NRU :: Browsing by Author "Rooks, Gerrit"

Browsing by Author "Rooks, Gerrit"

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Cognitive consequences of business shut down. The case of Ugandan repeat entrepreneurs
(International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 2014) Sserwanga, Arthur; Rooks, Gerrit
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the cognitive and motivational consequences of a business failure, and their relation with subsequent start up success. The paper hypothesizes that if previous business failure was attributed to an internal and stable cause, subsequent business would be less successful compared to where an entrepreneur attributed business failure to an internal and unstable cause. Design/methodology/approach – The authors reviewed the literature on attribution theory in an achievement context and derived a hypothesis about the relation between causal thinking and subsequent business success. A survey amongst entrepreneurs in Uganda was carried out to yield insights on how attributions to past performance influence subsequent business performance. Findings – Entrepreneurs who attributed previous business failure to an internal, stable cause were found to be less successful in subsequent business start up. When repeat entrepreneurs attribute previous shut down to a lack of ability, they are less successful in a subsequent business start up. However, attributing the failure to a lack of effort, does not affect subsequent business success. Originality/value – The study reaffirms the importance of attributional thinking in entrepreneurship and provides empirical evidence on the relationship between the way entrepreneurs think about their previous performance and subsequent performance. Attributional thinking influences subsequent business actions and outcomes, which offers important practical applications. For instance training to change attributions of entrepreneurs may be used to influence their eventual performance.
The Context of Social Capital: A Comparison of Rural and Urban Entrepreneurs in Uganda
(Entrepreneurship theory and Practice, 2016) Rooks, Gerrit; Klyver, Kim; Sserwanga, Arthur
Classical network theory states that social networks are a form of capital because they provide access to resources. In this article, we propose that network effects differ between collectivistic and individualistic contexts. In a collectivistic context, resource sharing will be “value based.” It is expected that members of a group support each other and share resources. In contrast, in an individualistic context, resource sharing will be more often based on reciprocity and trust. Hence, we hypothesized that networks will be more beneficial in individual contexts compared with collectivistic context. We found partial support for our hypotheses.
Contract Enforcement ICBE policy BRIEF in Ugandan Business Transactions: The Case of Small and Medium Enterprises
(Trust Africa, 2013) Ntayi, Joseph M.; Rooks, Gerrit; Eyaa, Sarah; Zeija, Flavian
This study examines the extent to which small and medium sized business in Uganda use formal agreements when purchasing supplies. It also looks at the dispute resolution mechanisms the SMEs use when suppliers do not honour their contractual obligations to deliver supplies on time. The paper is based on a survey with a sample of 422 Ugandan Small Scale Businesses and 417 medium enterprises. The businesses surveyed were drawn from manufacturing, construction, hotels and restaurants, education, wholesale and retail trade sectors. Respondents were managers who deal with the purchasing function within their businesses. Data were collected using a questionnaire which was made up of both closed and open-ended questions to corroborate responses from respondents.
Contract Enforcement ICBE policy BRIEF in Ugandan Business Transactions: The Case of Small and Medium Enterprises
(TrustAfrica, 2013) Mpeera Ntayi, Joseph; Rooks, Gerrit; Eyaa, Sarah; Zeija, Flavian
This study examines the extent to which small and medium sized business in Uganda use formal agreements when purchasing supplies. It also looks at the dispute resolution mechanisms the SMEs use when suppliers do not honor their contractual obligations to deliver supplies on time. The paper is based on a survey with a sample of 422 Ugandan Small Scale Businesses and 417 medium enterprises. The businesses surveyed were drawn from manufacturing, construction, hotels and restaurants, education, wholesale and retail trade sectors. Respondents were managers who deal with the purchasing function within their businesses. Data were collected using a questionnaire which was made up of both closed and open-ended questions to corroborate responses from respondents.
The Interplay of Human and Social Capital in Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries: The Case of Uganda
(United Nations Universitty, 2009) Rooks, Gerrit; Szirmai, Adam; Sserwanga, Arthur
This paper discusses the characteristics and determinants of entrepreneurial behaviour in Uganda. It is based on a recent survey of urban and rural entrepreneurs, executed in May 2008. The main dependent variables are business success, gestation activities and innovative performance. The paper focuses in particular on the interplay of human and social capital in determining entrepreneurial performance. A prominent question in the literature is whether human capital and social capital act as complements or substitutes in furthering entrepreneurial dynamism. We find that Ugandan enterprises are predominantly very small and not very dynamic. Most enterprises are young, with little or no growth of employment since start-up. Only a very small subset of sample entrepreneurs could be classified as entrepreneur in the dynamic Schumpeterian sense.
