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Ramnund-Mansingh, Aradhana; Naidoo, Kiveshni
2023 African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
doi: 10.1108/ajems-07-2022-0270
Countries in Africa have undergone an unprecedented transformation that has shaped the continent as they move ahead from the clutches of colonialism. The evolution of leadership and how organisations function optimally has given rise to the review of leadership approaches and practices, revolutionising its position in the global markets. With the recent spate of global suffering from the pandemic, the formal and traditional work structures are becoming transient. At the same time, the economic consequences of the Russo-Ukrainian crisis have catastrophic effects globally.Design/methodology/approachThe research was conducted via a systematic review of scientific sources from various academic websites. Eligibility criteria were defined with the agreement of pertinent themes and concepts.FindingsBy evaluating and analysing characteristics and success indicators from the blend of leadership competencies ascertained from Afrocentric principles in response to African associated problems, Africa can cement its leadership concepts without following the global north principles. These philosophies are resilient enough to contend with a range of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) complexities, including the impact of the recent global pandemic of immeasurable proportions and the prospect of war as the Russo-Ukrainian conflict intensifies.Originality/valueWithin the African environment, there is a greater focus on the human element in shared values, holistic well-being, cooperation and experience. The global community band together to deal with these complexities. This is a typical example of global connectedness with positive and negative connotations.
Kilu, Rufai Haruna; Sanda, Mohammed-Aminu; Alacovska, Ana
2023 African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
doi: 10.1108/ajems-07-2022-0305
There is growing scholarly discourse towards COVID-19 pandemic and creative entrepreneurship in the perspectives of Global South. Extant literature lacks sufficient empirical evidence on the subject matter. This paper therefore provides insights into business models and business model shifts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic among creative entrepreneurs in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachIn working towards achieving the purpose of the study, a qualitative design was deployed. Four artistic communities in three regions were understudied. The study conducted working interviews, Focus Group Discussions and field observations on the creative entrepreneurs.FindingsThe results showed a unique business model that captured ministries, agencies and departments; traditional authorities, foreigners and the diaspora community as key creative partners. The creative entrepreneurs equally proposed value via quality deliveries, attractive pattern mix, pure handy crafts, mart finishing, imbibing culture into productions and symbolic meanings. Their key activities include cutting and gluing, sewing and coloring, sketching and prototyping, annual Kente festivals, film shooting and editing. The creatives stream revenue through sales, advances, profit margins, contracts, gate proceeds, loans, friends and family support. The results also point at a regime of business model shifts among the creatives, deploying digitalization and diversification in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.Research limitations/implicationsThe research by design is limited to the qualitative tradition; despite knowing well about the quantitative approach that could have provided a wider scope and coverage for effective generalizability. Certainly, it would be of future research interest to design a comparative mix-method study to achieve a wider coverage feat. Indeed, the paper does achieve the goal of providing an original empirical account, hence making a valid contribution to knowledge in the area of study.Practical implicationsThe knowledge on demystified business models relative to the Ghanaian creative entrepreneurs has practical implications for practice: first, it generates a ground-up knowledge as to what creative entrepreneurial business models are, why they exist and exactly how to create one in a Global South perspective.Social implicationsThese creative business models and the COVID-19 induced model shifts among the Ghanaian creative entrepreneurs imply continuous creative livelihoods, sustainable business models and assurance for innovation in creative entrepreneurship space.Originality/valueThe study is of high scientific value, creative entrepreneurial essence and public interest to better demystify creative entrepreneurial business models and theoretically framed them. It offers strong empirical evidence on COVID-19 induced business model shifts. These creative business models and the COVID-19 induced model shifts among the Ghanaian creative entrepreneurs imply continuous creative livelihoods, sustainable business models and assurance for innovation in creative entrepreneurship space.
Mouloudj, Kamel; Bouarar, Ahmed Chemseddine
2023 African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
doi: 10.1108/ajems-08-2022-0315
The purpose of the present paper is to investigate Algerian medical students' intention to participate in volunteer work during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework by integrating the constructs of personal moral norms and perceived risk of COVID-19 and followed a self-administered questionnaire survey to collect data among a convenience sample of medical students (n = 267) in five Algerian universities. The data obtained were analyzed through a hierarchical multiple regression process in which three models were considered.FindingsFindings of this study show that attitude toward volunteering, perceived behavior control (PBC), personal moral norm and subjective norm significantly and positively predicted medical students' intention to engage in volunteer work during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, students' perceived risk of COVID-19 significantly and negatively predicted students' intention to participate in volunteer activities. Moreover, the authors' analyses showed that the extended TPB model explained 75.1% of the variance of intention.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study have implications for understanding medical students' volunteer behavior during health crises. Some implications are provided for the crisis and emergency managers of hospitals and policymakers to attract and recruit enough medical students' volunteers for future waves of COVID-19 or other similar health crises.Originality/valueThis is the first paper from Algeria and one of the few from Africa that identifies predictors of intentions to participate in volunteer activities among medical students.
