOs. The study revealed that girls' enrolment rates increased in the Tolon-Kumbungu District (10% in 2001 and 1% in 200212003), the Gushegu-Karaga District (10% in 2002/2003) and the Tamale Metropolis (3% in 2002/2003). However, there was a decline in girls' enrolment rate in the Savelugu-Nanton District (-8% in 2003). Also, dropout rates remained high and many more girls of school-going age were still not in school. It is therefore recommended that more NGOs liaise with the District Assemblies to decide on how they can step up the participation of girls in schooling in the Northern Region.

Source: UCC
Support systems, challenges and adjustment strategies: A study of University of Cape Coast students from foster homes

The study explored the support systems available for foster youth in the University of Cape Coast, the challenges they encounter, and the adjustment strategies they use to overcome their challenges. The study was qualitative research which adopted the phenomenological research design. The exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling technique was used to sample 18 participants for the study. These participants included four current foster youth and 14 former foster youth who were pursuing undergraduate programmes in the University of Cape Coast. Researcher developed interview guide items were used to gather data for the study. Descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage) and thematic analysis approach were used to analyse the data that were gathered. The study found that there were no support systems in the University of Cape Coast that were meant for only foster youth, however, general support systems such as counselling services, students’ loan, scholarship for brilliant students, extracurricular activities, and support from university staff and religious organisations existed. The foster youth faced financial, academic, emotional and psychological challenges. They endeavoured solving these challenges through self-determination, counselling, engaging in minor jobs, perching and reducing transportation expenses to lecture halls. It was recommended that policy makers in the university create support systems specifically meant to address the needs of foster youth in the university. Again, administrators, counselors and lecturers in the university should establish an individualised comprehensive approach to offer the needed emotional, psychological and material support to deal with the problems foster youth encounter.

Source: UCC
Supporting Geometry Lessons with Music: Investigating the Effects on Attitude and Achievement of Basic Eight Students

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of participation in geometry lesson supported with music on the attitudes and achievements of Basic Eight students in geometry. To guide the study, two research questions and four hypotheses were developed. The research design used was the pre-test-post-test non-equivalent control group. Eighty-eight (88) Basic Eight students from a Conveniently selected school participated in the study. The major findings were: students conceived geometry as being difficult and formula related; geometry lessons supported with music motivate students towards geometry and the gain in geometry achievement of students in the experimental group was much higher than that of the control class. After testing the hypothesis ―There is no significant difference between achievement of students taught Geometry without music and with music‖ using ANCOVA, it was concluded that geometry songs used creatively to support geometry instructions have positive influence on students‘ attitude towards geometry; and that students are likely to make greater achievements in geometry when taught with music as a support. It was recommended that teachers are educated on the effects of music integration on students‘ attitudes and achievements using teacher platforms, mathematics teachers‘ workshops and conferences.

Source: UCC
Supramolecular Studies into the Co-Crystallization of Ferron with Sulphamethoxazole and Carbazole

The mechano-synthesis methods of mixing, grinding and kneading were used to co-crystallize Ferron with Sulphamethoxazole and Ferron with Carbazole. Samples are prepared by mixing with a spatula, grinding for 10, 20 and 30 minutes and kneading for 10,20 and 30 minutes. The starting compounds and the resulting products are characterised using UV/Vis Spectroscopy (UV), Infra-Red Spectroscopy (IR), Powder X-Ray Diffractometry (PXRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Kneading of Ferron with Sulphamethoxazole for 30 minutes yielded a co-crystal with cell parameters: a = 21.00356 A; b = 10.43984 A; c = 28.16611 A; ft = 133.584°; cell volume is 4,473.721 A3 and space group C2/m. Combining Ferron with Carbazole did not yield a co-crystal. The melting point of the combination products of Ferron and Carbazole varies between 208°C and 219°C. When Ferron is mixed or ground with Sulphamethoxazole, the particles of Sulphamethoxazole are found on the surface of the Ferron particles. The same effect is obtained when Ferron is kneaded with Sulphamethoxazole for less than 30 minutes. On the other hand, the particles of Carbazole remain on the surface of the Ferron particles no matter the process applied or its duration.

Source: UCC
Surface mining and community livelihood: The case of Teberebie electoral area of Wassa West district of Ghana

Mining is assuming importance in the economies of mineral-endowed developing nations. These countries have developed new minerals and mining codes to attract Foreign Direct Investment on a massive scale. The benefits and costs of mining have become a contentious issue. The study assessed the implication of mining on the livelihood of the communities affected by mining within the Teberebie Electoral Area of Wassa West District of Ghana based on the concept of sustainable development. The study has revealed that surface mining activities have taken away family and stool lands to the detriment of other land users such as farmers. The destruction of agricultural lands, standing forest and rivers has created livelihood problems for community people especially women. Mining has destroyed rural economies and disrupted the social structure of communities. Government has disregarded the fact that farmers have invested in cash crops for sustained incomes. Lands allocated to mining companies without the consent of the farmers and other land users, have generated conflicts. Alternative livelihood programmes by mining companies did not generated adequate income for affected people. Mining communities believe mining is not bringing development and government should place a moratorium on surface mining to assess the real cost of mining to the country before lands are given out for new surface mining. They further recommend that government should develop a mining policy that increases revenue for Ghana, protects the rights of communities and minimise environmental degradation.

Source: UCC