Search results

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/09513549910294487. When citing the article, please cite: Kojo Saffu, Aminu Mamman, (1999), “Mechanics, problems and contributions of tertiary strategic alliances: the case of 22 Australian universities”, International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 13 Iss: 6, pp. 281 - 286.

This comparative study explores the relevance and applicability of the characteristics of entrepreneurs espoused in the western entrepreneurship literature to indigenous entrepreneurs. Using five South Pacific island countries as a case in point, the literature reviewed shows that culture impacts on the characteristics of entrepreneurs from these countries and accounts for differences between the characteristics of the Pacific island entrepreneurs and the characteristics found in the Western entrepreneurship literature. In the light of the influence of culture, perhaps a new list of characteristics that indigenous entrepreneurs in the South Pacific island countries would require to succeed is warranted. An integrative model of cultural dimension and characteristics of Pacific island entrepreneurs is provided. Propositions are advanced for the study of culture as a moderating influence on entrepreneurial characteristics elsewhere, especially indigenous entrepreneurs from developing countries.

The goal of this paper is to examine the link between consumer ethnocentrism (CE) and the attitudes of two consumer groups to a buy local campaign in a transitioning economy, Slovakia.

Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from 211 non‐students at shopping malls in Banská Bystrica (non‐student group) and from 209 students at the University of Matej Bela, Banská Bystrica (student group) in Slovakia. Ethnocentrism was measured using the consumer ethnocentric tendencies scale (CETSCALE) while attitudinal statements were used to measure the attitudes toward locally made products and a buy local campaign. The attitudinal data were factor analysed and the correlations between the CETSCALE and the attitudinal statements were examined. Summative scales based on the factor analysis results were also developed.

A significant finding of this paper is the role of the government and industry in encouraging Slovakians to buy local. The nonstudent consumers to be less ethnocentric than the student group are found. The attitudinal statements of both groups toward Slovakian products are generally similar.

This research was designed to contribute to the discussion of CE by linking it to attitudes to a buy local campaign in a transitioning country.

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the link between the determinants of perceived strategic value (PSV) of e‐commerce and e‐commerce adoption among Ghanaian small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), defined as businesses that employ a maximum of 200 employees.

The authors randomly sampled SME owners/managers from the membership of the Ghana Club 100 (GC 100) and non‐traditional exporters (NTEs). Established databases are not the norm in Ghana, and GC 100 and NTEs had membership databases that were accessible to the local co‐author. Investigating e‐commerce adoption issues among these companies was warranted. The authors used a structured instrument developed and validated in prior studies to collect the data in a face to face interview. A pilot study was conducted to ascertain the clarity and reliability of the questionnaire. Of the SME owners/managers: 200 were contacted; 112 agreed to participate in the study; 107 responses were obtained – representing a 53.5 per cent response rate. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 14.

Factor analysis demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity and construct reliability. PSV construct resulted in four factors: Strategic Decision Support (SD), Information Management (IM), Organizational Support (OS) and Decision Aids (DA). This finding is both consistent and inconsistent with prior research. The adoption construct yielded five factors: Perceived Usefulness (PU), Ease of Use (EU), Compatibility (C), Organisational Readiness (OS) and External Pressure (EP). There was more congruence between our results and those of prior research.

Limitations stem from small sample size, the population and locale from which the sample was drawn.

The study has research and practical implications, and these are discussed fully in the paper.

The paper contributes to the knowledge of perceived strategic value and adoption of e‐commerce by SMEs in an under‐researched part of the world.

Grounded in human capital theory and resource‐based view, this paper aims to examine the effect of the entrepreneur's human capital and the venture's resources on the performance of small‐ and medium‐sized tourism ventures (SMTVs) in Ghana.

The data were collected from 247 SMTVs, defined as tourism establishments employing less than 100 employees in the Western and Central regions of Ghana. Hypotheses derived from human capital and resource‐based theories were tested to assess the relationship between the theories and SMTV performance.

The study found a significant positive relationship between education, experience and performance. However, the hypothesised positive relationship between entrepreneurial family background and SMTV performance was inconsistent with prior studies. The findings with respect to the hypothesised relationship between venture resources and SMTV performance were mixed.

The study suffers from industry‐specific, size‐specific and region‐specific limitations. Another limitation is the focus on human capital and venture resources as the determinants of tourism venture performance.

Knowing that education and experience per se impact on tourism venture performance, it behoves entrepreneurs in the tourism industry to endeavour to acquire the requisite education and experience. The finding has policy implications in the provision of tailor‐made training and incubation programs for SMTV entrepreneurs.

The study adds to the understanding of the unique nature of entrepreneurship in tourism by identifying the significance of human capital factors and venture resources on the performance of tourism ventures.

