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[PANEL] 0307 ENTREPRENEURSHIP, ENTERPRISES AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Organizers:
RAHWA Gebre Tesfahuney, Asst. Professor in Mekelle University and PhD Candidate in Development Studies (Environment and Development) in AAU, Ethiopia
Paper presenters:
TESFAYE Fentaw Nigatu; SILESHI Talegeta; ZEWDU Adefris; ABRAHAM Abebe; RAHWA Gebre Tesfahuney
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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR SOCIAL DIMENSION OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN ETHIOPIA: A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS [Abstract ID: 0307-03]
Ethiopia is still lagging behind in the development of its own Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) guidelines and framework. However, CSR is an important factor in addressing the social dimension of human development in the 21st-century sustainable development agenda. This conceptual paper analyses the importance of CSR to the social dimension of human development and the significance of context for the development of CSR guidelines and the implementation framework in a given country, without a dogmatic adherence to the Western ideology of CSR. The study draws on the literature, different company websites and personal experiences as sources of data. Japan and South Africa are used as case studies, on the assumption that they can teach us about how to adapt CSR practices within a “similar” ideology of political development. In South Africa and Japan, CSR emerged as a political instrument through the creation of public-private partnerships in different strategic areas. It was based on legislation, implementation guidelines, reporting initiatives and government monitoring schemes, intended to change the socio-economic lives of citizens. CSR is essential to the accumulation of social capital in the form of social networks, the proliferation of voluntary organisations, greater participation in civic and political associations, the building of trust, honesty, reliability, and the development of cooperation within societies. CSR is also important to the development of synergy between government and citizens through complementarity and emebeddedness, raising the “bottom of the economic pyramid” (poorest citizens), reducing the cost of human development, solving the problem of an excessive focus on “success”, and many other goals. Ethiopians are “open-minded” towards the socio-cultural life of the world (highly risk-averse society, known for its extended family structure, “collectivism” as a dominant feature of national culture). The researcher concludes by recommending the development of CSR in the Ethiopian context, in order to contribute to the political process, partnership between the public and private sectors, and economic growth with economic development.
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DETERMINANTS OF SELF EMPLOYMENT DECISION IN WEST SHOA ZONE, OROMIA REGION, ETHIOPIA [Abstract ID: 0307-05]
Self-employment and entrepreneurship are considered to be major drivers of development, employment and wealth creation, and are therefore gaining increasing attention from governments and policy-makers. However, very little is known about what factors determine the self-employment decisions of individuals. The main objective of this study was therefore to investigate the various determinants of self-employment decisions using survey data collected from a total of 242 randomly selected respondents (147 self-employed and 95 salaried) from four towns in West Shoa Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. The study employed logistic regression to assess the determinants of self-employment. The finding that emerged from the study was that the age of the respondents, educational attainment, household size, having a self-employed parent, inheritance, and access to credit, are variables that have a significant and positive influence on the decision to be self-employed. On the other hand, the factors of respondent age-squared and access to paid employment affects self-employment status negatively and significantly. Based on the results and discussions, the study suggests that government organizations and other development agencies concerned with unemployment reduction and poverty alleviation through the promotion of self-employment need to take these determining factors into account in order to achieve better outcomes and enhance self-employment and entrepreneurship activities in the study area.
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RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND SUCCESS: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL LITERATURE REVIEW [Abstract ID: 0307-04]
The goals of supporting rural development are equitable access to arable land, more equitable distribution of income, widespread empowerment in health, nutrition and housing, broadened opportunities for all individuals to realize their full potentials through education, and strong voice for all rural people in shaping the decisions and actions that affect their lives. In light of this, the purpose of this article is to systematically review scholarly articles on the development and challenges of rural entrepreneurship, on contemporary theories on the subject and on the determinants for the success of rural entrepreneurship. The findings of the review are that the major problems faced by rural entrepreneurs are lack or absence of education or any formal training, financial factors, marketing hurdles, management and human resource problems, insufficient technical and conceptual ability. The problems faced by rural entrepreneurs are multi-dimensional and serious but nevertheless seem easier to solve than those of urban entrepreneurs. Further, both internal and external factors that are determinants of small business success also apply to rural small businesses. However, the external factors are more important than the internal in contributing to small business success in rural areas. The support needed to boost the development and success of rural entrepreneurship is thus: a continuing active and pivotal government role; skills training, since most rural businesses are labour intensive and require skills and creativity; strengthening business competencies through more rigorous training; investment in infrastructure and facilities for a conducive local business environment; and effective market support services in terms of product promotion, market accessibility and networking.
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VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSMES): A SURVEY STUDY ON SELECTED SECTOR OF MSMES IN TIGRAY [Abstract ID: 0307-02]
In Ethiopia, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are among the priorities on the government’s agenda. MSMEs are seen as a vehicle to transform Ethiopia from an agri-dependent to a semi-industrial economy, in its quest to become a middle income country. The purpose of this study was to assess the value chain for MSMEs by exploring the integration of existing value chain activities into the value chain system of the selected sector. The study used both primary data based on face-to-face structured questionnaires and secondary data from the literature. The sample size was 80, i.e. respectively 60, 17 and 3 from the Micro, Small and Medium category. The sector chosen was textiles, which is one of the seven different MSME sectors, which was selected because of its contribution to one of the basic necessities of life (clothing) and because it is well known source of income in the region. The companies were selected using stratified random sampling. The data collected were analysed using Spearman’s correlation and OLS Mode. Most of the firms in the sector are micro and small. The existing value chain activities include both primary activities and support activities with their sub-activities. The relations between value chain activities include relations among primary value chain activities themselves and with the support activities. The calculations per unit indicate that all except the input providers make a loss. Thus, the total profit margin is earned when sales volume increases, which benefits the wholesaler. Inbound logistics (a primary value chain activity); firm infrastructure (a support value chain activity); and socioeconomic factors – business capital, employee numbers, annual income, owner’s level of education – significantly contribute to increasing the profit margin in the sector. The sector’s value chain system has components which each have their own subcomponents. It would be wise if MSMEs paid attention to both primary and support value chain activities, as all the activities contribute to the integration of the existing value chain. The firms should focus more on how to increase sales volumes in order to increase profit margins, as the sales price per unit calculation indicates a loss while the total calculation shows a profit.