CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: A STUDY OF LISTED FIRMS IN NIGERIA

This study investigated the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure practices of Nigerian quoted companies and their determinants. A checklist of 20 attributes was developed to capture the social and environmental disclosures from the annual reports of 45 companies from 8 sectors quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange over a two-year period (2013 to 2014). The determinants of disclosure were proxied by company size, profitability and auditor type. Company size was measured by total assets, profitability was measured by return on equity (ROE), and auditor type was measured by a dummy variable, ‘1‘ for Big 4 and ’0‘ for otherwise. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression. The findings revealed that, the level of CSR was 44%, made up of social disclosure (68%) and environmental disclosure (6%). Findings also revealed that CSR was influenced by company size and auditor type; but not by profitability. This paper recommends a mandatory CSR reporting framework in line with international best practice for all listed companies in Nigeri

ACHIEVING ZERO WASTE OPERATION IN A PRIVATE ORGANISATION THROUGH EXTENDED STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTATION: A CASE IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION, NIGERIA

This paper focused on addressing the effects of operational issues on the stakeholders to a private organisation. The findings show that the implementation of stakeholders’ involvement lent support to effective zero waste practice in this research. It is an action research, carried out in a case study of a commercial livestock farm, using workshop and interviews as key data collection methods. The research considered the interest of the affected and involved stakeholders in identifying and deliberating on key operational issues such as live-stock waste management and mortality. Suggestions and decisions result in effective approach to addressing stakeholders’ marginalisation through a participatory research process, which led to a zero-waste operational practice. The research concludes with the suggestion for a mixed method to explore the topic in future research in a private sector organisation

Challenges of Technology-Based Entrepreneurial Firms on Performance Drive in Nigeria

In today’s continuously changing and dynamic business environment, no industry has been left behind by the revolutionary effect of technology. Technology has caused noticeable fundamental changes in the way companies operate and conduct their activities.  This empirical paper was guided by a robust conceptual model that identifies the challenges of technological-based firms that manacle their performance drive. Three typologies of challenges namely, internal, external, and external linkages were examined for their effects on performance. Data was collected from top technology-based firms using factor and multiple regression analyses. We found both similarities and dissimilarities in the outcomes of the study. Specifically, both internal and external challenges are significantly associated with the restraints experienced by technology-based firms performance drive. Theoretical external linkages to contest these challenges and managerial implications of the findings are presented

Technology Entrepreneurship: Pathway to Industry-University Engagement

Technology entrepreneurship is a concept that describes technology-driven entrepreneurship whereby technology is leveraged upon on to achieve entrepreneurial success. The countries called ASIAN tigers emerged on the platform of technology entrepreneurship. This study attempted the use of case studies to describe University- Industry transformation on society drawing strength from the theory of planned behaviour. It is premised upon the belief that universities can facilitate their partnerships with industry by developing competencies in the area of technology. Renowned world economies revolutionized on the bases of technology entrepreneurship. The current statistics in turn revealed that nine out of top ten firms in the world are technology-based. The study proposes that universities should embark on planned behaviour towards development-driven research in the area of technology. It further recommends that innovation culture should be strategically integrated into the university system for enhanced societal and economic impact

Developing a Model for Employees’ Intrapreneurial Engagement and Organizational Survival

The survival of any organisation in the midst of economic hardship and competitiveness is becoming a serious concern. One of the strategies organisations can adopt is to tap into the intrapreneurial potentials of their employees. The main objective of this study examines the strategic roles of employees’ intrapreneurial engagement and its implication for organisational survival. A descriptive research method (Structural Equation Model {AMOS 22}) was applied to analyse the two hundred and fifty-nine (259) copies of valid questionnaire completed by the respondents using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. However, the study indicated that fostering employees’ intrapreneurial engagement have positive significant implications on organisational survival. This suggests that employees’ empowerment, involvement, autonomy, relationships and reward system have significant effects on organisational survival. It is therefore recommended that organisations should challenge their employees by providing them with autonomy and the freedom to innovate and carve out spaces for them to take risks and experiment

Bolstering the role of human resource information system on employees’ behavioural outcomes of selected manufacturing firms in Nigeria

The efficient use of an organisation’s valuable human resources is crucial to its success. Orga�nizations are embracing HRIS more and more to ensure the efficient utilization of their human resources (a relatively new technology in HRM). However, enterprises, especially manufacturing firms, are lagging in reaping the benefits of modern technology due to a slew of challenges. To close the stated gaps, the current study investigated the role of human resource information system on employees’ behavioural outcomes in selected manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The diffusion of innovation theory was used to explain the inevitability of new technology in HRM. The target population comprised managers and supervisors of Nigeria’s selected Fast Moving Consumer Goods firms (FMCGs). Specifically, the purposive sampling technique was adopted to select the participants for this study. Copies of the questionnaire was used to collect data from a diverse cross-section of the managers and supervisors. The information collected was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that manpower planning information, performance appraisal information and succession planning information are predictors of em�ployees’ behavioural outcomes. It was concluded that management apprehension, employee privacy concerns, internal organisational opposition, and conversion costs are the most significant barriers to effective HRIS implementation. Finally, several quantifiable approaches to improve new technology in HRM were proffered

