http://hdl.handle.net/10398/100 2013-05-19T10:51:04Z 2013-05-19T10:51:04Z Tvedten, Kaja Wendelboe Hansen, Michael Jeppesen, Søren http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8503 2012-10-03T12:30:37Z 2012-09-07T00:00:00Z

Understanding the Rise of African Business Tvedten, Kaja; Wendelboe Hansen, Michael; Jeppesen, Søren In light of recent enthusiasm over the African private sector, this paper reviews the existing empirical literature on successful African enterprises and proposes an analytical framework for understanding African firm success. Overall, it is argued that we need to develop an understanding of African firm strategy and performance that takes into account the specificities of the African business environment and African firm capabilities. The paper starts by juxtaposing the widespread pessimistic view of African business with more recent, optimistic studies on African firms’ performance. The latter suggests that profound improvements in African business performance are indeed under way: with the private sector playing a more important role as an engine of growth, with the rise of a capable African entrepreneurial class, and with the emergence of dynamic and competitive African enterprises. The paper proceeds to review the limited research on factors shaping the performance of African enterprises. It is observed that particularly the strategic component is often overlooked as is the role of internal capabilities and resources of African enterprises. Based on this identification of voids in the literature, the authors suggest an analytical framework for understanding African business performance, underlining the interplay between contextual specificities, firm capabilities, and firm strategy.

2012-09-07T00:00:00Z Azizi, Sameer A. http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8444 2012-05-02T11:43:37Z 2012-05-02T00:00:00Z

Strategic CSR in Afghanistan Azizi, Sameer A. CSR is a rising phenomena in Afghanistan – but why are firms concerned about CSR in a least-developed context such as Afghanistan, and what are the strategic benefits? This paper is one of the first to explore these CSR issues in a least-developed country. It does so by focusing on CSR in the Afghan telecommunication sector and in particular on ‘Roshan’ as a case company. The findings of this paper are two-folded. First, it provides an overview of the CSR practices in the telecommunication sector in Afghanistan. Second, it focuses on one case and explains whether Roshan can gain strategic advantages through CSR in Afghanistan, and if so which and how these strategic benefits are gained. The paper shows that the developmental challenges of Afghanistan are the key explanations for why companies engage in CSR. Roshan has engaged in proactive CSR to overcome the contextual barriers for growth. Based on an analysis of five CSR projects, it can be assessed that Roshan enhances its competitive advantage through CSR in internal, external, and wider- society levels. It is analyzed that Roshan influences its competitive context both from inside-out and out-side in dimensions, and that the CSR projects could all live up to the strategic CSR criteria drawn from the academic work of Porter and Kramer, Burke and Logsdon and Blowfield. Finally, the paper discusses how in a context of a weak state and civil society, and massive developmental challenges, CSR is not a matter of an ‘add-on choice’, but is based on a ‘license to operate’ motivation, where businesses have free room for maneuvering CSR towards their strategic priorities and business goals. Whether this creates a ‘shared value’ for both business and in particularly for the society is however still questionable.

2012-05-02T00:00:00Z Schaumburg-Müller, Henrik Jeppesen, Søren Langevang, Thilde http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8208 2010-11-18T11:57:00Z 2010-11-18T00:00:00Z

Entrepreneurship Development in Africa Schaumburg-Müller, Henrik; Jeppesen, Søren; Langevang, Thilde This working paper is a report from the workshop on Entrepreneurship Development arranged by the Centre for Business and Development Studies at CBS and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 2010. The objective of the workshop was to use the participants’ joint knowledge and experiences to discuss and provide conclusions on what role entrepreneurship development has played and can play to stimulate growth and employment in Africa. Entrepreneurship development is understood as the promotion and development of activities and processes that foster and support productive entrepreneurship in the society. The workshop should provide inputs to how entrepreneurship in Africa can be supported and be used in the development and implementation of the “Growth and Employment” priority of the new Danish strategy for development cooperation. The workshop had twenty participants with long standing insight to the challenges of entrepreneurship development and employment growth in Africa from international organizations, development cooperation partners, universities and private enterprises and organizations. The report contains the key issues discussed at the workshop and ends with conclusions and recommendations.

2010-11-18T00:00:00Z Chandran, V G R Rasiah, Rajah Wad, Peter http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7972 2009-12-08T14:00:31Z 2009-12-08T00:00:00Z

Malaysian Manufacturing Systems of Innovation and Internationalization of R&D Chandran, V G R; Rasiah, Rajah; Wad, Peter Schaumburg-Müller, Henrik The study of innovation and technological upgrading experienced a significant interest in the academic literature, especially within the developing countries (Lall, 1998, 2001; Kim and Nelson, 2000; Ariffin and Figueiredo, 2004). The lack of involvement by developing countries in radical innovative capabilities (Rasiah, 1994; Hobday, 2005) and the interest of scholars in learning technological capability building and technological catch up processes has directed researchers to analyze various mechanisms or drivers that contribute to technological upgrading, especially in developing countries, more so in the manufacturing sector. This study aims to investigate the R&D activities and the internationalization of these activities undertaken by foreign firms within the Malaysian manufacturing sector. The study aims to provide answers to the following questions: 1. What is the status of the systems of innovation within the Malaysian manufacturing sector? 2. What is the role played by the agents of innovation, in particular TNCs or MNCs, in relation to R&D activities and its internationalization? and, 3. How is the Malaysian manufacturing (local and foreign) technological and R&D progress to date? This study confirms that the Malaysian manufacturing systems of innovation is weakly positioned but shows limited evidence of process innovation and not product innovation. However, evidence of innovation differs among states and sectors owing to differences in the systems of innovation. Although, Malaysia has not been chosen as a site for offshoring or outsorcing of R&D activities to a significant degree, it is found that one very important driver of innovation is the central role that multinational enterprises play in the Malaysian manufacturing systems of innovation. Process innovation is conducted by foreign subsidiaries and is on the rise in key the electronics industry. It is also found that technological learning by local firms is mainly through linkages, sub-contracting and technological transfer.

2009-12-08T00:00:00Z