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The paper examines the influence of procurement capabilities (skills) and procurement planning on project success in Ghana. The paper further examines the mediating role of procurement planning.

Drawing insights from human capital theory, a model of four hypotheses was developed and validated. The proposed model was validated using survey data from 200 procurement and construction professionals at construction firms in Ghana. The data gathered was analysed using structural equation modelling. Confirmatory factor analysis using Amos software was conducted to establish reliability and validity of the constructs. Hayes process was employed to test the structural model.

Our study revealed that procurement capabilities and procurement planning directly improve project success in the construction sector in Ghana. We found procurement planning acts as a pathway for achieving greater success in construction projects.

This study is among the very few attempts to demonstrate how project success could be enhanced through developing procurement capabilities for effective procurement planning. Theoretically, this study is among the first attempts to theorise the effect of procurement capabilities and planning on project success from the human capital perspective. Our findings also offer practical insight to practitioners in the construction setting by emphasising the need to pay crucial attention to capabilities and planning in the quest to enhance project success in the construction setting. The findings indicate that building capabilities alone is not enough; rather, the ability to deploy such capabilities for effective procurement planning is necessary for driving project success.

This study responded to calls to investigate the behavioural and social antecedents that produce a highly positive response to AI bias in a constrained region, which is characterised by a high share of people with minimal buying power, growing but untapped market opportunities and a high number of related businesses operating in an unregulated market.

Drawing on empirical data from 225 human resource managers from Ghana, data were sourced from senior human resource managers across industries such as banking, insurance, media, telecommunication, oil and gas and manufacturing. Data were analysed using a fussy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

The results indicated that managers who regarded their response to AI bias as a personal moral duty felt a strong sense of guilt towards the unintended consequences of AI logic and reasoning. Therefore, managers who perceived the processes that guide AI algorithms' reasoning as discriminating showed a high propensity to address this prejudicial outcome.

As awareness of consequences has to go hand in hand with an ascription of responsibility; organisational heads have to build the capacity of their HR managers to recognise the importance of taking personal responsibility for artificial intelligence algorithm bias because, by failing to nurture the appropriate attitude to reinforce personal norm among managers, no immediate action will be taken.

By integrating the social identity theory, norm activation theory and justice theory, the study improves our understanding of how a collective organisational identity, perception of justice and personal values reinforce a positive reactive response towards AI bias outcomes.

The purpose of this research is to address the importance of human resource development (HRD) and its resultant climate in an organization. Specifically, the study examines the cause-effect relationship between HRD climate and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), as well as the role of organisational trust in this relationship. The study is underpinned by the social exchange theory.

The study adopted the quantitative research approach and the cross-sectional survey design in data collection. Two hundred seventy-four employees were sampled from the food manufacturing sector, out of which 219 responded. Data was entered using SPSS v.23 and analysed with Pearson’s Product correlation, hierarchical regression analysis and independent t-test. The mediation effect was analysed using Process Macro v 3.5 for SPSS.

Results indicate that HRD climate has a positive effect on OCB, hence, a predictor. Also, HRD climate was observed to be a predictor of organisational trust and that organisational trust mediates the cause and effect relationship between HRD climate and OCB. This study recommends that management continues to invest in the development of employees as it goes a long way to ensure the survival and growth of the organisation.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to examine the interplay between HRD climate, trust and OCBs.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices on both competitive advantage (CA) and organizational performance (OP) in the manufacturing sector in Ethiopia.

Data for the study were collected from a sample of 221 manufacturing companies operating in the four manufacturing groups/sectors in Ethiopia. In addition, data analysis was performed using the partial least squares method, which is a variance-based Structural Equation Modeling approach in the Smart-PLS software version (SmartPLS 4.0).

Based on the statistical analysis of the collected data, it demonstrates that SSCM has a significant and positive impact on both competitive advantage and organizational performance. Furthermore, statistical findings offer proof of the clear connection between competitive advantage and organizational performance. Moreover, competitive advantage indirectly mediates the relationship between SSCM and OP.

The primary limitation of this research is its reliance on a cross-sectional design. The generalizability of the findings obtained from the present study may be hindered. The variable under investigation in this research assessed organizational performance, a concept that is widely acknowledged to be extremely dynamic.

The study provides managers and researchers with valuable information on Sustainable Supply Chain Management strategies and how they influence competitive advantage and organizational performance in commercial and industrial environments.

