Browsing by Author "Sserwanga, Arthur"
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Item Action and Action-Regulation in Entrepreneurship: Evaluating a Student Training for Promoting Entrepreneurship(Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2015) Gielnik, Michael M.; Frese, Michael; Kahara-Kawuki, Audrey; Wasswa Katono, Isaac; Kyejjusa, Sarah; Ngoma, Muhammed; Munene, John; Namatovu-Dawa, Rebecca; Nansubuga, Florence; Orobia, Laura; Oyugi, Jacob; Sejjaaka, Samuel; Sserwanga, Arthur; Walter, Thomas; Marie Bischoff, Kim; Dlugosch, Thorsten J.Action plays a central role in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education. Based on action regulation theory, we developed an action-based entrepreneurship training. The training put a particular focus on action insofar as the participants learned action principles and engaged in the start-up of a business during the training. We hypothesized that a set of action-regulatory factors mediates the effect of the training on entrepreneurial action. We evaluated the training’s impact over a 12-month period using a randomized control group design. As hypothesized, the training had positive effects on action-regulatory factors (entrepreneurial goal intentions, action planning, action knowledge, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy) and the action-regulatory factors mediated the effect of the training on entrepreneurial action. Furthermore, entrepreneurial action and business opportunity identification mediated the effect of the training on business creation. Our study shows that action-regulatory mechanisms play an important role for action-based entrepreneurship trainings and business creation.Item Cognitive consequences of business shut down. The case of Ugandan repeat entrepreneurs(International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 2014) Sserwanga, Arthur; Rooks, GerritThe 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.Item The Context of Social Capital: A Comparison of Rural and Urban Entrepreneurs in Uganda(Entrepreneurship theory and Practice, 2016) Rooks, Gerrit; Klyver, Kim; Sserwanga, ArthurClassical 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.Item Culture as a Facilitator and a Barrier to Entrepreneurship Development in Uganda(Entrepreneurship in Africa, 2017) Khayesi, Jane N.O.; Sserwanga, Arthur; Kiconco, RebeccaThere has been substantial scholarly interest in culture as an institution that affects human life, including entrepreneurship (George and Zahra 2002; Hayton, George, and Zahra 2002). Most of this research, however, focuses on Western and Eastern countries, with limited research on the relationship between culture and entrepreneurship in Africa. For instance, a search of business and management literature on 23 May 2016 using the key terms “culture” and “entrepreneurship” in the isi Web of Science database yielded 654 articles, of which, only ten focused directly on Africa. There remains ambivalence about the contribution of culture to entrepreneurship development in African countries. While, on the one hand, there are stories of successful entrepreneurial efforts, on the other hand, there are tales of failure attributed to cultural factors. Furthermore, the different strands of research on culture and entrepreneurship development in Africa remain scattered and have not been consolidated into an easily accessible resource. This chapter aims to fill this gap in knowledge by synthesising and discussing available evidence showing how the cultural factor facilitates and/or constrains entrepreneurship development in Uganda.Item Evidence of Causality between Economic Growth and Electricity Consumption Expenditure in Uganda(Journal of Energy Research and Reviews, 2022) Alinda, Kassim; Tumwine, Sulait; Kaawaase, Twaha; Navrud, Ståle; Nalukenge, Irene; Sserwanga, ArthurThe aim of this study is to investigate the evidence of causality between economic growth and electricity consumption expenditure in Uganda for the period 1986 to 2017, aimed at contributing to literature on this topic and inform energy policy design in the country. Unlike previous studies on the causal link between energy consumption and economic growth, this paper introduces in capital stock as an intermittent variable in the causality framework. In this paper, we employed Johansen (1988, 1995) multivariate Cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) based on Granger causality tests. Findings revealed a bi-directional causality between electricity consumption and economic growth in the long-term and distinct causal flow from economic growth to electricity consumption in the short-term and long-term Granger causality from capital stock to economic growth, with short-run feedback in the opposite direction. Therefore, the Government of Uganda should implement conservation policies only through reducing energy intensity and promoting efficient energy use to avoid decline in output but also strengthen its efforts towards capital accumulation in order to realize sustainable economic growth and meet the desired goal of sustainable energy for all.Item Farm management skills, entrepreneurial bricolage and market orientation(Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 2020) Komugisha Tindiwensi, Catherine; Munene, John C.; Sserwanga, Arthur; Abaho, Ernest; Namatovu-Dawa, RebeccaThis article investigates the relationship between farm management skills, entrepreneurial bricolage and market orientation in smallholder farms. Design/methodology/approach – The study used quantitative approaches to survey 378 smallholder farms in Uganda. Data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling to establish the relationship between farm management skills, entrepreneurial bricolage and market orientation. Findings – Farm management skills positively predict market orientation while entrepreneurial bricolage partially mediates the relationship between farm management skills and market orientation. Research limitations/implications – The study utilized a survey design, which provides a cross-sectional view. Given that market orientation of smallholder farms can vary during the farm growth process, it becomes more informative to analyse how the independent and mediating variables cause a variation at different levels of market orientation. Practical implications – Farm management training programmes that emphasize financial management skills and employ a household approach should be strengthened to enhance smallholder market orientation. Strategies for enhancing market orientation should also entail bricolage as a complementary behaviour to farm management. Originality/value – We introduce entrepreneurial bricolage to the market orientation debate. The study brings alive the significance of entrepreneurial bricolage in smallholder farming. It also confirms the role of farm management skills in enhancing the market orientation of smallholder farms.Item Informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises in Kampala, Uganda: The mediating role of ecologies of innovation(Cogent Business & Management, 2019) Mayanja, Samuel; Ntayi, Joseph M.; Munene, J.C.; Balunywa, Waswa; Sserwanga, Arthur; Kagaari, James R.K.This paper examines the mediating role of ecologies of innovation in the relationship between informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kampala, Uganda. To empirically validate the conceptual model and test the hypothesised relationships, the authors collected data from a sample of 228 SMEs in Kampala district, Uganda purposefully selected for this study. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data were analysed using SPSS/20 and AMOS version 23. The findings exhibit a full mediation of ecologies of innovation in the relationship between informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among SMEs. Besides, informational differences and entrepreneurial networking are insignificantly related. There were, however, some limitations: as the study was cross-sectional in nature, it was difficult to trace the process of interactions among employees especially, how they attach meaning to information and entrepreneurial networking patterns over time;—the study was conducted in Kampala district among trade, manufacturing, and services sectors only. The implication is that entrepreneurial networking can only be explained and predicted through ecologies of innovation. The study recommends that SME owners/ managers need to fully understand and facilitate ecologies of innovation for employees to interact and attach meaning to information. This research contributes to the literature on mediation of ecologies of innovation between informational differences and entrepreneurial networking through its empirical findings of the hypothesised relationships. It theoretically contributes to existing knowledge by integrating complexity systems leadership theory.Item Informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises in Kampala, Uganda: The mediating role of ecologies of innovation(Cogent Business & Management, 2019) Mayanja, Samuel; Ntayi, Joseph M.; Munene, J.C.; Balunywa, Waswa; Sserwanga, Arthur; Kagaari, James R.K.This paper examines the mediating role of ecologies of innovation in the relationship between informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kampala, Uganda. To empirically validate the conceptual model and test the hypothesized relationships, the authors collected data from a sample of 228 SMEs in Kampala district, Uganda purposefully selected for this study. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, and data were analysed using SPSS/20 and AMOS version 23. The findings exhibit a full mediation of ecologies of innovation in the relationship between informational differences and entrepreneurial networking among SMEs. Besides, informational differences and entrepreneurial networking are insignificantly related. There were, however, some limitations: as the study was cross-sectional in nature, it was difficult to trace the process of interactions among employees especially, how they attach meaning to information and entrepreneurial networking patterns over time;—the study was conducted in Kampala district among trade, manufacturing, and services sectors only. The implication is that entrepreneurial networking can only be explained and predicted through ecologies of innovation. The study recommends that SME owners/ managers need to fully understand and facilitate ecologies of innovation for employees to interact and attach meaning to information. This research contributes to the literature on mediation of ecologies of innovation between informational differences and entrepreneurial networking through its empirical findings of the hypothesized relationships. It theoretically contributes to existing knowledge by integrating complexity systems leadership theory.Item 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, ArthurThis 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.Item Network Structure and Innovative Performance of African Entrepreneurs: The Case of Uganda(Journal of African economies, 2012) Rooksa, Gerrit; Szirmaic, Adam; Sserwanga, ArthurIn this study, we examine the impact of social capital on entrepreneurial innovativeness in an African context. Social capital refers to resources that are embedded in a durable network of relationships. This article focuses specifically on the structure of networks. There are two main views on the relation between network structure and entrepreneurial performance. One view argues that closed networks are beneficial for cooperation and resource sharing, which is needed to implement an innovation, while another view argues that closed networks constrain entrepreneurs, since it is open networks that provide entrepreneurs with fresh information and ideas. Based on these arguments, we hypothesise that the relationship between the degree of constraint of a network and innovative performance has an inverted U-shape. We