The internationalization of African firms: Opportunities, challenges, and risks

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has attracted wider research interests over recent decades. While some studies have examined the impact of CSR activities on firm competitive advantage (CA), the findings so far remain contradictory. Moreover, the role of export orientation, firm strategy, and structure on the association between CSR and CA has not been explicitly examined. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of export orientation, firm strategy, structure, and firm size on the association between CSR and CA. Using a sample of 179 responses from management staff in organizations across five sectors in a developing country context of Ghana, the study found positive effects of CSR on CA. The study contributes to the resource-based view (RBV) scholarship by confirming the important complementary effect of export orientation and organizational structure as important resources and capabilities on the CSR-competitiveness relationship. However, no evidence of a moderating effect of firm strategy, or firm size on the CSR-CA relationship was found. These findings are instructive, impactful, and enrich the existing literature on CSR and strategy. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed. K E Y W O R D Scompetitive advantage (CA), competitive strategy, corporate social responsibility (CSR), export orientation, firm structure, Ghana tion of firms' internationalization activities in recent decades (Boso,

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage: A developing country perspective

Nyuur

Ofori

Amponsah

2019

“…It is important to note that Africa's institutional voids for example, underdeveloped intermediary markets, limited access to capital markets, poor infrastructure, and weak regulatory environment can be viewed as a double‐edged sword. For firms that cannot handle the ambiguity and uncertainties that characterize such markets, the market imperfections constitute a serious challenge or impediment to doing business (Boso, Adeleye, Ibeh, & Chizema, ). On the other hand, for those firms that are able to navigate underdeveloped institutions and deal with frequent environmental shifts, such an ability can become a source of sustainable competitive advantage (Boso et al, ).…”

Section: The Developing World: African Marketmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For firms that cannot handle the ambiguity and uncertainties that characterize such markets, the market imperfections constitute a serious challenge or impediment to doing business (Boso, Adeleye, Ibeh, & Chizema, ). On the other hand, for those firms that are able to navigate underdeveloped institutions and deal with frequent environmental shifts, such an ability can become a source of sustainable competitive advantage (Boso et al, ). The core problem lies not with the market, but with the attempt to fit a developed world business model onto the developing world.…”

Section: The Developing World: African Marketmentioning

confidence: 99%

Building service businesses in Africa: Introducing the business builder model

Aksoy

Allerstorfer²,

Cadet

et al. 2019

The success of Silicon Valley has served as a driving force for entrepreneurs and investors worldwide. Many have attempted to create their own version in developing markets by setting up Silicon Valley-style tech incubators. In recent years, Africa has seen an influx of these start-up incubators, which has resulted in an emergence of major tech hubs in different parts of the continent. These areas have taken on names synonymous with the booming tech industry: Cape Town in South Africa is known as the Silicon Cape, Nairobi in Kenya as the Silicon Savannah, and Lagos, Nigeria as the Silicon Lagoon. Despite the influx and success of some of these incubators, there is also a multitude of examples where success and longevity are rare. The lifespan of these start-ups are short and they seldom realize any profit. Limited access to capital markets, poor infrastructure, and weak regulatory environment are just a few reasons cited for this. Although there is a multitude of articles and publications that feature success cases and reasons behind propelling success, there are far fewer that focus on failures. As such, with this article we aim to shed light on the various reasons why these businesses fail by analyzing the literature and demonstrating them with realworld examples of both successes and failures in the market. Using the information analyzed, we then propose a solution for successfully investing in tech startups in the developing world, the business builder model.

Chief executive officers' dispositional optimism, host country's rule of law, and foreign market equity mode choice of Ghanaian small and medium‐sized enterprises

Adomako

Frimpong

Mohammed

et al. 2019

Despite a growing interest in the influence of managerial characteristics on firms' strategic decision-making process, scholarly knowledge is limited with regard to how and when psychological attributes of executives affect firms' foreign entry mode decision. Building on behavioral decision-making theory, we address this gap by investigating the effect of chief executive officers' (CEOs') optimism on firms' foreign market equity mode choice. In addition, we examine the moderating influence of the host country's rule of law on this relationship. Using primary data from 227 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, we found that increases in the levels of CEOs' optimism are related to the increases in preference for equity entry mode. This relationship is amplified when CEOs perceive the host country to have stronger rule of law. The findings have theoretical, managerial, and policy implications for SMEs' foreign market entry mode strategy.