African Journal of
Business Management

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Bus. Manage.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1993-8233
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJBM
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 4196

AJBM Articles

Business development and sustainability of selected petrol stations in Anambra state of Nigeria

January 2018

The essence of most investments is quality return. Continuous quality returns are guaranteed by patronages enjoyed by the investment, this therefore sustains the business. Hardly has this been achieved by most patrol stations that litter the roads of Anambra state of Nigeria due to the location of such businesses. Pursuant to the aforementioned problem, the study seeks to ascertain the extent to which business...

Author(s): Onyeizugbe C. Uzochukwu, Orogbu O. Lilian, Onyilofor T. Uchenna and Ugbomhe O. Ugbomhe

Expected cost of financial distress in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): A German-Italian comparison

January 2018

This study aims to identify a number of qualitative and quantitative elements that affect financial distress costs between Italian and German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We propose a model that interprets “expected costs” as the product between “expected financial distress likelihood” and “total amount of financial distress costs due to insolvency”. The model is...

Author(s): Andrea Quintiliani

Exploring the connection between relational capital and female entrepreneurs

December 2017

Among intangible assets of contemporary companies, relational capital (RC) is a relevant strategic asset as well as a dimension of intellectual capital. In this scenario, micro-enterprises are key drivers of economic growth, and woman entrepreneurs are key developers of these businesses. So, the purpose of this study is to carry out a literature review analyzing how RC contributes to the startup phase of women-owned...

Author(s): Paola Paoloni and Rosa Lombardi

Relationship between intangible assets and financial performance of listed telecommunication firms in China, based on empirical analysis

December 2017

This paper follows an empirical approach to test the relationship between degree of intangible assets and profitability. It is important for shareholders to understand which critical factors influence firms’ financial performance. All the data are based on 17 listed telecommunication firms’ financial statements in China from 2014 to 2016. This study gives empirical evidence that intangible assets’...

Author(s): Nijun Zhang

The contribution of the African capital markets in the diversification of investment global portfolios

December 2017

This study aims to evaluate the contribution of the African capital markets in the diversification of investment global portfolios. The study used the methodology based on the application of optimization models like mean variance (MV), resample michaud (RM), semi variance (SV), mean absolute deviation (MAD), and filtered historical simulation (FHS). In-sample and out-of-sample approaches were used to analyze the data....

Author(s): Alexandrino Barreto

The odyssey of South African multinational corporations (MNCs) and their impact on the Southern African development community (SADC)

December 2017

It has been observed that the pressures of globalisation and the lure for increased profitability have continued to motivate South African multinational companies (MNCs) to invest across international borders, especially in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Furthermore, the deliberate policy to integrate the region has necessitated most of the governments of the SADC to encourage their largest companies...

Author(s): Egu, E. Mathew and Aregbeshola, R. Adewale

Financing the consumers and new dynamics in time of crisis: An analysis of a well-known furniture and multinational store in Bari, Italy

November 2017

In 2007, an international crisis began due to the dissemination of bad debts, which spilled over to 2008. The global economy is still facing its consequences. This crisis is serious and its consequences are particularly long and painful. In a research of 2011, the economist John Taylor named “the great deviation” as “the recent period when macro-economic policies are based more on interventionist, less...

Author(s): Pierluigi Passaro, Arianna Di Vittorio and Dario Schirone

Why small and medium-sized firms tend to make recourse to external debt: An investigation into an Italian sample

November 2017

The purpose of this research is to identify the determinants impacting companies’ financial structure in SMEs belonging to different economic sectors. The research is due to the current situation which characterizes the banking system and the companies’ environment. Within this context, both companies and stakeholders need to identify the determinants impacting these companies’ financial structure in...

