Fiona Aikiriza

Bio: Fiona Aikiriza is an academic researcher from Makerere University Business School. The author has contributed to research in topics: Agriculture & Business. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 2 citations.

Entrepreneurial orientation among social enterprises in uganda

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and social enterprise growth. A sample of 144 was selected from 548 registered social enterprises in Kampala city of Uganda using simple random sampling. The paper uses cross-sectional data. It has established that there is a significant positive correlation between the level of Innovativeness and Social Enterprise Growth, implying that that, as social entrepreneurs invest more in both radical and incremental innovations, they are likely to realise growth in competitiveness. Moreover, the study has found that risk orientation and proactiveness have a significant correlation with social enterprises growth. In other words, when social enterprises prepare good business plans, practice effective business controls while constantly seeking opportunities, they are likely to experience growth. In fact, EO, as a global construct, explains up to 37.3 percent of the variance in social enterprise growth . As such, the social enterprise sector needs to develop EO mechanisms for utilisation in creating and exploring opportunities for growth. Although the social enterprise sector has experienced phenomenal growth, there is need to develop an entrepreneurial capacity-building framework to support growth, sustainability and competitiveness of these enterprises. Indeed, the study recommends encouraging social entrepreneurs to make financial investments in research and development in addition to carrying out market environmental scanning to identify market changes, constant social product and service improvements and new social product development so as to access differentiated markets and realise requisite growth. On the whole, this paper presents and extends the debate on the relevance of EO and contextual evidence of social enterprises and their nature of entrepreneurial orientation in a developing economy where the level and practice of philanthropy has unique challenges for supporting social entrepreneurship.

The effect of leadership styles, social capital, and entrepreneurial orientation on organizational effectiveness of social welfare organizations in Malaysia

Abstract: This study provided a rare opportunity to thoroughly discuss the hampered effectiveness of the Social Welfare Organizations in Malaysia. In line with the above, this study aimed to examine the effect of leadership styles, social capital and entrepreneurial orientation on organizational effectiveness of the Social Welfare Organizations. In this quantitative research, simple random sampling was adopted as the sampling technique to draw conclusions about the entire population. Usable responses were received from 134 Social Welfare Organizations, which accounted to a 56.07% response rate. A combination of IBM SPSS statistical software version 22.0 (SPSS) and the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used as the statistical tools to analyse the collected data. Drawing upon the Resource-Based View Theory, the results indicated that the seven main hypotheses (both the direct and mediating hypotheses) were supported, whereas only eight out of fifteen sub-hypotheses were supported. In brief, the findings demonstrated the positive impact of leadership styles, social capital and entrepreneurial orientation on the organizational effectiveness of the Social Welfare Organizations in Malaysia. Also, this research provided evidence that entrepreneurial orientation had a full mediating effect on the relationship between leadership style and organizational effectiveness, while there was partial mediating effect on the relationship between social capital and organizational effectiveness. Correspondingly, Social Welfare Organizations should be encouraged to adopt those practices to enhance the effectiveness of their organizations. Further, the implications, limitations and suggestions of the study were discussed. It was also suggested that the policy-makers should focus on creating awareness regarding the importance of the social aspects and provide supportive national policies which could enhance the organizational effectiveness of Social Welfare Organizations.

Entrepreneurial Orientation in South African Social Enterprises

Abstract: Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate to what extent an Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) exists within social enterprises in South Africa. Research Design & Methods: The study was quantitative in nature and used a descriptive research design, utilising an adapted measuring instrument to measure five dimensions of EO. A simple random sampling approach was followed, with resulting data analysed in SPSS by means of descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and ANOVA. Findings: We found that four dimensions of EO exist within social enterprises to a moderate extent, namely risk-taking, innovation, proactiveness, and autonomy. Findings indicated low levels of competitive aggressiveness. Implications & Recommendations: The article intends to fill the gap in literature that exists regarding EO within social enterprises in South Africa. The study provides insights into the existence of EO in South African social enterprises, allowing for policy and managerial interventions to be made to improve EO levels. Contribution & Value Added: The main contribution of the study provides an indication of the existence of an EO in South African social enterprises, thereby establishing the basis for further research in this under-researched area. Article type: research article

Entrepreneurial orientation and innovation performance of social enterprises in an emerging economy

Abstract: Purpose Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, the study aims to develop a holistic conceptual model to examine the nexus between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and innovation performance (INPF) of social enterprises in an emerging economy, Ghana. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research approach was used to collect and analyse 206 usable survey questionnaires through structural equation modelling-partial least square. Findings Results demonstrate that all the dimensions of EO – innovativeness, proactiveness, autonomy, risk-taking and competitive aggressiveness significantly influence the INPF of social enterprises. However, a paired t-test analysis shows that risk-taking has the largest effect size, followed by innovativeness, proactiveness, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness, in that order. The results highlight that social enterprises must exploit EO as a strategic asset in their corporate strategies and initiatives to realize competitive advantage and enhance INPF. Originality/value This study makes an incremental contribution to the extant literature by examining the impact of EO on INPF of social enterprises; it thus extends the EO framework from the conservative entrepreneurship context to the social entrepreneurship context, thereby advancing our understanding of the development and application of the EO framework in the social entrepreneurship context in emerging economies. The study concludes with the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.