Opportunities and Challenges of the Ugandan Business Environment

This book contains findings of eight of the several research projects sponsored by the Investment Climate and Business Environment (ICBE) Research Fund in Uganda. It's an effort to provide evidence to inform policy that improves the business environment in Uganda. The findings coincide with the efforts of the government to implement policies and programs targeting private sector development, solving daunting problems of unemployment, economic growth and development. The studies have been carried out by Ugandans and address issues pertinent to the Ugandan economy, but also to other developing countries

Measurement Model of Co-Ordination Mechanism in Uganda’s Local Governments

Multi level confirmatory analysis was used to evaluate the factor structure underlying the 21-item four factor co-ordination scale at the Local Government level. Results from 212 Local Governments supported a correlated 4 factor model at each levels and indicated that the item loadings were not significantly (p < 0.05) different across levels. There was strong Convergent Validity for the four factor co-ordination scale (composed of plan, mutual adjustment, direct supervision and standardization ) indicated with a higher NFI value of .945. These multi-level results provide support for the construct validity of the scores from co-ordination mechanism scale. Keywords: Local Governments; Co-ordination Mechanisms; Confirmatory Factor Analysi

Competence and ethical behavior of people appointed to contract management post in local governments in Uganda

The purpose of this paper is to establish the impact that competence of staffs may have on the extent to which they behave ethically when managing execution of contracts in their control at local government level. A research was carried out to establish using cross sectional research design. Data was collected using self administered questionnaires covering 52 local governments in Uganda. A response rate of between 73% and 75% was realized with about 39 districts successfully returning the filled up questionnaires. Analysis was done using the SPSS package. Factor analysis was carried out to iron out tendencies of bias in the question items included in the data collection tool (questionnaire). Findings indicated that competence of a staff working in the capacity of contract manager in local governments in Uganda has a great influence on the way that person behaves in the ethical scale. The paper indicates that the more competent one becomes in handling contract management issues, the more ethical that person becomes in the contract management process. Keywords: Competence, Ethical behaviour, Contract managemen

Business process reengineering in developing economies Lessons from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Uganda

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between organizational adaptability, institutional leadership and business process reengineering performance using the tested complexity theory in a developing economy setting. Design/methodology/approach – This study is correlation and cross-sectional and adopts institutionallevel data collected via questionnaires from reengineered microfinance institutions in Uganda. Cluster analysis as data mining technique was used to classify cases based on respondents’ opinions into homogeneous clusters. Nvivo was used to understand the perceptions of business process reengineering performance based on qualitative data. The authors used structural equation modeling to derive the predictive model of business process reengineering performance in a developing world setting. Findings – The authors find that organizational adaptability and institutional leadership are key predictors of business process reengineering performance. Results reveal a predictive model of 61 per cent based on structural equation modeling for the study variables. Cluster analysis as data mining approach explored complex patterns of reengineered business processes. Research limitations/implications – The use of cluster analysis is susceptible to problems associated with sampling error and absence of fit indices. However, the likelihood of these problems is reduced by the interaction with the data, practical implications and use of smart partial least square to generate structural equations based on derived measurement models of each study variable. Practical implications – Policymakers of Bank of Uganda, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, should develop sound policies in relation to knowledge management, institutional leadership and adaptive mechanisms to enhance business process reengineering performance to take advantage of new knowledge opportunities for the improvement of their businesses. Social implications – Given the results from structural equations generated, managers need to consider institutional leadership and organizational adaptability as key drivers of business process reengineering performance in microfinance institutions. The results confirm the significant role of institutional leadership, organizational adaptability in determining business process reengineering performance outcomes. Originality/value – Unlike most of the business process reengineering literature, this study contributes to literature by domesticating and testing complexity theory to explain business process reengineering performance in developing economies

Corporate Image and Organizational Performance of State Owned Enterprises Monitored by Privatization Unit (PU) Uganda

This study was carried out to establish whether corporate image has any influence on organizational performance in state-owned enterprises in Uganda. This was consider relevant as a study area after a realization that state-owned enterprises operate with huge backing from the state unlike the privately owned enterprises. This prompted to ask the big question of whether corporate image has any impact on the overall performance of these entities. A cross sectional research design was adopted for the study. The unit of analysis considered was an entity. The entities were divided into four groups in relation to the industry. Out of a population of 140 firms, 104 were selected to form a sample. All the 103 firms successfully responded representing 100% response rate. In the analysis phase, Correlation and Regression Analyses were used. Findings indicated that Corporate Image of state-owned enterprises has a significant influence on the organizational performance (Sig=0.000; Sig < 0.01; ? = 0.337). Basing on this finding, it has been recommended that the state-owned companies stop counting on the backing of the state and start working on their image so that they can get a wider acceptance in the Ugandan Market. Keywords: Corporate image, Organizational performance, State-owned enterprise

