Now showing items 21-40 of 1341

    • Stakeholder Management Challenges and The Complexities of Promoting Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Africa

      Rabake, N.; Adams, Kweku; Attah-Boakye, Rexford (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024-06-07)
      In recent years, there has been significant attention given to stakeholder management, which involves the intricate interaction between organisations and individuals, as well as diverse groups that can significantly affect or shape an organisation's decisions. While progress has been made, African countries are seen as the next promising frontier for progress and advancement. Nevertheless, there remains a lack of understanding of this concept, as the continent is undergoing remarkable economic growth. Entrepreneurs operating in such environments face intricate landscapes when it comes to stakeholder management. Consequently, understanding how stakeholders contribute to the growth of entrepreneurial ventures in Africa is crucial to promote sustainable and responsible business practices. This chapter presents insights that can stimulate future research on stakeholder management within the intricate and diverse African setting. The chapter conceptualises the relationship between stakeholders and entrepreneurship in Africa and shows how entrepreneurial firms navigate the challenges associated with weak institutional environments.
    • The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Taking stock and looking ahead for international business research

      Debrah, Y.A.; Olabode, Oluwaseun E.; Olan, F.; Nyuur, Richard B. (2024)
      The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has opened new avenues of research interest in International Business and International Management. However, scholarly work in this fledgling area of research has been disparate and often lacking in the assessment of core international business implications of the emergence of the AfCFTA on member states as well as non-member states. This is because, as yet, no systematic attempt has been made to explore the AfCFTA in the context of IB research, or project future IB research directions. Hence, in this paper, using the PRISMA method we have systematically identified the current published research and scholarly work on the AfCFTA and provided a robust picture of the current state of knowledge and available literature on the AfCFTA while at the same time outlining potential areas for future international business research
    • Liquidity dynamics between virtual and equity markets

      Huang, Sherena S. (2024-03)
      This paper estimates liquidity dynamics between virtual and real assets from multiple dimensions, namely market capacity, transaction cost and market efficiency. The data covers transaction information of crypto markets and four equity exchanges (US, UK, EU and Japan) between January 2019 and December 2022. The first result shows a two-way liquidity risk feedback loop between virtual and real markets, and the second result confirms dynamic liquidity interactions between them. The US market is identified as a transmitter rather than a receiver of liquidity risk but may not escape cumulative liquidity shocks.
    • Design and implementation of an IIoT driven information system: A case study

      Gupta, S.; Modgil, S.; Bhushan, B.; Sivarajah, Uthayasankar; Banerjee, S. (2023-11)
      Information systems are critical for companies since they offer quick and easy access to complex and significant data in a structured manner to make informed and effective business decisions. Hence, the objective of this study is to conceptualize and implement an innovative information system in the case study organization. The study identified the requirements for Organizing Vision Theory (OVT) and developed architecture based on Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT). This architecture is designed and developed using the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to support a self-organizing vision and enhanced information processing. The study’s contribution lies in developing and executing an integrative architecture of IIoT-driven information systems from the lenses of OVT and OIPT. Further, this study contributes by mapping OVT elements (such as transparency, continuity, and coherence) and OIPT elements (information processing needs and capabilities) to drive value and knowledge through a robust architecture of IIoT-driven information systems. The study also highlights the contribution of IIoT-based information systems to a new knowledge system, facilitating better decision-making by professionals.
    • Trust and employment protection legislation

      Jayakody, Shashitha; Morelli, D.; Nica, M.; Oberoi, J. (2024-01)
      We examine the role of generalized social trust in substituting for employment protection legislation. Using foreign direct investment from the US to a sample of OECD countries, we find that trust diminishes the importance of formal employment regulations in investment attractiveness.
    • Mandatory CSR disclosure, institutional ownership and firm value: Evidence from China

      Shah, S.Z.A.; Akbar, Saeed; Zhu, X. (Wiley, 2023)
      This study aims to contribute to the relevant accounting, corporate gover-nance, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature by examining thevalue relevance of mandatory CSR disclosures in China. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) research design and a sample based on propensity scorematching (PSM) over the period from 2003 to 2020, our findings suggest thatmandatory CSR disclosures are negatively associated with firm' values. We alsofind that firms with a high level of institutional ownership and leverage experi-ence a relatively lower drop in firms' values as a result of the mandatory CSRdisclosures. These findings remain robust to alternative sampling design, use of market to book value as an alternative measure of firms' market-based performance, and a parallel test to validate our DID analysis. Our findings have useful implications for managers, regulators, policy makers and other stakeholders.
    • Financing constraints, intellectual property rights protection and incremental innovation: Evidence from transition economy firms