This paper adds to the body of knowledge by providing new data and empirical insights into the relationship between SSCM practices and the performance of manufacturing companies in Ethiopia.

Transnational corporation (TNC)-led oil investments have been widely encouraged as a mechanism for the development of the Global South. Even though the sector is characterized by major accidents, oil-based developmentalist narratives claim that such accidents are merely isolated incidents that can be administratively addressed, redressed behaviorally through education of certain individuals, or corrected through individually targeted post-event legislation. Adapting Harvey Molotch’s (1970) political economy methodology of “accident research”, this paper argues that such “accidents” are, in fact, routine in the entire value chain of the oil system dominated by, among others, military-backed TNCs which increasingly collaborate with national and local oil companies similarly wedded to the ideology of growth. Based on this analysis, existing policy focus on improving technology, instituting and enforcing more environmental regulations, and the pursuit of economic nationalism in the form of withdrawing from globalization are ineffective. In such a red-hot system, built on rapidly spinning wheels of accumulation, the pursuit of slow growth characterized by breaking the chains of monopoly and oligopoly, putting commonly generated rent to common uses, and freeing labor from regulations that rob it of its produce has more potency to address the enigma of petroleum accidents in the global south.

The chapter examines the simultaneous rise of a new spirit of isolationism amid the increasing role of globalization of business and economic activity. It focuses on the competing claims regarding whether Africa could be better off or not in the light of the current isolationist views being expressed by some world leaders and countries. The chapter’s importancve lies in the fact that it contributes to a discussion which has been of considerable concern to many people of late. Whilst it is still too early to predict the long-term effect on the current isolationist policies by some developed countries, it is quite clear that Africa will lose the attention of the world in view of the recent happenings. Ironically, the uncertainty and disruption underway could also provide the needed impetus that can propel the continent to assume responsibility for itself and thereby strife to develop itself more efficiently and effectively than it has ever done.

Due to the high rate of failure of most crowdfunding projects, knowing the most essential factor to obtain funding success on the crowdfunding platform is of great importance for fund seekers on the crowdfunding platform. The purpose of this study is to explore crowdfunding success factors to know the most essential success factor for stakeholders of the crowdfunding platform to make the best decision when seeking funds on the crowdfunding platform. This study identified and ranked crowdfunding success factors for stakeholders of crowdfunding platforms. Sixteen factors were identified and categorized under five broad headings. These were; project ideas, target capital, track records, geographical proximity and equity.

To rank the identified crowdfunding success factors and subfactors, this study used the Multi-Objective Optimization Based on Ratio Analysis (MULTIMOORA) integrated with the Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solutions (EDAS).

Target capital ranked first among the five categories—while duration involved in raising funds ranked first among the sixteen subfactors. An approach for analyzing how each success factor enhances a crowdfunding campaign was developed in this study. This study provides valuable insight to fund seekers on the crowdfunding platform on how funding success can be achieved by knowing which factor to consider essential when seeking funds on the crowdfunding platform.

This is the first study to explore crowdfunding success factors using the MULTIMOORA-EDAS method. The use of this method will help fund seekers on the crowdfunding platform to know which crowdfunding success factor is essential, thereby aiding fund seekers to make the best decision when seeking funds on the crowdfunding platform. Also, this study is particularly helpful for business owners, platform operators and policymakers when deciding how to allocate resources, plan campaigns and implement regulations.

The study aims to assess the moderating role of celebrity characteristics in the relationship between celebrity endorsement and telecommunication companies’ reputation.

Analysis of results was based on 700 customers in the telecommunication sector. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to check for validity and reliability of the observed items. A hierarchical regression model was estimated to test the various hypotheses set for the study.

The study finds that celebrity endorsement in itself had no significant effect on the reputation of telecommunication companies. Celebrity attractiveness, likeability and trustworthiness had a direct effect (positive) on the reputation of telecommunication companies and positively moderated the effect of celebrity endorsement on telecommunication company reputation. Celebrity expertise had no direct effect on telecommunication company reputation but positively moderated the effect of celebrity endorsement and telecommunication company reputation.

This study was purely quantitative. Future study could consider a mixed approach and include senior management members of the telecom firms for an in-depth interview.

In signing on celebrities as brand ambassadors, management must pay particular attention to celebrity attractiveness, likeability and trustworthiness. This would be more rewarding to the firms.

The study adds to the little empirical knowledge available on celebrity endorsement in sub-Saharan Africa and telecommunication sector in particular.