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This research investigates the role of customer involvement (CINV) in customer relationship management (CRM) dimensions and customer retention (CR) in Ghana’s hotel industry.

This quantitative-based explanatory research obtained primary data via structured questionnaires from 277 hotel customers in Ghana, processed it with SmartPLS4.0 software, and analysed it with structural equation modelling.

CRM dimensions (CRM-based technology, managing knowledge and personalisation of services) and CINV positively affect CR. Also, CINV partially mediates the interactions between the CRM dimensions and CR in Ghana’s hotel industry.

The study is geographically limited to hotels in Ghana and conceptually limited to three CRM dimensions, CINV and CR. Methodologically, the study was limited to the quantitative approach. However, our outcomes imply that hotels in Ghana that invest in relevant CRM dimensions would improve CR. CRM-CR association can also be improved through CINV.

The study outcomes imply that when Ghanaian hotels implement the CRM dimensions and foster active CINV, their customers’ retention will improve significantly. Hence, CRM and CINV are prerequisites for enhancing CR in Ghana’s hotel industry.

The study offers valuable contributions to the current literature on CRM, consumer behaviour and hospitality management, especially in a developing economy context. Its novel contribution, the mediating role of CINV, would advance CRM studies in the hospitality sector.

This study explores the socioeconomic benefits and challenges of smock dealership in Tamale. Despite the relevance of the African traditional garment sector in the socio-cultural and economic development of local and national economies, the industry is bedeviled with a plethora of challenges. Empirical evidence also confirms that African management practices have been largely dependent on western ideologies without taking cognisance of the unique features of indigenous practices. This case study provides an account of successful indigenous business practices among smock dealers in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana, employing mainly qualitative descriptive research methods. Manual thematic analysis was utilised on the qualitative data. Findings showed that smock businesses offer economic/financial benefits such as income generation, family up-keep, trade, serves as wedding attires, social networks, projects northern cultures, sources of income and livelihood. We also found various advantages of deploying technology in smock business and these include efficiency, productivity, fraud prevention, financial benefits to the producers, competitiveness and globalisation via social media, and customer relationship building. It is recommended that the government make wearing made-in-Ghana clothing a policy and enforce its use. Also, the Ghanaian government and NGOs should make industrial sewing machines available to encourage the business, thereby increasing smock production.

The study examines the relationship between the interaction of indigenous–foreign cultures and public employee performance (PEP) in the Ghanaian public sector due to the perceived unproductive cultures in the public sector.

The study employs a quantitative approach, where cross-sectional survey design is used to collect the data from Ghanaian public employees. The analysis is done using correlation and hierarchical regression techniques.

The results reveal that both indigenous and foreign cultures are pervasive in the Ghanaian public sector, with high power distance and individualism being dominant cultures. Furthermore, while the indigenous cultures have negative significant relationship with PEP, the foreign cultures have positive significant relationship with PEP. The foreign cultures effectively control the relationship between the indigenous cultures and PEP but insignificantly moderate such relationship.

The findings imply that deliberate attempts should be made to encourage the foreign cultures with attractive reward packages to induce workers. This will indirectly control the practice of the inimical cultures and ultimately reduce their negative effect on PEP.

The study contributes significantly to the extant literature by providing empirical evidence of the indigenous–foreign culture fit and PEP from a developing country, Ghana.

This study investigates the incidence of ethical violations in the Ghanaian press which has become topical in the wake of misinformation in a charged political atmosphere. Public interest institutions have questioned the unprofessional conduct of journalists covering election campaigns in recent years. This study content analysed political stories from two leading Ghanaian newspapers (Daily Graphic and Daily Guide) to determine the nature and extent of ethical violations, and to examine the level of prominence accorded to political news stories by the two dailies.

This paper relied on qualitative content analysis for data gathering and analysis. A total of 387 political news items published between 1 October and 30 November 2020, were analysed.

This study found infractions of various nature to Article 1 of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) codes of ethics, chief among which is the deliberate publications of news stories without cross-checking facts. Other infractions to Articles 17, 11, 6 and 5 of the GJA codes of ethics were observed. Political news coverage favours the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) than any other parties, with the two parties (NPP-NDC) given greater prominence and salience by the Ghanaian press.

The research makes a modest contribution to the growing concern of journalism ethics in an increasing ecology of fake news.

