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Moderators of the Effect of Viewer Satisfaction on Loyalty Towards Television Channels in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Journal of African Business.

Based on a survey of 501 television viewers, this study investigated factors moderating the effect of viewer satisfaction on viewer loyalty toward television channels. Research hypotheses were tested using moderated regression analysis. The study found that viewer satisfaction, perceived service quality, corporate reputation, switching cost and price all positively influenced viewer loyalty while corporate reputation, gender, age, education and income did not influence viewer loyalty. Only switching cost and price had significant moderating effects on the viewer satisfaction-viewer loyalty relationship; the rest of the hypothesized relationships were insignificant. The findings of this study have theoretical, practical and future research implications.

Makanyeza, C., Gomwe, A.G. and Jaiyeoba, O.O., 2021. Moderators of the Effect of Viewer Satisfaction on Loyalty Towards Television Channels in Harare, Zimbabwe. Journal of African Business, pp.1-18. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15228916.2021.1956801 

Green Corporate Governance for Greening Universities: A Non-Linear Model of Innovation Analysis

This research aims to ascertain how universities’ stakeholders perceive the reconfiguration of Corporate/University Governance to enable the production of green knowledge and innovation needed for sustainable development. A questionnaire was applied to 89 academic stakeholders (90% confidence level, 5% relative tolerable error), consisting of three interrelated Likert items, grouped under the Green Corporate Governance (GCG) construct. In the process, the perceptions of five universities’ stakeholders (Professors, Senior Lecturers, Academic Managers, Non-Academic Managers, and Students) were successfully collected. Chi-Square tests reflected that all the stakeholders agreed that the reconfiguration of the university governance system is warranted. The data analysis (contingency tables) revealed a chi-square test statistic lower than the chi-square value, signifying that all five stakeholders perceive in the same direction that the conventional university governance system needs to be reformed. This research will spur policymakers, governors, and university or education system managers to take appropriate actions to reconfigure the university governance system towards green corporate governance. 

Liyanage, S.I.H., Ferasso, M. and Lima, U., 2021. Green Corporate Governance for Greening Universities: A Non-Linear Model of Innovation Analysis. GREEN_CORPORATE_GOVERNANCE_FOR_GREENING.pdf (ac.bw)

Greening Universities with Mode 3 and Quintuple Helix Model of Innovation–Production of Knowledge and Innovation in Knowledge-Based Economy, Botswana.

Journal of the Knowledge Economy, pp.1-31.

Most of the knowledge-based economies (KBEs) operate in a neoclassical economic model that does not recognize the importance of natural resources and sustainability beyond the market forces. In contrast, KBEs that rely on endogenous factors harmonize with the enlightened anthropocentrism for sustainable development with scientific and technical abilities to design the ecological system for infusing human values into nature. For example, the Quintuple Helix Model of Innovation. In this exploratory research, it was found that the conventional structure of universities in Botswana is unable to produce glocal green knowledge and innovation in their mainstream knowledge production process due to bureaucratism, rationalism, myths and ceremonies, isomorphism, and legitimacy whereas institutional logics and agency of social actors support for Paris Climate Agreement and 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hence, the Quintuple Helix Model with Mode 3-Knowledge production is used to redesign universities’ conventional structures. This study perused two sources of data, document analysis, and interviews. Data collected from documents were analyzed by axial coding. After that, interview data from five internal stakeholders were collected based on prior codes, themes, and concepts developed with document analysis. They were thematically analyzed for triangulation. Finally, the theory was developed by induction underpinning with interpretive philosophy when redesigning universities’ conventional structure. The proposed model designed is called the “Green University System” to facilitate the production of glocal green knowledge and innovation for sustainable development with Mode 3 and Quintuple Helix model of innovation.

 

Liyanage, S.I.H. and Netswera, F.G., 2021. Greening Universities with Mode 3 and Quintuple Helix Model of Innovation–Production of Knowledge and Innovation in Knowledge-Based Economy, Botswana. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, pp.1-31. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13132-021-00769-y

Insights from EU Policy Framework in Aligning Sustainable Finance for Sustainable Development in Africa and Asia

International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 11(1), p.459.

It is conspicuous that the mainstream financial system in the EU is transforming into a sustainable financial system by a supra/national policy and institutional framework for meeting the goals of SDGs and the targets of the Paris Agreement for climate change together with Nationally Determined Contribution. However, Botswana or Sri Lanka has no such framework. Hence, a need of the hour has arisen to evaluate the sustainable finance policies in Botswana, Sri Lanka, together with the EU seeking insights from the EU’s policy framework. Since sustainable finance is not a well-grown branch of the conventional mainstream financial system, the nature of the knowledge is produced by social constructivism based on the grounded theory and the theory is inductively developed for achieving the purpose of the research. The study found, among other things, that incorporating existing policies into the multiple ministries and affiliated institutions together with the current industry-led policy initiatives to manage ESG risks are not adequate. Hence it is recommended various insights to be taken into consideration by the policymakers to formulate a national framework for mobilizing public and private capital to meet the goals of sustainability.

