This project investigates.the political and economic development of Ghana and Malaysia and identifies key factors that led to their divergent development paths - specifically Malaysia's relative success and Ghana's setbacks. Both Malaysia and Ghana are former British colonies that gained their independence in the same year. Although they had similar economic conditions at independence, over the course of 40 years, they have experienced very different economic and political development. Thus, this study begins with a most similar systems design but winds up employing a most different systems model. The factors explored in this thesis include gross domestic product (GDP), GDP growth rate, foreign direct investment, electrical power consumption, and external debt. This study aims to identify patterns for successful and unsuccessful development using Malaysia and Ghana as archetypes.

Yes / The aim of this article is to examine the limitations encountered by amputees in the performance of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) and its impact on their life satisfaction. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 amputees at the Nsawam Orthopaedic Training Centre (OTC). The Groningen Activity Restriction Scale (GARS) and the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire-11 (LISAT-11) were used to collect data from the respondents. All statistical analyses were made using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software 23.0 and summarized in tables. A multivariate analysis was used to establish the relationship between activity limitation and life satisfaction. The respondents experienced some limitations in executing ADLs and IADLS with an overall mean activity limitation score of (36.57±10.93). There was a moderate life satisfaction of respondents with a mean score of (3.86±1.15). A multivariate analysis revealed that, there was a strong negative statistically significant relationship between activity limitations and life satisfaction [ß =--0.13, p=0.000] The government of Ghana through the Ministry of Health and its agencies who are involved in the management and rehabilitation of amputees must explore these limitations to inform decision making during the planning and preparation of rehabilitation programs, resource allocation, and policy formulation for amputees to improve their overall satisfaction and well-being.

Yes / Purpose: Clubfoot is a common disabling condition that is prevalent across all populations. Approximately, one out of 750 children globally suffers from clubfoot, and around 150,000 to 200,000 children are born with clubfoot every year with 80% of the cases occurring in developing countries. Clubfoot can result in mobility impairments when not properly managed and researchers have argued that understanding knowledge and perceptions are key components to early identification and effective management of clubfoot. The study explored the barriers to clubfoot management from the perspectives of caregivers and healthcare providers in Duayaw Nkwanta, Ghana. Methods: A total of 26 participants made up of 22 caregivers of children with clubfoot and six healthcare providers were purposively sampled for the study guided by a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Qualitative data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide through in-depth face-to-face interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically and presented as findings. Results: High cost of treatment, long travel distance, long hours spent at the treatment facility, non-availability of clubfoot treatment services, late reporting of clients for treatment, and non-compliance of parents/caregivers with treatment protocols were identified as the barriers to effective management of clubfoot. Conclusion: These findings have substantial implications for current interventions to effectively manage clubfoot in Ghana.

Yes / Donor partners have been supporting developing economies in capacity development through donor-funded projects to enable them to achieve sustainable development. To understand the effectiveness of such projects, this paper adopted a mixed-methods approach to study a capacity development project funded by the World Bank and implemented in 46 metropolitan and municipal assemblies in Ghana. The study employed the European Centre for Development Policy Management's core capabilities model (5Cs) to examine the World Bank project. The study recommends that, to ensure sustainability, capacity development projects should be embedded in Ghana's development programmes. We also propose an alternative model for the implementation of capacity development projects to achieve sustainable development.

Yes / The international business literature has mainly focused on the impact of top managers' psychological attributes on firms' strategic decisions. However, the potential moderating influence of industry conditions such as competition has not been well explored. Deriving insights from the regulatory focus and upper echelons theories, this paper extends the international business and regulatory focus literature by investigating how the impact influence of CEOs' regulatory foci on firms' degree of internationalization depends on the intensity of competitive market conditions. Using primary data gathered from 289 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, the findings of the study revealed when competition is intense in the domestic market, the potency of a CEO's promotion focus as a driver of internationalization is amplified. In addition, the research shows that intense domestic market competition weakens the negative influence of a CEO's prevention focus on a firm's degree of internationalization. These findings have important research and managerial implications for international business.