2023 African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
doi: 10.1108/ajems-07-2022-0308
The workspace has experienced several significant changes (shift in work culture) due to the Covid-19 pandemic thereby necessitating the need for a comparative assessment of differences that exist in work values and job quality of employees pre-covid 19 and “peri”-covid 19.Design/methodology/approachThe Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was employed to conduct a correlation and T-test analysis from the quantitative data gathered from Ghanaian public and private sector employees.FindingsThe study found differences in what employees valued pre- and peri-covid era for job security, promotional opportunities, interesting work, using skills and experience, the usefulness of work to society and flexible work. During the pre-covid era, employees perceived autonomy, personal contact and stressful jobs, whereas promotional opportunities, good collegial relations and help to others were experienced peri-covid.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the study tracked the work values and quality of employees, the respondents (pre-covid and peri-covid) were different. Responses here captured the views of formal sector workers only. These notwithstanding, the findings are important for explaining changes (work values and job quality) that occurred due to the pandemic. Future research might use a qualitative approach to understand reasons behind these changes.Practical implicationsDue to changes in the working space and the introduction of technology, stress has been impacted positively as employees need not commute frequently to work and work seems to have been simplified. It is therefore safe for organisations to retain changes to people management due to the pandemic.Originality/valueTo the best of my knowledge, this is the first study in the Ghanaian context comparing employees' values and job quality pre- and peri-covid.
Coffie, Rosemary Boateng; Gyimah, Raymond; Boateng, Kofi Agyenim; Sardiya, Alimatu
2023 African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
doi: 10.1108/ajems-04-2022-0138
This study explores how employee engagement (EE) influences employee performance and how this relationship is moderated by job demands and job resources among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in an emerging economy context during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts the survey and quantitative approach to gathering data from 395 MSMEs operating in an emerging economy in sub-Saharan Africa. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares, version 3.0.FindingsThe results reveal that EE significantly influences employee performance among MSMEs during the pandemic. Also, job resources were found to be significant predictors of EE in the MSME sector. In contrast, job demands did not have a significant effect on EE during the pandemic. Finally, job resources but not job demand moderate the relationship between EE and employee performance.Originality/valueThis study is one of the earliest to explore the effects of EE on employee performance and how this relationship is moderated by job resources and job demands in sub-Saharan Africa's MSME sector since the influx of COVID-19.
Harunavamwe, Martha; Kanengoni, Herbert
2023 African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
doi: 10.1108/ajems-07-2022-0306
The study assessed the impact of technostress creators, work–family conflict and perceived organisational support (POS) on work engagement for employees operating within the virtual and hybrid work settings. The idea is to redefine the antecedents of work engagement in work settings that are characterised by excessive technology and work–family conflict.Design/methodology/approachData gathered from 302 academics and support staff employees at a selected university in South Africa were utilised to assess the abovementioned relationships via variance-based structural equation modelling.FindingsThe combined effect of technostress, work–family conflict and POS on work engagement indicates that work–family conflict is a critical component in the relationship between technostress and work engagement. Although POS is seen as a job resource that lessens stress, the study found that the influence of work–family conflict is stronger than that of POS; hence, a negative influence is reported on work engagement. Despite the presence of support, overwhelming technostress creators and work–family conflict issues increase demands and influence work engagement negatively.Research limitations/implicationsThe results noted that, in hybrid and virtual work settings, managers can drive employee engagement by focussing on designing more favourable work–life balance (WLB) policies, providing adequate information communication technology (ICT) support, fostering aspects of positive technology and defining the boundaries between work life and family time.Practical implicationsThe managers need to realise the detrimental effects of both technostress and work–family conflict on work engagement in virtual and hybrid work settings. Expanding the personal and job resources of individuals in hybrid and virtual settings is critical to enable them to meet the additional work demands and to manage the strain imposed by technostress. Instituting relevant organisation support has proved to be inadequate to address the challenges relating to technostress and work–family conflict. Therefore, introducing WLB policies that assist employees to set clear boundaries between work and family time to avoid burn out and spillover is critical. This is especially important when dealing with technostress creators in the remote work setting. Additionally, providing adequate ICT support as well as training related to use of different devices and software should be part of the organisational culture.Social implicationsA manageable and reasonable workload should be maintained bearing in mind the complexity and ambiguity associated with the hybrid work setting. Managers should make allowances for employees to adjust managers' schedules to accommodate personal obligations, as well as adjust employees' workloads to accommodate family responsibilities. As for the coping strategy of technostress and work–family conflict, considering the positive effects of the supportive work environment is important.Originality/valueThis study provides a model on the interaction of the redefined antecedents (technostress and work–family conflict) of work engagement in high-tech environments such as virtual and hybrid work settings.