 

Liyanage, S.I.H., Netswera, F.G. and Motsumi, A., 2021. Insights from EU Policy Framework in Aligning Sustainable Finance for Sustainable Development in Africa and Asia. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 11(1), p.459.

https://repository.bothouniversity.ac.bw/buir/handle/123456789/126

Water Conservation Through Voluntary Responsible

In 2016, the Paris agreement on climate change agreed to limit global warming to well below 2°C, and ideally 1.5°C by the end of the century. Even though the global temperature on track shows a rise towards 3.2°C by the end of the century breaking the 1.5°C targets by 2040, one wonders how the Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) assessed the vulnerability of Botswana in reaching the limit, 2°C. Accordingly, Botswana will show a steady rise in temperature to 2.8°C, the annual rainfall will drop by 9% and increase in dry days by 17 extra days. In addition, even the Limpopo catchment in Botswana will show a decline of 36%. Given these scenarios, water as a lifelong commodity becomes highly vulnerable in Botswana. With a view to mitigating the intensity, the local, regional and international legal, policy and institutional framework legislated, agreed otherwise ratified expects sustainable water management by voluntary, responsible behaviour from the consumers apart from other stakeholders in Botswana. For example, 2030 Agenda for 17 SDGs: the SDG 06: Clean Water and Sanitation & 12th SDG: Responsible Consumption and Production. Consequently, this study qualitatively investigated the ex-ante and ex-post behaviour of a consumer manifested by the strategic management in the light of the theory of planned behaviour for the water conservation project implemented by the installation of newer water-efficient appliances at Botho University in a landlocked country, Botswana. The test of theory of planned behaviour finds that the attitudes, social norms and Perceived Behavioural Control of the strategic management made strong intention for the responsible behavioural change in implementing the project. Further, the project has been able to save water by 80%, supply water continuously to consumers, protect the environment and further a cost-saving to the university. These findings will be significant to ascertain how antecedent factors determine the decision-making behaviour of a water conservation project. Such understanding acts as a catalyst for African universities to be a beacon of vision and mission in water conservation, distribution and governance in Africa in which continent 33% of people are affected by water scarcity which is getting worse with urbanization, population, industrial use and climate change. Keywords: Global Warming, SDGs, Water Conservation, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Voluntary Behaviour

 

Shantha Indrajith Hikkaduwa Liyanage, Venkataraman Vishwanathan, 2020. Water Conservation Through Voluntary Responsible

Link – https://bit.ly/3oCC1s4

A Measure of Adaptive Cognition of Entrepreneurship Students for Sensing the Environment’s Uncertainty A Study in An African University

Entrepreneurship is abundantly taught in the classrooms at universities worldwide to bridge the gap that has arisen between the number of graduates and employment opportunities available in the job market. Since the entrepreneurs’ entrepreneurial mindset is different from others in the process of creating value and appropriation of rewards, the purpose of this study is to understand the readiness of the mindset of entrepreneurship students for sensing the uncertainty in the environment for venturing into entrepreneurship opportunities in the market. Hence, this metacognition research founded on a positivist approach quantitatively assesses the cognitive adaptability of a sample of 196 students at an African university. The study’s findings reflect that the metacognitive adaptability of the students had not been developed similar to the entrepreneurs. Hence, it is recommended to redesign the pedagogies of entrepreneurial education so that the university’s entrepreneurial students would be dynamic, flexible, and self-regulating to sense the uncertainty in the environment. However, the results are subject to the study’s limitation that the self-administered questionnaire may inflate or deflate variables even though several ex-ante and ex-post approaches would be used to minimize common method bias.

 

Indrajith, S.I.H., Chikari, G., Gombiro, T. and Kumar, B., 2021. A Measure of Adaptive Cognition of Entrepreneurship Students for Sensing the Environment’s Uncertainty A Study in An African University.

Investigating the Level of Awareness on Information Security Amongst Users at Botho University

International Journal of Innovative Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering (IJIRASE)

The growth of technology advancement has promoted a borderless environment among users, organizations, global industry and easy access to information. The use of the internet and computer systems in a teaching environment parallel increased the number of threats in today’s world. Lack of information security practices is the major cause of security breaches. Information security needs to be addressed amongst users for the protection of organizational assets. Human knowledge, attitude and behaviours habitually influence information security. Humans are considered as the least strong link concerning information security. The study explores a literature review in information security awareness amongst users. As a result, this research will come up with a proposed security awareness framework to enforce information security practices.