Board role performance in service organizations: the importance of human capital in the context of a developing country

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw from multiple theories of upper echelons, stakeholder, agency, resource-based view and stewardship to establish the extent to which human capital (other than that of the board itself) in service organisations affect board role performance in those service sector firms. Design/methodology/approach – This study is cross-sectional and correlational. Analyses are conducted using SPSS and Analysis of Moment Structures software on a sample of 128 service firms in Uganda. Findings – Findings reveal that dimensions of employee safety, entrepreneurial skills, entrepreneurial development, employee welfare and employee relations fit the model of human capital and predict up to 69.1 per cent of the variance in board role performance. The results of this study reveal that board role performance is affected by prior decisions, for example, to invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, targeting employees that augment firm characteristics like existence of appropriate human capital. Essentially, an improvement in the quality of human capital explains positive variances in board role performance. Research limitations/implications – Cross-sectional data do not allow for testing of the process aspect of the models; however, they provide evidence that the models can stand empirical tests. Additional research should examine the process aspects of human capital and board role performance. Practical implications – Most companies in developing nations have relied on normative guidelines in prescribing what boards need to enhance performance, probably explaining why some boards have not been successful in their role performance. This research confirms that appropriate human capital, which can be leveraged through CSR ideals of employee safety, recognition, welfare and training in entrepreneurship, consistent with the stakeholder theory, can facilitate the board in the performance of its roles. In the developing country context, organisations’ boards could use these findings as a guideline, that is, what to focus on in the context of human capital development in organisations because doing so improves their own role performance. Originality/value – This study is one of the few that partly account for endogeneity in the study of boards, a methodological concern previously cited in literature (Bascle, 2008; Hamilton and Nickerson, 2003). Empirical associations between board role performance and organisational performance would not be useful unless we are able to grasp the causal mechanisms that lie behind those empirical associations (Hambrick, 2007). Thus, this study contributes to literature that tries to account for variances in board role performance and supports a multi-theoretical approach as a relevant framework in the study of human capital and board role performance

Does Business Process Reengineering Perform in a Third World Setting? A Qualitative Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceived predictors that explain  business process reengineering performance in a third world context using evidence from Uganda’s microfinance institutions.This study uses a narrative case study methodology conducted using qualitative data collection technique specifically the appreciative inquiry. We used QSR NVivostatistical package version 9 to analyze qualitative data. Business process reengineering being an evolving phenomenon, there superficial empirical studies exploring the theoretical explanation of business process reengineering performance in a third world perspective. The study provides novel insights of business process reengineering performance from a Uganda’s microfinance institutions as one of the third world countries using complexity theory.Methodological, theoretical, managerial and policy implications herein play pivotal role in bridging the knowledge gap that exists in microfinance institutions. Keywords-Business processreengineering, Institutional leadership and adaptabilit

Institutional Framing and Entrepreneurship Capital in Uganda

Institutions are made up of formal (e.g., rules, laws, constitutions), informal (e.g., norms of behavior, conventions, self-imposed codes of conduct) constraints and their enforcement characteristics that define the incentive structure of societies and economies (North, 1994)

Lessons from Uganda’s Successful Combat of Ebola Scourge: The Strategic Communication Approach

This case focuses on how Ugandan health sector players (both public and private) under the leadership of the ministry of health managed to combat the Ebola scourge that hit the nation in the year 2000 in comparison to the Ebola scourge in West Africa in 2014. The case starts with a brief background of the then state of health in Uganda that comprised of a relatively weak health system with inadequate health and wellbeing promotion campaigns. This challenge has continued to the extent that up to date, 75% of the disease burden in Uganda is preventable through health awareness campaigns. The case study shows that with the weak health system in 2000, the health sector managed to use strategic communication approaches like relational cohesion, information adequacy and interaction quality to combat the Ebola scourge that had spread to nearly the whole country within only 144 days, claiming over 224 lives. The case ends with a discussion of the lessons that can be drawn from Uganda’s successful combat of Ebola basing on the understanding of social network theory and a conclusion that sets direction for future studies. Keywords: management, communication, strategy, strategic communication, Ebol