Doctoral School of Entrepreneurship and Business Sciences (DSEB)

The presentation makes an appraisal of sustainable business practices in the global retail sector. It explores issues such as ethical practices, provisions for equity and welfare and healthy business conduct with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The presentation represents an appraisal of an already published paper that uses participatory research methodology. The aim is to help upcoming researchers understand the building blocks of participatory research. Participatory research go beyond the shelves, they demand that once the problems have been agreed on by stakeholders, they be implemented by offering the solutions. Participatory research are therefore the next frontiers to an inclusive and vibrant global space.

SMEs play an active role in economic growth. Financing is regarded as one of the biggest hurdles facing SMEs growth and sustainability. Puzzled by how seriously this factor affects the firms leading to high closure rate, governments across the world have continued to pursue programs in support of SMEs financing. These include but not limited to establishment of Affirmative Action Funds. The presentation makes an appraisal of Government Support provided to SMEs.

Gas is one of the most important energy types in the world and particularly in Europe. Russia is the second-largest oil producer in the world and accounts for about 35% of total gas supply in Europe. The ongoing Russian-Ukraine war has had devastating effects to the gas supply chain in Europe. The ongoing war has slowed down production, interrupted the sustainability of the  global gas supply chain, and affected households and businesses in their daily operations. This presentation makes an appraisal of the energy sector situation in Europe and suggests alternative energy solutions to alleviate the crisis.

Gas is one of the most important energy types in the world and particularly in Europe. Russia is the second-largest oil producer in the world and accounts for about 35% of total gas supply in Europe. The ongoing Russian-Ukraine war has had devastating effects to the gas supply chain in Europe. The ongoing war has slowed down production, interrupted the sustainability of the  global gas supply chain, and affected households and businesses in their daily operations. This presentation makes an appraisal of the energy sector situation in Europe and suggests alternative energy solutions to alleviate the crisis.

SMEs play an active role in economic growth. Financing is regarded as one of the biggest hurdles facing SMEs growth and sustainability. Puzzled by how seriously this factor affects the firms leading to high closure rate, governments across the world have continued to pursue programs in support of SMEs financing. These include but not limited to establishment of Affirmative Action Funds. The presentation makes an appraisal of Government Support provided to SMEs.

The presentation represents an appraisal of an already published paper that uses participatory research methodology. The aim is to help upcoming researchers understand the building blocks of participatory research. Participatory research go beyond the shelves, they demand that once the problems have been agreed on by stakeholders, they be implemented by offering the solutions. Participatory research are therefore the next frontiers to an inclusive and vibrant global space.

The presentation makes an appraisal of sustainable business practices in the global retail sector. It explores issues such as ethical practices, provisions for equity and welfare and healthy business conduct with reference to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The World Council of Credit Unions recently selected the Kenyan Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies’ sub sector as the fastest growing in the world. The growing popularity and landmark growth of the sub sector is driven by the ability of the entities to meet clients credit needs on better and easier terms than other players in the financial sector. Scholars are in consensus that credit management is the foundation for stability and growth of modern day enterprises. The research therefore sought to establish the influence of innovative credit management practices on the financial performance of the Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies.  Specifically, the study aimed at establishing the effect of collection policy, credit risk controls, delinquency management and credit appraisals on performance of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Nyeri Central Sub county of Kenya. The study was particularly interested with the financial aspects of firm performance and specifically exploited profitability ratio aspects measured through Return on Investment. The study also considered Credit Risk Exposure measures namely Portfolio at Risk and Write off Ratio The study was anchored on the Information Asymmetry Theory, Agency theory as well as the transaction Cost Theory as the key guiding theoretical models. The study adopted a census study of all the 15 active Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Nyeri Central Sub County as gathered from the Directorate of Co-operative Development of Nyeri County Government. The research targeted Chief Executive Officers and Credit Managers of all the entities together with the executive board which comprises of 4 members. This translated to a total of 90 respondents. The study used both primary and secondary data pieces. Questionnaires were the choice tool for collecting primary data. The questionnaire was dropped in person and then picked at a later date. The questionnaire was tested for validity and reliability using a pilot study, seeking expert opinion and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis. Secondary data was gathered from the financial reports of the entities. Financial performance was considered for 5 financial years 2012-2016 for better understanding of performance over time. Secondary resources from the SACCO societies Regulatory Authority publications and reports were also useful. The study used the Statistical Package for Social Scientists to generate both descriptive and inferential statistics. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explain the magnitude of effect of each of the variables under study on performance. Going by the results of the analysis, as explained by R Square which is the Coefficient of Determination, 81.50 % of the variation in the Financial Performance (the dependent variable) was explained by variability in the independent variables. From the results all the independent variables coefficients were found to be statistically significantly different from 0 (zero). As such, it was concluded that Collections Policy, Credit Risk Control, Credit Appraisal and Delinquency Management were all statistically significant predictors of financial performance. Pearson Correlation analysis results indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between all the independent variables; Collections Policy, Credit Risk Control, Credit Appraisal and Delinquency Management and financial performance.