      Abdin, J.; Sharma, A.; Trivedi, Rohit; Wang, Chengang (2024-01)
      Despite a growing literature, the relationship between financing constraints (FC), intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and firm innovation remains unclear within the transitional country context. Drawing on endogenous growth theory and extending the Gorodnichenko and Schnitzer (2013) framework, we hypothesize that in addition to firm-specific factors, country-level variables manifested within FC hamper incremental innovation, albeit in varying degrees due to industry heterogeneity. Secondly, as opposed to previous studies that solely focus on FC affecting firm innovation, we propose that due to resource constraints, firms in transition economies tend to follow an imitational innovation strategy, and therefore, from this perspective, IPR protection can be crucial for firm-level innovation within those economies. Using data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) consisting of information for about 21,960 firms from 27 Eastern European and Central Asian transition countries and employing a two-step probit model with endogenous regressors, we find that adverse effects of FC and IPR on firms' innovation activities are driven from within as well as between industries. Focusing on the differential impacts of FC and IPR protection across industries, we direct potential causal pathways from easing FC and optimal IPR protection to encourage firms' innovation. Based on the findings, while very strict IPR protection is detrimental to firms' product and process innovation in industries with limited resource and skill capabilities, it is nevertheless helpful for research and development (R&D) activities in industries characterised by strong R&D and IP capacities. Our results offer useful insights for policymakers to support incremental innovation as well as boost invention. IPR protection policies require to be customised to the industries and firms, since invariably tight or lax IPR enforcement can be discouraging to both incremental and radical innovation, causing all industries suffering from the same treatment.
    • Cyber governance in Africa: at the crossroads of politics, sovereignty and cooperation

      Ifeanyi-Ajufo, Nnenna (2023-01)
      Africa has recently focused on an ambition to achieve digital transformation through the pursuit of various flagship initiatives which are aimed at achieving its ‘Agenda 2063’ objectives. Digital transformation will be better achieved through appropriate cyber governance policies and mechanisms, and the success of Africa’s Digital Transformation Strategy 2020-2030 hinges on diverse factors. According to the Strategy, African governments have a fundamental responsibility to create an enabling environment, with policies and regulations that promote digital transformation across foundation pillars, which include cybersecurity. The Strategy also stipulates the need to reinforce the region’s human and institutional capacity to secure the cyberspace by building trust and confidence in the use of cyber technologies. The aim of the paper is to examine Africa’s cyber governance agenda in relation to peace and security. While there are political dimensions to determining the thresholds of such discourses in Africa, the uncertainties of governance mechanisms, political underpinnings and limitations in digital capacity may mean that international standards of cyber governance have merely been theoretical in the African context. The paper examines Africa’s extant policies and political strategies for cyber governance, and the region’s interaction with international cyber governance processes. The paper further discusses the prospects and challenges to cyber governance in the region, and the approaches to leveraging international cooperation in promoting cyber stability in the region.
    • Evaluating the intention to use Industry 5.0 (I5.0) drones for cleaner production in sustainable food supply chains: an emerging economy context

      Mahroof, Kamran; Omar, Amizan; Vann Yaroson, E.; Tenebe, S.A.; Rana, Nripendra P.; Sivarajah, Uthayasankar; Weerakkody, Vishanth J.P. (Emerald Publishing, 2023)
      Purpose – The purpose of this study is to evaluate food supply chain stakeholders’ intention to use Industry 5.0 (I5.0) drones for cleaner production in food supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – We used a quantitative research design and collected data using an online survey administered to a sample of 264 food supply chain stakeholders in Nigeria. The partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was conducted to assess the research’s hypothesised relationships. Findings – We provide empirical evidence to support the contributions of I5.0 drones for cleaner production. Our findings showed that food supply chain stakeholders are more concerned with the use of I5.0 drones in specific operations such as reducing plant diseases which invariably enhances cleaner production. However, there is less inclination to drones adoption if the aim was pollution reduction, predicting seasonal output and addressing workers health and safety challenges. Our findings outline the need for awareness to promote the use of drones for addressing workers hazard challenges and knowledge transfer on the potentials of I5.0 in emerging economies. Originality – This is the first study to address I5.0 drones' adoption using a sustainability model. We contribute to existing literature by extending the sustainability model to identify the contributions of drones use in promoting cleaner production through addressing specific system operations. This study addresses the gap by augmenting a sustainability model, suggesting that technology adoption for sustainability is motivated by curbing challenges categorised as drivers and mediators.
    • Achieving Food Supply Chain Resilience during Natural Disasters through Industry 5.0 enablers - Empirical insights based on an FsQCA approach