Contribution of small and mediumenterprisesto economic development: Evidencefroma transitingeconomy

The focusofthisresearchwastopresentadataarticleonthe contribution ofSMEstoeconomicdevelopmentinatransiting economy.Descriptiveresearchdesignwasadoptedinthisstudy. Data wereobtainedfrom600respondentsin60small-scale enterprises locatedindifferentpartsofthecountry(20small-scale enterprises locatedinLagosState,20inAnambraStateand20in Kano StateofNigeriarespectively).Dataanalysiswascarriedout using tablesandpercentagesandthenullhypothesesofthestudy wastestedusingchi-square(X2) inferentialstatisticalmodelat5% level ofsignificance. The findings revealedthatthereisasig- nificant relationshipbetweentheoperationofsmallandmedium- scale enterprisesandeconomicgrowthindevelopingnations

An integrated data set on organisational culture, job satisfaction and performance in the hospitality industry

The relevanceoforganisationalcultureonjobsatisfactionand performance particularlywithinthehospitalitysectorcannotbe over-emphasized.Thecultureofanorganizationgoesalongway in distinguishingitfromotherorganizationsbecauseitshowsits ability toeitherbesuccessfulortofail.Tohoweverachieve excellenceandhigh-levelperformance,itisimportanttonotethat for effectiveandefficient operation,anorganizationwouldneeda formal approachofcommunicationaswellasformakingdecisions and completingthetaskstomatchtheneedsoftheorganization. The managerialimplicationsdrawnfromthestudyisthatorga- nizations shouldtakeadvantageoftheircultureandinculcate valuesthatwillenhanceperformanc

PROMOTING THE CULTURE OF KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION PERFORMANCE IN THE SELECTED PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS

Knowledge is viewed as the utmost critical asset for well-improved performance and gaining competitive advantage. Due to existing competitive work milieu characterized by high uncertainty and intense global competition, organisations across the globe continually experience diverse challenges of innovative technologies, cultural syndrome and competencies for sustaining performance especially among the professional organisations. It has been observed that these organisations in Nigeria have consistently been faced with the most uncertain environment and increasing pressure from various competitors to remain in market. Therefore, this paper examined the role of knowledge creation on innovation performance among Professional organisations. The four ontological dimensions (socialization, externalization, combination and internalization) of knowledge creation were explored. This study adopted descriptive design and mixed method (Sequential explanatory approach) to get information from 328 employees of professional organisations that were conveniently and purposively selected. The use of questionnaire (quantitative) was adopted and the data collected were analysed using measurement and structural modeling to obtain the path co-efficient. The finding indicated that employees acquire and create new knowledge through brainstorming and sharing of experiences among them. It was recommended that professional organisations should provide a platform where newly created knowledge can be distributed (diffused) to employees to gain more experiences and skills

BRAND ASSOCIATION AND AFFECTIVE LOYALTY IN SELECTED DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS

Banks across the world are expected to build powerful brands that communicate their values through every point of contact they have with customers; particularly in services that need a great deal of interaction between customers and front-line employees. Brand association has a direct influence on customers’ trust, commitment, and satisfaction in the banking industry. However, as competition becomes intense and switching costs are actively innovated against, modern banks in developing countries need an inclusive understanding of what drives loyalty in customers. The charges placed on specific bank services such as card maintenance fees, notification charges are major threats in the Nigerian banking system as price sensitive customers still feel reluctant in associating with specific banks. As a result, deposit money banks are faced with challenges of high marketing costs in attracting new customers and retaining existing customers which on the long run affects brand association. Hence, this study ascertains the extent to which brand association can be used to influence the affective loyalty of customers in Nigerian deposit money banks. The study adopted a descriptive research design to obtain the opinion of customers on brand association and affective loyalty. The descriptive research design was adopted and the study population consists of customers of the five selected banks in Lagos State, Nigeria. A multiple (purposive, stratified and convenience) sampling was adopted and a structured questionnaire was developed to acquire quantitative data from the customers of the five selected banks. The data were analysed with the Statistical Package for Social Solutions (SPSS) version 25. This findings indicate that successful brand association helps consumers to recognise customer preferences and differentiate brands from their rivals, with the result that customers are more likely to patronise their brands. The study recommends that, convenience hours should be introduced into the banking system in order to afford customers coming into the banking hall as at when opportune as this will increase the customer base and attachment with the bank