ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Exploring the impact of team-building strategies on social loafing in Ashesi University student teams

Despite the importance of developing team-based competencies, students in higher education institutions engage in social loafing during their academic teamwork experiences. Various researchers have proposed team-building strategies as a remedy. However, these strategies' effectiveness has been debatable, with little insight into the why behind the conclusions. Therefore, this study sought to qualitatively explore the phenomenon as it occurs in Ashesi University using Tuckman's Stages of Group Formation as the guiding theoretical framework. The study employed semi-structured interviews to gather in-depth information from twenty-five participants comprising twenty students and five faculty of Ashesi University. The interviews addressed: (1) faculty and students' perception of social leafing in student teams, (2) the strategies they initiate during each team-formation stage, and (3) the strategies' impact. Through a thematic analysis, the study found that the strategies employed in Ashesi University student teams are role clarification, feedback systems, and interpersonal relationship-building. However, the central insight from this study was that these strategies are more effective when they are executed in sequence to provide a mutual reinforcement than when they are executed individually. Thus, the study recommended that higher education institutions shift the focus to sequential strategy execution instead of individual strategy execution.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring The Influence of The Hybrid Working Model on Work-Life Balance & Quit Intention in Ghanaian Accounting & Auditing Firms

This study investigates the influence of hybrid work arrangements on work-life balance and quit intentions within Ghanaian accounting and auditing firms amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Synthesizing global trends, it narrows the focus to Ghana's accounting and auditing sector, identifying gaps in understanding hybrid work setups. Drawing on various theories, including role theory and job embeddedness theory, the study examines the impact of hybrid work on work-life balance and retention. The study employed a quantitative approach, utilizing structural equation modelling to analyze data collected from Accra-based accounting and auditing professionals. Using the SMART-PLS Software, it was found that the hybrid system has a positive impact with work-life balance and a negative relationship with quit intentions. Females reported better work-life balance and lower quit intentions than males. Similarly, Gen Z had higher work-life balance scores and lower quit intentions compared to other generations. The findings have significant implications to inform both academic discourse and practical workplace policies, contributing to a deeper understanding of hybrid work dynamics and offering tailored strategies for enhancement.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring the perceptions of lecturers towards multiple-choice assessments

This paper is a combination of five chapters; 'Introduction', 'Literature Review', 'Methodology', 'Findings' and 'Conclusion', which showcase an analysis of the topic of exploring the perceptions of BA-focused lecturers on multiple-choice examinations as an assessment tool. The introduction goes through a background of the research along with an explanation of the significance it would bring to educational institutions. The literature review analyzes various literature that talk about the significance of multiple-choice exams as an assessment tool, the effects of improving the tool using frameworks such as Bloom's Taxonomy and Item Analysis and their overall benefits and flaws. The methodology showcases the process by which research data was gathered, and the type of data that was researched on. The findings point out how, despite multiple-choice assessments having the advantages of being efficiency, and being able to assess student understanding, there is room for improvement in assessing higher-order thinking. Furthermore, the research concludes with recommendations for refining multiple-choice assessments to better align with educational objectives and to be more widely accepted as a valid assessment type. All in all, through this research paper, a more in-depth understanding of the topic of exploring the perceptions of lecturers towards multiple-choice assessments would be reached.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring the potential benefits of strengthening institutions to Ghana’s economy: The case of full petroleum downstream sector deregulation in Ghana

According to the International Monetary Fund [IMF] (2013), energy reform efforts have been suspended in election years since the year 2000 by the various Ghanaian governments, making energy deregulation policy unsustainable. The IMF (2013) identified Ghana’s Cedi depreciation as a cause of this phenomenon, signaling institutional weakness in Ghana’s economy. Thus, this research explores the potential benefits of strengthening institutions to Ghana’s economy with regards to the full petroleum downstream sector deregulation. A key research question is to investigate the strategic position of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in the deregulated petroleum downstream sector. Another question seeks to determine challenges Bank of Ghana faces in ensuring a sound and stable monetary policy. The research design relies mainly on qualitative methods by employing qualitative data and some quantitative research techniques and data. The respondents included the NPA, the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Ghana, Imani Ghana, Association of Oil Marketing Companies, Institute of Economic Affairs, and Africa Centre for Energy Policy. Key among the findings is that the Executive arm of government has the constitutional power to use certificate of urgency to alter market outcomes, especially when fuel prices are soaring beyond expectations.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring the preferences of university students in Accra. A comparative study of snapchat and Instagram usage for product discovery.