Perceived Project Value, Opportunistic Behavior, Interorganizational Cooperation, and Contractor Performance
(Journal of African Business, 2010) Ntayi, Joseph Mpeera; Rooks, Gerrit; Eyaa, Sarah; Qian, Cheng
Predictors of contractor performance have attracted the attention of researchers in the developed world. However, research from sub-Saharan Africa to corroborate these findings has remained sparse. What exists is speculative and at best anecdotal. Using data from construction firms in Uganda, this study finds that commitment to the project, perceived value of the project, interorganizational cooperation, and opportunistic behavior are significant predictors of contractor performance. This has both policy and managerial implications, which we present in this paper.
Risk Taking and Start-up Capital: Exploring Gender differences in Uganda, through an International Comparison
(Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 2011) Orobia, Laura; Sserwanga, Arthur; Rooks, Gerrit
This study sought to explain the gender differences with respect to risk taking behaviour and start-up capital in Uganda, comparing with other countries. The start-up capital of businesses run by females is ostensibly smaller than those run by males in Uganda and in any other country. A number of reasons have been forwarded to explain this variance. Some researchers have linked the size of start-up capital to the risk taking behaviour among other factors. However there is insufficient local or Ugandan empirical research into this difference, given that much of the empirical research are based on western data sets. Data for this study was from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2003. A causal research design was used to establish the relationship between risk taking attitude and start up capital. A comparative design was also employed to compare the findings of Uganda with other GEM countries, Chi-square tests, and a two way analysis of variances were used to analyse the data. There are gender differences with respect to risk taking behaviour across all countries under study. However, the gender gap is wider in other countries than Uganda. On the whole, Uganda women are less risk averse as compared to those in other countries. The start-up capital requirement of Ugandan men is more than their female counterparts. In addition, Ugandan men invested more personal start up capital when they are risk averse. Among other recommendations, policy makers should sensitise females about viability of business start ups and encourage women access to ownership of property.
Social Capital and Innovative Performance in Developing Countries The Case of Ugandan Entrepreneurs
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009) Rooks, Gerrit; Szirmai, Adam; Sserwanga, Arthur
This paper examines the relationships between the characteristics of networks of small scale entrepreneurs and their innovative performance in a developing country context. It is based on a survey of entrepreneurs held in Uganda in May 2008. Networks represent social capital that can contribute to economic success and innovative performance. But sometimes networks can also act as obstacles to innovation. In the literature there are two opposing strands. The line of research initiated by Coleman points to the advantages of being embedded in tightly knit networks, which provide trust, support and access to innovation. Burt emphasizes the disadvantages and constraints of closed and dense networks, where many relationships are redundant and actors are isolated from the outside world. This paper applies these theories in a developing country setting, where they have so far not been studied. It provides an empirical synthesis between the Burt and the Coleman perspective. The relationship between network constraints and innovative performance is found to be curvilinear. Increasing density and constraint initially has positive effects on innovative performance, but beyond an optimum negative effects start to prevail. Network size and human capital have positive effects on innovative performance.
Unpacking the Personal Initiative–Performance Relationship: A Multi-Group Analysis of Innovation by Ugandan Rural and Urban Entrepreneurs
(Applied Psychology, 2016) Rooks, Gerrit; Sserwanga, Arthur; Frese, Michael
This article considers determinants of innovative performance of entrepreneurs in developing countries. Innovation is viewed from a personal initiative perspective. We distinguish two mechanisms through which entrepreneurs who show personal initiative are innovative. The first mechanism is business planning. The second mechanism is the acquisition of resources that can be accessed through a social network of relations. We argue that the two mechanisms depend on the context of innovation. Planning will be more beneficial in more dynamic environments. In dynamic and individualistic-oriented environments it will be more beneficial to actively develop networks. In more static, collectivistic-oriented environments personal initiative will be less beneficial. The model was tested using a sizable survey of 283 rural and 290 urban entrepreneurs in Uganda, a country located in East Africa.

Browsing by Author "Rooks, Gerrit"

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