Graduate School of Business

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 174
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    Investigating the extent to which demand and supply side factors affect women’s access to financial services from microfinance institutions: a case of women entrepreneurs in Lusaka Zambia.
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Muchimba, Elijah
    This research focused on assessing the extent to which demand side and supply side factors affect women’s access to financial services from microfinance institutions: a case of women entrepreneurs in Zambia. The study was carried out in Lusaka and the main objectives of the study were to determine the extent to which demand side and supply side factors impede women entrepreneurs’ access to financial service; and to find out measures that can be used to curb the demand side and supply side factors affecting women entrepreneurs’ access to financial services. Therefore, the study followed a mixed research design to answer the research question on the factors affecting women’s accessibility to financial services from microfinance institutions among women entrepreneurs in Zambia. Data was collected using a questionnaire and interview guide. The research data was qualitatively analyzed using themes and also quantitatively analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) 24. According to the study findings, it was established that demand side and supply side factors impede women entrepreneurs’ access to financial services. This is because the findings revealed that demand side and supply side factors such as lack of collateral, limited personal capacity, high interest rates, failure to understand financial services, limited access to financial institutions, lack of education, few financial institutions supporting women, lack of property, lack of confidence and the type of business management among others affected women accessibility to financial services among micro financial institutions. To counter the above factors, the study revealed that there are measures that can be used to curb the factors that affect women’s accessibility to financial services from microfinance institutions. These include building the business case for equal economic opportunities for men and women; promoting financial support from micro financial institutions; empowering women as a priority focus; educating women on financial institutions and financial services provided and increasing the number of micro financial institutions supporting women among others. Furthermore, recommendations arising from the study among others included the need for financial institutions to become more responsive to the specific needs of women entrepreneurs and develop products and services that address these needs and the need to not only increase the branch network of the various financial institutions involved in lending money to women entrepreneurs, but also diversify the delivery modes.
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    Developing a marketing strategy model to enhance performance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Zambia.
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Ndhlovu, Scotch Musalela
    The purpose of this study was to develop a marketing strategy model that could enhance performance in particular the sales growth of MSMEs in Zambia. The study was conducted out of the need to understand the role played by the marketing strategies on performance of MSMEs in Zambia taking into account that most MSMEs fail to survive and grow few years after their establishment. The objective was to present the results of a rigorous assessment of marketing strategies applied by the MSMEs and their influence on performance. From the research results, a marketing strategy model was to be developed. The study was guided by the bounded rationality theory and anchored in the positivist paradigm embracing the logic of induction and deduction. Two measures (a) marketing strategies and (b) sales growth were the main variables. The target population was 335 MSMEs from both Lusaka and Copperbelt province. Since each province had an association of registered members, the register for each province was used as a sampling frame. Data was collected using a descriptive research survey. The instrument used in this study was a structured questionnaire that was designed by the researcher. Yamane Taro’s sampling formula was used to determine the required sample. 177 respondents were enlisted in this study. Data was analysed using the SPSS statistical program, version 28 (SPSS Inc.). Ordinal logistic regression was performed to determine the influence of marketing strategies on sales growth. The key and major findings of study revealed that out of 14 marketing strategies that were assessed, only 5 were dominant in terms of use and these are; Whatsap ranked number 1, Facebook ranked number 2, Radio ranked number 3, Newspaper ranked number 4 and Face to Face (word of mouth, door to door) ranked number 5. Out of the 5 marketing strategies that were in use, 4 had significant high influence on sales growth and these are; Radio (Wald χ2(1) = 25.606, p = 0.001), WhatsApp (Wald χ2(1) =12.480, p = 0.001), Facebook (Wald χ2(1) =5.702, p = 0.017) and Newspaper (Wald χ2(1) =9.510, p = 0.001). The use of these four marketing strategies appear to be essential for increasing sales growth of the MSMEs. The study concludes that marketing strategies provide additional competitive edge to MSMEs by consistently enhancing sales growth. Therefore, MSMEs should pursue the consistent adoption of marketing strategies as a way of improving their performance in particular the sales growth. Further, the study revealed that the choice of marketing strategies that MSMEs applied was influenced by the MSME owner- managers’ cognitive capability, environment and availability of resources. The study recommends that the MSME Associations should disseminate information to members to appreciate and adopt marketing strategies to ehance their performance. The associations should also engage Government institutions such as the Ministry of Small Medium Enterprise and Development, Zambia Development Agency and Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission to regularly conduct training to their members on marketing strategies.
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    Analysis of the effects of environmental entrepreneurship on sustainable development among small medium enterprises in Zambia: a case of Lusaka central business district (CBD).
