Approcci strategici come lo shared value e il social impact vengono considerati strategie organizzative innovative in grado di ridurre il divario fra business e società facendo leva sulla sostenibilità. Seppur motivati da postulati promettenti, essi vengono spesso biasimati perché considerati scarsamente rilevanti o efficienti. La tesi analizza come alcune organizzazioni che hanno sottoscritto l’idea della creazione di valore condiviso siano in grado o meno di produrre benefici per loro stessi e per le comunità circostanti. Lo studio usa la metodologia del case study per indagare due multinazionali e quattro PMI in Ghana. La ricerca adotta un approccio multidisciplinare allo studio organizzativo e strategico per esaminare le insidie dell’azione strategica in Ghana. Essa analizza il modo in cui i principi socioeconomici locali condizionano le scelte strategiche e la performance organizzativa. Il contributo maggiore della tesi è l’introduzione di una versione rivisitata del sistema di azione concreto (Crozier e Friedberg), per identificare le strategie di creazione di valore condiviso e impatto sociale efficientemente radicate nel contesto. Inoltre, la ricerca dimostra che i principi socioeconomici locali sono dei meccanismi dinamici di resilienza messi in atto per mezzo di controllo, collusione, negoziazione e resistenza. / Strategic frameworks like shared value or social impact creation have been posited as innovative organizational strategies capable of mending the gap between business and society through inclusive sustainability. If their claims are promising, they still face much criticism concerning their relevance and effectiveness. The dissertation investigates how organizations which have endorsed the idea of shared value creation are efficient, or not, at yielding benefits for themselves and their host communities. It uses the case study methodology to explore four SMEs and two multinational companies in Ghana. The research builds on a multidisciplinary approach to organizational behavior and strategy to dig to ground the pitfalls of strategic action in Ghana, an epitome of the recent Africa Rising narrative. It scrutinizes the way local socioeconomic mores affect strategic choices and organizational performance. The major contribution of the thesis is to introduce a revisited version of Crozier and Friedberg’s concrete system of action for efficiently embedded strategies of shared value and social impact creation. With this, the work reveals that local socioeconomic mores are dynamic resilience mechanisms of control, collusion, bargaining, and/or resistance, which strategists must take account of in designing sustainable strategies, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The research undertakes a critical study of informal fallacies in some socio-political and religious discourses in Ghana. It clearly and aptly demonstrates that the aforementioned discourses are mostly, if not, always laced with fallacies which obscure and distort clear and critical thinking. The study shows that language, which is the fundamental means by which to engage in socio-political discourse, can be viewed as a complicated tool which is open to misuse and abuse. It shows that language used in socio-political discourses is more often than not utilized poorly, and as such assertions and appeals can be confused with factual/logical inaccuracies. Statements can be formulated in ways that make their content dangerously vague, ambiguous or generally misleading. The research shows that although fallacies can be committed intentionally or unintentionally, in discourses in general, they are mostly, if not always, committed intentionally in socio-political discourse so as to achieve political gains and agenda. Another area of discourse that is tackled in this work where fallacies frequently occur is the religious sector. The study notes that matters of religion are mostly matters that are delicate to handle as these matters are mostly, again if not always, based on faith. It is shown herein that many a time, religious personalities use fallacious as means to drive their religious agenda across. The research then looks at what these aforementioned fallacies imply in relation to socio-political and religious discourses. It proceeds to discuss the positive implications of fallacies before it progresses to the negative implications of same. It then asks how a fallacy will be beneficial to a person and or how it will disadvantage the same person. If fallacies often occur in socio-political and religious discourses, then one must have the ability to detect these fallacies and try to avoid them. The work discusses how to detect fallacies and how to avoid them. It makes bold claims that if one has knowledge about fallacies then one will be able to avoid them. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / Ph. D. (Philosophy)