This study investigates the social media usage preferences of university students in Accra, Ghana, specifically focusing on Instagram and Snapchat for product discovery. Adopting an interpretivist philosophy with inductive reasoning, the research aims to understand the subjective experiences of students. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and electronic questionnaires, involving 15 active social media users. The primary objective is to inform businesses and marketers on developing targeted social media strategies to reach this vital consumer demographic. Findings indicate a clear preference for Instagram over Snapchat for product discovery. The preference for Instagram is attributed to its engaging visual content, ease of navigation, and the comprehensive 'Shop' feature. Influencers and peer recommendations significantly shape purchasing decisions, with students trusting endorsements from both sources. Key factors influencing platform choice include content format and user interface, with Instagram's visual and interactive content and user-friendly design being highly valued. Respondents provided several suggestions for improving marketing strategies on these platforms: Brands should create more engaging content, such as live demonstrations and Q&A sessions; collaborations with influencers should feel genuine and trustworthy rather than contrived; and clear communication of product prices is crucial to enhance the customer experience. The study highlights Instagram's dominant position in daily usage and product discovery utility among university students in Accra, whereas Snapchat is favored for its unique features and intimate interactions. Despite limitations such as sample size and reliance on self-reported data, the research provides valuable insights into social media behavior among young adults in an urban Ghanaian context. Future research should include a more diverse sample and consider external factors like internet accessibility and economic status to provide a comprehensive view of social media usage determinants. This study contributes significantly to understanding consumer behavior in emerging markets, offering practical implications for businesses aiming to engage with this demographic through social media.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring the Relationship Between Financial Literacy and Spending Patterns Among Ashesi University Students.

This explores the relationship between financial literacy and spending patterns of Ashesi university students in Ghana. It discusses issues concerning low financial literacy levels and how this in turn affects quality of life after graduation. The study seeks to find out the varying levels of financial literacy levels among Ashesi university students, and the role social factors play in shaping financial literacy levels The role this study seeks to play is to enhance financial literacy levels across the university environment to encourage students to adopt good money management skills and financial decision making after graduation. The study will employ the quantitative research approach to retrieve unbiased and reliable information from all respondents. There would be an average of 120 students participating in this research through online surveys. This research would address the gap of financial literacy levels of students within the private university space in Ghana, as there is little to no knowledge of financial literacy works surrounding this part of the world. By the end of this study, it seeks to equip Ashesi university students to make sound financial decisions and also improve the quality of life after graduation, thus eliminating the problem of debt and other financial related problems that may arise. After analysis it was observed that there is indeed an association between financial literacy and spending patterns among the participants of this study.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring the relationship between sports sponsorship and teams' performance: The case of football in Ghana

Ghanaian football teams are not perceived to be thriving within the league and this makes it almost uncertain for the players to gain international recognition. This study will help identify the ways football teams position their brand and identify the criteria sponsors consider when venturing into a sponsorship deal. The aim of the paper is to determine whether sports sponsorship can help teams in terms of funding to become more competitive and upgrade their playing skills in order to improve their performances. The study will also help determine the most effective sponsorship tools that can help a team to become sustainable in the long run. Data was collected through a qualitative approach using semi structured interviews in 3 Ghanaian football teams and 1 sponsor. The findings of the study reveal that without a huge involvement and funding from sponsors, Ghanaian football teams will find it difficult to compete with each other. Clubs really utilize the small amount of sponsorships possessed and are open to more funding. Sponsoring companies factor the team’s image, performances, professionalism and the perception of football fans. Sponsors enjoy mileage and brand visibility benefits from sponsoring clubs. The main considerations for sponsorship include the team’s history and success, large fans following and images. The major limitation was gaining access to more football teams would have helped emphasize the importance of sponsorships for Ghanaian football teams.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring The Risks Associated with Oral Contract Agreements for Small Businesses in Accra, Ghana

