Otuo Serebour Agyemang

Corporate social responsibility and firm performance of Ghanaian SMEs: Mediating role of access to capital and firm reputation

Purpose This paper aims to examine the influence of corporate social responsibility on financial performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana by using access to capital and firm reputation as mediating variables. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected primary data from 423 SMEs within the Accra Metropolis. Partial least squares estimation technique was used to analyze the data. Findings The authors documented evidence for a mechanism through which corporate social responsibility results in financial performance of firms: SMEs with improved corporate social responsibility practices are better positioned to achieve enhanced reputation, which translates into improved financial performance. Even though this study did not document a significant relationship between corporate social responsibility and access to finance by Ghanaian SMEs, the authors contend that looking at the positive relationship between them, SMEs can minimize their capital constraints by embarking on CSR practices, which can eventually translate into financial performance. Practical implications The authors recommend that for SMEs to enhance their reputation and increase their access to capital, which will eventually result in enhanced financial performance, corporate social responsibility practices should be a major part of their operations. Originality/value It contributes to our knowledge on how CSR practices lead to financial performance of SMEs in developing countries. In addition, this is the first of its kind to establish the relationship between CSR practices and financial performance of SMEs in Ghana by using access to capital and firm reputation as mediating factors.

Maternal Health-Seeking Behavior: The Role of Financing and Organization of Health Services in Ghana

This paper examines how organization and financing of maternal health services influence health-seeking behavior in Bosomtwe district, Ghana. It contributes in furthering the discussions on maternal health-seeking behavior and health outcomes from a health system perspective in sub-Saharan Africa. From a health system standpoint, the paper first presents the resources, organization and financing of maternal health service in Ghana, and later uses case study examples to explain how Ghanas health system has shaped maternal health-seeking behavior of women in the district. The paper employs a qualitative case study technique to build a complex and holistic picture, and report detailed views of the women in their natural setting. A purposeful sampling technique is applied to select 16 women in the district for this study. Through face-to-face interviews and group discussions with the selected women, comprehensive and in-depth information on health- seeking behavior and health outcomes are elicited for the analysis. The study highlights that characteristics embedded in decentralization and provision of free maternal health care influence health-seeking behavior. Particularly, the use of antenatal care has increased after the delivery exemption policy in Ghana. Interestingly, the study also reveals certain social structures, which influence womens attitude towards their decisions and choices of health facilities.

Unearthing the Integral Determinants of Foreign Ownership Prevalence of Companies in Africa: Role of Country-level Governance

ABSTRACT This study seeks to deepen our understanding on how country-level governance structures influence prevalence of foreign ownership of firms in Africa. This study reinforces the new institutional economics perspective by empirically highlighting that governance structures influence the prevalence of foreign ownership of companies in an economy. Using archival data from 39 African economies, we found that there is a significant positive association between regulatory quality and foreign ownership prevalence. Also, foreign ownership is prevalent in African countries that are politically stable and embrace rule of law. However, we found that countries with high voice and accountability structures are associated with low foreign ownership prevalence.

Role of personal values in investment decisions: Perspectives of individual Ghanaian shareholders

Purpose - This paper examines the role personal values play in investment decision-making processes among Ghanaian shareholders. Design/methodology/approach - In consequence of the recent emergence of the issue of corporate governance practices in Ghana, and the kind of the research objective of this paper, a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods was employed. These methods were employed in two stages. The first stage was qualitative, which purposively selected 20 individual shareholders to solicit their perspectives on how personal values influence investment decisions. Their responses were used to construct the content of this enquiry. The second stage, which was quantitative, employed stratified sampling technique to select 503 individual shareholders to confirm the responses obtained from stage one of the enquiry. Findings - The findings of the study reveal that individual shareholders in Ghana hold value priorities and that honesty, a comfortable life and family security play a significant role in their lives and their investment decision-making processes, and the kind of companies they choose to invest in. Also, to Ghanaian individual shareholders, there is a clear distinction between a comfortable life and a prosperous life in the sense that they are not incentivized more by the latter but by the former in their investment decisions. Practical implications - The results can inform corporate directors and managers what values are considered in investment decisions, and that it is not purely financial. With these results, they can be informed that while some financial values are important- it is just to live a comfortable life and not a prosperous life. This may influence these directors and managers to have a more long-run focus and to have more of a CSR focus by putting implementable measures in place to tackle corporate responsibility issues and to take up a responsibility for their CSR feat. Also, the results can be used for public policy in that if regulators find out that more CSR type information is important to investors, they might require additional CSR-type disclosures in financial statements. Originality/value - This paper contributes to our knowledge on the stakeholder perspective of Corporate Governance that individual shareholders’ personal values have influence on their investment decisions and the choice of companies they invest in.

Elderly Demand for Family-Based Care and Support: Evidence from a Social Intervention Strategy

This paper examines the influence of the national health insurance scheme on elderly demand for family-based care and support. It contributes to the growing concern on the rapid increase in the elderly population globally using micro-level social theory to examine the influence the health insurance has on elderly demand for family support. A qualitative case study approach is applied to construct a comprehensive and thick description of how the national health insurance scheme influences the elderly in their demand for family support. Through focused interviews and direct observation of six selected cases, in-depth information on primary carers, living arrangement and the interaction between the health insurance as structure and elders as agents are analyzed. The study highlights that the interaction between the elderly and the national health insurance scheme has produced a new stratum of relationship between the elderly and their primary carers. Consequently, this has created equilibrium between the elderly demand for support and support made available by their primary carers. As the demand of the elderly for support is declining, supply of support by family members for the elderly is also on the decline.