Abstracts in English and Zulu / The main objective of this study was to investigate the impact of innovative marketing on the performance of Ghanaian food processing SMEs. The research study was carried out in response to the scholarly and managerial interest in the construct of innovative marketing as a novel competitive tool and its effect on performance in food processing SME organisations. This research study examined the effect of the six components of innovative marketing (i.e. marketing mix variables (MV), marketing modification (MM), integrated marketing (IM), customer focus (CF), market focus (MF) and value proposition (VP) on the four components of food processing SME performance i.e. financial performance (FP), customer performance (CP), internal business process performance (IBPP) and learning & growth performance (LGP). The research study was carried out on 225 food processing SMEs on the registered list of the National Board for Small Scale Industry (NBSSI) in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The study was quantitative in nature with the use of questionnaires distributed to 225 owners/managers of food processing SMEs in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Through an extensive literature review, a conceptual framework and empirical result from 225 food processing SMEs in Ghana, the research study employed exploratory factor analysis along with structural equation modelling – path analysis to evaluate the proposed model for understanding the relationships among the constructs. The collected data was analysed through descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 23 and STATA version 15.1. The reliability of innovative marketing and food processing performance factors were determined using Composite Reliability and Cronbach’s alpha and the validity of the factors of innovative marketing and food processing SMEs were also ascertained using convergent and discriminant validity methods. The research study established that SMEs in the food processing sector in Ghana exhibit high levels of five innovative marketing factors (i.e. market focus, value proposition, customer focus, integrated marketing and marketing mix variables) which impact on all four factors of food processing SME performance (i.e. financial performance, customer performance, internal business process performance and learning and growth performance) whereas marketing modification, a factor of innovative marketing, indicated insignificant association with food processing SME performance. The recommendation of the conducted research study made a clear statement that food processing SMEs in Ghana should maintain a positive attitude towards innovative marketing, and also negate the effect of innovative marketing challenges to achieve high performance. The conclusions that were drawn from the conducted research study indicated that the main research objective had been achieved. Hence, innovative marketing positively influences the performance of food processing SMEs in Ghana. / Inhloso enkulu yalolu cwaningo bekungukuphenya umthelela wokumaketha okusha ekusebenzeni kwama-SME wokucubungula ukudla waseGhana. Ucwaningo lwenziwe kuphendulwa intshisekelo yezifundiswa nezokuphatha ekwakheni ukumaketha okusha njengethuluzi lokuncintisana lenoveli nomphumela walo ekusebenzeni ezinhlanganweni zokucubungula ukudla kwama-SME. Lolu cwaningo lubheke umphumelela wezinto eziyisithupha zokumaketha okusha (isbokuguquguqukayo kokuhlanganiswa kokumaketha (MV), ukuguqulwa kokumaketha (MM), ukumaketha okuhlanganisiwe (IM), ukugxila kwamakhasimende (CF), ukugxila emakethe (MF), nokuphakanyiswa kwevelu (VP) ezingxenyeni ezine zokulungiswa kokudla ukusebenza kwe-SME okungukuthi, ukusebenza kwezezimali (FP), ukusebenza kwamakhasimende (CP), ukusebenza kwenqubo yebhizinisi yangaphakathi (IBPP), nokusebenza kokufunda nokukhula (LGP). Ucwaningo lwenziwe kuma-SME wokucubungula ukudla angama-225 ohlwini olubhalisiwe lweNational Board for Small Scale Industry (NBSSI) esifundeni esiseMpumalanga yeGhana. Lolu cwaningo belunobuningi ngokwendalo ngokusetshenziswa