Author(s): Alberto Mazzoleni, Elisa Giacosa and Manzi Luca Maria

Ambidexterity between operation and innovation: A stochastic queuing model

November 2017

The notion of productivities dilemma indicates that organizations need to balance the tension between operation and innovation to ensure both short term performances and long term adaptability. Ambidexterity as a solution to productivity dilemma has lack analysis on micro-level ambidexterity. In this paper, a group process view and a stochastic queuing model were adopted to study the optimal time arrangement between...

Author(s): Zhiyuan Shang and Gongqi Guo

Business intelligence and change management: The case of an administrative service company operating in the context of the entrepreneurial associations

November 2017

This study aims to analyse the potential organizational impacts related to introduction and implementation of new managerial concepts methods and tools in Italian entrepreneurship associations using direct observation through daily presence as methodology in the structure. The results revealed that although the context of entrepreneurial associations assumes a certain degree of proactivity and dynamism in dealing with...

Author(s): Sara Propeti and Marco Giuliani

An empirical study of consumers’ emotional reaction on brand collaboration

November 2017

The study aims to examine customers’ emotional reaction to brand collaboration, taking into consideration the possible combination of different brand equities using three experiments. Mobile phone is selected as the hypothetical product. Samsung is selected as the brand with the highest awareness in the mobile manufacture category whereas Burberry is selected as the brand with the highest awareness in the fashion...

Author(s): Jianrong Hou, Xiaofeng Zhao and Yingkui  Li

The role of management accounting in family business succession

November 2017

Family business succession is considered inherent to family businesses and represents a critical process that is generally characterised by resistance to change. This study aims to investigate the role of management accounting systems (MASs) in family business succession, in order to understand how changes in MASs during the succession across different family generations can help the succession process itself,...

Author(s): Marco Bisogno and Giovanni Vaia

The influence of employee demographic factors on job satisfaction: A case study of Segen Construction Company, Eritrea

November 2017

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between demographic factors and job satisfaction at Segen Construction Company (SCC), Eritrea, using Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ on a five-point Likert scale). The survey was conducted in June 2017, and covered 68 employees of SCC at the headquarters in Asmara. Regression analyses on the influence of demographic factors on job satisfaction revealed...

Author(s): Tadesse Beyene and Muriithi Gituma

Fair value accounting and earnings quality (EQ) in banking sector: Evidence from Europe

October 2017

This research investigates the influence of fair value accounting (FVA) on earnings quality (EQ) in European banking sector over the 2007 to 2016 period. As financial reporting system of banks is particularly exposed to FVA, we assume that FVA may produce significant effects on EQ for European banks. It can be expected that financial instruments’ prices are not available in illiquid markets, so Fair Values are...

Author(s): Mauro Paoloni, Guido Paolucci and Elisa Menicucci

Inclusion of small-scale energy users in liberalized energy markets

October 2017

Climate change dramatically impacts the structure of energy business by adding renewables. In traditional energy networks, the balance between the demand for- and the offer of- power is managed by increasing the amount of commodity or by shedding loads. Customer-centered grid brings new paradigm about changing the economic behavior of small- and medium- scaled energy users instead of varying the amounts of commodity...

Author(s): Mikhail Simonov, Simona Alfiero, Alfredo Esposito and Luisa Tibiletti

Strategies for achieving sustainable economy in Nigeria taking into consideration the acceptable stakeholders

October 2017

The downward trend in the Nigerian economy has become a source of worry to both the leaders and the led, making it difficult for the managers of businesses to make the decision for sustainable businesses. This work looks at the explosion of the Nigerian population from the year 2005 to date, the modern state of the Nigerian economy and the failed strategies tried in the past, with a look at the acceptable stakeholders,...

Author(s): Ogbo, A. I., Eneh, Nnajiofor C. J., Agbaeze E. K., Chukwu, B. I. and Isijola, D. O.

Story beneath story: Do magazine articles reveal forthcoming returns on stock market?

