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The study examined capacity-building practices for librarians' effective library service delivery in Federal University Libraries in Nigeria.
Abstract
Purpose
The study examined capacity-building practices for librarians' effective library service delivery in Federal University Libraries in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
The design for this paper was a descriptive survey research design. Data was collected using a questionnaire from a total number of 178 respondents. Collected data were analyzed using mean scores and standard deviation.
Findings
The findings reveal that learning capacity-building practices such as rotating members of staff for wider experience exist in these libraries. Learning capacity-building practices contributes to effective service delivery by enhancing various library services. Results also show that there are challenges confronting learning capacity-building practices which include inadequate funding. For these libraries to perform to their highest potentials, their learning capacity needs to be built and developed.
Research limitations/implications
The major limitation of this study is the tendency of the respondents to fake their responses which may arise from their personal biases.
Practical implications
Therefore, university library management and university administrators should as a matter of urgency develop policies that will ensure that capacities are built for better service delivery or risk users losing interest in the library.
Originality/value
The study examined a vital dimension of capacity build, which is learning capacity building. The findings will help university administrators and library management to know the different learning capacity-building practices that exist in the various libraries and the extent to which these practices are important and relevant for effective service delivery. This will assist them in adopting relevant and adequate learning capacity-building strategies and guiding them in formulating effective capacity-building policies.
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Elizabeth C. Annan-Prah and Raphael P.K. Andoh
Customised capacity building is thought to be essential for organisations. However, empirical studies are lacking with respect to its effect on employee outcomes. This study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
Customised capacity building is thought to be essential for organisations. However, empirical studies are lacking with respect to its effect on employee outcomes. This study aims to examine the effect of customised capacity building on employee outcomes including employee empowerment and employee engagement through employee learning in Ghanaian local government institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Valid responses from 281 employees of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in Ghana were collected through a survey. A structural equation model was used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses formulated.
Findings
The results showed that customised capacity building has an effect on employee learning, employee empowerment, and employee engagement. Employee learning also had an effect on employee empowerment and employee engagement. In addition, employee learning partially mediated the effect of customised capacity building on both employee empowerment and employee engagement.
Originality/value
This study is of particular relevance to public organisations. As there is a dearth of studies focusing on customised capacity building, this study provides insight into incorporating the phenomenon into public sector organisations to enhance employee learning, empowerment and engagement.
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Alan Bain, Allan Walker and Anissa Chan
The paper aims to describe the application of theoretical principles derived from a study of self‐organisation and complex systems theory and their application to school‐based…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to describe the application of theoretical principles derived from a study of self‐organisation and complex systems theory and their application to school‐based capacity building to support planned change.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a case example in a Hong Kong School to illustrate the application of the principles and discuss their potential to sustain the effect of capacity building in schools.. The descriptive case study is used to illustrate six theoretical propositions of self‐organization. The case is then unpacked using each of the propositions to illustrate the application of the theory to capacity building in a secondary school setting.
Findings
The case illustrates the way each of the principles are reflected in a design process undertaken by the school's principal and its leadership team to create a self‐organizing approach to capacity building.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is threefold. First it shows the way in which capacity building can be theorized for practical benefit in school settings. Second, the theoretical approach described in the case study addresses the longstanding and largely unresolved issue of the sustainability of capacity building efforts in school settings. The case analysis links theory to practical strategy that can be used by school leaders to design their own capacity building efforts that disperse control to the community, are sustainable, and self‐organizing within the school.
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How can we account for the actual state of capacity building in Africa? This paper attempts to respond to this question, building on the existing literature and statistical data…
Abstract
How can we account for the actual state of capacity building in Africa? This paper attempts to respond to this question, building on the existing literature and statistical data available both within and outside the continent. Using the arguments put forward by different national and international institutions around the world, it is possible to trace the path followed by the capacity building process in Africa around change and human capital theories. Following the creation of ACBF in 1991 and thanks to the intervention of a number of development partners, capacity building practices have significantly influenced the functioning of African States, the implementation of educational systems, the expansion of microfinance, and the impact of multilateral trade negotiations. This paper suggests that capacity building in Africa still requires urgent and vigorous actions towards a qualitative and quantitative of scientists, for the coordination of the dispersed efforts made by various regional and sub‐regional institutions, and for the strengthening of individual and collaborative programmes aimed at developing African human resources in Africa.