The purpose of this study is to examine linkages between information and communication technology (ICT) use, the ICT regulatory environment and economic development. Businesses and individuals worldwide are increasingly depending on ICTs to facilitate trade and enhance their standard of living. This trend has sparked the argument that ICTs play a crucial role in driving economic development. However, the rise of ICTs has also led to challenges, including cybercrime, intellectual property violations and cyberwarfare, prompting questions about the need for regulation. In spite of these pressing issues, there is a notable lack of empirical research on the relationship between the use of ICTs (by businesses and individuals), their regulation and economic development.

Because of the limited empirical evidence regarding the connections between ICT use, ICT regulations, and economic development, this study aims to explore these relationships. The authors specifically examine the mediating role of ICT regulations in the impact of ICT use on economic development, as well as the direct effects of ICT use on economic development. To achieve this, the authors develop a hypothesised model that is validated using the technology–organisation–environment framework and capability theory. Additionally, the authors analyse secondary data from 130 countries using partial least squares-structural equation modelling.

The findings of this study show that both business and individual use of ICTs positively influences economic development. Furthermore, the authors discovered that ICT regulation plays a positive and partial mediating role in the relationship between ICT use and economic development. To encourage users to continue leveraging ICTs to enhance their livelihoods and foster economic growth, it is essential for governments and policymakers to implement effective ICT regulations that protect users’ information resources from illegal access.

The study’s primary contribution to research is its examination of the relationship between ICT usage by businesses and individuals, ICT regulation, and economic development on a global scale. By using secondary data sources, the study delivers rich, comprehensive, and generalisable findings on how the use of ICTs drives economic development. Additionally, through mediation analysis, the authors demonstrate that the presence of ICT regulations aimed at ensuring online privacy and security enhances both business and individual utilisation of ICTs, thereby promoting economic development.

Rural poverty remains high in many developing countries, Ghana inclusive. This has implications for healthcare affordability and utilization, and thus the attainment of universal health coverage. Nonfarm diversification is seen as a means by which rural farm households can increase incomes and smooth consumption including healthcare. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of nonfarm enterprise participation on healthcare expenditure among farm households in rural Ghana.

Using nationally representative household data from the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 6), the paper employs endogenous switching regression and propensity score matching techniques to account for potential selectivity bias.

Results indicate that households that participate in nonfarm enterprises earn higher incomes and expend more on healthcare. Total household income and region of residence are significant determinants of healthcare expenditure among farm households in rural Ghana. In addition, while in nonfarm enterprise nonparticipating households the marital status of the head of household is important, for participating households the head having at least secondary education significantly influences healthcare expenditure.

Promoting nonfarm activities and hence raising the incomes of households in rural areas of Ghana has the potential of increasing health capital through increased investments in health. It will also positively impact access to and utilization of healthcare and ultimately contribute towards increased farm and non-farm productivity.

Previous studies have only examined the determinants of nonfarm enterprise participation or its impact on household welfare, poverty, inequality, food security and agricultural investments. While evidence abounds on the positive impact of rural nonfarm enterprise participation on household income, which in turn has implications for household health expenditure, the potential positive link between rural nonfarm enterprise participation and household healthcare expenditure remains unexamined.

Outgrower scheme as a contractual agreement between farmers and some funding entities has in recent times found proliferation among resource poor farmers in Ghana, especially in northern Ghana. This contractual arrangement, which involves the provision of farm inputs, and in some cases, technical support by the implementing company and the repayment by farmers with portions of their harvest, is often regarded as an effective way to mutually improve the outcomes of both smallholder farmers and outgrower companies. The study aims to analyse. the level of awareness, nature of input package, determinants of participation and intensity of participation in input credit scheme by smallholder rice farmers in the Mamprugu Moagduri District of Ghana’s North East Region, using the Integrated Water Management and Agriculture Development (IWAD) scheme as a case.

Using a quantitative analytical approach, the study gathers information from 233 randomly selected smallholder rice farmers consisting of 150 participants and 83 non-participants using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, as well as the Tobit model, are the methods used in the analysis.

The results show that while factors such as age, marital status, number of dependents and farming experience only influenced participation in the scheme, religion, age, sex, number of dependents and farming experience influenced intensity of participation.

This study calls for the adoption of sustainable approaches by input credit companies in their credit support to smallholder farmers rather than the current ad hoc support during each cropping season.