      Mandal, S.; Kar, K.A.; Gupta, S.; Sivarajah, Uthayasankar (2023-10-21)
      The purpose of this research is to establish the necessary and sufficient conditions for food safety and security during pandemic outbreaks, focusing on the case of COVID-19 to ensure resilience of the food supply chain. The study emphasises on the complexity theory of fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), to establish a result-driven definition of Industry 5.0 (I5.0) during and post pandemics. The results of this study revealed that a combination of conditions derived from pandemic policy related reforms and I5.0 enablers will assist manufacturers and suppliers in establishing food safety and security during and post the COVID-19 era in a developing economy. Food safety and security being the goal, based on a survey of 140 food companies, this study provides insights to manufacturers and policymakers to enable selective implementation of I5.0 enabling technologies and pandemic policies.
    • The impact of compliance, board committees and insider CEOs on firm survival during crisis

      Ahmad, S.; Ullah, S.; Akbar, Saeed; Kodwani, D.; Brahma, S. (ELSEVIER, 2024-01)
      This study investigates the relationship between internal corporate governance mechanisms and firm survival during a financial crisis. Using a sample of FTSE 350 listed companies for the time period 2003–2010, our results show significant differences in the corporate governance mechanisms of firms that survived and those that failed during the 2007–2009 financial crisis. The findings indicate that compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code is negatively associated with the survival of firms when they experience exogenous shocks. However, the existence of insider CEOs and a higher number of board committees in organisations increase the chances of survival during an economic downturn. These findings have policy implications and show that non-compliance with a prescribed code of corporate governance does not necessarily lead to poor governance. Moreover, the establishment of extra board committees and CEO succession planning are shown as important dynamics in firms’ strategic decisions, as they have implications for the survival of firms during difficult economic conditions.
    • Internationalization and firm performance: Moderating role of multi-stakeholder initiatives

      Park, Sang-Bum (Emerald, 2023)
      Purpose – Previous scholars have assumed that multinational enterprises (MNEs) can reduce the liability of foreignness and increase profitability by investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, empirical validation of this assumption has rarely been attempted. This study provides empirical evidence that the adoption of multi-stakeholder initiatives, which are globally recognized as signals of CSR, helps MNEs increase profits from internationalization. Design/methodology/approach – Fixed effect models, which address model misspecification problems, and instrumental variable estimation, which controls for the endogeneity in firms’ choice of internationalization, offer empirical evidence supporting the moderating effects of global multi-stakeholder initiatives on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance. Findings – This study examines the moderating role of multi-stakeholder initiatives in the relationship between internationalization and firm performance, drawing on signaling and stakeholder theories. The results suggest that the signaling effect of multi-stakeholder initiatives can help MNEs overcome the liability of foreignness and, therefore, profit from overseas markets. Originality/value – Although the internationalization–firm performance relationship has been a subject of debate in the field of international business, the role of firms’ stakeholder engagement in this relationship has been largely overlooked in previous studies. In this study, we explore the impact of multi-stakeholder initiatives on the internationalization–firm performance relationship. Our primary contention is that multi-stakeholder initiatives have moderating effects on this relationship by reducing the liability of foreignness experienced by MNEs in host countries. Furthermore, our findings suggest that active engagement in multi-stakeholder initiatives significantly contributes to the financial success of MNEs as they internationalize.
    • The top 100 global water questions: Results of a scoping exercise

