Action plays a central role in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education. Based on action regulation theory, we developed an action-based entrepreneurship training. The training put a particular focus on action insofar as the participants learned action principles and engaged in the start-up of a business during the training. We hypothesized that a set of action-regulatory factors mediates the effect of the training on entrepreneurial action. We evaluated the training's impact over a 12-month period using a randomized control group design. As hypothesized, the training had positive effects on

Purpose -The purpose of this study was to examine the actions owner-managers of small businesses undertake in managing working capital. Design/methodology/approach -The study adopted an exploratory research design. The point of saturation was achieved after ten owner-managers were interviewed. Data were analyzed using content analysis technique with the aid of NVivo software. Verbatim texts were used to explain the emergent themes. Findings -The findings indicate that in the absence of systems, structures and procedures, small business owner-managers intuitively plan, monitor and control their working capital. The activities undertaken include; reliance on memory and oral agreements, informal planning, assuming inventory limits, unconventional record keeping, cash flow based information management and giving credit to close associates. Research limitations/implications -A more detailed investigation of the steps in the action sequence ma y advance our understanding of the process. Future studies need to test the effect of personal characteristics on working capital management process. Practical implications -Owner-managers of small businesses do not require the same degree of sophistication employed in planning, monitoring and controlling working capital. They require soft skills. Therefore, academicians, practitioners and policy makers need to emphasize knowledge management and cash accounting. Originality/value -This study examines the process perspective of working capital management, an aspect that has not been adequately highlighted in previous studies.

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the constructs of professionalism (Hall, 1968), rewards (Bartol, 1979) and job satisfaction (Stamps and Piedmonte, 1986; Hampton and Hampton, 2004) can be used as valid predictors of organizational commitment (Porter et al., 1974) in an emerging economy context. Design/methodology/approach-Using pre-existing scales for these constructs, the authors collected data from 277 ICPAU licensees' and carried out a factor analysis to examine their validity. Given the relevance of the organizational-professional conflict (OPC) debate to performance in public and private sector organizations, the authors use ANOVA to assess whether there are significant differences between CPAs in the private and public sectors. We also develop a structural equation model to assess the extent to which organizational commitment can be explained by professionalism, rewards and job satisfaction. Findings-The findings show that the four scales can be used as valid measures in an emerging market environment, albeit with some modifications. The correlations between the study variables are significant (po0.01) but weak. There are also no significant differences between the scores of private and public sector Certified Public Accountant (CPAs) on professionalism, rewards and organizational commitment. However, there is significantly lower job satisfaction amongst CPAs employed in the public sector. The authors also find that job satisfaction is the best predictor of organizational commitment. Professionalism and rewards are weak predictors of organizational commitment. The fitted model shows that there is a weak fit between organizational commitment and professionalism, rewards and job satisfaction (GFI ¼ 0.86, RMSEA ¼ 0.086). Originality/value-The authors modify the extant measurement scales for use in emerging market conditions and show that with some adjustment, they are robust measures of the study variables. The paper also extends the organizational commitment (OC) debate to emerging market conditions and shows that rewards on their own are not enough to ensure organizational commitment amongst professionals. It is important to improve job satisfaction through more enriching work experience.

PurposeThe present study was carried out with the purpose of establishing a model of effective board governance in Uganda's service sector firms.Design/methodology/approachThis study is cross‐sectional. The analysis was conducted using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software on a sample of 128 service firms in Uganda. The perceived effective board governance in Uganda was measured by the perceptions of 128 respondents who are managers or directors in each of those service firms. Three confirmatory factor analysis models were tested and fitted.FindingsThe three‐dimensional model of effective board governance in Uganda – consisting of control and meetings’ organization, board activity and effective communication – was determined to be the best fitting model. Evidence in support of relevant theories of board governance was adduced.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough plenty of literature on corporate governance exists, there is scarce literature on effective board governance conceptualization and this together with imprecise terminology regarding this area may have affected the authors’ conceptualization of the study. The authors’ study was limited to the service sector firms registered and operating in Kampala, Uganda and it is possible that their results are only applicable to this sector in Uganda. Nevertheless, policy makers of Uganda dealing with financial markets, academicians, company directors, company owners and even general readers interested in the area of effective board governance might find this paper handy.Practical implicationsThe authors believe that application of their model should improve the quality of board governance in Uganda and can also apply to other sectors of Uganda's firms to help avert the problem of ineffective boards as evidenced by consistent firm failures in Uganda. By improving the quality of board governance, Ugandan boards will demonstrate their relevance in company direction and improvement of company value to the benefit of all stakeholders.Originality/valueThe present study provides one of the few studies that have analysed with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS to test effective board governance measurement model and provides a benchmark for Uganda's service firms yearning to leverage the use of their boards.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of intellectual capital on the relationship between board governance and perceived firm financial performance. Design/methodology/approach – This study was cross-sectional. Analyses were by SPSS and Analysis of Moment Structure on a sample of 128 firms. Findings – The mediated model provides support for the hypothesis that intellectual capital mediates the relationship between board governance and perceived firm performance. while the direct relationship between board governance and firm financial performance without the mediation effect of intellectual capital was found to be significant, this relationship becomes insignificant when mediation of intellectual capital is allowed. Thus, the entire effect does not only go through the main hypothesised predictor variable (board governance) but majorly also, through intellectual capital. Accordingly, the connection between board governance and firm financial performance is very much weakened by the presence of intellectual capital in the model – confirming that the presence of intellectual capital significantly acts as a conduit in the association between board governance and firm financial performance. Overall, 36 per cent of the variance in perceived firm performance is explained. the error variance being 64 per cent of perceived firm performance itself. Research limitations/implications – The authors surveyed directors or managers of firms and although the influence of common methods variance was minimal, the non-existence of common methods bias could not be guaranteed. Although the constructs have been defined as precisely as possible by drawing upon relevant literature and theory, the measurements used may not perfectly represent all the dimensions. For example board governance concept (used here as a behavioural concept) is very much in its infancy just as intellectual capital is. Similarly the authors have employed perceived firm financial performance as proxy for firm financial performance. The implication is that the constructs used/developed can realistically only be proxies for an underlying latent phenomenon that itself is not fully measureable. Practical implications – In considering the behavioural constructs of the board, a new integrative framework for board effectiveness is much needed as a starting point, followed by examining intellectual capital in firms whose mediating effect should formally be accounted for in the board governance – financial performance equation. Originality/value – Results add to the conceptual improvement in board governance studies and lend considerable support for the behavioural perspective in the study of boards and their firm performance improvement potential. Using qualitative factors for intellectual capital to predict the perceived firm financial performance, this study offers a unique dimension in understanding the causes of poor financial performance. It is always a sign of a maturing discipline (like corporate governance) to examine the role of a third variable in the relationship so as to make meaningful conclusions.