The World Council of Credit Unions recently highlighted the Kenyan Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies’ sub sector as the fastest growing in the world. The growing popularity and landmark growth of the sub sector is driven by the ability of the entities to meet clients credit needs on better and easier terms than other players in the financial sector. Scholars are in consensus that credit management is the foundation for stability and growth of modern day enterprises. The research therefore sought to establish the influence of collections policy on the financial performance of the Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Nyeri Central Sub county of Kenya. The study was particularly interested with the financial aspects of firm performance and specifically exploited profitability ratio aspects measured through Return on Investment. The study also considered Credit Risk Exposure measures namely Portfolio at Risk and Write off Ratio The study was anchored on the Information Asymmetry Theory, Agency theory as well as the Transaction Cost Theory as the key guiding theoretical models. The study adopted a census study of all the 15 active Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Nyeri Central Sub County. The study used both primary and secondary data pieces. Questionnaires were the choice tools for collecting primary data. The questionnaire was dropped in person and then picked at a later date. The questionnaire was tested for validity and reliability using a pilot study, seeking expert opinion and Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis. Financial performance was considered for 5 financial years 2012-2016 for better understanding of performance over time. Secondary resources from the SACCO societies Regulatory Authority publications and reports were also useful. The study used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences to generate both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the multiple regression analysis established that collections policy (β=1.425, p=0.05) was a statistically significant predictor of financial performance. Pearson correlation analysis results indicated that collections policy (r=0.721, p=0.030) has a very strong and statistically significant relationship with financial performance. A recommendation was made on need to tighten the collections policy and embrace a stringent as opposed to lenient collections framework in the tune of the agency theorists.

While studies have focused on the subject of redundancy, empirical studies have rarely considered the case of total redundancy characteristic of the mining industry. This is a field where the organization has a fixed lifespan and at some point all functions become redundant. Studies have also concentrated on redundancy as a problem and not on solutions to effectively manage it. The study relies on a case of Base Titanium Ltd, which is a Kenyan subsidiary firm and affiliate of the Base Resources Group, an Australian mineral sands producer. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of redundancy management on employee performance. A descriptive survey research design was used on a target population of 1,898 staff. A sample of 330 respondents was selected from whom primary data was collected with the help of a questionnaire. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive (median and mode) and inferential analyses (regression analysis and Spearman rank correlation analysis...

Family firms have continued to register low survival rates. Across the world, research puts the survival rate of family businesses beyond the third generation at a mere single digit. The dilemma is also that despite the high failure rate of family-owned firms, the world’s most enduring companies also belong to this class. What do they do differently from the majority of their peers? Succession planning tops the list of the 21st century’s paradoxical challenges facing family business enterprises. Past studies have been barely conclusive on whether and how succession planning, or the lack of it, affects business economic performance. The current study assesses the effect of succession planning on business economic performance. The study used a deductive approach, a survey research strategy, and an explanatory research design to fulfil its objectives. Data analysis was done through descriptive as well as inferential analyses. Regression analysis results indicated that succession planni...