Contracts are essential for businesses as they are binding documents to hold each party involved in performing their obligations. Due to the limited resources available to small businesses compared to larger businesses, small businesses engage more in oral contracts than formally written ones in Ghana. There is limited literature surrounding the reasons why small businesses enter oral contracts and the risks they tend to face as a result of their choice. This has resulted in an existing knowledge gap on the factors that influence the decision-making process that goes into choosing between an oral or written contract by small businesses, as well as limited research on the risks a Ghanaian business owner would face when using an oral contract. The study employs behavioural and incomplete contract theories to understand the risks and factors that influence contracts. The study used a qualitative approach while using semi-structured interviews. The study aims to explore the challenges and risks small businesses face in Accra regarding oral contracts and examine the factors influencing the choice of small business owners in relation to contracts. The study's findings reveal that participants prefer oral contracts due to financial constraints and the impracticality of engaging in an oral agreement due to available resources. Trust and personal relationships heavily influence these decisions, often at the expense of legal security. The study identified key risks such as challenges in proving contract terms when disputes arise, different interpretations and a strain on business relationships.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring the role of corporate control in SME attitude toward private equity financing

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) undoubtedly play a vital role in the growth of economies worldwide. Despite this, SMEs are plagued with several difficulties, with access to finance being the primary problem SMEs face. Private equity has been identified as a potent source of capital to foster the growth of SMEs. However, the management control mechanisms instituted by private equity firms to safeguard their investment may be an area of concern for SMEs. The main objective of this paper was to determine the willingness of SMEs to accept private equity, considering the management control mechanisms likely to be instituted by private equity firms. This study adopted a quantitative method of analysis in determining whether firm characteristics and management control mechanism, specifically the involvement of the private equity firm in the human resource issues of the firm and the participation of the private equity firms in operations of the SME, affect the willingness of SMEs to accept private equity. The findings from the study show that management control mechanisms instituted by private equity firms affect the SME's willingness to adopt private equity. However, the involvement of private equity firms in the hiring process of SMEs is more significant in determining the probability of SMEs subscribing to private equity. This paper contributes to the literature on SMEs in Ghana and provides recommendations on how private equity firms can structure contract negotiations to attract SME subscriptions.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring the use of mobile technology in microfinance in Ghana

Microfinance when implemented well in developing countries for example could help very poor households to meet basic needs and protect against risks; thus microfinance is associated with improvements in household economic welfare (Asiama and Osei, 2007). Microfinance institutions (MFIs), the providers of microfinance services are faced with the problem of how to ensure the sustainability and profitability of microfinance schemes. This research seeks to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of mobile technology by MFIs, the various uses for mobile technology in microfinance and its ability to solve the problems of MFIs. This research aims at generating a set of preliminary results that will contribute to advancing research on the impact of mobile technology on profitability of microfinance in Ghana. The research design was based on a qualitative survey approach. The institutions which took part in the survey constituted micro-financial institutions. Upon analysis of data gathered, results attained showed that MFIs choice of mobile technology is based on the cost of acquiring mobile technology, the benefits that will be attained from the use of mobile technology and the influence of the industry within which they operate. It is recommended that MFIs should be careful when making decisions involving the spending of large sums of money in mobile technology. This is because investment in technology is an expensive undertaking which should not be taken lightly.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring the use of social media influencers as a marketing tool for small businesses in reaching the youth in Ghana

In recent years, the youth’s preference for advertising has changed, forcing businesses to find new and innovative ways of reaching consumers. With the rise of social media, a new form of advertising – social media influencer marketing- emerged. Due to its novelty, especially in Ghana, literature on this topic is underdeveloped. While there have been extensive studies on celebrity endorsement, research on the effectiveness and practices of social media influencer marketing, especially in the Ghanaian context, is limited. As a result, there is a gap in business knowledge. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the use of social media influencer marketing to reach the youth in Ghana and the conditions under which product-influencer fit is not necessary for a campaign to be successful. The study used a qualitative exploratory research approach to collect data. Interviews were held with 10 businesses in the fashion industry that had employed social media influencer marketing, and sponsored posts were analyzed using inter-rater reliability rating. This study found that influencer marketing was effective in gaining small businesses new followers and higher levels of exposure. The findings also highlighted the importance of brand fit, pricing, credibility, authenticity, and engagement as factors that affected the effectiveness of a social media influencer campaign. Influencers who were considered trustworthy and attractive were not required to fit with the product they endorsed for a drive to be successful.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring the way forward for Ghana's tourism industry through domestic tourism