Bouteraa, Amira; Bouaziz, Fatma
2023 African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
doi: 10.1108/ajems-07-2022-0301
The purpose of this research is to study the impact of talent management practices on organizational resilience in Tunisian firms in times of the sanitary crises due to COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachA hypothetico-deductive approach is adopted. First, it is hypothesized that four talent management practices positively affect organizational resilience. Then, the hypotheses were tested by using quantitative methods. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed with PLS-SEM techniques.FindingsResults show that talent identification positively affects organizational resilience operationalized through the three dimensions of agility, integrity and robustness. Talent development and talent succession planning positively influence the firms' agility only, whilst talent retention had no effect on the three organizational resilience dimensions.Practical implicationsThe findings of this research may be helpful for human resources managers to recognize among talent management practices those that are mostly associated with organizational resilience and its dimensions. This could help them revise some talent management practices and implement those that are lacking to ensure strong and resilient firms, especially in a context characterized by the occurrence of crises of different natures.Originality/valueThe literature review showed that talent management practices and organizational resilience relationships are understudied. This research empirically highlights the relevance of the linkage between them. It contributes to the rare existent works by identifying a significant effect of talent identification on all organizational resilience dimensions and a positive effect of talent development and succession planning on agility.
Yeboah-Assiamah, Emmanuel; Hossain, Farhad; Mamman, Aminu; Rees, Christopher J.
2023 African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
doi: 10.1108/ajems-05-2022-0184
Having the right intent, aspiration, ability and attitude to become an entrepreneur has become the mantra in the extant literature to be driver of entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprise (SME) growth. Why would zealous and ambitious individuals with all rightful attributes so required of entrepreneurs have to fizzle out few years after venturing into business or SMEs? Perhaps these same individuals may relocate to other jurisdictions and would establish successful firms even beyond their imaginations. Beyond the individual’s entrepreneurial attributes, there are other external countervailing forces which either “enable” or “impede” entrepreneurial drive and SME growth processes. Adopting the theory of planned behavior, this study conceptualizes a systems framework to analyze how SMEs either flourish or fail in developing countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study relies on secondary sources of data. It adopts a critical stage review of secondary data.FindingsThe study argues that the interplay of “internal factors” and “external factors” of prospective entrepreneurs provides a useful framework to explain the general SME outlook of an economy. The study postulates that many internally driven prospective SME entrants (with entrepreneurial attitudes, abilities and aspirations) mostly in the developing economies may have their dreams shattered because of obstructive external ecological elements which tend to frustrate new business entrants as well as existing ones.Originality/valueWith the aid of a framework, this study conceptualizes a comprehensive framework to analyze how SMEs either flourish or fail in developing countries.
Kaningini, Euphrasie Wamunzila; Malinga, Christine Mwati; Furaha, Germaine Mirindi; Alulea, Jonathan Pembwe; Castiaux, Annick
2023 African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
doi: 10.1108/ajems-07-2022-0307
The present article aims to determine the factors that explain the intention to adopt electronic commerce among women traders in a developing country like Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a health crisis period.Design/methodology/approachThis study was conducted in the DRC, in Bukavu Town. A convenience sample of 282 respondents consisting of solely women entrepreneurs (importing traders) in Bukavu Town was selected and the structural equation model was used to test the research hypotheses resulted from Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour.FindingsThe finding results showed that only the factors attitude towards electronic commerce adoption and subjective norms which predict women traders' intention to adopt electronic commerce. The analysis shows that about 38.9% of the variation in the dependent variable is explained by the above variables.Originality/valueFew studies have presented technology and electronic commerce adoption as resilience of women entrepreneurs in a time of crisis, despite the abundance of the review literature on adoption. This study provides a new approach to assist women entrepreneurs as well as researchers in understanding the drivers of electronic commerce adoption factors in the DRC.