Angela Dziedzom Akorsu, Akua Opokua Britwum, Shaibu Bukari, Benjamin Yaw Tachie and Musah Dankwah
Platform work challenges the traditional modes of workers' organising for interest representation. This paper aims to examine the political potential for voice and representation…
Abstract
Purpose
Platform work challenges the traditional modes of workers' organising for interest representation. This paper aims to examine the political potential for voice and representation of the organising efforts by ride-hailing drivers in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The study design was qualitative and exploratory. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with individual drivers, key persons and leaders of ride-hailing drivers' associations were employed. The total number of participants was 40.
Findings
The analysis reveals a bottom-up approach to organising, starting with drivers' exercise of associational power (AP) to self-organise with a membership logic. Affected by mundane internal challenges and limited by the non-existent institutional power and the near absence of structural power for right claiming, they affiliate with TUC as the traditional structural power holders for political influence.
Research limitations/implications
The study has limitations that can be addressed in future research. First, the targeted and small sample size only allows for rich context-specific generalisation. Future studies could target more categories of respondents such as vehicle owners and riders and also seek to include the experiences from other African countries to understand country-specific contextual issues. Second, the allowance for researcher reflexivity inherent in the methodology adopted has the potential for researcher biases. Therefore, a deliberate effort was made to ensure that biases remain only a potential. This was done by participant validation of the data and constant peer-reviewing of the data analysis processes by the authors.
Practical implications
The empirical findings provide trade unions with a stronger basis for and pointers to represent workers in the platform space.
Originality/value
Platform work in Ghana is an emerging phenomenon, and organising amongst platform workers remains unexplored.
Details
Keywords
Ahmed Agyapong, Patience Dakora Maaledidong and Henry Kofi Mensah
Despite the burgeoning stream of research on the relationship between entrepreneurial behavior (EB) and performance, the linkage between entrepreneurial behaviour, international…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the burgeoning stream of research on the relationship between entrepreneurial behavior (EB) and performance, the linkage between entrepreneurial behaviour, international mindset and performance is still underexplored. Therefore, this study investigates how the international mindset moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial behavior and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study's model is tested on a sample of 257 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging economy – Ghana – using a three-stage least squares estimator.
Findings
Results indicate that an international mindset primarily fosters entrepreneurial behavior in driving performance over and above the unique positive contributions of entrepreneurial behavior and international mindset. Specifically, the study finds that at high levels of international mindset, the positive effects of innovativeness and risk-taking elements of entrepreneurial behavior becomes strengthened. The international mindset's moderating role on the entrepreneurial behavior-performance linkage shows that the international mindset makes SMEs more innovative and open to risk, hence affecting performance positively.
Originality/value
The study demonstrates that, in the SME sector in the emerging economies, the relationship between the individual dimensions of entrepreneurial behavior and performance is contingent upon the role international mindset play in such a relationship. Further, this study explores how international mindset interacts uniquely with the EB (innovativeness, risk-taking and proactiveness) to predict performance.
Details
Keywords
Albert Danso, Samuel Adomako, Joseph Amankwah-Amoah and Theophilus Lartey
Building on the upper echelons theory and sustainability orientation (SO) literature, this paper aims to examine the possibility that the relationship between chief executive…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on the upper echelons theory and sustainability orientation (SO) literature, this paper aims to examine the possibility that the relationship between chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) SO and venture growth might be mediated by levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used data obtained from 211 new ventures operating in Ghana. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The authors found that CSR implementation mediates the relationship between SO and venture growth. In addition, the authors found that, at higher levels of financial slack, the effect of SO on CSR implementation is attenuated. However, the results show that, at higher levels of CEO power, the influence of SO on CSR implementation is amplified.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to examine the mediating role of CSR implementation in the relationship between SO and venture growth and also examines two internal contingency factors (i.e. CEO power and financial slack) on this association.