The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record.

Purpose -The purpose of this conceptual paper is to explore how Africa has been branded, and to suggest ways the continent could be re-branded to attract both international and domestic investments. Design/methodology/approach -An extensive review of literature that encapsulates branding, nation branding, place/destination branding, foreign direct investment and issues associated with investment opportunities in Africa was conducted towards exploring how Africa has been branded and could be re-branded. Findings -This paper finds that the extant literature is replete with publications that essentially associate Africa, as a brand, to poverty, underdevelopment, corruption, doom, pestilence and several other inauspicious features. Nonetheless, the article also shows that there are several existing virtues especially in the form of business opportunities in several sectors that could be accorded extensive publicity to espouse the continents' brand equity. These range from agriculture, to tourism, to real estate, to sports and several existing foreign direct investments already thriving in several parts of the continent. Hence, the suggestion for re-branding Africa as a viable continent for global business transactions is strongly emphasised in the article. Practical implications -This paper has a significant implication for positioning Africa as a relevant business partner in the global marketplace by echoing the extensive business opportunities that await both the indigenous and foreign investors in the continent. Originality/value -The article espouses the brand equity of Africa as a continent and suggests avenues for constantly communicating the inherent virtues of the content to the world towards maintaining her rightful position in the international business community.

Purpose The nature of international markets and the challenges with respect to the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) makes it imperative to examine government support. This study aims to assess the role and effectiveness of government and the export promotion agencies in supporting exports by non-traditional horticultural SMEs in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative research design, which involved semi-structured interviews with senior managers of six export facilitating institutions to gain an understanding of the services offered to SMEs with respect to exports of non-traditional horticultural products. Findings The findings reveal inadequate cost-efficient sources of non-traditional horticultural export financing for SMEs. This is a hindrance to the international competitiveness of exporting SMEs in developing countries such as Ghana. In addition, effective and coordinated support from export promotion agencies was found to be critical. Originality/value The study highlights the importance of government’s role in policymaking and implementation of export-led programmes for horticultural exporting firms in Ghana. Despite their strategic importance, this area of research has not attracted the attention of researchers, with little or no information on the horticultural international competitiveness of non-traditional horticultural products.

Prior to 1992, Kaplan and Norton posited that organizations solely rely on financial measures to manage their performance. It has become possible for organizations to incorporate in addition to financial measures nonfinancial measures to manage their performance. It is in this light that balanced scorecard is one of the tools used to manage performance. However, managing the overall performance of organizations using balanced scorecard is limited in literature in Ghanaian banks. This study explores the extent of use of the four perspectives of balanced scorecard as a tool to for managing performance in selected Ghanaian banks. Survey research method was employed. In relation to the extent of used of balanced scorecard perspectives by selected Ghanaian banks to manage performance, it was found that financial perspective was used followed by customer perspective, learning and growth perspective, and internal business process. The ANOVA test showed that the mean scores of the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard was statistically and significantly different from each other. The research concludes that, Ghanaian banks relied heavily on financial perspective to measure performance.

The contribution of income from nontimber forest products (NTFPs) to rural livelihoods and household income has received global recognition. However, there are growing concerns of overexploitation of NTFPs driven by poverty and policy neglect that threaten the sustainability of the NTFP resource base in Kassena-Nankana West District (KNWD) of Ghana. The study investigated the contribution of income from NTFPs to household income and socioeconomic factors that influence the collection and marketing of NTFPs in KNWD. Using a multistage sampling technique, quantitative data were collected from 375 households through structured survey questionnaires. Qualitative data were gathered through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observations. Results showed that income from NTFPs forms a significant part of household income with a contribution of 32.69 percent to household income. Regression analysis revealed sex of respondent (P = 0.057), household size (P = 0.046), agricultural land size (P = 0.000), NTFP retailers (P = 0.000), NTFP wholesalers (P = 0.000), and value-added NTFPs (P = 0.000) as significantly and positively correlated with income from NTFPs. Results further indicated that poor households depend primarily on NTFPs in order to achieve their subsistence and income needs compared to high-income households. This research recommends that stakeholders and policymakers consider the needs of forest-dependent communities in policy analysis on NTFP conservation measures. Also, the role of households, especially the low income (poor), in the management of forest resources should be spelled out since they depend primarily on NTFPs to meet their subsistence and income needs.

No abstract

This paper focuses on factors that influence the degree of involvement in foreign markets. Using survey method, the research data was obtained from 112 usable responses from a sample of 500 UK companies which operate in at least two other countries. This represents a usable response rate of 22.4%, and consistent with similar research. The variables are grouped in terms of firm context (competition, organisation structure, competitive advantages, degree of standardisation) and host country context (economic development, culture differences, regulation, political risk). Regression models are used to test the relationship between the independent variables and the degree of involvement. Findings strongly indicate a positive relationship between the degree of foreign market involvement and the level of competition and the degree of foreign market involvement and competitive advantage. Findings weakly support the hypothesis of a positive relationship between the degree of foreign market involvement and economic development. There is weaker evidence to show a negative relationship between the degree of foreign market involvement and the cultural dimensions of individualism and power distance as proposed by Hofstede.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role colonial ties play in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Ghana, several years after the official end of colonisation in the African continent. Colonisation left behind legacies of institutional framework, social ties and remnants of companies of colonial masters, which could potentially offer contemporary businesses from home countries the benefits of country of origin agglomeration. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses sequential explanatory mixed research design through 101 questionnaires and 8 interviews from the UK companies with FDI in Ghana. This approached enabled the initial quantitative results to be explored further through the qualitative data. Findings Colonial ties have limited influence on contemporary flow of FDI to Ghana, in spite of the institutional legacies between former colonisers and colonies. Majority of UK companies are influenced by agglomeration opportunities in general rather than country of origin agglomeration. However, country of origin agglomeration remains important to over a third of the companies surveyed. Research limitations/implications The sample was taken from the non-extractive industry in Ghana, and caution must be applied in generalising the findings. However, some universal issues concerning agglomeration and institutions are discussed. Originality/value Although there has been some research on colonial history and its impact on FDI in Africa, existing knowledge on bilateral relations is rather limited. Unlike previous studies, this research provides depth by examining colonial influence on FDI between two countries, using two key concepts: country of origin agglomeration and institutions. It provides UK companies with contemporary views to consider when exploring FDI opportunities in Ghana, particularly in relation to the effects of the colonial history. It also provides investment promotion agencies with empirical results on the importance of various forms of agglomeration and institutions for FDI attraction.