Influence of Porter’s Diamond Cluster on Pakistan Automotive Industry’s Performance

The purpose of this study was to conduct a theory based contextualization of Porter’s diamond related and supporting industries determinant and investigate the influence of clusters, fostering knowledge and innovation, on the performance of automotive firms in Pakistan. In this empirical study the research methodology entails applying axiology of positivism philosophy, self-administered structured questionnaire after pilot study. The research design was cross-sectional, probability technique was constructed in data collection; data analysis was performed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypothesis was tested through regression model. Size of sample was 194. The study findings noted absence of empirical research on Porter’s diamond in Pakistan in the automotive industry. Related and supporting industries of Porter’s diamond attribute have theoretical and conceptual perspective to provide impetus for firms in automotive industry to realize competitive advantage (CA). The study findings conclusively confirmed the determining force of clusters of related and supporting industries and its significant impact on the performance of the auto sector in Pakistan. The study investigated the automotive industry across multinational corporations (MNCs), private companies and joint ventures (JV). Practical implications are significant for constituencies like practicing managers, academia, and government policy makers. The research study is important owing to its conceptual and practical perspective for industry players and policy makers to help this key large scale manufacturing industry to realize CA by internalizing the related and supporting industries determinant of Porter’s diamond.Keywords: automotive industry, clusters, competitive advantage, national competitive advantage, related and supporting industries.DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-19-05Publication date:July 31st 201

ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITIES AND STRATEGY EXECUTION: A PERSPECTIVE FROM CEOS IN KENYA’S SACCO SECTOR.

The main purpose of this study was to discover the CEO’s perspective on the organizationalcapabilities and strategy execution linkage in Deposit Taking SACCOs in Kenya. This is onthe backdrop that building organizational capabilities can help deal with the strategyexecution challenge that many organizations face. The study evaluatedhow organizationalcapabilities relate to strategy execution. The study was qualitative and involved individual indepthinterviews with 15 CEOs selected from the 164 licensed SACCOs. The study found outthat organizational capabilities influenced strategy execution. The study concludes thatbuilding capabilities in leadership, innovation, collaboration and organizationalrestructuring supports strategy execution. This study offers significant insights and presentsscholars and practitioners in strategic management, policy makers, and the leadership inSACCOs with valuable recommendations. The main recommendation revolves around theneed for SACCOs to be more intentional about building organizational capabilities that drivestrategy execution.Key Words: Strategy, Execution, Organizational Capabilities, SACCO

Influence of Manager Personality on Strategy Implementation in Private Universities in Kenya

The human element reflected in psychological characteristics has been ignored by organizations despite studies pointing to the human factor as an obstacle towards successfully implementing organizational strategies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of manager personality on strategy implementation in private universities in Kenya. Data was collected from 360 top, middle level managers and lecturers in 23 private universities in Kenya. Hypothesis were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM), path analysis. The study revealed that manager personality has a positive and significant influence on the strategy implementation of private universities in Kenya

The role of leaders in building research cultures in sub-Saharan African universities : a six-nation study

Existing research attributes the problem of weak research productivity of academics in African universities primarily to institutional resource poverty and inadequate research skills. However, there has been little attention to research cultures and the role of leaders in fostering productive ones. Drawing from the literature on organizational culture, this study examines the role of university leaders in developing research cultures. The study explores how institution leaders do this within the higher education contexts in their countries. The empirical work is based on qualitative interviews with senior and mid-level university leaders in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. While all of the leaders espoused clear views about the elements of a productive research culture, results indicate a significant gap remains between espoused values for research and the actual research culture. Theoretically, the research extends the concept of research cultures by demonstrating the complex dynamics between research cultures, culture embedding mechanisms, and leader behavior within contextual constraints.ESRC Impact Accelerator Account, School of Education, University of Nottingham; Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education and the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary and Education, Innovation, Science, and Technology Development, Zimbabwe; Central University (Ghana) Research Seed Funds; Lagos Business School, Nigeria and North-West University, South Africa.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rajm202023-09-19hj2022Human Resource Managemen