October 2017

The study attempts to investigate the relation between news articles and stock returns, focusing on immediate impact of Pak and Gulf Economist articles. It endeavors to figure out whether such quantification of news articles has a relation with Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE)-100 index. Sample comprised of 511 words picked manually for analysis from 760 weekly issues of Pak and Gulf Economist. Correlation and regression...

Author(s): Aamir Sarwar and Qurat-ul-ain Mazhar

Marketing activities as critical success factors: The case of seed producer cooperatives in Ethiopia

October 2017

The purpose of this study is to identify the specific marketing activities that contribute most to the performance improvement of seed producer cooperatives (SPCs) in Ethiopia. Both quantitative and qualitative procedures were adopted to extract information from knowledgeable and experienced experts using structured questionnaires. Results indicate that clear differences exist between Ethiopian SPCs in their intensity...

Author(s): Dawit Tsegaye Sisay, Frans, J.H.M. Verhees and Hans, C.M. van Trijp

Evaluation of innovation ability of high-tech enterprises based on catastrophe progression method

October 2017

Previous researches have utilized analytic hierarchy process, factor analysis and other methods in investigating innovation ability; however, these have been found to have a common problem that is either too subjective or involves a complex calculation procedure. Application of catastrophe progression method in this paper on innovation ability evaluation of high-tech enterprises helps to avoid these problems. The...

Author(s): Yong Zhang, Rongrong Bao and Baolong Yu

Organisational culture as a driver of outsourcing choices: A conceptual model

September 2017

It is generally known that organisational culture plays an important  role in conditioning both behaviour and entrepreneurial choices, which can occur either consciously  or unconsciously as well as differently based on specific entrepreneurial situations. This paper investigated the impact of organisational culture on outsourcing choices and provided a conceptual model on how this conditioning occurs. Through...

Author(s): Paolo Popoli

Retention strategies used for doctors and nurses in Lesotho: An implementation framework

September 2017

This study reviews the retention strategies used for Lesotho’s doctors and nurses, and it presents an implementation framework that supports and promotes staff retention.  Based on the increasing necessity to retain doctors and nurses, the implementation framework is an essential element of retention strategy. A qualitative and quantitative research design method for collecting data was adopted in the form of...

Author(s): Makahlolo Juliah Makong and Darlington Peter Onojaefe

Popular financial reporting: Results, expense and welfare markers

September 2017

The National and international accounting principles converged with the aim to provide information about consolidated groups, be it accessible, comprehensible and transparent. A public company group certainly varied in the support of Popular Financial Reporting, an instrument of consolidated economic property and  financial cost reporting. It completes financial, economic, patrimonial, quantitative and qualitative...

Author(s): Paolo Pietro Biancone, Silvana Secinaro and Valerio Brescia

The increasing role of contract research organizations in the evolution of the biopharmaceutical industry

September 2017

The role played by contract research organizations (CROs) in the last decades has been almost completely neglected by the economic and managerial literature, which at most presents an outdated and misleading portrait, of firms performing routine clinical tasks. This study aims at filling this knowledge gap, by describing the evolution of the CRO segment of the biopharma industry in the last two decades, discussing the...

Author(s): Margherita Balconi and Valeria Lorenzi

An assessment of nexus between infrastructural development and Nigerian economic growth

September 2017

This study investigates the nexus between infrastructural development and Nigerian economic growth using data from 1981 to 2014. The data was tested for stationarity followed by co-integration, and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) was employed for the analysis. From the results, there is long run relationship between infrastructure development and Nigerian economic growth. VECM have the expected negative sign, and...

Author(s): Peter Siyan and Adewale E. Adegoriola

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) in developing countries: Literature review

September 2017

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) has globally been recognized by both large and small businesses, little literature is currently available regarding the motivation and barriers for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engagement in CSR practices. Until recently, the involvement of SMEs in social activities has received little attention by both scholars and practitioners. Therefore, this study is aimed at...