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Kazhila, Sepo
    These challenges have emerged due to the profit maximization motive of the SME owners at the expense of conserving the environment and the values of society. Currently, there is a pressing need for entrepreneurs to adopt environmentally friendly strategies, technologies, and products that will result in sustainable solutions to problems of the day. A study was adopted to analyze the effects of environmental entrepreneurship on sustainable development among small and medium enterprises in Lusaka’s CDB. A sample of 278 respondents was selected using the Cochran formula which resulted in a response rate of 91% with 252 respondents. A mixed methodology approach was used and data was analyzed through the use of SPSS from which correlation and a summary of coefficient were used to measure the relationship among variables. The overall coefficient of correlation of 0.947 from the SPSS results suggests that there is a strong positive relationship between the variables under observation in relation to sustainable development among SMEs with regard to environmental entrepreneurship strategies which are: environmental efficacy, and environmental innovation. The R-Square (coefficient of determination) of 0.897 suggests that sustainable development is influenced 89.7% by the independent variables observed.
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    The effect of COVID-19 on the accounting practice in Zambia.
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Zulu, Temwani
    The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most brutal pandemic in human kind history. Its impact has been immense, affecting numerous sectors across the global economy including the Accounting Practice (AP). Consequently, the purpose of the study was to determine the effect of COVID-19 on the AP in Zambia. The collection of data was done through quantitative methods. Questionnaires in 5 point Likert scale were sent electronically to the ZiCA subscribed members through the ZiCA database, using purposive sampling. The collection of data comprised of 152 Accountants across the country. Data was analyzed through SPSS 26, Pairwise and Spearman’s RHO tests were used. The results indicate a significant relationship on remote inventory valuation both during and before COVID-19, indicating discrepancies on how inventory valuation was conducted, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant relationships between sector and challenges with inventory valuation during COVID-19; sector and evaluation of going concern in relation to COVID 19; sector and disclosure of accounting estimates and liabilities in relation to COVID-19; sector and adoption of cloud accounting, artificial intelligence, data analytics & forecasting and block chain during COVID-19; Job level and conducting of meeting using video conference, zoom, google meet during COVID-19; age and challenges faced for remote working during COVID-19 were tested. Insignificant relationships were tested between sector and inclusion of income tax cuts and subsidies in financial statements, education level and assessment of the Effect of COVID-19 related instability on revenue recognition and allowance for bad debts; sector and enhancement of accounting technology following COVID-19; job level and increase of cyber security levels following COVID-19. The results concluded that COVID-19 has drastically affected inventory valuation, during the pandemic and how companies disclose and report all financial elements impacted by COVID-19. The study also concludes that COVID-19 has enabled the advancement of accounting technology, in the AP resulting in increase in cyber security levels. Companies and regulatory bodies should not ignore the impact of COVID-19 to the AP as the effects are long lasting and will continue in the long run post COVID-19.
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    Contextual antecedents of e-commerce adoption for supply chain management by retail and consumer goods traders in Zambia.
    (The University of Zambia, 2024) Ngwira, Jonathan Vincent
    E-commerce, as a transformative technological innovation, offers unparalleled opportunities for enhancing supply chain management efficiency and effectiveness. This study was conducted to investigate the factors influencing the behavioural intention of retail and consumer goods traders to adopt e-commerce for supply chain management in Zambia. The research employs a quantitative design with the data being collected through the administration of questionnaires to a randomly selected sample size of 329 registered retail and consumer goods traders in Zambia. The sample size was determined using the Yamane formula and the data collected was analysed using statistical methods based on correlation and multiple regression analysis in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings indicate that the core constructs of the conceptual model that is based on an adapted Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model (UTAUT) and Theory of Perceived Risk (TPR) model significantly influences the behavioural intention of retail and consumer goods traders in adopting e-commerce for supply chain management. Performance Expectancy (β = 0.261, p < 0.05), Effort Expectancy (β = -0.088, p < 0.05), Social Influence (β = -1.057, p < 0.05), Perceived Risk (β = -0.083, p < 0.05) and Facilitating Conditions (β = 0.201, p < 0.05) have a significant effect on the Behavioural Intention of retail and consumer goods traders to adopt e commerce for supply-chain management. The Pearson’s product moment correlation (r) indicates that all five antecedents are negatively correlated with the dependent variable. The R values for the antecedents, which are performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence, are -0.488, -0.662, and -0.892 respectively suggesting a strong relationship between the variables. Correlation values for perceived risk are -0.35 suggesting a medium strength and those for facilitating conditions are -0.242 suggesting a weak relationship. The limitation of this study lies in its geographical context as the survey was only targeted at retail and consumer goods traders operating in the catchment area of Lusaka, Zambia. The study also established an unexpected negative regression coefficient between social influence and behavioural intention to adopt e-commerce for supply chain management.