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"Although the world's poorest inhabited continent, Africa has recently shown signs of being a source of economic growth in the coming decades, with increased foreign investment - notably from China - and huge growth in GDP from a number of African states. In contrast to the heaving weight of books focusing on business opportunities in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, Africa has been poorly served by academic publishing. This compendium of scholarship offers cutting-edge knowledge relating to business in Africa. The objectives of this collection include: To shed new light on the socio-cultural and historical underpinnings of business practice in Africa and their implications for promoting entrepreneurship and business behaviour in the region To consider the important constraints on business activities in Africa, and the emerging 'best practice' for redressing their real and potential impacts To facilitate a better understanding of contemporary business practice in Africa through the application of relevant theories and models, including emergent ones. The Routledge Companion to Business in Africa is a comprehensive reference resource that provides the perfect platform for embarking on research and study into Africa from the business perspective"--

Can Africa Claim the 21st Century? This wasthe title of a World Bank report (World Bank,2000) issued to mark the beginning of the newmillennium. The report provided anassessment of sub-Saharan Africa's prospectsfor economic and social development in thetwenty-first century

As demand mounts for a review of the UK's privatized utilities regulatory system, focuses on an increasing public phenomenon ‐ that of conflict between regulators and regulatees. Identifies the factors contributing to the difficulties which the regulators face in carrying out their roles. Utilizes the benefit of hindsight to reach conclusions as to why the current attacks on the roles of the regulators are natural outcomes, flowing from the ways in which regulatory systems have been designed.

"This book explores the process of enterprise development and its reconstruction of entrepreneurial identities, critical competencies as well as market turnaround for SMEs"--Provided by publisher

The phenomenal spread of privatization initiatives in sub‐Saharan Africa since the 1980s created the impression that public infrastructure divestiture is a shortcut to economic growth and development. This has proven not to be the case due to the lack of enabling institutional prerequisites. It appears the case that while much faith is put in the potency of the free market, little thought is generally given to the institutions required for markets to perform their function. Accordingly, this paper discusses some of the embedded institutional failures that have made free‐market development policies a mirage in many sub‐Saharan African countries. Principally among these are corruption and government failures. To check these, it makes more sense to re‐direct attention to the sources of failure rather than the free market ideological thrust.

This article examines the impact of management structure on the performance of population control program in Pakistan. Specifically, it explores the relationship between management structures and program outcomes in social marketing program (SMP) contexts. A combination of pattern matching and explanation building techniques for embedded case analysis was used and the data brought together in a reasoned form to provide an analysis and explanation of the focused topic. Management structures adopted for various SMPs for family planning were defined directly or indirectly by the funding agencies, and these, in turn, led to varying implementation difficulties. The Pakistani experience shows that donor agencies' involvement in operational issues has little positive impact on the program outcome. Essentially, the findings afford program managers evidence-based insights in developing new structure and avoiding failed ones. It emphasizes that, in countries where more than one SMP are in operation, the stakeholders need to assess program components circumspectly to avoid duplication. Overall, the article provides strategic directions to stakeholders on how varying organizations handling social marketing projects could enhance operational effectiveness of the program. It emphasizes the need for improved coordination, devolution of responsibilities, alignment of organizational goals with the program goals, and effective involvement of local stakeholders in program planning.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the intricate interconnection between religion, spirituality and pursuits of economic opportunities among ethnic entrepreneurs, using British Africans as a frame. Against the backcloth of institutional constraints confronting ethnic minorities, the paper investigates how African immigrants in the UK utilise ethnic‐based religious resources in the enactment of entrepreneurship. It focuses on the intersection between religion, spirituality, and entrepreneurship for the purpose of providing "below the surface" understandings of African entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachRooted in the context of discovery rather than verification, the research approach involved the use of a focus group as an "entry point" in the collection of field data. This was followed up with one‐to‐one interviews so that key issues were then probed deeper whilst simultaneously allowing considerable scope to idiosyncratically explore particular meanings with research participants. The sample was drawn from British Africans in London.FindingsAfrican Pentecostal churches have become a significant force in nurturing business start‐ups and encouraging entrepreneurship among the population group. Social capital generated within the religious organizations has a catalytic effect on entrepreneurial propensities.Research limitations/implicationsThe boundaries between enterprise and religion can be delicately thin and confusing, with wide‐ranging implications for policy interventions. For the entrepreneurs, reconciling religious orientation with the imperatives of entrepreneurship can be hugely problematic and this presents an opportunity in terms of support needs.Originality/valueEthnic‐based religious spaces have become a fecund ground for stimulating a brand of religion‐based ethnic entrepreneurship. This hybrid entrepreneurship is unique and offers a novel platform for constructing new understandings of ethnic entrepreneurship.

Branding is at best a complex phenomenon in conventional commercial settings and even more so in social marketing where the application of branding concepts and techniques are fairly recent but nevertheless gaining momentum. Against the backdrop of contraceptive social marketing programs implemented in Pakistan over the past 2 decades to promote the use of contraceptives, this article examines ways in which social marketing organizations used branding in a variety of ways to achieve positive behavioral changes and stronger market positioning. Using 3 illustrative case studies, our article provides a review of issues influencing branding in a highly regulated market-space. It finds that the development of trademarks and logos is fundamental to building a memorable brand, as is consistency of design and colors. Much of the techniques applied can be described as "pseudobranding"; (Hall & Jones, 2007) — conveying the identity of the product while not actually naming it.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore different prisms through which sustainable development (SD) is considered and to situate the discourse in African contexts by highlighting the contestations in which the conventional knowledge of SD is embedded as well as an agenda for improving the institutional framework for productive engagement of Africa nations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on desk research and synthesis drawn from the extant literature.FindingsThe orthodox knowledge of SD reflects axioms that are inextricably liked to the idiosyncrasies of the developed world; framed in opinions, languages and meanings that are poorly communicated to and understood by rural Africa. As a result, many African countries have remained bystanders in this important global discourse.Practical implicationsTo engage Africa proactively, a more broadened perspective is required in promoting the global agenda for SD, taking more account of the continent's contextual subjectivities than is presently the case.Originality/valueThe treatment offered indicates a need for more context‐bound education (not prescriptions) that is sufficiently sensitive and respectful of the complex trajectories characterising Africa's development (or lack of it). It is from this knowledge base that a useful SD agenda for the region might emerge.

There is substantial research to indicate that a positive correlation exists between firm-specific characteristics of Multinational Corporations (MNC's) and their international entrepreneurship, vis--vis the mode of market entry selected for overseas markets. Equally there is evidence to suggest that the level of international entrepreneurial orientation is related to specific prevailing factors in the host markets. Given that the importance and degree of international entrepreneurship has remarkably defined a new competitive landscape for international businesses, this paper considers the extent to which the nature of entry to overseas markets is predicated upon the existence of specific variables related to both the firm and the host markets. Accordingly, regression analysis models were used to test the relationship between independent variables related to the firm, the host markets and the level of involvement. This paper concludes that there are strong positive relationships between competitive intensity, degree of standardisation, extent of market research and political risks. Conversely, negative relationships were found in relation to cultural constructs (e.g. individualism and power distance) and the level of foreign involvement.