Author(s): Peter K. Turyakira

Impairment of goodwill, IAS 36 and determinants of mandatory disclosure in Italian listed companies

September 2017

Disclosure allows investors to understand financial performance. The study provides findings on the level of compliance of mandatory disclosure concerning the impairment of goodwill under IFRS and its determinants.  The examined sample is composed of 145 Italian listed entities. Size variables, performance variables and amortization of goodwill variables were tested in order to verify the determinant of the...

Author(s): Alain Devalle, Fabio Rizzato and Pietro Pisoni

How do nurses perceive their cultural diversity? An exploratory case study

September 2017

Due to its effect on both individual outcomes like job mobility, job satisfaction, job involvement and fair remuneration on the one hand and organizational outcomes like employees’ attendance, turnover, cynicism and performance on the other, diversity has become a rising trend more than ever before. The concept is no longer limited to Western countries but has become popular in many parts of the world. This study...

Author(s): Mohamed Mousa

Information and communication technology and the exploration of regional economic information: an analysis of the economic strategy of the regional investment center of Agadir, Souss-Massa Region, Morocco

September 2017

Communication has long been considered in light of social facts, territory and economic development. The techniques and practices it involves gradually cover the regional scope. The examination of this convergence is necessary not only in terms of the empirical approach that framework the appearance and development of information and communication technology, but also in terms of the practices engendered. From this...

Author(s): Khalid Benamara, Abdelkader Hermas, and Said Chakouk

Development of market opportunities through post-harvest processing of the African indigenous vegetables in Tanzania

September 2017

African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) have gained prominence in the recent past due to nutritional and health benefits. The low requirement for high value inputs has enabled low resource farmers to practice AIVs production. There have been improvements in the production of high quality AIVs seeds as well as more production of the AIVs leaf and fruits. As a consequence, there are occasional gluts of the AIVs leaf and...

Author(s): Richard Musebe, Daniel Karanja, Srinivasulu Rajendran, Radegunda Kessy, Monica Kansiime, Damas Marandu, Silivesta Samali, Jacqueline Nicodemus, Ngoni Nenguwo, Ruth Chiwanga and Peter Makuya

Retracted: Factors associated with young Taiwanese people's preference of green tea

August 2017

The purpose of this study is to identify Japanese's green tea consumption preferences among young people in Taiwan between the age of 18-30 and assess the possible tea market opportunities for Japanese's green tea in Taiwan, among young people.   Questionnaire was used to collect data which were spread to 200 university students, aged between 18-30 years. Firstly, the tea product tasting survey...

Author(s): Shu Chun Chang and Mega Trishuta Pathiassana

Assessment of factors affecting performance of agricultural cooperatives in wheat market: The case of Gedeb Hasasa District, Ethiopia

August 2017

The purpose of this study is to provide an explanation of factors Affecting Agricultural Cooperatives Marketing Performance (In The Case Of Gedeb Hasasa District). In this study, descriptive statistics tools were used to give clear picture about the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents. To answer the research questions and measure the construct and predictors effects on Agricultural Cooperatives Marketing...

Author(s): Tewodros Biset Amene

A meticulous investigation on the power of perceived training quality near training on T&D in Indian Information Technology (IT)/Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS) industry

August 2017

Training is one of the most inevitable compulsions for personal and professional evolution. One has to be on a rocket which always points towards a continuous and continual development. As time passes, it is not the fittest who survive, it is the one who quickly adapts to the change that survives, and this can only be through a continual and lifelong training and learning process which is goal oriented and systematic....

Author(s): Ajith Sundaram

Immigrant women’s entrepreneurship: Is there a development model in Italy?

August 2017

The aim of this paper is to verify if there is a typical enterprise model for the development of immigrant female entrepreneurship in Italy. Based on the literature on the subject, however, it is useful to ask the following research question: “can membership in a national and international network facilitate the development of immigrant female entrepreneurship operating in Italy”? The survey was carried out...