      Mdee, A.; Ofori, A.; Lopez-Gonzalez, G.; Stringer, L.; Martin-Ortega, J.; Ahrari, S.; Dougill, A.; Evans, B.; Holden, J.; Kay, P.; et al. (2022-05-20)
      Global water security presents a complex problem for human societies and will become more acute as the impacts of climate change escalate. Water security connects the practical water and sanitation challenges of households to the dynamics of global hydroclimates and ecosystems in the Anthropocene. To ensure the successful deployment of attention and resources, it is necessary to identify the most pressing questions for water research. Here, we present the results of a scoping exercise conducted across the global water sector. More than 400 respondents submitted an excess of 4,000 potential questions. Drawing on expert analysis, we highlight 100 indicative research questions across six thematic domains: water and sanitation for human settlements; water and sanitation safety risk management; water security and scarcity; hydroclimate-ecosystem-Anthropocene dynamics; multi-level governance; and knowledge production. These questions offer an interdisciplinary and multi-scalar framework for guiding the nature and space of water research for the coming decades.
    • Analysis of experience using human rights to accelerate WASH access in four countries

      Gosling, L.; Rai, T.; Obani, Pedi; Traore, M.A.; Ouangre, L.; Aliu, F.; Shah, S.K. (2022-06)
      Human rights to water and sanitation have been widely recognised in legal instruments at the international, regional, and national levels of governance. More awareness of states’ obligations has provided additional impetus to promote human rights in policy advocacy. The international non-governmental organisation WaterAid, as a non-state actor specialising in the water, sanitation, and hygiene services (WASH) sector, adopts a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to WASH programming. This paper draws on the experiences from WaterAid WASH projects in four countries – Nepal, Ghana, Mali, and Burkina Faso, to evaluate the practical impacts of the HRBA to ensure that governments fulfil their responsibility to realise universal access to water and sanitation services in different contexts. The outcomes highlight that three important contributions of the HRBA: (1) generates greater awareness among rightsholders and duty bearers about responsibilities and entitlements over safe drinking water and sanitation; (2) promotes constructive engagement between the government and rightsholders; and (3) equips people with the motivation, skills, and agency which are critical dimensions to work on sustainable WASH. The WASH sector should, therefore, embrace the power of human rights and invest in the specific activities and frameworks to integrate human rights into systems strengthening the WASH sector, while continuing to analyse and learn how to adapt and improve the approach in different contexts.
    • The human rights to water and sanitation

      Misiedjan, D.; Obani, Pedi (Edward Elgar, 2021-10)
      The human right to water offers a strong legal tool for empowering millions of people living without safe drinking water around the world by creating legal obligations and standards for universal access to safe drinking water. The human right to sanitation creates legal obligations and standards for progressive improvement of access for the bil lions of people living without a basic level of sanitation services and the millions depending on open defecation. Both rights have evolved through closely linked processes at the international level, with implications for water and sanitation governance processes at the national level. This chapter analyses the co-evolution of the human rights to water and sanitation and the legal foundations of the rights at the international level, while highlighting the relationship between the rights and discussing the unique developments which each right has experienced. The chapter also considers the implementation chal- lenges and justiciability issues that will shape the future development of both rights at the international and national levels.
    • ‘Judging’ Lesbians: Prospects for Advancing Lesbian Rights Protection through Courts in Nigeria

      Obani, Pedi (Routledge, 2021)
      Nigeria is one of many countries in Africa that criminalize same-sex relations, and this has been reinforced by law enforcement agencies and the courts. As part of efforts to protect LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) persons from various forms of discrimination and violence, the growing LGBTQ movement sometimes approaches the court for rights enforcement. There is a dearth of cases specifically focused on lesbian rights except for a 2018 case, Pamela Adie v. Corporate Affairs Commission. This limits empirical evidence for assessing the role of the courts but also strengthens the case for an enquiry into how the courts can protect lesbians in Nigeria against discrimination on the grounds of their sexual identity. This chapter analyzes how intersecting categories of gender, sexual orientation, class, and location affect lesbians’ experiences of discrimination. It also explores impediments in laws and the formal justice system that result in discrimination, thereby affecting access to justice. The analysis reveals opportunities for the courts to adopt a proactive approach to interpreting fundamental rights guarantees in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. Pragmatic recommendations are made for a multi-stakeholder approach and cross-jurisdictional learning.
    • COVID-19 and the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation

