Isaac K. Ngugi

Bio: Isaac K. Ngugi is an academic researcher from Bournemouth University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Competitor analysis & Financial services. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 17 publications receiving 369 citations. Previous affiliations of Isaac K. Ngugi include Kenya Medical Research Institute.

Relational capabilities for value co-creation and innovation in SMEs

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relational capabilities developed by small and medium-sized suppliers in relationships with larger customers and to explore the influences of these relational capabilities on value co-creation and innovation. The paper presents a framework to evaluate the types of relational capabilities developed by small and medium-sized suppliers that enable them to manage in relationships with larger customers in the context of changing relationship requirements in the organic food sector. The methodology employed involves in-depth case studies of small and medium-sized UK organic food suppliers working in relationships with large retail supermarket customers. The findings suggest that the identified set of relational capabilities may be employed by small and medium-sized suppliers to enable them to inform and support innovation and the implementation of initiatives to create value in the eyes of their current and potential customers and concomitantly enhance their position as preferred suppliers. The findings were based on a small number of case studies of small UK organic food suppliers. Therefore, there is scope for future studies to explore the issues addressed in the paper in wider relationship, network and country settings. The research is among the first to offer a conceptual framework and an empirical contribution linking relational capabilities, value co-creation and innovation in small and medium-sized suppliers.

Relational capabilities for value co‐creation and innovation in SMEs

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relational capabilities developed by small and medium‐sized suppliers in relationships with larger customers and to explore the influences of these relational capabilities on value co‐creation and innovation.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a framework to evaluate the types of relational capabilities developed by small and medium‐sized suppliers that enable them to manage in relationships with larger customers in the context of changing relationship requirements in the organic food sector. The methodology employed involves in‐depth case studies of small and medium‐sized UK organic food suppliers working in relationships with large retail supermarket customers.Findings – The findings suggest that the identified set of relational capabilities may be employed by small and medium‐sized suppliers to enable them to inform and support innovation and the implementation of initiatives to create value in the eyes of their current and potential cu...

The role of internal branding in nonprofit brand management: an empirical investigation

Abstract: Internal branding refers to an organization’s attempts to persuade its staff to buy-in to the organization’s brand value and transform it into a reality Drawing from self-determination theory and leadership theory, we seek to develop a deeper understanding of the process of internal branding in the nonprofit sector More specifically, we propose and examine the mediating effects of the staff’s emotional brand attachment, staff service involvement, and the moderating effect of charismatic leadership on the brand orientation behavior–organizational performance relationship using data obtained from the representatives of 301 nonprofit organizations in the United Kingdom On a general level, the findings suggest that staff emotional brand attachment and staff service involvement are linked to brand orientation and organizational performance Moreover, charismatic leadership increases the strength of this linkage All of these findings extend the literature on internal branding

Proactive entrepreneurial behaviour, market orientation, and innovation outcomes: a study of small- and medium-sized manufacturing firms in the UK

Abstract: Drawing from resource-based theory, the authors aim to study how and under what conditions small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) capitalise on their proactive entrepreneurial behaviour (PEB) to achieve new product development (NPD) performance.,The authors’ data were drawn from a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 401 UK-based SMEs in the manufacturing sector.,The authors identify an upward curvilinear relationship between PEB and NPD performance. Taking a step further, the authors propose and confirm that this curvilinear association arises from, in part, SMEs’ innovation capability, which in turn translates into NPD performance. The authors also find that this upward curvilinear relationship between PEB and innovation capability flips to a downward curvilinear relationship when firms pursue a customer and competitor orientation.,This paper looks beyond the linear relationship that exists among entrepreneurial behaviour, market orientation and innovation outcomes.

Smallholder market participation: concepts and evidence from Eastern and Southern Africa.

Abstract: This paper reviews the evidence on smallholder market participation, with a focus on staple foodgrains (i.e., cereals) in eastern and southern Africa, in an effort to help better identify what interventions are most likely to break smallholders out of the semi-subsistence poverty trap that appears to ensnare much of rural Africa. The conceptual and empirical evidence suggests that interventions aimed at facilitating smallholder organization, at reducing the costs of intermarket commerce, and, perhaps especially, at improving poorer households’ access to improved technologies and productive assets are central to stimulating smallholder market participation and escape from semi-subsistence poverty traps. Macroeconomic and trade policy tools appear less useful in inducing market participation by poor smallholders in the region.

Stock markets, banks and economic growth

Abstract: This thesis investigates the relationship between economic growth and financial development in developing countries over 1988-2001. Previous studies have generally used averaged data, for both developing and developed countries, and inappropriate estimation methods. In an attempt to reach some definitive conclusions, Generalised Method of Moments dynamic estimation is used with a newly collected panel of annual data to assess the relationship. The results show that while banks performance has a negative impact on growth, stock markets positively promote growth. To reach an overall conclusion about the impact of finance on growth and to solve the problems associated with the existence of multicollinearity among the different measures of financial development, principal components analysis is used to generate new, comprehensive measures of financial development. In assessing the link between the new measures and financial development and growth, the results support the existence of an overall positive relationship. The thesis also examines the behaviour of interest rates in developing and industrialised countries using individual and panel unit root tests. The results are sensitive to the choice of the test, country and time unit.

Relative absorptive capacity and interorganizational learning

Abstract: Much of the prior research on interorganizational learning has focused on the role of absorptive capacity, a firm's ability to value, assimilate, and utilize new external knowledge. However, this definition of the construct suggests that a firm has an equal capacity to learn from all other organizations. We reconceptualize the firm-level construct absorptive capacity as a learning dyad-level construct, relative absorptive capacity. One firm's ability to learn from another firm is argued to depend on the similarity of both firms' (1) knowledge bases, (2) organizational structures and compensation policies, and (3) dominant logics. We then test the model using a sample of pharmaceutical–biotechnology R&D alliances. As predicted, the similarity of the partners' basic knowledge, lower management formalization, research centralization, compensation practices, and research communities were positively related to interorganizational learning. The relative absorptive capacity measures are also shown to have greater explanatory power than the established measure of absorptive capacity, R&D spending. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

From resource base to dynamic capabilities : an investigation of new firms

Abstract: Despite the numerous observations that dynamic capabilities lie at the source of competitive advantage, we still have limited knowledge as to how access to firm-based resources and changes to these affect the development of dynamic capabilities. In this paper, we examine founder human capital, access to employee human capital, access to technological expertise, access to other specific expertise, and access to two types of tangible resources in a sample of new firms in Sweden. We empirically measure four dynamic capabilities and find that the nature and effect of resources employed in the development of these capabilities vary greatly. For the most part, there are positive effects stemming from access to particular resources. However, for some resources, such as access to employee human capital and access to financial capital, unexpected negative effects also appear. This study therefore provides statistical evidence as to the varying role of resources in capability development. Importantly, we also find that changes in resource bases have more influential roles in the development of dynamic capabilities than the resource stock variables that were measured at an earlier stage of firm development. This provides empirical support for the notion of treating the firm as a dynamic flow of resources as opposed to a static stock. This finding also highlights the importance of longitudinal designs in studies of dynamic capability development. Further recommendations for future empirical studies of dynamic capabilities are presented.