Author(s): Mauro Paoloni, Marco Valeri and Paola Paoloni

Influence of entrepreneurship education, technology and globalisation on performance of SMEs in Nigeria

August 2017

Dwindling oil revenue, high youth unemployment, very high foreign exchange rates and recession are the challenges that Nigeria is currently faced with. There is therefore the urgent need for diversification and resuscitation of the economy. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are thus an important tool to achieve this. How therefore can acquisition of entrepreneurship education skills; adoption and use of technology;...

Author(s): Yusuf Emmanuel

Midas touch or time bomb? A look at the influence of celebrity endorsement on customer purchase intentions: The case study of fast foods outlet companies in Harare, Zimbabwe

August 2017

Fast foods companies in Zimbabwe have been outcompeting and outclassing each other in using celebrity endorsers for their marketing communications. The study aimed to investigate the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer purchase intentions. The study’s literature review was based on a copious of celebrity endorsement empirical and theoretical literature. The literature review also acted as bedrock for the...

Author(s): Jacob Shenje

Influence of microfinance services on entrepreneurial success of women in Sri Lanka

July 2017

This research studies the impact of microfinance services on the entrepreneurial success of users of such services who are mostly women of the lowest income categories. Three microfinance financial services namely, microcredit, micro-savings and micro-insurance have been identified through literature among other non -financial services. In this study, researcher has studied only the influence of financial services of...

Author(s): D. T. Kingsley Bernard, L. O. W. Lock Teng, Kevin and A. A. Khin

The role of logos in brand personality of organizations

July 2017

The purpose of the study was to examine the role of logos in brand image of banking institutions, and to examine whether consumers are influenced in anyway by the logos that banks use as part of their corporate branding. A stratified sampling was used to select 50 respondents. Questionnaires were administered to customers from Ghana Commercial Bank, Merchant Bank Ghana Limited, Standard Chartered Bank (Ghana) Limited...

Author(s): Martin Gyambrah and Sherry, Y. Hammond

Women in business and social media: Implications for female entrepreneurship in emerging countries

July 2017

The aim of this study is to carry out a literature review on women in business and social media in order to know the state of the art, and to understand whether and to what extent the studies conducted so far have addressed these issues: how and why are women entrepreneurs and managers using social media? Do they use social media for marketing, networking or personal reasons? The article relies on a literature review...

Author(s): Francesca Maria Cesaroni, Paola Demartini and Paola Paoloni 

Company’s indebtedness trend for the growth and survival

July 2017

The purpose of this paper is to verify the impact of a series of company’s variables in small and medium-sized companies, which affect their debts degree. We referred to Giacosa (2015) and Broccardo et al. (2016) as a framework, which identified some company’s variables which impact on its financial structure. Our sample contains small and medium-sized enterprises, belonging to the Italian manufacturing...

Author(s): Elisa Giacosa and Alberto Mazzoleni

Entrepreneurial intention among undergraduate agricultural students in Ethiopia: The case of Jimma University

July 2017

The basic objective of this study was to find out the entrepreneurial intention of undergraduate agricultural students in Ethiopia taking Jimma University college of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine as a study area. Descriptive and inferential design was employed in the study. The stratified sampling techniques were applied to select respondents and in order to collect data, pretest self-administered questionnaires...

Author(s): Sultan Jemal

Socioemotional wealth and probability of financial distress

July 2017

This study analyzes a firm’s characteristics which affect the probability of financial distress. It takes into account accounting variables, ownership and management characteristics. In particular, it studies the effect of the ultimate controlling owner nature; that is, family or non-family control, on a firm’s likelihood to run into financial distress. This research focuses on a large sample of Italian...

Author(s): Pietro Gottardo and Anna Maria Moisello

Investor returns and “re-intermediation”: A case of PPDai.com

June 2017

Online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending is a nascent but burgeoning marketplace that is expected to transform the landscape of the finance industry. Although, this topic is crucial, studies on the performance of individual investors in the P2P lending marketplace are few. The majority of P2P lending platforms add more intermediation or platform-based investment to improve product offerings and market efficiency. However,...