Let’s talk about firm responsibility: the perception of individual Ghanaian shareholders on corporate social responsibility

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the perception of individual Ghanaian shareholders on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Design/methodology/approach - In consequence of the largely unexplored nature of the issue of CSR, the authors use a qualitative analysis to offer the painstaking understanding needed about this issue. Individual Ghanaian shareholders who have absolute control over what companies they desire to invest were selected as the participants. Findings - The findings show that individual shareholders believe there is the need for corporate directors and managers to take into consideration the interests of all corporate stakeholders-workers, customers, shareholders, suppliers, the local community and the environment- in fashioning out their CSR policies. It also shows the relevance individual shareholders attach to each of those CSRs within each corporate stakeholder group. For instance, the individual shareholders think that it is most relevant for firms to put implementable measures in place to reduce or minimise harm to the environment. Also, with respect to workers, firms are the first and foremost to ensure a hale and hearty and secured work environment. Further, with respect to customers, firms have to offer standard or quality products and services to them. More so, in regards to suppliers, corporate directors and managers have to offer them reasonable prices for their products. Finally, on the part of the local community, firms have to effectively assist them. Practical implications - The practical approach to problems and affairs of individual Ghanaian shareholders is indicated by how much importance they attach to each corporate responsibility matter, and also they appreciate that a firm cannot thrive or survive for long if it refuses or totally abandons the needs of other corporate stakeholder categories. It will thus be of relevance to firms to take executable steps to deal with the needs of other corporate stakeholder groups brought up by the individual shareholders. As a matter of fact, the vivid descriptions of each of the matters concerning CSR of the individual shareholders present an important policy guideline for corporate directors and corporate managers to establish good-natured relationship between their firms and other corporate stakeholder groups. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the knowledge on CSR by establishing that even though individual shareholders are interested in personal economic benefits, they want their firms to be socially responsible to meet the interests of other corporate stakeholder groups.

Firm reputation and financial performance of SMEs: the Ghanaian perspective

Our paper examines the effects of firm reputation on financial performance of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana by controlling for firm specific variables such as firm age, firm size, owner/managers age, leverage and access to capital. It contributes to our knowledge on how firm reputation enhances the financial performance of SMEs in developing economies. We employed primary data from 423 SMEs within the Accra Metropolis. Standard regression analysis was used to analyse the data. We documented a significant positive association between firm reputation and firm performance, denoting that high corporate reputation by an SME enhances its performance. In addition, with the exception of firm size, there was a significant positive relationship between all the control variables and financial performance of SMEs.

Institutional structures and financial market development in Africa

Abstract Our paper examines the relationship between institutional structures and the level of financial markets development in Africa. Our paper contributes to the extant literature by using other financial market development variables—ease of access to loans and venture capital availability—that have not before been used to analyzed how institutional structures influence the level of financial markets development in the context of Africa. We employ a two-step generalized method of moment estimator with corrected standard errors to examine this. We demonstrate that a high-quality institutional environment is relevant in explaining ease of access to loans and venture capital availability in Africa. Based on these results, our paper argues that good institutional structures could help stimulate the level of financial markets development in Africa. However, to attain this feat, African governments need to strengthen institutions through effective enforcement of laws to foster compliance in a specifically definite manner-by fashioning out costs for non-compliance

Institutional structures and the strength of investor confidence in Africa

Purpose This paper aims to examine the role of country-level institutional structures in strengthening the level of investor confidence in Africa while controlling for real GDP growth, interest rate spread, inflation and country credit rating. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses panel data for the period 2009-2013. It takes into account the rule of law, political stability, regulatory quality, voice and accountability, control of corruption and property rights as potential institutional drivers of the level of investor confidence. These factors are based on their relative relevance from the extant literature. Correlated panels-corrected standard errors model was used to establish the relationship between the institutional structures and the strength of investor confidence. Findings The overall results show that rule of law, voice and accountability, property rights and political stability exhibit significant positive relationship with the strength of investor confidence in African economies. This implies that asking African economies to strengthen these institutional structures will result in enhanced investor confidence in their economies. This suggests that the establishment of these institutional structures is an effective tool to enhance investor confidence in African economies. Practical implications In addition to the long-term goal of promoting economic reforms, a corresponding long-term goal of strengthening institutional structures in African economies should be taken into consideration. Instead of waiting for their economic reforms to take effect, governments in African countries can, to some degree, attract investors into their economies by establishing credible institutional structures. Originality/value This paper contributes to the knowledge on how country-level institutional structures influence the level of investor confidence in the context of Africa.

Codes of corporate governance: a comparative analysis between Ghana and the UK

We highlight considerable important aspects of the proposed 2010 Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Code of Ghana and compare them with UK Corporate Governance Codes. Comparisons are undertaken on their respective definitions of corporate governance, compliance and enforcement, board structure and composition and key board committees. Initial findings suggest that both the 2010 SEC of Ghana and UK Codes are voluntary in nature and principally business induced. However, we recommend a more highly regulated business environment in Ghana to enhance corporate governance practices through effective compliance and enforcement. As several Ghanaian firms are characterised by large shareholders who painstakingly influence both the appointments of chief executive officer and board members, enhancements in corporate governance practices in Ghana are vitally important to safeguard the rights of minority shareholders, infuse confidence in investors and compliance with socio-economic goals of Ghana.