Augustine Ahiauzu

Competitive advantage: mediator of intellectual capital and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of competitive advantage in the relationship between intellectual capital and financial performance in Ugandas microfinance institutions. The major aim is to establish the role of competitive advantage in the relationship between intellectual capital and firm performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts MedGraph program (Excel version), Sobel tests and the Kenny and Boran approach to test for mediation effects.Findings – Competitive advantage is a significant mediator in the association between intellectual capital and financial performance and boosts the relationship between the two by 22.4 percent in Ugandan microfinance institutions. Further findings confirmed a partial type of mediation between the intellectual capital, competitive advantage and financial performance.Research limitations/implications – Only a single research methodological approach was employed and future research through interviews could be undertak...

Intellectual capital and performance: testing interaction effects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction effect of intellectual capital elements and how they fuse to affect financial performance in microfinance institutions. The major purpose is to explore the appropriate blend or mix of intellectual capital elements that explains the source of value creation – hence performance – in microfinance institutions.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts the ModGraph program (Excel version) along with the Kenny and Boran approach to test conditional hypotheses.Findings – The magnitude effect of human capital on performance depends on any of structural or relational capital; hence the assumption of nonadditivity is met. However, no significant interaction effects were established between relational and structural capital.Research limitations/implications – Only a single research methodological approach was employed and future research through interviews could be undertaken to triangulate. Furthermore, the findings from the present study are cr...

Managerial competencies and marketing effectiveness in corporate organizations in Nigeria

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of managerial competencies on the marketing effectiveness of the organization. While many empirical works have centered on marketing effectiveness, the generalizability of its relationship to managerial competencies in the Nigerian context has been under‐researched.Design/methodology/approach – A 27‐item survey questionnaire was developed and 84 corporate organizations in Nigeria were selected from the 2005 edition of the Nigerian stock exchange gazette as a sample of this study. A hand‐delivered survey was conducted from key informants in the organizations. Returned instruments were analyzed using non‐parametric correlation through the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 10.Findings – The results of the study reported in this paper validated the earlier instruments and find a strong association between managerial competencies and marketing effectiveness of corporate organizations in the Nigerian context. The main fi...

A model for effective board governance in Uganda's services sector firms

Purpose – The present study was carried out with the purpose of establishing a model of effective board governance in Ugandas service sector firms.Design/methodology/approach – This study is cross‐sectional. The analysis was conducted using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software on a sample of 128 service firms in Uganda. The perceived effective board governance in Uganda was measured by the perceptions of 128 respondents who are managers or directors in each of those service firms. Three confirmatory factor analysis models were tested and fitted.Findings – The three‐dimensional model of effective board governance in Uganda – consisting of control and meetings’ organization, board activity and effective communication – was determined to be the best fitting model. Evidence in support of relevant theories of board governance was adduced.Research limitations/implications – Although plenty of literature on corporate governance exists, there is scarce literature on effective board governance conceptual...

Employee involvement and organizational effectiveness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which employee involvement influences organizational effectiveness and to examine the extent to which employee involvement influences profitability, productivity, and market share.Design/methodology/approach – The correlational study was conducted as a cross‐sectional survey. Research questionnaires were administered and interviews were held with managers in the organizations studied. A total of 388 managers were randomly drawn from a population of 13,339 managers of all the 24 banks in Nigeria. The independent variable, “employee involvement” was measured by empowerment, team orientation, and capacity development. The dependent variable, “organizational effectiveness” was measured by profitability, productivity, and market share. The measures all used a five‐point Likert scale (ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree) and Spearmans rank correlation statistical tool was used to test the hypotheses.Findings – The descriptive stat...

Emotional intelligence and marketing effectiveness

Purpose – While much empirical work has centered on marketing effectiveness, the generalizability of its relationship to emotional intelligence in the Nigerian context has been under‐researched. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of emotional intelligence on the marketing effectiveness of the organization.Design/methodology/approach – A 31‐item survey questionnaire is developed and 108 corporate organizations in Nigeria are selected from the 2007 edition of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Gazette as a sample for this study. Hand delivery survey is conducted from key informants in the organizations. Returned instruments are analyzed using non‐parametric correlation through the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences.Findings – The results of the study validate the instruments on emotional intelligence and the earlier instruments for marketing effectiveness and find a strong association between emotional intelligence and marketing effectiveness of corporate organizations in the Nigeria...