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S.M. Riad Shams and Rajibul Hasan
Transnationalism and transnational concept are extensively researched in many social science areas; however, transnational management and transnational marketing is relatively a…
Abstract
Purpose
Transnationalism and transnational concept are extensively researched in many social science areas; however, transnational management and transnational marketing is relatively a less explored research domain. Also, knowledge management for transnational education (TNE) marketing is not well-researched. Capacity building is an established research-stream, with a key focus on socio-economic and ecological development; however, prior research on capacity building from the context of TNE’s knowledge management and marketing is scarce. The purpose of this study is to analyse TNE marketing mix, to understand the influence of transnational stakeholders’ causal scope(s) on knowledge management in TNE to uphold their transnatioalisation processes through capacity building in TNEs’ marketing management.
Design/methodology/approach
An inductive constructivist method is followed.
Findings
Organisational learning from the context of transnational market and socio-economic competitive factors, based on analysing the transnational stakeholders’ causal scope(s) is imperative for proactive knowledge management capacity in TNE marketing. Following the analysis of transnational stakeholders’ causal scope(s) to learn about the cause and consequence of the transnational stakeholders’ relationships and interactions, an initial conceptual framework of knowledge management for TNE marketing is proposed. Practical insights from different TNE markets are developed in support of this novel knowledge management capacity building framework of TNE, and its generalisation perspectives and future research areas are discussed.
Practical implications
These insights will be useful for TNE administrators to better align their knowledge management perspectives and propositions with their transnational stakeholders to underpin TNE marketing. Academics will be able to use these insights as a basis for future research.
Originality/value
This study proposes a novel conceptual stakeholder-centred capacity building framework for TNE’s knowledge management to uphold TNE marketing and supports the framework, based on practical insights from three different transnational markets.
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Feleke Tadele and Siambabala Bernard Manyena
Building institutional capacity to prevent, prepare and respond to disasters is among aspects emphasized in the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005‐2015 to enhance the resilience of…
Abstract
Purpose
Building institutional capacity to prevent, prepare and respond to disasters is among aspects emphasized in the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005‐2015 to enhance the resilience of disaster‐affected communities. Lessons from past programmes could help the design and implementation of future capacity building interventions with a view to making them both a means and an end in themselves in building disaster resilience of communities and nations. This paper aims to explore the issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on the authors' experiences and reports in institutional capacity building in Ethiopia.
Findings
Institutional capacity building programmes should adopt a non‐intervention approach, using existing structures. Programmes should be demand‐driven and beneficiary‐based rather than supply‐driven and should be holistic and integrated with coordination being an important ingredient. Capacity building is a slow process and unless all partners are willing to make a choice in favour of assessing and working the holistic and integrated capacity building will struggle to make a lasting influence in reducing disasters and their impacts to Ethiopians.
Practical implications
With capacity building being at the centre of the building community, resilience, coordination by donors as well as government agencies is fundamental.
Originality/value
The paper illuminates areas of good practice as well as complexities surrounding the delivery of the disaster resilience through capacity building and how governments and development and humanitarian agencies are implicated.
The purpose of this paper is to engage African subject matter experts to assist with a needs assessment of international capacity building for developing countries in Africa, to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to engage African subject matter experts to assist with a needs assessment of international capacity building for developing countries in Africa, to establish a prioritized list of capacity building keywords substantiated by a current literature review.
Design/methodology/approach
A pragmatic mixed-method research design was used which involved conducting literature reviews and applying a modified Delphi technique to determine future research needs. The credibility of these results was strengthened by selecting a Delphi subject matter expert panel from African countries including Benin, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Cameroon, Congo, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Algeria and Nigeria. Non-parametric statistical techniques were used to objectively analyze the qualitative data and prioritize the findings.
Findings
The results clearly identified seven literature keywords which could improve future African capacity building research (in order of highest importance first): Trade Union (regional economic integration), Governance, FDI, Emigration, Education, Economic (small business stimulation), and Brain Gain. Additional keywords surfaced in the literature related to these ones, namely healthcare and brain drain (emigrating academics and scholars).
Research limitations/implications
The results of this study should generalize to government and capacity building policy administrators in Africa as well as to other researchers and practitioners in this field. The use of a novel modified Delphi technique should also be of interest to other researchers.
