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Social capital is a concept that describes good quality social relations that can lead to mutual benefits. The social capital theory thrives on relationships in networks to gain access to resources, especially information benefits not available to non-members of the network. The study reports the effects of social capital on firm performance. The study further examines the moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation in the relationship between social capital and firm performance; and the mediating role of dynamic capabilities in the relationship between social capital and firm performance. Using SmartPLS software 3.2.8 to analyze primary data collected from 787 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in Ghana, the results show that social capital has a positive and direct relationship with firm performance in Ghana. The findings suggest that EO moderates the relationship between social capital and firm performance. Again, dynamic capabilities mediate the relationship between social capital and firm performance. The study also provides managers with practical ways of building relationships within their networks for achieving competitive advantage in the current business environment.

Environmental expenditures (EX) are made by the government and industries which are either long-term or short-term investments. The principal target of EX is to eliminate environmental hazards, promote sustainable natural resources, and improve environmental quality (EQ). Thus, this study looks at the impact of economic growth (EG), and government finance expenditure (GEX) on EQ in Northern Africa and Southern Africa (NASA) republics from 2000–2016. The panel quantile regression (PQR) and panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model in a generalized method of moment framework (GMM) were employed as a framework. The PQR results show that; (i) In Northern republics, GEX had a significant positive effect on EQ at 25%, 50%, and 75% quantiles levels. (ii) In the Southern republics, GEX had a significant negative impact on EQ at 25%. Moreover, the PVAR through the GMM established that EG and GEX are significantly positive while the parameter for CO2 is insignificant and negative in the North. However, in the South, GEX and CO2 were statistically significant, while EG positively impacts EQ. Lastly, the granger causality report in North indicates uni-directional causation running from LNGEX → LNGDPpc, LNCO2 → LNGDPpc, LNFF → LNGEX, and LNFDI → LNGEX. Similarly, there is uni-directional causation in South republics from LNGEX → LNGDPpc, LNCO2 → LNGEX, and LNFDI → LNGEX.

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