Marketing in governance: emotional intelligence leadership for effective corporate governance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the most generally applied definitions and other aspects of emotional intelligence, as well as its associated managerial leadership competencies in corporate governance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopted a descriptive methodology in describing emotional intelligence leadership for effective corporate governance.Findings – The paper finds that the speed of change in the affairs of formal organizations worldwide tends to require the operations of those institutions to continually think and react to different situations. If peoples emotions are pushed toward the range of enthusiasm performance can soar; if people are driven toward rancour and anxiety, they will be thrown of stride.Originality/value – The emotional intelligence leadership discussed in this paper requires that for effective corporate governance, organizations have to grow emotional capital to handle issues of low morale, organizational stress, high staff turnover and lack of work/...

Organisational learning and competitive advantage: testing for the interacting influence of knowledge management and innovation

It is argued that in this era of globalisation and knowledge economy competitive advantage is a result of firm-specific resources and capabilities with characteristics of value, rareness, inimitability and non-substitutability. Accordingly, firms consider organisational learning, knowledge management and innovation as intangible resources for achieving competitive advantage however; little research has empirically examined the relationships between these resources especially in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore in a single model the relationships between organisational learning and competitive advantage with the interacting influence of knowledge management and innovation in a developing country such as Uganda in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between organisational learning and competitive advantage and that the interactive influence of knowledge management and innovation increases the predictive power of the relationship. This paper discusses these findings and provides theoretical and managerial implications.

Psychological climate, catharsis, organizational anomie, psychological wellness and ethical procurement behaviour in ugandaʼs public sector

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between psychological climate, catharsis, organizational anomie, psychological wellness and ethical procurement behaviour in Ugandaʼs public sector, in order to understand better the conditions that foster or diminish procurement ethics in a developing country. Data for this study were collected from a sample of 1100 respondents out of which 460 usable questionnaires, representing a 42% response rate were received and analyzed. Results reveal that psychological climate, procurement planning and organizational anomie were significant predictors, accounting for 64% of the variance in ethical procurement behaviour. These results have both policy and managerial implications which we present and discuss in this paper.

Intellectual capital in Ugandan service firms as mediator of board governance and firm performance

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of intellectual capital on the relationship between board governance and perceived firm financial performance. Design/methodology/approach - – This study was cross-sectional. Analyses were by SPSS and Analysis of Moment Structure on a sample of 128 firms. Findings - – The mediated model provides support for the hypothesis that intellectual capital mediates the relationship between board governance and perceived firm performance. while the direct relationship between board governance and firm financial performance without the mediation effect of intellectual capital was found to be significant, this relationship becomes insignificant when mediation of intellectual capital is allowed. Thus, the entire effect does not only go through the main hypothesised predictor variable (board governance) but majorly also, through intellectual capital. Accordingly, the connection between board governance and firm financial performance is very much weakened by the presence of intellectual capital in the model – confirming that the presence of intellectual capital significantly acts as a conduit in the association between board governance and firm financial performance. Overall, 36 per cent of the variance in perceived firm performance is explained. the error variance being 64 per cent of perceived firm performance itself. Research limitations/implications - – The authors surveyed directors or managers of firms and although the influence of common methods variance was minimal, the non-existence of common methods bias could not be guaranteed. Although the constructs have been defined as precisely as possible by drawing upon relevant literature and theory, the measurements used may not perfectly represent all the dimensions. For example board governance concept (used here as a behavioural concept) is very much in its infancy just as intellectual capital is. Similarly the authors have employed perceived firm financial performance as proxy for firm financial performance. The implication is that the constructs used/developed can realistically only be proxies for an underlying latent phenomenon that itself is not fully measureable. Practical implications - – In considering the behavioural constructs of the board, a new integrative framework for board effectiveness is much needed as a starting point, followed by examining intellectual capital in firms whose mediating effect should formally be accounted for in the board governance – financial performance equation. Originality/value - – Results add to the conceptual improvement in board governance studies and lend considerable support for the behavioural perspective in the study of boards and their firm performance improvement potential. Using qualitative factors for intellectual capital to predict the perceived firm financial performance, this study offers a unique dimension in understanding the causes of poor financial performance. It is always a sign of a maturing discipline (like corporate governance) to examine the role of a third variable in the relationship so as to make meaningful conclusions.