Author(s): Pengzhi Zeng, Geng Peng, Yin Liu and Benfu Lv

Impact of innovation on the entrepreneurial success: Evidence from Nigeria

June 2017

In the recent years, Nigeria has recorded an economic growth but with a trajectory which offers both positive and negative lessons regarding the innovation of business faced by many countries in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world. This study sought to test the relationship between innovation, the financial performance of company and firm’s competitive advantage. This was done through correlation and...

Author(s): Olu Dinesh Ojo, Marius Petrescu, Anca Gabriela Petrescu and Florentina Raluca Bîlcan

Accountability of local government authorities: A developing economy perspective

June 2017

The purpose of this study is to report the contribution of internal controls and managerial competencies on accountability of Local Government Authorities (LGAs). This study is cross sectional and correlational. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 73 sub counties from which 64 responded and the questionnaire was designed on a 5 point Likert scale. The study’s unit of analysis was a sub county....

Author(s): Veronica Mukyala, Juma Bananuka, Maureen Basuuta, Zainabu Tumwebaze and Lasuli Bakalikwira

The impact of corporate diversification on firm value in Kenya

June 2017

This study investigates the impact of corporate diversification on the value of firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Panel regression techniques were used as the estimation methods. The overall findings of the study where somewhat mixed. The study finds that industrial diversification reduces firm value, but geographical diversification does not have a significant impact on firm value. When examining...

Author(s): Anthony Manyuru, Muturi Wachira and Evans Amata

Firm performance and economic crisis: Family versus non-family businesses in Italy

June 2017

This study investigates the performance of medium-sized family businesses – hereafter MSFBs – during the economic recession by comparing family and non-family firms, and correlating the organisational performance to the family ownership and firms’ solvency. An empirical research study was carried out on a sample of 128 Italian medium-sized businesses – hereafter MSBs - (76 family and 52...

Author(s): Francesca Maria Cesaroni, Denisse Chamochumbi and Annalisa Sentuti

Prospects for sustainability and viability of Nigerian manufacturing organizations through team work approach

June 2017

This study on prospects for sustainability and viability of Nigerian manufacturing organizations through team work approach has the overall objective of ascertaining the extent to which teamwork approach to change management holds good prospects for sustenance and viability in Nigerian manufacturing organizations. The study adopted the survey research design, in which ten manufacturing companies in the South-Eastern...

Author(s): Lovlyn Ekeowa Kelvin-Iloafu

Exploring human capital: Discrimination factors and group-specific performance in the football industry

May 2017

The aim of the study is to investigate whether discrimination factors exist within professional football clubs, concerning the management of their human capital, by analysing the correlation between the footballers’ wages and their performance. An analysis was conducted to show that discrimination, based both on nationality and race, can affect the strategies adopted by football club managers and in the...

Author(s): Raffaele Trequattrini, Alessandra Lardo, Federica Ricci and Rosa Lombardi

Does bank capital regulation affect bank value?

May 2017

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between capital adequacy and the bank profitability measured by returns on equity (ROE) for Tanzanian large commercial banks during the period between 2009 and 2014. The positive relationship between bank capital and performance may also be explained using monitoring-based theory. The monitoring-based theory suggests that higher bank capitals encourage serious...

Author(s): Lotto Josephat

Entrepreneurial intentions of Tshwane University of Technology, Arts and Design students

May 2017

Despite a high unemployment rate and the unique capabilities that the Arts and Creative industry can be of value to South Africa by stimulating job creation, Arts graduates are still reluctant to consider entrepreneurship as a viable career option, even in an environment of high job scarcity. Thus, the need to develop and transform university Arts graduates into self-sustaining entrepreneurs is more urgent than ever. It...

Author(s): Patrick Ebong Ebewo, Richard Shambare and Robert Rugimbana

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