kwamaphepha emibuzo anikezwe abanikazi/abaphathi abangama-225 bokucubungula ukudla ama-SME esifundeni esiseMpumalanga yeGhana. Ngokubuyekezwa okubanzi kwezincwadi, uhlaka lomqondo kanye nomphumela wezobuciko kusuka kuma-SME wokucubungula ukudla angama-225 eGhana, ucwaningo lwasebenzisa ukuhlaziywa kwezici zokuhlola kanye nokuhlelwa kwesimo sokulinganisa - indlela yokuhlola imodeli ehlongozwayo yokuqonda ubudlelwano phakathi kokwakhiwa. Imininingwane eqoqiwe yahlaziywa ngezibalo ezichazayo kanye nasekuhlaziyweni okuningi kokuhlehla kusetshenziswa i-Statistical Package ye-Social Science (SPSS) inguqulo 23 kanye ne-STATA version 15.1. Ukuthembeka kokumaketha okusha kanye nokusebenza kokucubungula ukudla kunqunywe kusetshenziswa i-Composite. Ukuthembeka kanye ne-alpha kaCronbach nokuba semthethweni kwezici zokumaketha okusha nokuqhutshwa kokudla kwama-SME nakho kwaqinisekiswa kusetshenziswa izindlela zokuqinisekisa nezokunbandlulula. Ucwaningo luye lwaveza ukuthi ama-SME emkhakheni wokulungiswa kokudla eGhana akhombisa amazing aphezulu wezinto ezinhlanu ezintsha zokumaketha (okusho ukugxila emakethe, ukuphakanyiswa kwenani, ukugxila kwamakhasimende, ukumaketha okuhlanganisiwe kanye nokuxubana kokuxubana kokumaketha) okunomthelela kuzo zonke izici ezine zokulungiswa kokudla ukusebenza kwe-SME (okusho ukusebenza kwezezimali, ukusebenza kwamakhasimende, ukusebenza kwenqubo yebhizinisi yangaphakathi nokusebenza kokufunda nokukhula), kanti, ukuguqulwa kokumaketha, okuyisici sokumaketha okusha, kukhombisa ukuzihlanganisa okungabalulekile nokusebenza kokudla kwe-SME. Incomo yocwaningo olwenziwe yenze isitatimende esicacile sokuthi ama-SME okucubungula ukudla eGhana kufanele agcine isimo esihle mayelana nokukhangisa okusha, futhi angaphikisi nomphumela wezinselelo ezintsha zokumaketha ukuza kuzuzwe ukusebenza okuphezulu. Iziphetho ezithathwe ocwaningweni olwenziwe zikhombisile ukuthi inhloso enkulu yocwaningo seyifeziwe. Ngakho-ke, ukumaketha okusha kunomthelela omuhle ekusebenzeni kokulungiswa kokudla kwama-SME eGhana. / Business Management / D. Phil. (Management Studies (Marketing))

No description available.

Im Zuge der rasanten Verbreitung von Mikrokrediten und Mikrosparprodukten werden seit etwa einem Jahrzehnt auch Mikroversicherungen an einkommensschwache Haushalte in Entwicklungsländern verkauft. Sie stellen für diese Haushalte eine Möglichkeit dar, mit den Folgen von Risiken besser umzugehen und somit ihren Wohlstand zu steigern. Diese Arbeit verwendet quantitative und qualitative Analysemethoden – basierend auf eigenen Haushaltsumfragen und Fokusgruppendiskussionen –, um die Aufnahmebedingungen von Mikroversicherung in Ghana zu untersuchen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen erstens, dass über Standarddeterminanten der Versicherungsnachfrage hinaus Faktoren informeller Vertrauensbildung und die subjektive Risikoeinschätzung eine entscheidende Rolle spielen. Dies begründet sich in bestehenden Informationsasymmetrien und einer geringen Erfahrung mit dem Versicherungsprodukt und dem Versicherer. Ferner steht die Nutzung von Mikrolebensversicherung in einer sich verstärkenden Beziehung zu der Nutzung anderer formaler Finanzdienstleistungen. Zweitens wird deutlich, dass der Wert (Client Value), den die Zielgruppe in Mikroversicherung sieht, nicht allein auf Kosten- und Nutzenerwägungen basiert. Vielmehr spielen auch emotionale- und soziale Aspekte eine Rolle. Der Kundenwert wird dabei von Faktoren wie (geringen) Finanz- und Versicherungskenntnissen, der Beeinflussung durch die soziale Gruppe und dem Vergleich mit alternativen Risikomanagementstrategien beeinflusst. Drittens bestehen genderspezifische Muster in der Aufnahme von Mikrolebensversicherung, die mit dem Haushaltstyp und regional unterschiedlichen soziokulturellen Bedingungen zusammenhängen. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass Präferenzen bezüglich Lebensversicherung innerhalb von Haushalten variieren und die Wahrscheinlichkeit eines Versicherungskaufs mit wachsender Verhandlungsstärke der Frau zunimmt. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass Frauen eine besonders wichtige Zielgruppe für Mikrolebensversicherungen sind. / Microinsurance has been the third financial service – following microcredit and microsavings - to enter emerging financial markets in the developing world. It is widely regarded as a promising innovation that could provide high welfare gains, given that low-income people often lack efficient strategies to manage and cope with risks. This thesis applies quantitative econometric and qualitative methods – based on own household and individual survey data and focus group discussions – to investigate participation patterns and perceived value in micro life insurance in Ghana. The results of this thesis show that household, first, uptake of micro life insurance does not entirely follow the predictions made by standard insurance theories. Informal trust-building mechanisms and subjective risk perceptions turn out to play an important role in the context of information asymmetries and limited experience with formal insurance. Furthermore, there is a mutually reinforcing relationship between micro life insurance and other formal financial services available in the rural and semi-urban study areas in Ghana. Second, the perceived value of microinsurance consists not only of the expected or experienced benefits and costs, but also of quality, emotional and social dimensions. Perceptions of high or low value are driven by large discrepancies between expectations and experiences, clients’ knowledge about insurance, their interaction with peers, and the availability and effectiveness of alternative risk management options. Third, there are gender-specific patterns of market participation between and within households that are intertwined with the household type and regionally varying sociocultural conditions. Spousal preferences on insurance differ and women with a higher bargaining power are more likely to purchase insurance on their own. The results suggest that women are an important target group for the provision of micro life insurance.

Die Erkenntnis, dass der Staat nicht die einzige Quelle von Recht ist, verbreitet sich zusehends auch in der Rechtswissenschaft. Die Vielfalt normativer Ordnungen wird gewöhnlich mit dem Begriff "Rechtspluralismus" beschrieben. In der Rechtspluralismusforschung besteht weitgehend Einigkeit darüber, dass normative Ordnungen nicht parallel nebeneinander und unabhängig voneinander koexistieren, sondern dass diese sich wechselseitig beeinflussen. Dieses Miteinander kann konfliktreich wie auch kooperativ sein, es kann zum Transfer von Normen und Vorstellungen, aber auch zu Widerstand und Abgrenzung kommen. Diese Arbeit leistet einen Beitrag zur interdisziplinären Rechtsforschung, indem sie Austauschprozesse zwischen verschiedenen normativen Ordnungen analysiert. Hierbei wird "Übersetzen" als maßgebliche Praxis des Rechtspluralismus verstanden und ein methodischer Zugang angeboten, um Austauschprozesse machtsensibel zu analysieren. Am Beispiel Ghanas wird untersucht, wie die Anerkennung von Recht nicht-staatlichen Ursprungs in der Rechtsprechung staatlicher Gerichte praktiziert wird. Ghana ist nicht nur durch eine Vielzahl verschiedener Gesellschaften, sondern auch durch die Koexistenz unterschiedlicher normativer Ordnungen geprägt. Neben dem zur Zeit des britischen Kolonialismus eingeführten Common Law werden zahlreiche lokale Gewohnheitsrechte vom Staat als Rechtsquelle anerkannt. Über den ghanaischen Kontext hinaus ergeben sich auch allgemeine Fragen zum Umgang mit gesellschaftlicher Vielfalt und den damit einhergehenden Konflikten. / Jurisprudence acknowledges more and more that the state is not the only source for legal norms. The diversity of normative orders is usually described with the term "legal pluralism". Scholarship on legal pluralism emphasizes that normative orders do not exist parallel and independently from each other, but that they influence each other mutually. The relationship can be conflictual but also cooperative, there can be transfers of norms and ideas, but also resistance and dissociation. This study contributes to inter-disciplinary jurisprudence by analysing transfer processes between normative orders. It understands "translation" as essential practice of legal pluralism and offers a methodological approach to analyse transfer processes sensitively to power. Using the example of Ghana the study explores how state courts practice the recognition of non-state law. Ghana is characterised not only by the coexistence not only of different cultures, but of different normative orders as well. Next to the common law which had been introduced by British colonialism there is a plurality of local customary laws that are officially recognised as law by the state. This situation raises questions beyond the Ghanaian context on how to deal with social diversity and the conflicts the come along with it.

