Trust in exporting relationships: the case of SMEs in Ghana

In this era of globalisation, firms and their managers are increasingly interested in building relationships with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders in order to successfully grow and compete. Trust has been found to be a defining factor in building up networks and relationships which firms use in economic exchanges both at national and international levels. However, the role of trust in the context of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) internationalisation is a recent phenomenon of academic inquiry that has not been widely studied particularly in the context of developing countries. Hence, this study aims to fill this knowledge gap by investigating the processes of development, use, violation and repair of trust in exporting SME relationships in a less developed African country, Ghana. At the theoretical level the study draws mostly on three perspectives: embeddedness, entrepreneurship and psychic distance. At the empirical level, this research uses a case study of 24 exporting SMEs in Ghana to study this subject in detail. The findings show that entrepreneurs had built and used personalised relationships while avoiding formal contracts and the courts in their internationalisation activities. They had mostly relied on institutional forms operating in parallel to formal state-based and legal systems. These are shown to be hybrid forms drawing on traditional cultural institutions such as chieftaincy and religion, combined with forms of corporations and cooperatives. The findings further reveal how organisations violate and repair trust when crossing cultural boundaries, looking at the particular issues that face smaller businesses. Particularly, it shows that culture is an important factor in trust based relations and therefore the concept of trust violation is socially constructed. While some aspects of networks and trust literature are confirmed, other aspects are refuted showing that context impacts on the processes of relationships and trust building, violation and repair. This study therefore contributes to the ongoing development of a theoretical understanding on networking, relationship building and trust in international entrepreneurship. Particularly it emphasises the importance of understanding cultural contexts in entrepreneurship research

‘We don’t deal with courts’: cooperation and alternative institutions shaping exporting relationships of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana

Through an investigation of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) exporting in contexts which lack a formalised institutional environment in a less developed country, this article shows how entrepreneurs cope with institutional deficiency. By drawing on an analysis of 12 SMEs exporting from Ghana to other West African countries, the findings reveal how entrepreneurs and their organisations avoid recourse to the courts and instead, use culturally specific relationships to settle disputes when exporting. Institutional forms operating in parallel to the formal legal system are examined. These are shown to be hybrid forms drawing on traditional cultural institutions such as chieftaincy and religion, combined with forms of corporations and cooperatives. Assumptions around the different roles of family and kinship also are explored. The study contributes to the ongoing development of a theoretical understanding on trust and relationship building in international entrepreneurship, and the importance of understanding cultural context

The Role of Technology Innovation in Shaping the Student Learning Experience in Higher Education

The role of technology innovation as the driving force in today’s learning environment cannot be under-emphasized. It is now changing the way in which learning and teaching occur in higher education. Over the years, preparing students for the world of work from higher education has been a difficult task. With the majority of students venturing into the world of work without work experience to help them understand and develop the skills to succeed in business is perturbing. Hence, for academic institutions charged with the responsibility to equip and develop students in the knowledge economy, technological innovations hold the key to several possibilities such as distance learning and sophisticated learning management tools and systems. Amongst the sophisticated learning management systems and tools is the use of business simulation which assists students to grasp, understand and apply theories in the real business world. Furthermore, these tools help them to develop the soft skills that are difficult to nurture during lectures. This paper, therefore, examines the role of technology in shaping the development of business and practical skills of the student’s transition from the university into the world of work. This study adopted a mixed method approach. Primary data were collected from MBA and MSc students who participated in the use of the business simulation tool on their perception over ten semesters. This was aimed at explaining the development of business skills using the business simulation technology. The preliminary results show a positive relationship between business simulation game participation and improvement of both hard and soft business skills of students such as; high quality learning, development of critical thinking, decision making, teamwork and analytical skill

A simple method for the extension of shelf life of cultures of Phytophthora species causing black pod disease of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.)

Black pod disease of cacao caused by Phytophthora palmivora and Phytophthora megakarya in Ghana take heavy toll of cacao production in the field. Intensive research has been carried out worldwide on these pathogens. However, viability of the cultures during prolonged storage has remained a major challenge in the research. This paper reports findings of assessment of six storage media viz sterilised distilled water (SDW), sterilised and unsterilized soil suspension (SSS and USS), vegetable 8 juice broth (V8JB), Oat Meal Agar slant under mineral oil (at 4°C) and empty tube. Viability of the cultures was assessed on V8JA and in tetrazolium chloride test. Ability of zoospores of the cultures to infect cacao leaf discs was used to assess growth vigour and pathogenicity. Phytophthora cultures stored in SDW (26 ± 2°C; alternating day light and night) were preserved for 60 days (5 years). Both P. palmivora and P. megakarya performed better on SDW and SSS than on USS due to removal of staling substances in the soil medium by the sterilisation. Vigour of growth and pathogenicity of the stored cultures required re-inoculation of host tissue (cacao pod) in order to maintain potency to continually infect host

Proximate composition and basic phytochemical assessment of two common varieties of Terminalia catappa (Indian Almond).