also examine the hypothesis that overlap between personal and business networks will hamper innovative performance of entrepreneurs because information will be less diverse and heterogeneous, and because re-distributive kinship obligations may act as a drain on entrepreneurial resources. We test our hypotheses using a recent survey of about 700 Ugandan rural and urban entrepreneurs. Our hypotheses are supported in the urban sample, but not in the rural sample.Item 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, GerritThis 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.Item Social Capital and Innovative Performance in Developing Countries The Case of Ugandan Entrepreneurs(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009) Rooks, Gerrit; Szirmai, Adam; Sserwanga, ArthurThis 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.Item Social entrepreneurship and post conflict recovery in Uganda(Journal of Enterprising Communities, 2014) Sserwanga, Arthur; Kiconco, Rebecca Isabella; Nystrand, Malin; Mindra, RachelThe purpose of this study was to explore the role social entrepreneurship has played in post conflict recovery in Gulu district in northern Uganda. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory and qualitative research design was used to examine the role of social entrepreneurship in post conflict recovery in the Gulu community located in Uganda. A sample of five social entrepreneurs and 15 beneficiaries were interviewed. Findings – The findings revealed that there is an association between active social entrepreneurship and post conflict recovery. Social entrepreneurship was found to create opportunity recognition, networking and innovation at both an individual and societal level. Research limitations/implications – The generalization of the findings was limited by sample and method.Across-sectional design that was used does not allow for a long-term impact study and limited empirical published research done. Originality/value – This in-depth richness provides a clearer appreciation of the role social entrepreneurs’ play in post conflict recovery.Item Sustainability Practices among Manufacturing Firms in Uganda: An Overview of Challenges and Opportunities(Advances in Research, 2022) Alinda, Kassim; Tumwine, Sulait; Kaawaase, Twaha; Navrud, Ståle; Nalukenge, Irene; Sserwanga, ArthurThe aim of this paper is to provide an in-depth exploration of the opportunities and challenges towards the uptake of sustainability practices (SPs) among manufacturing firms in Uganda. SPs are among the notable solutions in overcoming the challenges facing the global environment, society as well as prosperity for all. The paper utilized a qualitative research design following a review approach of relevant scientific, technical as well as government policy papers. From the review, enforcement of the available environmental laws and policies, customer’s awareness, technological innovation, organisational culture and strict governance, emerge as key drivers towards the uptake of SPs in this country. However, weak legislations and enforcement in some instances, lack of sufficient resources to invest in new technologies, high costs of financing, organisational culture, and limited awareness emerge as the main challenges facing the uptake of SPs. Furthermore, our study provides policy implications that could mitigate the challenges identified especially in a least developed country, Uganda.Item Tax compliance behaviour of small business enterprises in Uganda(Journal of Financial Crime, 2019) Kiconco, Rebecca Isabella; Gwokyalya, Waliya; Sserwanga, Arthur; Balunywa, WaswaThis study aims to investigate the extent to which the theory of reasoned action (TRA) can be used to explain tax compliance among small business enterprises (SBEs) in Uganda and extends the application and relevance of the theory to a new area of tax compliance. It contributes the TRA, as a predictor of tax compliance in a developing country context. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional survey targeting different categories of SBEs was carried out using interviewer-administered questionnaires. A sample of 384 SBEs was used in the study. Findings – The TRA contributes critical insights on the tax compliance behaviour of small businesses in developing economies. It influences tax compliance behaviour. The study illustrates evidence about the negative attitudes SBEs have on intentions to comply with tax regulations and the extent to which these attitudes influence their compliance behaviour. Subjective norms positively influence tax compliance intentions in a positive manner. Overall, the appearance of these intentions shows a negative effect on tax compliance behaviour. These findings also imply that Uganda Revenue Authority needs to understand the social psychology of taxpayers and tailor these in their policies and efforts to increase compliance. Research limitations/implications – The TRA has been used to explain behaviour in numerous situations in psychology. The study used this theory in a new geographical, economic and administrative environment; Uganda. This theory has proved relevant in explaining psychological, sociological and economic behaviour; specifically tax compliance. The TRA was revised to include a new construct of perceived behavioural control, which turned into the theory of planned behaviour. This could not be studied due to time and logistic constraints. Therefore, there is a need to investigate if this revised theory can explain tax compliance behaviour better. Practical implications – The paper suggests that tax administration efforts and policies should consider the social-psychology aspects of the taxpayers to improve tax compliance. Originality/value – This study adds a new arena of explaining tax compliance from a theory commonly used in psychology to a new setting in finance.Item 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, MichaelThis 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.