Opportunities and Constraints within the Agribusiness Industry in the Emerging Market of Ghana
Abstract:
The purpose
of the study is to conduct an empirical investigation into the important role of
technology in a value-driven business process design for an emerging market. Emerging
markets are characterized by low GDP because of low economic activities. However,
it is full of business opportunities within its environments for prospective businesses
or existing small business which wants to scale up or globalize. Moreover, many
business constraints exist some are poor technological infrastructure, institutional
voids, bribery and corruption, bureaucracy, and poorly trained human capital. There
was a critical examination of extant studies by several scholars and researchers
related to the objective of the study. The main focus of the review is to establish
strong conceptual, theoretical, and empirical support for this study. These included
segments that dealt with the conceptual framework review of competitive advantage
and theoretical reviews of the Network Theory. Structured as the third segment is
the empirical review. This entails an in-depth review of extant studies related
to the three-pronged objectives, with the aim of either rejecting or accepting the
underlying framework in such studies. Thematic analysis was employed for analysing
the primary data collected via focus group discussion plus in-depth interviews.
An in-depth
examination of the responses of participants revealed that though the majority (19)
of the participants agreed that emerging market has several potential and benefits,
yet they indicated the existence of certain constraints mitigating increased investment
in agribusiness in Ghana, as demonstrated in the excerpt.
References:
[1] Mari S. (April 2015) Communications of the ACM, Vol. 58 No. 4, Pages 27-29
10.1145/2736289 Competing in Emerging Markets, April
2015, Communications of the ACM.
[2] Amankwa-Amoah, J., Debrah, Y. A., Yu, W., Adomako, S.,
& Danso, A. (2020). Technology strategies in emerging economies: emerging issues,
challenges, and new research. Elsevier B. V: Technological Forecasting and Social
Change, 2 (1), p. 1.
[3] Cumming,
Douglas & Zhang, Yelin, 2016. “Alternative
investments in emerging markets: A review and new trends,” Emerging Markets
Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 1-23.
[4] Flint, G.
D. (2000) What is the meaning of competitive advantage? Advances in Competitiveness
Research, 8(1), 121-129. https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB4393.pdf.
[5] Klein, J.,
2001. A Critique of Competitive Advantage. Manchester, Critical Management Studies
Conference.
[6] Melissa
A. Schilling (2015) Technology Shocks, Technological Collaboration, and Innovation
Outcomes. Organization Science Published online in Articles in Advance 1st Apr 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2015.0970.
[7] Sołoducho-Pelc L., Radomska J. (2012), The role of human
capital in creating competitive advantage based on technology, ed... J. Kowal, N.
Roztocki, Proceedings of the International Conference on ICT Management for Global
Competitiveness and Economic Growth in Emerging Economies, pp. 161-182.
[8] Sołoducho-Pelc L. (2013), Factors Determining the Process
of Creating and Implementing a Strategy Based on Innovation and Technology, Vision
2020: Innovation, Development Sustainability, and Economic Growth, 21st IBIMA
Conference 27-28 June, Vienna, Austria, pp. 442-454.
[9] Porter M. E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business
Review, November –December, pp. 61-78.
[10] Wang C.L., Pervaiz K. Ahmed (2007), Dynamic capabilities:
A review and research agenda, International Journal of Management Reviews,
Vol. 9, Issue 1, March, pp. 31–51.
[11] Chakravarthy,
B.S. (1986) Measuring Strategic Performance. Strategic Management Journal,
7, 437-458. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250070505.
[12] Ensign,
P. C. (1998). Interrelationships and horizontal strategy to achieve synergy and
competitive advantage in the diversified firm. Management Decision, 36, 657-668.
[13] Barney,
Jay B. “Is the Resource-Based ‘View’ a Useful Perspective for Strategic Management
Research? Yes.” The Academy of Management Review, vol. 26, no. 1, 2001, pp.
41–56. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/259393 Accessed 13 July 2021.
[14] Peteraf,
Margaret A. “The Cornerstones of Competitive Advantage: A Resource-Based View.”
Strategic Management Journal, vol. 14, no. 3, 1993, pp. 179–191. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/2486921 Accessed
13 July 2021.
[15] Hart, Stuart L. “A Natural-Resource-Based View of the Firm.”
The Academy of Management Review, vol. 20, no. 4, 1995, pp. 986–1014. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/258963 Accessed 13 July 2021.
[16] Ankli, Robert E. “Michael Porter’s Competitive Advantage
and Business History.” Business and Economic History, vol. 21, 1992, pp.
228–236. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23703225 Accessed 13 July 2021.
[17] Barney, J. B. (1991), Firm resources and sustained competitive
advantage, Journal of Management, Vol. 17, No.1, pp. 99–120.
[18] Wright,
P., 1987. A Refinement of Porter’s Strategies. Strategic Management Journal,
Vol. 8(No. 1), pp. 93-101 www.jstor.org/stable/258963 Accessed 13 July 2021.
[19] Anderson, James C., et al. “Dyadic Business Relationships
within a Business Network Context.” Journal of Marketing, vol. 58, no. 4,
1994, pp. 1–15. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1251912 Accessed 13 July 2021.
