Entrepreneurship and innovation in Ghana: enterprising Africa

This study adopts a multi-level theoretical framework to examine data from 496 entrepreneurs in Ghana. Seven types of innovation activity are analysed against three categories of variables: the characteristics of the entrepreneur, the internal competencies of the firm, and firm location. Across all respondents, the incidence of incremental innovation was far greater than novel innovation. The extent of innovation was related to the education level of the entrepreneur. Firm size and involvement in exporting were positively related to innovation, but firm growth is less systematically so. Innovation was greater in firms located in conurbations compared to firms located in large and small towns. We conclude with suggestions for policy to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in Ghana.      

Barriers to Social Enterprise Growth

This study investigates barriers to social enterprise growth. The research employs qualitative case study data gathered from young social enterprises to examine the interplay between social enterprise and individual, organizational and institutional barriers to growth. We find that social enterprise barriers to growth are based on values differences, business models, and institutional norms. We theorize three strategic responses to overcome barriers to growth: values‐based decision‐making, leveraging social mission, and anchoring.     

Beyond Philanthropy: Community Enterprise as a Basis for Corporate Citizenship

In this article we argue that the emergence of a new form of organization – community enterprise – provides an alternative mechanism for corporations to behave in socially responsible ways. Community enterprises are distinguished from other third sector organisations by their generation of income through trading, rather than philanthropy and/or government subsidy, to finance their social goals. They also include democratic governance structures which allow members of the community or constituency they serve to participate in the management of the organisation. Partnerships between corporations and community enterprises therefore raise the possibility of corporations moving beyond philanthropic donations toward a more sustainable form of intervention involving long-term commitments to communities. At the same time they change substantively the nature of any collaboration by allowing relationships to proceed on the basis of mutual advantage, thereby broadening their appeal and scope. In doing so, partnerships build capacity and enfranchise communities in a way that avoids the paternalism that has traditionally characterised relationships between corporations and voluntary sector organisations. Power relations are transformed because partners are seen as sources of valuable assets, knowledge and expertise, rather than recipients of patronage or charity.     

Linking Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change: The Mediating Role of Empowerment

Entrepreneurship is increasingly considered to be integral to development; however, social and cultural norms impact on the extent to which women in developing countries engage with, and accrue the benefits of, entrepreneurial activity. Using data collected from 49 members of a rural social enterprise in North India, we examine the relationships between social entrepreneurship, empowerment and social change. Innovative business processes that facilitated women’s economic activity and at the same time complied with local social and cultural norms that constrain their agency contributed to changing the social order itself. We frame emancipatory social entrepreneurship as processes that (1) empower women and (2) contribute to changing the social order in which women are embedded.     

Some methods for assessing the need for non-linear models in business cycle analysis

It is often suggested that non-linear models are needed to capture business cycle features. In this paper, we subject this view to some critical analysis. We examine two types of non-linear models designed to capture the bounce-back effect in US expansions. This means that these non-linear models produce an improved explanation of the shape of expansions over that provided by linear models. But this is at the expense of making expansions last much longer than they do in reality. Interestingly, the fitted models seem to be influenced by a single point in 1958 when a large negative growth rate in GDP was followed by good positive growth in the next quarter. This seems to have become embedded as a population characteristic and results in overly long and strong expansions. That feature is likely to be a problem for forecasting if another large negative growth rate was observed.     

The Third Way and the third sector: New Labour's economic policy and the social economy

This paper reviews the relationship between Labour's economicpolicy and the third sector. Since 1997, the third sector hasreceived significant government support and has gradually movedfrom the economic periphery towards the centre such that itis now instrumental in the delivery of a range of governmentpolicies. It operates alongside both the private and publicsectors in delivering employment, education, health and socialcare, housing and environmental policies. The impact of thishas been seen in measures of social exclusion, poverty, theenvironment, social capital, as well as GDP and employment.Future policies should strive to maintain and develop the distinctivecapabilities of third sector organisations and the balance betweeneconomic, social and environmental objectives.     

Are Scottish firms meeting the ICT challenge? Results from a National Survey of Enterprise

This paper examines the diffusion of Information Communication Technology (ICT) into firms in Scotland and northern England. Data concerning the adoption of micro-computers, e-mail, the Internet, ISDN, in-house website, and the automation of business functions is analysed by industry, firm size, firm age, rate of growth, export involvement, and innovation activity. The results from a sample of 1347 firms found an overall increase in the adoption of ICT in firms between 1998 and 2001. The increase is led by older and larger firms in comparison to younger and smaller firms. In addition, the diffusion of the automation of business functions was found to be sequential, from generic to specific applications. Further increases in the diffusion of ICT are likely to come from upgrading existing equipment and increases in the range of business functions that can be automated. Finally, although use of the Internet and web-based trading has increased in the sample firms, this has not replaced traditional marketing and sales. The results support the view that more firms are taking up the challenge of using ICT in-house, with older and larger firms leading the way ahead of younger and smaller firms.