      Obani, Pedi (Routledge, 2021-06-30)
      The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic coincides with the tenth anniversary of the recognition of the rights to water and sanitation within the United Nations system. Although water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) remain critical for COVID-19 infection prevention and control, billions of people around the world lack access to basic WASH services in different spheres of life. Mostly affected are people living in vulnerable situations. While the pandemic has significantly impacted regulatory practices and access, key actors in the WASH sector continue to adopt diverse approaches to ensure safety, continuity, and reliability of supply. This chapter explores how COVID-19 influences WASH services and how the rights to water and sanitation can ultimately strengthen resilience to health pandemics? It makes recommendations from the perspective of inclusive development theory, for strengthening WASH sector governance towards ensuring the progressive realization of the rights to water and sanitation during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. Experiences with the coronavirus pandemic illustrate the crucial importance of access to water and sanitation as basic human rights and as necessities for the realization of health, education, food, gender equality, and other human rights (United Nations 2020). Emergent issues, particularly include the high public health risks associated with lack of water and sanitation and the disproportionate burden borne by women and girls, transgendered people, people living in informal settlements, people living with disabilities, the urban poor, migrant workers, workers in the informal sector, people who are sick or living with underlying health conditions, the elderly, school-aged children, and other groups living in vulnerable situations (Banerji 2020; Tan 2020; UNESCO n.d.). These highlight intersecting layers of inequalities in different situations of vulnerability and the interconnectedness of human rights. The pandemic has also demonstrated the imperative of leaving no one behind and ensuring universal access to water and sanitation to achieve sustainable development. From Africa to the Pan-European region, it is a similar picture: there are remarkable inequities in access to water and sanitation based on whether people live in urban or rural areas, whether people are rich or poor, and whether they have any special circumstances which render them vulnerable (Local Burden of Disease WaSH Collaborators 2020; Wang et al. 2019; World Health Organization & UN-Water 2019; United Nations 2020). Furthermore, because of the pandemic, several assumptions and modes of service delivery need to be reexamined to ensure continued suitability for promoting universal access to water and sanitation. It is in light of these realizations that this chapter examines the question: How has COVID-19 influenced water, sanitation and hygiene services and how can the rights to water and sanitation strengthen resilience in health pandemics? This question is addressed from the perspective of inclusive development theory which emphasizes the need to address the social, relational, and ecological aspects of human development (Gupta, Pouw, & Ros-Tonen 2015).
    • Climate Litigation in South Africa and Nigeria: Legal Opportunities and Gender Perspectives

      Obani, Pedi (2024-01-25)
      This chapter explores climate change cases from South Africa and Nigeria through a legal opportunity structures (LOS) lens. Understanding the effects of LOS is critical for sustaining climate litigation momentum across countries. Further, the academic literature on climate litigation hardly covers gender issues, even though women’s vulnerability to adverse climate change impacts and limited access to resources for adaptation are widely acknowledged. The receptivity of the existing LOS to women’s unique experiences affects their ability to engage in climate litigation and prospects for accessing climate justice through the courts. The chapter, therefore, undertakes a gender-sensitive analysis of the relevant literature, laws and decisions of courts from South Africa and Nigeria to conceptualize the LOS for climate litigation.
    • Climate policy uncertainty and firm-level total factor productivity: Evidence from China

      Ren, X.; Zhang, X.; Yan, C.; Gozgor, Giray (2022-09)
      Using 2605 Chinese A-share listed companies in the mining, manufacturing, and energy production and supply sectors from 2009 to 2020, we examine the relationship between climate policy uncertainty (CPU) and firm-level total factor productivity (TFP). The main findings are as follows: First, CPU significantly reduces firm-level TFP, with a greater impact on low-productivity firms than on high-productivity firms; second, the negative effect of CPU on firm-level TFP is most pronounced for non-state-owned, labor-intensive, and capital-intensive companies; third, CPU hinders research and development investment and reduces the amount of free cash flow. These results indicate that CPU exerts negative impacts on firm-level TFP mainly via its effects on the capital status of the companies. Our findings remain valid after a series of robustness tests and controlling for endogeneity. The government should introduce forward-looking climate policies to reduce the negative impact of policy uncertainty.