Jesus Christ instructed His disciples before His death to limit the preaching of the gospel to the ‘lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matt 10:6). After His resurrection, however, He broadened the scope of proselytizing to all: “Make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:18-20). This meant that the gospel should be preached everywhere and to all peoples. This mandate has come to be known by Christians as the Great Commission. Since the 1970s a new wave of churches, commonly referred to as the charismatic churches, have come to be firmly established on the religious landscape of Ghana, West Africa. One of the most prominent is the Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI). Headquartered in Accra, the LCI is a large worldwide denomination that aggressively employs the agency of church planting in its attempt to facilitate the fulfilment of the Great Commission. This study enquires into the church planting activities of the Lighthouse Chapel International with the aim of documenting the processes, principles and strategies underlying the denomination’s mission. It is hoped that this empirical analysis of the LCI will benefit newer struggling churches, particularly those within the charismatic tradition,in their efforts to spread the gospel of Christ, while providing a new self-understanding that will carry the LCIitself into the future. The study employs a qualitative methodology through the review of some relevant literature, interviews with key informants (LCI ministers, non-LCI charismatic leaders, andnon-LCI leaders conversant with the LCI church planting model), together with collated views from focus group discussions and the results of a qualitative questionnaire. The literature review on the LCI relies primarily on the sermons and writings of Heward-Mills, the founder of the denomination, which have informed the strategies and other processes in the church’s missionary work and advancement. The study reveals that, overall, the LCI’s mission strategies, including the focused emphasis on church planting, lay ministry, administrative support systems, and use of permanent church halls, have combined to create a productive and robust church planting model in Ghana. The study concludes that the fulfilment of the Great Commission must be the main preoccupation of the charismatic churches in Ghana, and that the foremost strategy for achieving this is church planting. The study recommends the development of a wellthought-out biblical and theologically based mission strategy. Church planting will be enhanced by more effective use of lay people, appropriate attention to a doctrine of loyalty, efficient administrative support systems and the building of permanent church halls. Each network of churches ought also to appoint a missions department with a named director to ensure that the missional aspect of the work of the Christian church in Ghanaremains central in its planning and activities. / MA (Missiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in co-operation with Greenwich School of Theology, UK, 2014

Jesus Christ instructed His disciples before His death to limit the preaching of the gospel to the ‘lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matt 10:6). After His resurrection, however, He broadened the scope of proselytizing to all: “Make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:18-20). This meant that the gospel should be preached everywhere and to all peoples. This mandate has come to be known by Christians as the Great Commission. Since the 1970s a new wave of churches, commonly referred to as the charismatic churches, have come to be firmly established on the religious landscape of Ghana, West Africa. One of the most prominent is the Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI). Headquartered in Accra, the LCI is a large worldwide denomination that aggressively employs the agency of church planting in its attempt to facilitate the fulfilment of the Great Commission. This study enquires into the church planting activities of the Lighthouse Chapel International with the aim of documenting the processes, principles and strategies underlying the denomination’s mission. It is hoped that this empirical analysis of the LCI will benefit newer struggling churches, particularly those within the charismatic tradition,in their efforts to spread the gospel of Christ, while providing a new self-understanding that will carry the LCIitself into the future. The study employs a qualitative methodology through the review of some relevant literature, interviews with key informants (LCI ministers, non-LCI charismatic leaders, andnon-LCI leaders conversant with the LCI church planting model), together with collated views from focus group discussions and the results of a qualitative questionnaire. The literature review on the LCI relies primarily on the sermons and writings of Heward-Mills, the founder of the denomination, which have informed the strategies and other processes in the church’s missionary work and advancement. The study reveals