Search results

The purpose of this paper is to model SME board configurations and then to examine empirically their diversity. Polarity in corporate board research around two primary tasks (control and service/strategy), neither captures comprehensively the range of SME board types, based on what they actually do, nor elucidates how boards configure and why. SME heterogeneity is problematic for understanding how the triumvirate of power and control – owners, directors and executives – governs in such firms.

Survey research is used to examine 186 French private SMEs. Factorial and cluster analyses are used to classify board configurations according to board task performance.

Results reveal six different board types among small firms. The findings indicate that both organisational and board design need to be adjusted to align with the differentiation between the ownership and the management, and between the ownership and the directorship. The greater the differentiation between these power/control functions in response to increased internal and/or external contingencies, the more varied will be the board’s portfolio of tasks, with implications for the director capabilities and board competence.

The research extends SME board governance theory and practice by bringing greater clarity to the field of board task performance in SMEs. It provides insights into explicit board task-related configurational behaviour through recognising the degree of differentiation between the triumvirate power/control functions at the apex of the small firm. SME boards in the sample show not just a single configuration but a combination from a portfolio of tasks with different emphases on each according to their circumstances. This finding implies that a particular type of board may select a task, or set of tasks, from the portfolio, depending on the nature of the SME in terms of its proximity – whether it is characterised more by specificity or by denaturation. Further research is needed to understand the variation in these configurations over time in response to internal and external contingencies and what board emphases and processes are involved in transitioning through these evolutions.

The findings are important because the extent of knowledge about what the configuration comprises will determine how effectively a board will execute its tasks. This knowledge is useful in helping boards place emphasis on how best to concentrate their efforts on creating value for the SME, by selecting an effective combination of tasks from a given board configuration depending on their circumstances.

The research extends SME board governance theory and practice by bringing greater clarity to the field of board task performance in SMEs. It provides insights into explicit board task-related configurational behaviour through recognising the degree of differentiation between the triumvirate power/control functions at the apex of the small firm.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to reflect on the value of e-mails for recruiting and interviewing in a specific context in qualitative research, and second, to reflect on the benefits of the reflexive practice in sharing the research experience for gaining a deeper understanding of the field. The purpose is to raise points for consideration in research design for the e-mail method in this type of study.

The paper draws on reflexivity and integrates fieldwork experiences to present the shared reflections and insights into the enabling and constraining aspects of using e-mail interviews with hard-to-access participants such as senior executives of international businesses.

Closer consideration needs to be given to the use of e-mail interviewing in the research design for such studies, especially regarding culturally held preconceptions about the research environment and how the inevitable challenges in engaging in cross-border research may be resolved.

The paper yields unanticipated insights into the potential of e-mail interviewing for studies that require responses from key informants who are otherwise unlikely to participate in the research. The paper brings greater transparency to researchers regarding the realities of using the method in this context, and thus, it expands the hitherto small repertoire of such studies in qualitative international business research. The contribution also lies in the value of deliberately creating a space for reflexive conversations that open the possibility of more profound understandings in qualitative research.

Board configuration is discussed in the context of the perceived needs of the board as a strategic resource of the organization. This is highlighted in the context of the differing governance, performance and social requirements of organizations pertaining to private sector, state and local government ownership structures. Examined is the view that in bringing particular perspectives resulting from their professional, ethnic or gender backgrounds, directors contribute to board effectiveness. This notion is evaluated in terms of directors’ coping devices and their perceptions of their ability to be heard on the board. Initiatives that boards may use to ensure the success of such appointments are highlighted. Consideration is also given to enhancing the dynamics of established but dysfunctional appointments. In concluding, the paper develops criteria for success in making board appointments where the prospective appointee is a minority in terms of professional discipline or other forms of diversity.

The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of attention to and the nature of sustainability issues in the curriculum of the Higher National Diploma (HND) Purchasing and Supply Management programme of Ghana.

Documentary research is the approach used to analyse the curriculum document for the programme of study.

Findings of this study reveal a low presence of sustainability in the curriculum, and most of the sustainability sub-topics address issues of social justice, while economic sustainability issues feature the least.

Deliberate and greater efforts should be made to integrate sustainability in the curriculum; all three dimensions of sustainability need to be well represented in the teaching and learning experiences; and there should be training and sensitisation of all relevant stakeholders in issues of sustainability.

This study provides an analysis of a higher education curriculum in terms of attention given to sustainability and the nature of sustainability issues addressed therein. It sets the research agenda for the study of curricula of other programmes for sustainability, as research literature on higher education curricula for sustainability in Africa, especially Ghana, is scarce (GUNi et al., 2011).

This paper aims to investigate the impact of intellectual capital (IC) as a mediator variable on the association between corporate governance (CG) practices and firm performance. This study also examines bi-causality linkages between these variables.

The designated corporate governance index and the value-added intellectual coefficient method were used to assess the level of CG practices and the performance of IC. Tobin’s Q (TQ) and operating efficiency ratio were used to measure firm performance.

The aggregate CG score has a significant positive impact on the IC and the two measures of firm performance. However, the IC has only a partial mediation effect on the relationship between the aggregate corporate governance score and a firm’s operational efficiency ratio. The IC has partial and full mediation effects in the relationship between the sub-dimensions of corporate governance and the performance of Egyptian corporates. Moreover, a bi-causality relationship can be observed between CG and TQ.

Generalizing the obtained results would require the sample size to be extended.

The findings should alert legislative institutions and practitioners of the need to comply with good CG practices and develop the efficiency of IC to elicit a firm’s superior performance.

This study is one of the first attempts to investigate the causality relationships and the mediation impact of IC on the relationship between CG practices and corporate performance in the Egyptian context.

The purpose of this study is to present an assessment of the sustainability content of the Nigerian engineering curriculum in universities.

Content analysis is used to generate and analyse data from three engineering documents, namely, the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards for Engineering Programmes in Nigeria and the engineering handbooks of two Nigerian higher education institutions.

The Nigerian engineering curriculum is revealed to have a low sustainability content, with environmental concepts being the most cited themes and social topics as the least stated issues.

The sustainability assessment approach adopted in the study is constrained by the question of what constitutes a sustainability syllabus. Expert-derived sustainability themes used in the study are unavoidably incomplete and may limit the conduct of an exhaustive sustainability content assessment.

Based on the research outcome, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria and other stakeholders can consider ways to adequately incorporate sustainability themes in the Nigerian engineering curriculum.

The research is an effort to determine the presence of sustainability issues in the Nigerian engineering education, which has hitherto been scarcely documented. This study provides a baseline and a rationale for sustainability education interventions in the Nigerian engineering curriculum. It also presents a methodology for analysing sustainability content in university curriculum and contributes to the continuing sustainability education discourse, especially in relation to sub-Saharan Africa.