Community radio attempts to place the power of communication in the hands of community members, particularly the youth, so that they can create and broadcast materials that address local community issues. The purpose of the study is therefore to look into the potential impacts of community radio and the function it plays in youth development.

This study employed a qualitative research approach to investigate the role of community radio in information dissemination towards youth development in Ghana. Two community radio stations were selected for the study, and through the use of semi-structured interview, qualitative data were collected from 42 participants comprising two programme managers, four radio producers and 36 youth. The qualitative research approach enabled in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of the study.

This study found that both community radio stations aired youth-centred programmes that were beneficial to the development of the youth within the stations’ coverage communities. The results further reveal that community radio offers the opportunity and platform for the youth to engage the political authorities for development and also entertain themselves.

The authors consider this study original both in conceptualization and design. The main question being interrogated stems from identified gaps in the literature, and this study intends to fill these knowledge gaps. This study’s originality also stems from the fact that there is a paucity of information on the subject of study in the context of Ghana.

This study examined the impact of the Input Credit Scheme (ICS) by the Integrated Water Management and Agriculture Development (IWAD) on the productivity and food security of smallholder rice farmers in Ghana.

Cross-sectional data from 250 rice farming households in the Mamprugu Moagduri district of the North East Region obtained from a multi-stage sampling technique were used for the study. Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment (IPWRA), Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Kendall's coefficient of concordance were the methods of analysis employed.

Empirical results show that education, rice farming experience, dependency ratio, FBO membership, farm size and farm age were the significant factors influencing participation in the input credit scheme (ICS). Also, participants had an average rice productivity of 1,476.83 kg/ha, whereas non-participants had 1,131.81 kg/ha implying that participants increased their productivity by about 30%. In addition, the study revealed that participant households increased their household dietary diversity (HDDS) by 0.45 points amounting to about 8% diversity in their diets. High-interest rates associated with credit received, the short periods of credit repayment and the high cost of inputs provided under the scheme were the most challenging constraints associated with partaking in the ICS.

The available literature on agricultural interventions have predominantly emphasized input credit as a key factor for improving cropt productivity and food security of smallholders. This study provides compelling evidence that participation in ICSs can result in substantial benefits for agricultural development, as evidenced by increased productivity leading to improved food security. The significance of these findings is highlighted by the fact that, through participation in input credit schemes, smallholder rice farmers in many developing countries see substantial improvement in their capacity to access productive resources, thereby improving their productivity, while simultaneously reducing food insecurity.

Leveraging on the improved productivity of participants in the ICS, this study advocates that such input credit schemes should scale up to more food-insecure farming communities in Ghana.

The study uses a doubly robust econometric approach to evaluate the impact of ICS on smallholder rice farmers' productivity and food security in Ghana, making it the first of its kind. The findings offer a solid basis for future research and provide guidance for policymakers looking to boost agricultural development in Ghana.

The purpose of this study is to explore user satisfaction with in-house facility management (FM) services in multi-tenanted office buildings in Accra, Ghana using a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) approach.

The study assessed user satisfaction with FM service quality by using a POE of their perceptions about the attitude and courtesy of the FM personnel, the reliability of the FM services they provide, the responsiveness and the competence of the service providers. The study used walk-throughs and questionnaire surveys as the POE methods. One hundred and twenty-one users from 22 multi-tenanted office buildings, who have actively used the FM services for at least a year, were purposively sampled. The data was collected via a survey using a structured questionnaire. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis in version 25 of statistical package for the social sciences.

The study revealed that users were dissatisfied with the quality of in-house FM services across all 15 services The results also showed that users’ satisfaction with the services is not affected by the differences in their age, gender, educational level, job role and number of years in the buildings. The results further demonstrated that the most critical factors that resulted in users’ dissatisfaction were electric facilities, building fabric maintenance, emergency coordination, waste management and the decoration of the buildings during festive seasons.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study based on POE to assess user satisfaction with FM services for multi-tenant office buildings has, presumably, not been tackled before in Ghana. The results of the study are very essential to the owners of the buildings and facility managers in decision-making concerning the delivery of FM services. Building industry-wise, the results demonstrate the need for in-house FM managers in multi-tenanted office buildings in Ghana to adopt FM service delivery methods that increase user satisfaction. The results also call for further research into user satisfaction with outsourced FM services in multi-tenanted office buildings and further research on the use of the in-house strategy on other types of buildings to ascertain whether the dissatisfaction with FM is due to other factors such as the choice of FM strategy, the property type etc.