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In pursuit of socio-economic growth, scholars and policymakers in emerging economies continues to show interest in understanding technology-based start-up (i.e. tech start-up) emergence, to help mitigate persistent failure experienced during commercialization. Howbeit, some scholars lamented that extant studies that investigated tech start-up emergence are mostly fragmented, because they focus on specific event/sub-process in tech start-up gestation. Thus, this study aims to conduct a systematic literature review to discover, harmonize and develop a framework that describes the interaction among varying dimensions of events/sub-processes that characterizes tech start-up emergence in an emerging economy.

To conduct this study, the authors engaged a concept-centric systematic literature review. Having developed a search protocol, the authors searched through information systems database, and other relevant discipline databases, to select relevant articles for review.

The systematic review revealed various dimensions of events (i.e. opportunity discovery and selection, team formation and domain consensus, bootstrapping and the development of minimum viable product and market experimentation feedback) that are critical to tech start-up emergence. Most prior studies are isolated, as they focus their investigation on specific event. Thus, from this review, the authors developed a framework harmonizing various dimensions of events characterizing emergence of a viable tech start-up.

The researchers conducted this study in response to lingering call for harmonized study that provides in-depth description of how different dimensions of events interact and characterize tech start-up emergence. Consequently, the study resulted in a descriptive framework. Furthermore, the findings highlight some practical implications and proposes new study directions as future research agenda for scholars interested in tech start-up emergence.

The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between the application of smart electronic systems, firm characteristics and efficient energy consumption: a case of public universities in Uganda.

The study adopted both quantitative and qualitative approach as well as descriptive cross-sectional survey design tantamounting to an experimental-observation approach. A sample of four public academic universities were explored using primary data. A semi-structured questionnaire together with an evaluation form and a tested experimental kit (from one of the leading electronics centres in Uganda) was used to examine the consumption rates of different electronic appliances of less than 30 Amps. Further, a Pearson product moment correlation (r) analysis was also used to determine the direction of a relationship among the variables together with a linear relationship (regression) to predict a linear association of one or more variables. Recommendations were also given.

Smart electronic systems make a significant determining factor to both firm characteristics (age, number of students, administrative staff and support staff) as well as efficient energy consumption. Nonetheless, there is no significant difference of efficient energy consumption as far as firm characteristics are concerned.

Results support the contributions of the theory of technology and acceptance model by affirming that a number of factors influence the usefulness and ease of use of the smart electronic systems, which in turn influence energy consumption.

Universities' management should endeavour to install smart electronic systems. But still, government should try to lower taxes on smart electronic systems and genuine agents should be named for easy and affordable access of the users, universities inclusive.

The study contributes towards a theoretical position by affirming the usefulness of technology acceptance model for efficient energy consumption in public universities.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-02-2019-0083

The purpose of this study is to investigate how business enterprises in Uganda manage their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and projects.

The investigations focused on a limited number of management facets. Using a cross‐sectional survey design, the researchers collected data through both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. These included semi‐structured interviews with managers of selected enterprises, as well as non‐participant observation of CSR activities and projects.

The findings show unbalanced engagement in CSR for business managers in Uganda. Managers are largely motivated towards CSR by external factors such as attracting and retaining customers, enhancing reputation and operational efficiencies to achieve competitive advantage, rather than internal factors such as CSR policies, employee welfare and CSR reporting. Another significant finding is that the responsibility to initiate, administer, and monitor CSR activities is largely vested in middle‐level managers. These factors pose many challenges to CSR implementation amongst managers in Uganda.

This study was a follow‐up of a baseline survey, “CSR in Uganda: perceptions, approaches, and needs of companies”, which was conducted earlier by the lead researcher. The value of this paper is that it provides an in‐depth insight into the status of CSR management in Uganda, which in turn will help both the public and private sectors to identify potential gaps, weaknesses and/or needs for improvement. In the long run, this will improve the image, development impact and performance of CSR undertakings for the benefit of all stakeholders in Uganda.

The purpose of this paper is to present corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an alternative roadmap to accelerating realization of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Uganda, even after 2015.

Using a mixed research methodology, this research documented CSR activities of 16 companies operating in Uganda. Data collection was guided by quantitative and qualitative methodologies (semi-structured interviews with CSR managers, plus non-participant observation of CSR activities and projects linked with MDGs). Triangulation was used to ensure credibility and validity of the results. For data analysis, the authors followed a three-stepwise process, which helped to develop a framework within which the collected data could be analyzed. For generalization of the findings, the authors were guided by the “adaptive theory approach”.

Uganda will not realize any MDGs by 2015. However, CSR activities have the potential to contribute to a cross-section of various MDGs that are more important and relevant to Uganda when supported by the government. If this happens, realization of the MDGs is likely to be stepped up. CSR's potential contributions to the MDGs were found to be hindered by corruption and cost of doing business. Lastly, MDG 8 and MDG 3 were perceived to be too ambiguous to be integrated into company CSR interventions, and to a certain extent were perceived to be carrying political intentions which conflict with the primary business intentions of profit maximization.

Governments in developing countries that are still grappling with the MDGs can use this research when devising collaborations with private-sector companies. These documented CSR activities that contribute directly to specific MDGs can be factored into the priority public-private partnership arrangements. Private companies can also use these findings to frame their stakeholder engagement, especially with the government and also when setting CSR priorities that significantly contribute to sustainable development.

