Operations Research Society of Eastern Africa

Logistics Management Information Systems, Training and Availability of Contraceptives: A Case of Uganda’s Public Health Sector

Tusiime Wilson — 2022-07-28

This paper examines the influence of logistics management information systems and training on the availability of contraceptives in Uganda’s public health sector. The study was motivated by the increased unavailability of the commonly demanded contraceptives and their implications for the local economy. Drawing from the resource dependence theory (RDT), this study adopts a deductive approach to address the issue at hand. Using a multi-stage sampling design, quantitative data were collected from 110 self – administered questionnaires from public health centre IIs in South Western Uganda. The Questionnaires were administered to an officer responsible for managing logistics from each of the selected public health facilities. PLS-SEM approach was used for data analysis. The findings of the study reveal a positive and significant influence between logistics management information systems (LMIS) and the availability of contraceptives in the public health sector. Similarly, the study results also indicate that there is a positive and significant influence of training on the availability of contraceptives. The government and other policymakers are advised to increase resources to implement more logistics management information systems (LMIS) in public health facilities, improve capacity building through increased training of medical workers and village health teams (VHTs) as well as implementing adolescent clinics.

Key Words: Logistics management information systems, Training, Contraceptives, Stochastic

Talent Management and Employee Performance: The Moderating Effect of Transformational Leadership

Vincent Obedgiu — 2022-07-28

The global competitive environment is shaping the way organizations manage,
maintain, and improve employee performance. Literature has established that
there are different mechanisms through which transformational leadership
influences employee performance, yet few studies have tested the mode of
influence on followers' attitudes, behaviors, and employee performance in public
universities in Uganda. The study looks at the role of transformational
leadership in moderating the relationship between talent management and
employee performance in Ugandan public universities. The study draws on a
cross-sectional and quantitative research approach. A random sampling
technique was used to select 536 academic staff. Data was collected using a self-
administered questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine
the direct and indirect effects. The findings show that talent management has a
significant positive effect on employee performance. In addition, findings reveal
that transformational leadership significantly and positively affects employee
performance. Furthermore, it was discovered that transformational leadership
exerts a significant moderating effect on the relationship between talent
management and employee performance. This provides the psychological
stimulus that innovates novel ways to execute job tasks; illuminating the role of
transformational leadership in enhancing employee performance as the
transformational leaders identify, motivate and stimulate employees to achieve
extraordinary performance outcomes among academic staff of public
universities in Uganda.

Keywords: Talent Management, Transformational Leadership, Employee Performance,
Academic Staff, Public Universities

Determinants of Collective Marketing Agents’ Performance: An Empirical Study of Smallholders’ Collective Marketing with Evidence from Malawi Tobacco Growers

Yusta Simwita — 2022-07-28

Improving marketing access for smallholders is one of the different mechanisms aimed to stimulate rural agricultural activities and alleviate poverty. Collective marketing through agents has been pointed out as a key strategy that can improve smallholders marketing activities. This paper presents the findings of a study that had analysed the determinants of collective marketing agents’ performance in relation to its smallholder tobacco farmers. Data was collected from 16 groups of tobacco growers from Thyolo and Mchinji districts in Malawi. In all, 104 questionnaires were distributed, but 86 qualified for analysis. Data were analysed using multiple regression analysis. The findings support two hypotheses related to monitoring and information systems. Even though the study findings support external influence and goal conflict hypotheses, they were largely insignificant. The result suggests that improving agents’ performance requires well-established monitoring systems and information flow. This study bridges the existing knowledge gap on the relationship between smallholders and collective marketing agents in developing world context. To improve agent performance in this relationship is critical for the betterment of smallholders’ livelihood. Therefore, policy-makers and donors should, set up mechanisms and rules aimed that empower smallholders to monitor their agents.

Keywords: Collective marketing, agents’ performance, smallholder farmers, agency theory

Assessing Electronic Waste Recycling and Disposal Intentions Based on an Extended Valence Theory in a Developing Country Context

Sonny Juma Nyeko — 2022-07-28

The severity of the E-waste dilemma may ascribe to the consumer’s or end user’s low involvement in making sure the appropriate disposal and recycling of those resources. Previous research has shown that the knowledge of behavioral determinant dimensions related to E-waste recycling and disposal intentions is still scrappy. Understanding the role of Government and E-waste awareness is key in E-waste disposal and recycling intentions, thus cannot get ignored. Based on a cross-sectional survey design and Valence Theory, the study examined the determinants of senior government employees’ E-waste recycling and disposal decisions and consequently developed a conceptual model. The study also examined the role of the Government in E-waste management as a moderator in the relationship between perceived benefits and E-waste disposal and recycling decisions. Upon obtaining 346 valid questionnaires from the employees in the Ugandan cities, the partial-least-squares structural equation modeling-(PLS-SEM) assessed each construct’s effectiveness. The findings reveal that perceived risks, the government’s role, and E-waste awareness significantly predicted E-waste recycling and disposal intentions. The moderation results were likewise positively significant. However, perceived benefits insignificantly predicted E-waste disposal intentions. The study proposes an extended Valence Theory model, in addition to perceived risks and perceived benefits, to include the role of government and E-waste awareness in E-waste management when determining intentions to recycle and dispose of E-waste. Besides, the study assessed E-waste intentions of recycling and disposal in one study, a significant theoretical contribution. The study also provides insightful implications and recommendations.

