Ethical Culture of SMEs and Perceived Contract Enforcement in Ugandan Buyer-Supplier Contractual Arrangements

W Jnl of Ent Man and Sust Dev

Mutebi

Kamanyi³

et al. 2013

Purpose -The purpose of this study is to examine institutional framing for entrepreneurship in a sub-Saharan context and provide policy input required in solving the daunting problem of the existing low levels and high failure rate of business start-ups in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected from a sample of 659 SMEs from two districts of Uganda in Jinja and Mukono which were scientifically selected for this study. Appropriate analytical data techniques were applied. Findings -Results reveal the presence of implicit regulative, explicit regulative, constitutive cognitive and normative institutions which affect entrepreneurial activities in Uganda. These findings and their policy implications are fully discussed in the paper. Originality/value -This research parallels the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2004 study that reports high total entrepreneurship activity (TEA) from Uganda and presents the importance of understanding the institutional framing for entrepreneurship. There is a paucity of research addressing institutional framing for entrepreneurship from a sub-Saharan context, creating a need to study and systematically document the prevailing supporting institutions as a framework for promoting entrepreneurship in Uganda.

mentioning

confidence: 57%

Institutional framing for entrepreneurship in sub‐Saharan Africa: a case of Uganda

W Jnl of Ent Man and Sust Dev

Mutebi

Kamanyi³

et al. 2013

“…Business licensing and permits were viewed as severe constraint by firms in Tanzania, relative to firms in Kenya and Uganda. In Uganda legal proceedings are inefficient, complex and costly, favouring firms with resources and connections (Fafchamps, 1998;Kiryabwire, 2010;Ntayi et al, 2011). The regulatory burden of registering a business in Zimbabwe is equally high.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ntayi (2012) using data from Ugandan SMEs reveals that unethical behaviour is an inherent vice within the Ugandan trading community. This is supported by Ntayi et al (2011), who assert that powerful buyers and suppliers tend to manipulate weak contractual partners. Hicks (2009, p. 49) observes that an entrepreneurial ethic contrasts strongly to the ethics codes prevalent in the traditional and current business ethics literature because entrepreneurs are self-responsible and productive individuals who create value and trade with others to win-win advantage.…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

Institutional framing and entrepreneurship capital in Uganda

World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development

Mutebi

Byangwa³

et al. 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide policy and managerial implications required in solving the daunting problem of the existing low-entrepreneurial capital in Uganda. Design/methodology/approach – A large-scale comprehensive survey using a sample of 11,105 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from 40 high-growth towns was selected and undertaken from five regions of Uganda. The response rate was 40.5 per cent, translating into 4,498 usable questionnaires. Findings – Results reveal that institutional framing, entrepreneurship human capital and entrepreneurial moral values predict entrepreneurship capital in Uganda. These results are presented and discussed in detail in this paper. Research limitations/implications – The study applied a cross-sectional approach to study behaviour, yet studying behaviour requires time. Therefore, there is need for scholars to undertake a follow up study to test the hypotheses using longitudinal data. Practical implications – The paper provides implications for the review and development of supporting institutional frames for entrepreneurship, promoting generalized forms of human capital and entrepreneurial ethics moral values. Originality/value – The motivation for the study is derived from the observation that the legal and regulatory framework in Uganda is biased against SMEs. This is manifested in the high-regulatory burden of registering and running enterprises in Uganda. For example, the cost of registering a business in Uganda is high. Legal proceedings in Uganda are inefficient, complex and costly only favouring firms with resources and connections. This may restrict enterprise development and increase the costs of running businesses, distort human capital and entrepreneurial moral values thereby affecting entrepreneurship capital.

“…Such a situation arouses a combination of negative emotions of: anger and surprise; disgust and anger; sadness and surprise; sadness and disgust; fear and sadness to produce outrage, contempt/resentment, embarrassment/disappointment, regret and despair/distress, respectively, that may have implications for arbitration (Bush et al , 2000; Luu, 2010) and relationship continuity. According to Ntayi et al (2011a) such emotions discourage bonding in SMEs which is required to create a comfortable and fulfilling atmosphere. This acts as a disincentive and promotes threat of SME survival.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SMEs in Uganda, are faced with challenges arising out of the prevailing business environment which is characterized by weak ethical culture, scarcity of resources, weak bargaining power, organizational memory and organizational amnesia (Ntayi et al , 2011a). These institutional challenges are reflected in the exploitative contractual behaviors like opportunism, lying and exaggeration (Ntayi et al , 2010; Eyaa and Ntayi, 2010; Ntayi et al , 2011b) which have become a breeding ground for contractual disputes.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional outcomes of Ugandan SME buyer‐supplier contractual conflicts

Int J of Social Economics

2011

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a multilevel investigation of the existence and relationship between severity of buyer‐supplier contractual conflicts, emotional outcomes and disengagement behaviour arising out of the contractual disputes in Ugandan small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs).Design/methodology/approachThis paper undertakes a large‐scale comprehensive survey covering 839 SMEs' buyers together with their corresponding suppliers using Krejcie and Morgan sample size determination criteria. Respondents were managers selected on the basis of their purchasing experience and knowledge of the subject matter under investigation. Data were subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis as a quasi‐judicial analytical approach to assess the goodness‐of‐fit of the latent structure underlying the constructs under investigation.FindingsThe results demonstrate that both the confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation model have a good fit. The direct effects of the severity of buyer‐supplier conflicts and emotional outcomes of buyer‐supplier emotions taken together is significant and explains 37 per cent of the variance in buyer‐supplier disengagement.Originality/valueThe study predicts the emotional outcomes of buyer‐supplier conflicts which were thought to be idiosyncratic, and erratic. Their connection to organizational outcomes was considered convoluted.