Tourism is a major sector that is often identified by many developing countries as a priority sector for the rejuvenation of their economies. Ghana is no different and her government has invested in stimulating the industry to promote socioeconomic development. The country is a very attractive tourist destination but there is still no mass tourism. Ghana's tourism industry development indicators have doubled since the industry's inception. However when compared to other countries in Africa she is one of the lowest ranking when it comes to tourism development indicators. The question then arises, why is this the case. This study is then undertaken to explore and compare the tourism industry to that of the outside world. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources and the analysis was done using descriptive analysis and summary statistics. To gather data for this study, questionnaires, interviews and semi-structured discussions were conducted. In an attempt to establish the credibility of this research, literature about the industry was analyzed. It was realized that developing domestic tourism was the key way to developing the tourism industry as a whole. Other issues discovered about the industry were a lack of maintenance culture and a false sense of time poverty. Recommendations on how to improve these problems where made.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring uses of mobile phones in pineapple production and its livelihood benefits for Ffarmers in Akwapim south district, Ghana.

The study explores the use of mobile phone in pineapple production and the benefits farmers gain from this usage in the Akwapim South district of Ghana. It uses a sequential mixed method research approach. A multistage sampling technique was used to select five major pineapple producing areas for an initial in-depth interview and subsequently administered a questionnaire to collect data on 125 farmers who were purposively sampled. The initial qualitative study helps in mapping out the supply chain of pineapple production in the area. The study reveals that farmers use mobile phones to coordinate input supply, gather information on the market, facilitate the exchange of agricultural information and access financial services. This helps them ascertain information on produce prices and demand trend that empowers them to negotiate for better prices. Specifically, about 93.6% of the pineapple farmers perceived that the use of mobile phones improves their communication whiles 92% of the farmers perceived that it improves their access to information on market and agricultural information. In the end, farmers indicated an improvement in their livelihoods with the use of mobile phones. Although farmers benefit from the use of mobile phones, they are particularly concerned about high call tariffs and the growing mobile money fraud. Therefore, the study recommends the need to make the use of mobile phone affordable and improvement in security measures to reduce the incidence of mobile money fraud. Additionally, the study recommends further studies to focus on the use of mobile phone by the major players in the supply chain to identify ways of improving the efficiency of the pineapple supply chain with the use of mobile phone.

Source: Ashesi
Exploring work-family life balance in two banks in Takoradi

To get the best out of employees in the banking industry, pressure is increasingly put on them to perform for sustainable growth leading to work-family life imbalance and consequent stress related issues. The purpose of this study therefore, is to explore issues related to work-family life balance among banking professionals in Ghana. It compares the experiences of bankers in two banks in Takoradi in the Western region of Ghana, to understand in-depth the factors that enable them to successfully balance their work and family roles since both are equally important for the socio-economic ecosystem. A qualitative approach is employed to explore how employees can strike a balance between their work and family lives. The data collection tools used are structured interviews and observation. The data are analyzed by developing themes, for discussion. Results reveal that bank workers depend on external support to achieve effective work-family life balance. The study concludes by suggesting the need for bank authorities to create a friendly working environment such as open-door policy, flexible work schedules, and relatively longer leave days among others to allow bank workers with young children to spend quality time with their families.

Source: Ashesi
Exportation of Made in Ghana Goods as a Tool for Development and Development of the Economy

Using yearly data from 1987 to 2021, the research looked at the influence of exporting Made in Ghana goods, thus the finished goods, on Ghana's economic development. The research investigates long-run and short-run correlations between exportation of domestically produced goods and gross domestic product using prominent time series econometric approaches such as cointegration and vector error correction approximations (GDP). In Ghana, the Johansen’s cointegration test indicated that real GDP, exported goods and domestically produced goods had long-run correlations. Using the regression method, there was also an indication of bi-directional causation linking exported goods and GDP development. According to the research, substantial gross capital creation has favorable effects on real GDP in both the short and long run. In the long run, domestically produced goods had an optimistic impact on GDP, but it had a favorable impact on real GDP development in the previous year in the short run. All factors were statistically significant at the 7% significance level in the long run. The alteration rate to the long-run equilibrium implied that the correction is relatively quick. The research concludes that policymakers should focus on maintaining an open that focuses more on the finished goods and export-oriented policy to secure economic development and effectively stimulate economic development for export expansion.

Source: Ashesi