[20] Amankwah-Amoah,
J. “The evolution of science, technology and innovation policies: A review of the
Ghanaian experience.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 110 (2016):
134-142.
[21] Amankwah-Amoah,
J., 2015. Solar energy in sub-Saharan Africa: The challenges and opportunities of
technological leapfrogging. Thunderbird Int. Bus. Rev. 57 (1), 15–31.
[22] Vijay M., Kamini B. Published Sep 14, 2005, by FT Press.
https://www.informit.com/store/86-percent-solution-how-to-succeed-in-the-biggest-market-9780131489073?w_ptgrevartcl=The+Lands+of+Opportunity_404802.
[23] Li, Shaomin,
et al. “Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Markets: The Importance of the
Governance Environment.” MIR: Management International Review, vol. 50, no.
5, 2010, pp. 635–654. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41426815 Accessed 15 July 2021.
[24] Herrmann,
Sabine, and Adalbert Winkler. “Financial Markets and the Current Account: Emerging
Europe versus Emerging Asia.” Review of World Economics / Weltwirtschaftliches
Archiv, vol. 145, no. 3, 2009, pp. 531–550. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40587827 Accessed 15 July 2021.
[25] Kose, M.,
& Prasad, E. (2010). Changes in the World Economic Order: A Roadmap. In Emerging
Markets: Resilience and Growth amid Global Turmoil (pp. 1-8). Brookings Institution
Press. Retrieved July 15, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7864/j.ctt6wpd2g.5.
[26] Azigbo, U. K., (2019). “Strategies for New Product Development
in an Emerging Market” Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 6752 https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6752.
[27] Kothari
(2004). Research methodology: Methods and Techniques. New Delhi: New age international
(P) limited, publisher http://www.sciepub.com/reference/233432.
[28] Kumar, R.
(2011) Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. 3rd Edition. Sage,
New Delhi. https://www.scirp.org/(S(oyulxb452alnt1aej1nfow45))/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=1971596.
[29] Bonache,
J. and Festing, M. (2020) ‘Research paradigms in international human resource management:
An epistemological systematisation of the field’, German Journal of Human Resource
Management, 34(2), pp. 99–123. Doi: 10.1177/2397002220909780.
[30] Babones,
S. (2016) ‘Interpretive Quantitative Methods for the Social Sciences’, Sociology,
50(3), pp. 453–469. Doi: 10.1177/0038038515583637.
[31] Creswell, JW. 2014. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative,
and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. https://www.scirp.org/(S(i43dyn45teexjx455qlt3d2q))/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=1964849.
[32] Yin, R.
K. (2018). Case Study Research Design and Methods (6th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publishing. https://www.scirp.org/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=2398913.
[33] Creswell, JW. & Poth, CN. (2018) Qualitative Inquiry
and Research Design Choosing among Five Approaches. 4th Edition, SAGE Publications,
Inc., Thousand Oaks. https://www.scirp.org/(S(lz5mqp453edsnp55rrgjct55))/reference/referencespapers.aspx?referenceid=2155979.
[34] Yin, R.K. (2016). Qualitative Research from Start to Finish,
Second Edition. New York: The Guilford Press. ISBN: 978-1-4625-1797-8. 386
pp.
https://doi.org/10.1111/fcsr.12144.
[35] Lohfeld, W. (2008). Review: Sharlene Hesse-Biber &
Patricia Leavy (2006). The Practice of Qualitative Research. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum:
Qualitative Social Research, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-9.1.363.
[36] Nyumba, T., Wilson, K., Derrick, C., & Mukherjee, N.,
(2018) The use of focus group discussion methodology: Insights from two decades
of application in conservation. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9(1), pp.
20-32.
[37] Overlien C, Aronsson K and Hyden M (2005) The focus group
interview as an in-depth method?
Young women talking about sexuality. International Journal of Social Research
Methodology 8(4): 331–344. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0021909619857098.
[38] Nowell, L.S., Norris, J.M., White, D.E. and Moules, N.J.
(2017) Thematic Analysis: Striving to Meet the Trustworthiness Criteria. International
Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847.
[39] Boso, N., Adeleye, I., Donbesuur, F., & Gyensare, M.
(2019). Do Entrepreneurs Always Benefit from Business Failure Experience? Journal
of Business Research, 98, 370–379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.063.
[40] World Bank Group (2017). Leapfrogging: the key to Africa’s
development? From constraints to investment opportunities. Retrieved on March 2,
2020, from
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/121581505973379739/pdf/Leapfrogging-the-key-to-Africas-development-from-constraints-to-investment-opportunities.pdf.
[41] Booth et al. (2005), What are the drivers of change in
Ghana?
CDD/ODI
Policy Brief No. 1, November 2005, https://cdn.odi.org/media/documents/1961.pdf.
[42] Francisco, A.H (Jan 24, 2010). Neopatrimonialism in Contemporary
African Politics https://www.e-ir.info/2010/01/24/to-what-extent-can-neopatrimonialism-be-considered-significant-in-contemporary-african-politics/,
pp. 2.
[43] Osseo-Asare,
F. (l984) Development Paradigms and Realities: Agricultural Development Strategies
in Ghana, l957-l983, Paper presented in College Station, Rural Sociological Society.