Originality/value
The modified Delphi technique commenced with a knowledge sharing conference where pre-selected subject matter experts collaborated to define the initial scope of questions. Another novel aspect of the customized Delphi technique was that the subject matter experts were required to conduct a literature review to substantiate their responses to questions.
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Capacity building is a crucial antecedent for socio-economic development. However, an enhanced capacity that is difficult to develop could quickly be eroded, because of rapid…
Abstract
Purpose
Capacity building is a crucial antecedent for socio-economic development. However, an enhanced capacity that is difficult to develop could quickly be eroded, because of rapid changes in competitive forces in industries and markets. Therefore, this paper intends to analyse the extant strategic management and relationship marketing (RM) literature that deal with competition. Eventually, the purpose of this paper is to develop an alternative route for capacity building process that could sustain competitive advantage in a market or industry, which encounters rapid changes in business competition.
Design/methodology/approach
An inductive constructivist approach is followed to support arguments, in order to develop a synthesis from the relevant literature to reinforce the current understandings on capacity building and sustained competitive advantage.
Findings
An influence of RM on strategic organisational dynamic capabilities (DCs) is recognised, which appears as significant to sustain DCs and subsequent competitive advantage. Based on this influence, this paper proposes a conceptual framework of capacity building that could survive through the “valuable, rare, inimitability and non-substitutability” test, which is fundamental to sustain competitive advantage. Some empirical insights are developed, in support of this conceptual framework.
Practical implications
For research and practice, these insights will be useful to focus on specific attributes in capacity building to sustain the enhanced capacity’s competitive advantage over time, across industries and markets.
Social implications
Similarly, the insights will be instrumental to sustain the benefit of capacity building to underpin socio-economic progress.
Originality/value
The paper proposes a much needed initial conceptual framework for capacity building to sustain competitive advantage of a hard-earned capacity for socio-economic development.
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The purpose of this paper is to propose how a bottom-up creation of an ambidextrous organization can be enabled. By integrating research on “contextual ambidexterity” and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose how a bottom-up creation of an ambidextrous organization can be enabled. By integrating research on “contextual ambidexterity” and “individual and organizational capacity building”, an “innovation capacity building” framework is conceptualized that suggests how balance between exploration and exploitation can be maintained.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is conceptual. As no data are utilized, focus is on discussing the links between the two theoretical perspectives and the advantages of the proposed innovation capacity building framework.
Findings
The innovation capacity building framework discusses the influence, both positive and negative, of the local organizational context for ambidexterity, and the interactions required such as feedback between the management team and the employees so they together can build an ambidextrous working culture. A culture in which it is the individual employee that is responsible for switching between activities related to exploration and exploitation and where the management team empowers the employees to do so.
Originality/value
This study focuses on contextual ambidexterity and how contextual ambidexterity can be implemented as a way of working in contemporary organizations. The originality lies in the proposed framework and in the dedicated focus on “how” ambidexterity can be implemented in organizations.
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The Teen Entrepreneurship Competition (TEC) was an annual inter‐school competition that aimed to promote entrepreneurship education (EE) in Hong Kong (HK) secondary schools. This…
Abstract
Purpose
The Teen Entrepreneurship Competition (TEC) was an annual inter‐school competition that aimed to promote entrepreneurship education (EE) in Hong Kong (HK) secondary schools. This paper aims to: review and evaluate the implementation of the TEC over the years from 2003‐2010, and use the TEC as a case to demonstrate how EE can be advanced through capacity building in various ways and levels.
Design/methodology/approach
There were two key milestone phases for the TEC. This paper will describe and discuss the achievements made in Phase I and the capacity building for advancing the TEC in Phase II in details. Then, a critical analysis of capacity building for advancing TEC in Phase II will be made with a careful consideration of the TEC's design rationales, the research findings in Phase I and the three inter‐related levels of capacity building. Finally, suggestions will be recommended for further strengthening EE in schools.
Findings
The sustainability and advancement of the TEC are closely related to: advancing “Character Building” at the individual level, advancing “Partnership Building” at the institutional level, and advancing “Social Responsibility” at the societal level. However, the TEC might still overlook an alignment with the existing curriculum development. A further capacity building of course development and policy making should be sought.
Originality/values
This is a precious illustrative case study for the purpose of sharing useful information and genuine experience with those who are interested in promoting teen EE in schools.
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