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Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between environmental commitment and environmental sustainability practices of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a cross-sectional and correlational design using evidence from 106 manufacturing SMEs in Uganda. Data was analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 23. Findings Results show that environmental commitment is a significant predictor of environmental sustainability practices and its dimensions which comprise of eco-friendly packaging, energy efficiency, waste management and water conservation of the manufacturing SMEs in Uganda. Originality/value This study offers initial evidence on the association between environmental commitment and environmental sustainability practices using evidence from a developing country’s perspective. The results also provide new insights on the relationship between environmental commitment and the dimensions of environmental sustainability practices which comprise of eco-friendly packaging, energy efficiency, waste management and water conservation.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the concept and practice of Islamic banking in the context of a non-Islamic country such as Uganda. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit the strategies banks may use to ensure that the Islamic banking system is successful and to ascertain those factors that may hinder its success. Chief executive officers of business associations, heads of committees on Islamic banking and religious leaders were interviewed. Findings The strategies used by financial institutions in ensuring the adoption of Islamic banking are now known such as “creating awareness of Islamic banking’s mode of operation among existing and potential clients.” The findings also show that factors such as “lack of trust among clients” may hinder the success of Islamic banking. Research limitations/implications The research findings are useful for informing the deliberations of regulators, the business community and financial institutions. The results are applicable only to those countries in the preparation stages of adopting Islamic banking services for the first time, but they could be generalized to any new product launch in any country. Originality/value This paper may help Ugandan financial institutions to design strategies that will accelerate the adoption and, ultimately, the diffusion of Islamic banking in Uganda.

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to explore the intention of micro and small enterprises’ (MSEs) owners to adopt digital technologies as a strategy to catalyze sustainable growth of Uganda's economy.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a qualitative, multi-case design. The unit of inquiry consisted of business owners operating in St. Balikuddembe Market, Kampala, Uganda. They were interrogated to explore their intention to adopt digital technologies during the total lockdown as a strategy to sustainably operate their businesses.FindingsA total of four major themes emerged from the data analysis process and these are the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on business operations, awareness of digital technologies, usage of digital technologies and intention to use more digital technologies.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study shed light on what policymakers, digital service providers and business owners can do to improve uptake of digital technologies among MSEs in Uganda.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the extant literature on digital technologies in MSEs using evidence from Uganda's informal sector. The results of the study may catalyze uptake of digital technologies as policymakers and digital service providers will devise appropriate strategies that will enable business owners to integrate these technologies into their business operations.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to establish whether all the dimensions of regulatory compliance matter for environmental sustainability practices of manufacturing small and medium entrepreneurial ventures (SMEVs) using evidence from Uganda. Design/methodology/approach This study is cross-sectional and correlational. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey of 106 manufacturing SMEVs. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Findings The results indicate that controls, legitimacy and deterrence do matter for environmental sustainability practices of the manufacturing SMEVs in Uganda, unlike social norms and values. Originality/value This study fosters the understanding of environmental sustainability practices, as it provides insights on whether all the dimensions of regulatory compliance do matter for environmental sustainability practices of manufacturing SMEVs in Uganda.

This paper examines specific constructs for sustainable entrepreneurship as perceived in the Ugandan context using confirmatory factor analysis. This study is cross-sectional. Data were collected through a face to face survey of 384 small businesses in Kampala selected through stratified and simple random sampling. Data were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and descriptive statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. The study revealed that the constructs for sustainable entrepreneurship as perceived in the Ugandan context are production management, people and skills, ecosystem management, stakeholder, finance, strategy, marketing and sales. This suggests that seven factors with eigenvalues greater than one were identified, accounting for 63.23% of the total variance explained in sustainable entrepreneurship. This study presents initial evidence on the constructs of sustainable entrepreneurship that apply to the local context from the perspective of the business owners as opposed to the experts in the field. Implications on policy and practice were discussed.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of social media, perception, readiness and usage on sustainable growth of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Uganda.Design/methodology/approachThis study is cross-sectional and adopted a mixed method approach. Data was gathered through a questionnaire survey of 212 business owner–managers that are members of the Uganda Small Scale Industries Association (USSIA) and engaging 8 business managers in the in-depth interviews to support and strengthen the quantitative results. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS.24) and Atlas ti.8.FindingsThe study reveals that social media perception, readiness and usage positively influence sustainable growth of MSEs in Uganda. However, the insufficient soft and technical skills, lack of devices such as computers and smartphones and the high cost of Internet data undermine the usage of social media by business owner–managers for sustainable growth of their businesses.Practical implicationsThe findings demonstrate what policymakers, social media operators and business owner–managers need to do to enhance integration of social media platforms and channels into the operations of MSEs in Uganda.Originality/valueThis study adds to existing literature on social media technology in MSEs with evidence from Uganda. The study results are likely to foster usage of social media as policymakers and social media providers will come up with appropriate strategies to unlock the social media potential of the business owner–managers for sustainable business growth in Uganda.

The purpose of this paper was to establish the joint effect of access to finance and firm capability on small businesses' performance in Kampala, Uganda. The study adopted a cross-sectional design with a sample of 384 small businesses. Self administered questionnaires were used in data collection and data was collected from August to November 2018. The study utilised SPSS to perform correlation and regression. The study found out that access to finance, firm capability and firm performance are positively related. Regression analysis also revealed that access to finance and firm capability equally account for 41.8% change in small business performance. Conversely, access to finance was found to be the most influential factor in predicting firm performance as compared to firm capability. Therefore, the study recommends that policies and programs to improve small business owners' capabilities should be implemented to enhance the performance of their firms; small business owners need government support to get finance characterised by low interest rates; no collateral security and as such, their performance will gradually improve. Small business owners also need to establish long-tern relationships with customers, suppliers and employees to improve their services and products to better the performance of their firms.