This research advances the “Post-2015 MDG Development Agenda” suggested during the United Nations MDG Summit in 2010, which called for academic and innovative contributions on how MDGs can be realized even after 2015.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and records management in the context of higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This is a qualitative research taking the form of a collective case study of six institutions.

That good records management can and does contribute to effective corporate governance and accountability. However, this relationship is not necessarily present in all circumstances.

That further corporatisation in higher education is likely to be supported by, and result in, better records management.

The paper proposes governance record keeping as an approach to managing records and documents in the world of governance, audit and risk.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of systems adaptability in the relationship between emotional intelligence and talent management in tertiary institutions in Uganda.

To achieve the study purpose, the authors used responses from 91 tertiary institutions following a cross-sectional survey design. Partial least structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data and done at an institutional level.

The results reveal that systems adaptability plays a full mediating role in the relationship between emotional intelligence and talent management in tertiary institutions as it accounts for 96.68% variance.

Managing talented employees is not a snapshot process, yet the authors used a cross-sectional design. This paper is limited in this regard. Also, talent management in this paper is only explained by emotional intelligence and systems adaptability.

Talent management is explained by emotional intelligence and systems adaptability, which are metaphors of emotional intelligence and complex adaptive system theories. The authors also add to theory by establishing a fully mediating role of systems adaptability between emotional intelligence and talent management.

This paper establishes the mediating role of systems adaptability in the relationship between emotional intelligence and talent management in tertiary institutions.

The purpose of this paper is to set out the process by which a smart specialisation strategy was developed for a small, peripheral economy in the European Union, the Republic of Malta. It assesses the applicability of the approach in the context of a micro-economy with an industrial structure based on a small number of foreign direct investments and a predominance of micro-enterprises.

The paper follows an action research approach by presenting as a case study the process by which the strategy for Malta was assessed and developed through successive rounds of engagement with business and other actors with the application of scenarios and other prioritisation approaches to facilitate its development. An initial consultation with 20 public sector and representative organisations was followed by a general business workshop and 21 sectoral focus groups.

Lack of critical mass can be mitigated by maximising the generic use of available skills and competences. Given the higher vulnerability to external shock in micro-economies, strategies need to have a high degree of flexibility and adaptability. Greater internationalisation provides the main response to peripherality.

The approach can be applied more generally for micro-economies and in some aspects to other countries or regions lacking critical mass in research and innovation assets or facing peripherality.

The smart specialisation approach had not been applied in these circumstances and hence the findings allowed the concept to be extended and adapted to deal with the issues raised.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how ISO 26000 inter-marries with millennium development goals (MDGs) with a view to demonstrate and recommend how businesses can successfully use this intermarriage to solve society problems.

Case methodology was used to investigate how a company can use the social responsibility standard, ISO 26000, to guide its corporate social responsibility (CSR) aimed at contributing to MDGs. The paper focussed on the CSR dimension of community involvement and development (CI&D) interventions in health-related MDGs (4, 5 and 6). Data collection was by semi-structured interviews with CSR managers of the studied company, plus non-participant observation of CSR activities and projects. In order to develop a framework within which the collected data could be analyzed, the authors employed pattern-matching, explanation building and time series analysis. For generalization purposes of findings, the authors were guided by the “adaptive theory approach.”

The intermarriage is much revealed in health and wellness. This intermarriage also reveals cross-cutting issues which support universal access to health care and prevent illnesses. Lastly, the intermarriage is symbiotic in nature, that is, MDGs contribute what to achieve while ISO 26000 contributes how to achieve.

The case study (Uganda Baati Ltd, - UBL) that informed this research is a subsidiary company of a multinational, SAFAL Group. This provided an indication that global or trans-national forces drive CSR/CI&D at UBL. Thus, the findings may not fit directly with a company that has a local/national focus of its CSR/CI&D.

The paper presents guidelines to use and localize this intermarriage so as to focus CSR on global socio-economic development priorities, identify strategic stakeholders, and pathways to solutions for complex CI&D issues.

This research advances the Post-2015 MDG Development Agenda suggested during the United Nations MDG Summit in 2010 which called for academic contributions on how MDGs can be realized even after 2015.

The purpose of this article is to show how children's health and wellbeing are continuously influenced by violence, divorce, family transience, environmental concerns, terrorism within and outside the country's borders and, most recently, threats of and acts of war. This study investigates the perceived needs of fourth‐grade elementary schoolchildren regarding selected questions concerning loss.

A three‐question survey was developed to collect data gathered from children through written responses, and to identify common themes or individual responses about their understanding of, and perceived needs in learning about, loss. A total of 97 fourth‐grade girls and boys at a suburban Long Island public school district participated in the study. The data were subject to qualitative data analysis.

Both girls and boys defined loss in many terms other than, and including, loss through death. Relationship loss and loss of objects that held meaning for the children were their most common responses. When asked what they knew about loss, the children first identified the emotions and feelings around loss, second the causes and consequences of loss, and third placed value judgments on loss. In responding to what they wanted to know about loss, the children asked: first, why it exists at all, second, more about the emotional reactions to loss, and third, the possibilities of future loss experiences.

The study revealed a willingness on the part of the children to give voice to their many thoughts and questions surrounding issues of loss in a public school health education setting. Recommendations are made for a more in‐depth study to facilitate understanding of the nature of loss and its correlates among nine‐to‐ten‐year old children.