Logistics Preparedness During Health Emergencies in Ghana

This paper sought to investigate logistics preparedness of Ghanaian institutions during health emergencies.Two hundred and fifty-seven (257)respondents drawn from the security and other agencies within the EffutuMunicipality in the Central region of Ghana constituted the sample size. The authors used structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the study’s model and hypotheses.The study revealedthat, the availability of logistical support during emergencies is inadequate for efficient emergency management. Regarding logistical preparedness of health professionals and security agencies, there is much needs to be doneto attain the minimum acceptable standards. Thestudy further discovered that logistical resources are critical to the collaborative effort of health workers and security agencies.However, it was evident that collaboration among institutions does not necessarily enhance the success of emergency management.The study is significant because the steady rise in Ghana’s population coupled withurbanization has brought in its wake challenges that successive governments have struggled to surmount.The occurrence of frequent disasters meant that a study of this nature is important to bring to the fore the human and material costs, thus awakening the sensitivities of policy makers and authorities mandated to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the citizenry

Supply Chain Intelligence and Operational Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Ghana: The Mediating Role of Collaboration

This paper examines the role of supply chain collaboration in the relationship between supply chain intelligence and operational performance. A sample of 400 small and medium enterprises in Ghana were used to address the research objectives. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling. The findings of the study revealed that, supply chain intelligence positively impacts the operational performance of small and medium scale enterprises in Ghana. Additionally, the study found that supply chain collaboration plays a significant role in enhancing the operational performance of SMEs in Ghana. Finally, the analysis of the study concludes that supply chain collaboration further plays a significant mediating role in increasing the impact of supply chain intelligence and operational performance of small and medium scale enterprises in Ghana. The study is significant because, the findings would help expand existing literature on supply chain intelligence, supply chain collaboration and operational performance, thereby having positive implications on theory, policy, and practice

Empirical conceptualization of Customer loyalty on relationship marketing and sustained competitive advantage

The relational approach to marketing sets customer loyalty as a strategic tool given that many firms have come to realize the economic importance of a loyal customer base.  Most often than not financial institutions tend to depend on tangible resources to gain competitive advantage while placing less emphasis on intangible resources such as customer loyalty. Thus, the main motivation for conducting this research is to ascertain the mediating effect of customer loyalty on relationship marketing strategies and sustained competitive advantage. A questionnaire was extracted from relevant existing literature. It was administered on 300 bank relationship officers in Ghana with the underlying reason that they have what it takes to establish linkages among the various constructs. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to assess the impact of customer loyalty on relationship marketing strategies and sustained competitive advantage. The study revealed that, there is a positive relationship between research marketing strategies and sustained competitive advantage (  = .198, p< 0.131). But this impact is not significant as the significant level is 0.131, which is way above the standard significant value of 0.05. Thus, holding all other variables constant, relationship market strategies will have an impact of 19.8% on sustained competitive advantage though the impact is not significant (i.e. 0.131). The situation seems different when customer loyalty was introduced as a mediating factor. Findings show that, holding all other variables constant, customer loyalty accounts for 40.9 % change in sustained competitive advantage. In quintessence, this result proves that a unit change in customer level will induce 40.9% change in the sustenance of the banks’ competitive advantage. In other words when customer loyalty is increased by 1%, suggests that sustained competitive advantage will be increased by 40.9%. The significance level of this outcome in reference to the study results was 0.000, which is less than the typical value of 0.01 indicating that the variance between the two variables in question was perfectly significant. The study recommends to banks wishing to attain sustained competitive advantage to first focus their relationship marketing strategies on achieving customer loyalty by effectively communicating customers’ needs, exhibit high degree of professionalism in the discharge of their banking duties and be prompt in handling customers grievances