Yes / Despite the growing research on the influence of stakeholder integration on organizational outcomes, our understanding of the specific firm-level conditions that may mediate the relationship between stakeholder integration and financial performance is lacking. Using primary data gathered from 233 small and medium-sized enterprises in Ghana, we found empirical support for our contention that the link between stakeholder integration and financial performance is mediated by a firm’s environmental sustainability orientation. In addition, our study demonstrated that competitive intensity moderates the indirect relationship between stakeholder integration and financial performance in such a way that the indirect effect through environmental sustainability orientation is stronger for higher levels of industry competition. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications of these findings.

Yes / In spite of growing research on the influence of external stakeholders on firm outcomes, there is a paucity of research on how they influence innovation in emerging economies. In addition, the specific environmental factors that may influence the effect of stakeholder integration (SI) on firm innovation is less understood. Using data collected from 248 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, this paper develops and tests a model that examines the relationship between SI and firm-level product innovativeness. The findings from the study indicate SI positively relates to product innovativeness. Moreover, under conditions of higher competitor pressure and greater customer expectations, the effect of SI on product innovativeness is amplified. Contributions for theory and practice are discussed.

No / Purpose: Using arguments from the regulatory focus and upper echelons theories, this paper aims to examine the impact of a chief executive officer’s (CEO’s) regulatory foci (i.e. promotion and prevention focus) on small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) level of innovativeness and how these relationships are jointly moderated by intense competition. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical analysis draws on survey data gathered from 257 SMEs in Ghana. Findings: The study findings indicate that a CEO’s level of promotion focus positively affects the firm’s engagement in innovation, while a CEO’s prevention focus is negatively associated with the firm’s innovativeness. The positive association between a CEO’s promotion focus and a firm’s innovativeness is enhanced under conditions of intense competition. Additionally, the negative relationship between prevention focus and firm-level innovativeness is attenuated under intense competition. Research limitations/implications: This study relied on a single informant and also used subjective measures for the dependent variable. As such, individual respondents might have biased perspectives on firm-level product innovativeness. Future studies may use multiple informants to examine the causal links of the variables. Practical implications: The study’s findings provide managers with a deeper understanding of how to achieve superior firm-level product innovation. The understanding of this issue can promote the development and maintenance of further entrepreneurial ventures in emerging economies. Originality/value: The paper has a strong theoretical value as it pioneers research on the effect of CEOs’ regulatory foci on firm-level innovativeness in competitive environments.

Yes / Purpose The purpose of this article was to examine the joint effects of regulatory focus, entrepreneurial persistence, and institutional support on new venture performance. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a random survey approach to sample 204 new ventures from Ghana. The moderated mediation method was used to analyze the survey data. Findings The findings from this paper show that entrepreneurs’ promotion focus positively relates to persistence whiles prevent focus negatively influences persistence. Besides, persistence mediates the link between regulatory focus (promotion and prevention focus) and new venture performance. These relationships are positively moderated by perceived institutional support. Research limitations/implications Using data from only the manufacturing sector in Ghana limits the generalisability of this paper. Also, persistence was not observed or measured directly in this paper but was only used as a self-reporting variable that captures an individual’s tendency to persist. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, this paper contributes to regulatory focus literature by enhancing our knowledge of how self-regulation could help explain entrepreneurial decision-making. Second, this paper broadens self-regulation literature by adding institutional context as a moderating variable. Third, this paper helps clarify the potential role of persistence in entrepreneurship.

Yes / Prior studies show the impact of various facets of individual characteristics in driving a firm’s entrepreneurial orientation (EO). The present study complements this line of research by deriving insights from the conservation of resources (COR) theory to examine the effects of resource-induced coping heuristics (acquiring, protecting, and developing resources) on EO. Additionally, it investigates the underlying conditions influencing these relationships. Data were collected from new ventures in two developing countries (Ghana, N=204, and Ethiopia, N=214). Utilizing the moderated hierarchical regression analysis, the results show that the three dimensions of resource-induced coping heuristics positively relate to EO and these relationships are amplified when environmental dynamism is high. These findings provide a nuanced understanding of the relationships among the different types of resource-induced coping heuristics and EO. In this way, the study extends the boundaries of the resource-induced coping heuristics, EO, and broader entrepreneurship literature.