 

Mbereki K.  and S. Doss Investigating the Level of Awareness on Information Security Amongst Users at Botho University International Journal of Innovative Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering (IJIRASE) Volume 4, Issue 9, DOI:10.29027/IJIRASE.v4.i9.2021.905-912, March 2021. https://repository.bothouniversity.ac.bw/buir/handle/123456789/130 

Memetic Optimization with Cryptographic Encryption for Secure Medical Data Transmission in IoT-Based Distributed Systems.

CMC-COMPUTERS MATERIALS & CONTINUA, 66(2), pp.1577-1594.

In the healthcare system, the Internet of Things (IoT) based distributed systems play a vital role in transferring the medical-related documents and information among the organizations to reduce the replication in medical tests. This datum is sensitive, and hence security is a must in transforming the sensational contents. In this paper, an Evolutionary Algorithm, namely the Memetic Algorithm is used for encrypting the text messages. The encrypted information is then inserted into the medical images using Discrete Wavelet Transform 1 level and 2 levels. The reverse method of the Memetic Algorithm is implemented when extracting a hidden message from the encoded letter. To show its precision, equivalent to five RGB images and five Grayscale images are used to test the proposed algorithm. The results of the proposed algorithm were analyzed using statistical methods, and the proposed algorithm showed the importance of data transfer in healthcare systems in a stable environment. In the future, to embed the privacy-preserving of medical data, it can be extended with blockchain technology.

 

Doss, S., Paranthaman, J., Gopalakrishnan, S., Duraisamy, A., Pal, S., Duraisamy, B., Le Van, C. and Le, D.N., 2021. Memetic Optimization with Cryptographic Encryption for Secure Medical Data Transmission in IoT-Based Distributed Systems. CMC-COMPUTERS MATERIALS & CONTINUA66(2), pp.1577-1594. https://bit.ly/30EXQiS

Economic Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Hotel Business in Zimbabwe

It is evident from the literature that the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has brought the world economies to its ‘knees’. No industry has gone untouched by the effects of this pandemic. Globally there has been an adverse impact on travel which is the backbone of the hotel industry. This study focuses on exploring the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the Zimbabwean hotel sector. The objectives of the study focused on investigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on hotel occupancy and revenue and proposing strategies that can be implemented for recovery post the pandemic. The study adopted a mixed method approach, semi-structured questionnaires were used to gather data from 29 (3-5 star) hotel management across the various major tourism cities in Zimbabwe. Findings reveal that the Covid-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on hotel occupancy and revenue. Occupancy and revenue have dropped. Strategies have been employed by hotel to cope with the adverse impact of reduced occupancy and revenue, these include working with minimal staff to avoid increases exposure, closing other parts of the hotel to reduce operational cost and operating on take out bases. It can be concluded that hotels in Zimbabwe are not prepared for pandemics like Covid-19. It is therefore recommended that disaster management plans relating to pandemics be developed and implemented by hotels.

Dynamics of Corporate Dividend Policy under Hyperinflation and Dollarization: A Quantile Regression Approach

International Journal of Business & Economic Sciences Applied Research. 2020 Jul 1;13(3).

Zimbabwe experienced hyperinflation (2000-2008) followed by dollarization from 2009 onwards which had implications on dividend policy. In this context, this study isolates the main determinants and examines their behaviour across the distribution of dividend policy. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs quantile regression analysis and a sample of 30 firms listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), covering the period 2000 to 2016. The fixed effects (FE) analysis is applied as a base model. Finding(s): The most robust determinants are ownership structure, earnings per share (EPS) and taxation. In our context, results are more informative, than those based on FE analysis by showing the change in the impact of each explanatory variable across the distribution. EPS has a positive and significant impact on dividend policy throughout the distribution in both sample periods. Its effect increases in magnitude as firms move from low to high quantiles. The other variables are useful in explaining dividend policy at selected points of the distribution. Thus, there is clear heterogeneity in the determinants of dividend policy. Research limitations/implications: The study shows the importance of developing a dividend policy by focusing on the position of the firm on the distribution. Dividend policy should be developed in view of the earnings potential of the firm, ownership concentration and perceived changes in fiscal policy. A well-designed policy should have a differentiated approach to influencing corporate dividends. Originality/value: This study enhances our understanding of dividend policy in unique markets. It confirms the applicability of dividend relevance theories. Furthermore, It shows that quantile analysis provides more reliable estimates than those obtained using standard panel data models.

Mbulawa S, Okurut FN, Ntsosa M, Sinha N. Dynamics of Corporate Dividend Policy under Hyperinflation and Dollarization: A Quantile Regression Approach. International Journal of Business & Economic Sciences Applied Research. 2020 Jul 1;13(3).

https://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=ffd6a235-daf1-4295-bde6-4dbfba6f38b0%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=149607567&db=buh