Reports the dilemma faced by Australian universities in their international strategic alliance effort. While the 22 respondent universities espouse such motives as altruism, scholarship, and expansion into new markets as the reasons for entering into international strategic alliances, the true motives appear to be at variance with the former. Arguably, until the contradictions between the espoused and true positions are resolved, Australian universities may not realise the full potential of their international collaborative activities. Suggestions for resolving the discrepancy are offered.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate planning practices, strategy types, and the performance of indigenous firms in Bahrain and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Data are collected from cheif executive officers (CEOs) and top management of 95 local companies sampled from Chamber of Commerce and Industry databases in Bahrain and UAE using face‐to‐face interviews. Analysis of variance and univariate logistic regression are employed in analyzing the data.

Although most of the firms are long‐term planners, many of them do not have a planning process. Majority of the firms are Prospectors and Analyzers. Prospectors perform considerably better than all the other strategy types. Nevertheless, the firms that are included in this paper appear to be cautious and not aggressive in entering new markets or in taking the lead in introducing and marketing new products.

The paper suffers from selection bias by focusing on indigenous‐owned companies. Also, the data originate from self‐reported responses from business leaders and executives. The results do not establish causality. Finally, only broad demographic links are considered. Other individual and firm variables may influence performance in different ways than indicated here.

Managers must pay heed to the usefulness of planning and ensure that their companies have a planning process in place. Given the performance of Prospectors, managers must adopt some prospector strategies. Experience and high level of education as essential ingredients to successful planning and performance require management consideration.

The paper provides empirical support for Miles and Snow typology and corroborates the existing understanding that planning is beneficial to firms from an under‐researched part of the world.

The aim of this paper is to examine the quality perceptions of developing country consumers in Malaysia and Papua New Guinea (PNG), on a high‐ and low‐involvement product (personal computer and shoes) produced by the manufacturing countries of origin of the USA, Australia, Italy and Brazil.

The country‐of‐origin (COO) effect on quality perceptions was measured by exploring interactive effect differences, using analysis of variance.

The findings from this study were first, that consumers in PNG evaluated their homemade products less favourably than foreign‐made products. Second, that COO effects influence consumers' preferences differently in the case of high‐ and low‐involvement products and third, that analyses using overall mean values instead of interaction effects can lead to incorrect interpretations. The results also supported the widely held view that consumers hold stereotypical views of products made in different foreign countries but disagreed about the nature of such stereotypical views.

The main implications of this study are first, that more attention needs to be paid to a product's COO when marketing to consumers in Malaysia and PNG. Second, that in the case of high‐ and low‐involvement products, marketing managers should take special care to examine the impact of COO effects. Third, that COO research should take care to correctly evaluate and use interaction effects since the simple use of overall mean values can produce very different and incorrect interpretations.

This paper makes important contributions to the COO and consumer ethnocentrism research.

This study reports the mechanics, problems and contributions of international strategic alliances involving 22 Australian universities. The findings suggest that the majority of Australian universities have a framework for internationalisation initiatives, with top university management being instrumental in initiating joint ventures with overseas institutions even though inadequate resources are provided especially at the pre‐negotiation and implementation phases of the partnership. Our study shows that Australian universities believe they bring to the partnership high quality higher education and reputable credentials while their overseas partners’ major contributions include financial resources and market opportunities.

This paper sets out to examine the relationship between the perceptions of the strategic value of e‐commerce and e‐commerce adoption among 107 owners/managers of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in a transitional economy, Ghana.

The membership of the top 100 Ghanaian businesses, called the Ghana Club 100 (GC 100), and non‐traditional exporters (NTEs) was surveyed using a structured questionnaire in face‐to‐face interviews. Principal axis factoring with varimax rotation was employed to identify and estimate the constructs in the model, followed by an exploratory factor analysis to test for the inclusion of all items in the model. Finally, canonical analysis was employed to study the interrelationships among the sets of multiple dependent and multiple independent variables. By so doing control for moderator effects existing among various variables was effected.

Organizational support was the strongest predictor on the perceived strategic value (PSV) construct, followed by managerial productivity, and decision aids. Perceived usefulness, compatibility, external pressure and organizational pressure were found to be statistically significant determinants of e‐commerce adoption. These findings are consistent with prior studies. Additionally, it was found that ease of use was also influential in the e‐commerce adoption decision of Ghanaian SMEs.

The study shows the value that SME owners/managers in a transitional economy place on e‐commerce, and the role envisaged for it. The study also provides an insight into the e‐commerce adoption in a transitional economy context. Owners/managers of SMEs in other developing countries may find the study useful in making decisions relating to e‐commerce adoption. The impact of the perceptions of e‐commerce and e‐commerce adoption on firm performance in transitional economies is a worthy area for future research. Replication of the study in other transitional economies is therefore warranted.