Keywords: E-waste; Extended Valence Theory, Moderator, Recycling and Disposal Intentions.

Organizational learning, innovation types and sustainability performance: Testing a multiple-mediator model

Freddie Lwanga — 2022-07-28

Existing studies attest to the mediating role of innovation, but less is known about which specific type of innovation matters in the manufacturing context of a developing country. This study unpacks the construct of innovation and tests the mediating effect of product, process, and management system innovation types in the relationship between organizational learning and sustainability performance. A structured questionnaire was used to collect cross-sectional survey data from the managerial staff of 256 medium and large manufacturing firms in Uganda. Hayes’s PROCESS macro (Version 4.0) through Model 4 was used to carry out a multiple-mediation analysis. Findings revealed that organizational learning, product innovation, and process innovation have a positive direct effect on sustainability performance. Only product and process innovations partially mediate the relationship between organizational learning and sustainability performance. The findings of this study validated the dynamic capability theory by demonstrating that the effect of organizational learning on sustainability performance can be partially conveyed through product and process innovation. Drawing on this empirical evidence, industry policymakers and managers of medium and large manufacturing firms seeking to improve sustainability performance need to adopt strategies that simultaneously support organizational learning and innovations in products and processes.

Keywords: Sustainability Performance, Organisational Learning Process, Product Innovation, Process Innovation, Uganda Manufacturing Firms

Inclusive leadership and innovative Behaviour: The mediating role of employee perceptions to inclusion in the Energy Sector in Uganda

Janet Kyogabiirwe Bagorogoza — 2022-07-28

Leadership plays a very central role in launching a culture where everyone can be heard and feel safe in sharing and airing innovative ideas. The purpose of this study was to establish the mediating effect of the perceptions of inclusion in the relationship between inclusive leadership and innovative behaviours in the energy sector in Uganda. We used a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional research design. The study used primary data collected from a sample of employees from the energy sector, using convenient sampling. The data was analyzed using correlations and regression analysis. Results indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between inclusive leadership, perceptions of inclusion, and innovative behaviour among employees in the energy sector. The study established a mediation effect of perceptions of inclusion in the relationship between inclusive leadership and innovative behaviour. The study was limited by the design which was cross-sectional focusing on a specific point in time; and the convenient method of sampling respondents. The findings indicate that inclusive leadership improves employee relations with the leaders if they perceive that they are included in decision making. The focus is on leadership recruitment and development of inclusive leaders who encourage recognition, respect, and provide fair treatment, and display failure tolerance. These leaders are open, available, and accessible by employees for enhancing their perceptions of inclusion and innovative behaviours. The study contributes to literature related to inclusive leadership, perceptions of inclusion and the dynamics between both inclusive leadership and perceptions of inclusion and employees’ innovative behaviour in the energy sector in Uganda.

Keywords: Inclusive leadership, perceptions of inclusion, innovative behaviour, energy sector, Uganda.

Financial Literacy and Financial Performance of Micro Enterprises in Developing Economies: The Mediating Role of Credit Access

Johnson Ssekakubo — 2022-07-28

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to establish the influence of financial literacy on the financial performance of micro-enterprises (MEs) in developing countries and establish the mediation role of credit access in the relationship between financial literacy and financial performance of micro-enterprises. The authors employed a cross-sectional and quantitative methods research design. Close-ended questionnaires were administered to the owner and or at least one focal staff member of the micro-enterprises which were selected from Nebbi district in Northwestern Uganda. Most studies on financial literacy, credit access and financial performance in Uganda have focussed on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) given their pivotal position in the economy of Uganda, leaving out the micro-enterprises (MEs), and yet MEs supplement SMEs with business linkages, partnerships and subcontracting, but also MEs have unique challenges. The study found that financial literacy in micro-enterprises in developing economies positively affects their financial performance. Further still, it has been established that credit access by micro-enterprises mediates the relationship between their financial literacy and financial performance. In this regard, owners of the micro-enterprises should endeavour to understand the procedures for obtaining credit from micro-finance institutions. They should also learn the terms associated with the acquisition of credit, such as; loan size, interest rate, repayment period, the amounts of the microloan they can apply, the interest rates as well as the repayment periods, this knowledge will enable them to access loans that meet their business needs much quicker for business growth.

Keywords: Financial Literacy, Credit Access, Financial Performance, Micro Enterprises, Developing Economies.