Terminalia catappa is a common tree found in Ghana but it is much underutilized. The objective was therefore set to investigate the medicinal and nutritive potential of two common varieties of the plant; the red and yellow varieties. The proximate composition of the nut and pulp of the two varieties were determined using certified methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Phytochemical screening was also determined using standard screening methods. The red nut had a moisture content of 31.05%; crude fat, 36.9%; protein, 22.19%; ash, 2.76%; carbohydrate, 5.24% and crude fibre, 1.86%. The pulp contained up to 81.96% moisture; 0.04% crude fat; 1.07% protein; 1.47% ash; 14.05% carbohydrates and 1.41% crude fibre. The moisture content constituted 32.06% of the nut of the yellow variety, crude fat was 35.69%; protein, 23.05%; ash, 2.68%; carbohydrate, 4.92% and crude fibre, 1.6%. The pulp of the yellow variety had the proximate composition as: moisture, 84.37%; crude fat, 0.05%; crude protein, 1.54%; ash, 1.62%; carbohydrate, 11.03%; crude fibre, 1.39%. The pulps of both varieties were found to contain saponins, general glycosides, flavonoids, alkaloids, anthraquinones and anthraquinone glycosides. The nut of the yellow variety had terpenoids and steroids present in it while the nut of the red variety had alkaloids present. Statistical analyses carried out showed that there were no significant differences (p≤0.05) between the two varieties based on their proximate composition

Engineering Characterisation of Aggregates from Some Selected Areas in Kumasi, Ghana

The increase in engineering projects translates to an increase in demand for construction materials, for example, aggregates which are a major component in concrete works. There are many quarries in the Kumasi area which produce aggregates for use in construction works. However, there is no readily available information on the geological and geotechnical properties of these aggregates for use by engineers during the planning, design and construction of projects. This project therefore sought to characterise the aggregate from selected areas (close to some major quarries) in Kumasi based on their geological and engineering properties for construction purposes. Results of the study indicate that Aggregates from sampling locations KP and CS passed the FI test with those from CS being the only ones to pass for EI, making them the best aggregates in terms of Flakiness and Elongation Indices. The aggregates from all the sampling locations passed for the Specific Gravity and Water Absorption tests with CS aggregates giving the best results indicating high strength and good rate of water absorption. Aggregate from sampling location NM gave the best result for the Aggregate Impact Value test indicating high resistance to sudden impacts and shocks. With the Ten Percent Fines Value and the Aggregate Crushing Value Tests, CS yet again produced the aggregates with the best results. The aggregate gave a very high result even under the wet/soaked condition when all the others were giving very low results. Aggregates from this sampling locations can withstand loading gradual compression better than the rest. Finally, the KP aggregates gave the best results for the Los Angeles Abrasion Value which suggests such materials to be the hardest and toughest to resist crushing, degradation and disintegration. Aggregates from the CS, however gave the second best results. From the study, it was concluded that the most suitable location to obtain good quality aggregates is around CS as its aggregates gave the best results in almost all the tests

Corruption as a source of government project failure in developing countries: Evidence from Ghana

This study explores how corruption impacts the failure of government projects in developing countries with evidence from the Ghanaian context. This study solicits the perceptions of project management practitioners (14), contractors (6), government officials (clients) (5) and the general public (5) on the subject. The findings indicate that corruption, influence government project failure on all the failure criteria used as the evaluating tool. However, corruption influences failure at two different levels: project management and product phase. At the management level, corruption has direct influence whilst at the product phase level, the influence is indirect

Self-medication with over-the-counter drugs and complementary medications in South Australia's elderly population

A number of surveys have examined use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in Australia. However, there are limited Australian data on use of CAM and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in the elderly population. The main aims of this study were to examine self-medication practices with CAM and OTC medicines among older Australians and variables associated with their use. Participants seemed to self-medicate in accordance with approved indications, suggesting they were informed consumers, actively looking after their own health. However, use of analgesics and aspirin are associated with an increased risk of adverse drug events in the elderly. Future work should examine how self-medication contributes to polypharmacy and increases the risk of adverse drug reactions

Omicron extensively but incompletely escapes Pfizer BNT162b2 neutralization

The emergence of Omicron (Pango lineage B.1.1.529), first identified in Botswana and South Africa, may compromise vaccine effectiveness and lead to re-infections1. We investigated whether Omicron escapes antibody neutralization in South Africans vaccinated with Pfizer BNT162b2. We also investigated if Omicron requires the ACE2 receptor to infect cells. We isolated and sequence confirmed live Omicron virus from an infected person in South Africa and compared plasma neutralization of Omicron relative to an ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain, observing that Omicron still required ACE2 to infect. For neutralization, blood samples were taken soon after vaccination from participants who were vaccinated and previously infected or vaccinated with no evidence of previous infection. Neutralization of ancestral virus was much higher in infected and vaccinated versus vaccinated only participants but both groups showed a 22-fold escape from vaccine elicited neutralization by the Omicron variant. However, in the previously infected and vaccinated group, the level of residual neutralization of Omicron was similar to the level of neutralization of ancestral virus observed in the vaccination only group. These data support the notion that, provided high neutralization capacity is elicited by vaccination/boosting approaches, reasonable effectiveness against Omicron may be maintained