that, overall, the LCI’s mission strategies, including the focused emphasis on church planting, lay ministry, administrative support systems, and use of permanent church halls, have combined to create a productive and robust church planting model in Ghana. The study concludes that the fulfilment of the Great Commission must be the main preoccupation of the charismatic churches in Ghana, and that the foremost strategy for achieving this is church planting. The study recommends the development of a wellthought-out biblical and theologically based mission strategy. Church planting will be enhanced by more effective use of lay people, appropriate attention to a doctrine of loyalty, efficient administrative support systems and the building of permanent church halls. Each network of churches ought also to appoint a missions department with a named director to ensure that the missional aspect of the work of the Christian church in Ghanaremains central in its planning and activities. / MA (Missiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in co-operation with Greenwich School of Theology, UK, 2014

Rural water supply and sanitation in low and middle income countries face the same challenges now as in the 1970s. Despite massive efforts in providing communal “borehole with handpump” and “improved latrines” to improve the lives of millions of people, this traditional approach to development is failing to deliver long lasting improved services - even if for the last 40 years many attempts have been made to solve problems in the approach. The main research question is “Can low-income rural families pay for rural water supply and sanitation?” This thesis has analysed household poverty and costs on water and sanitation services in Mozambique and Ghana based on 3,049 surveys collected between 2009-2010 by the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre WASHCost project. Evidence shows that even extreme poor households can and do pay for improved water and sanitation services. However, households prefer to pay for more expensive services to reduce the distance required to collect water instead of paying for the cheaper maintenance of communal (further away) sources. For sanitation, without targeted support towards the poorest, improved latrines might be unaffordable. Also, without follow up support, behaviour change and health impact will not be sustained. Small increases in the wealth of the poorest have a large impact on the services demanded in terms of quantity, distance and time spend as well as an increase in the level of capital and maintenance expenditure. Ultimately, the world now is not the same as in the 1970s and for achieving universal sustainable coverage for water and sanitation we need to rethink the failed traditional approach to development in low income countries with a deeper understanding of the market segmentation in the lowest quintile of the population and their real aspirations and demand.

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana was introduced to alleviate the problem of citizens having to pay for healthcare at the point of delivery, given that many did not have the financial resources needed to do so, and as such were unable to adequately access healthcare services. The scheme is managed from the national headquarters in the capital Accra, through satellite offices located in districts right across the length and breadth of the country. It is the job of these offices to oversee the operations of the scheme within that particular district. Current literature however shows us that there is a digital divide that exists between the rural and urban areas of the country which has led to differences in the management of information within urban-based and rural-based districts. This thesis reviews the variables affecting the management of information within the scheme, and proposes an information management model to eliminate identified bottlenecks in the current information management model. The thesis begins by reviewing the theory of health insurance, information management and then finally the rural-urban digital divide. In addition to semi-structured interviews with key personnel within the scheme and observation, a survey questionnaire was also handed out to staff in nine different district schemes to obtain the raw data for this study. In identifying any issues with the current information management system, a comparative analysis was made between the current information management model and the real-world system in place to determine the changes needed to improve the current information management system in the NHIS. The changes discovered formed an input into developing the proposed information management system with the assistance of Natural Conceptual Modelling Language (NCML). The use of a mixed methodology in conducting the study, in addition to the employment of NCML was an innovation, and is the first of its kind in studying the NHIS in Ghana. This study is also the first to look at the differences in information management within the NHIS given the rural-urban digital divide.