Articles, Conference and Workshop Papers Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://10.10.97.169:4000/handle/123456789/2255

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Trade evolution of medicinal plants’ products in Tanzania: an explorative study
(Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, 2022) Mpelangwa, Eziacka Mathew; Makindara, Jeremia Ramos; Kenneth, Olav Jull Sorensen; Bengesi, Michael-Kitundu; Mabiki, Faith Philemon
In Tanzania, a complex rural to urban supply network for the medicinal plants' products trade has developed over time driven by environmental changes and the response of traders. The environment changes include policy, regulatory frameworks, and pandemics. These environmental changes and responses of traders shaped the current trade practices. However, the response of traders to environment dynamics and the evolution paths over time to the current status is not well documented. Therefore, this paper aimed to synchronize environment dynamics incidences for a period of time and empirically determine the respective responses of the medicinal plants' traders in Tanzania with respective evolution paths. The study applied economic evolution theory to describe the interactions of environmental changes and responses of traders and to determine the evolution stages. Primary data were collected from traders, regulators, and researchers through 10 focus group discussions and 16 in-depth interviews from five regions of Tanzania. The traders followed the market in urban areas and establish supply chains to meet market demand. While environment changes caused de-coordination, the traders responded by re-coordination to explore market opportunities. Four evolution stages of trade in medicinal plants products were identified in Tanzania: Colonial era (1882 -1961), government supremacy era (1961 - 1984), emergency of private sector era (1985- 2004), and the market and regulation integration era (started in 2005). As a result of the partial implementation of the regulatory framework, the fifth stage of trade evolution is expected. The fifth stage is when the regulatory framework and market forces will work together. The study recommends proper enforcements measures to be put in place to ensure desired results whenever there are environmental changes in traditional medicines. Because the fifth stage is expected, potential business models to be adopted can be studied to ensure firms' survival during stiff competition.
Academic staff job embeddedness: model dimensionality and validation in Tanzania’s universities
(Granthaalayah, 2018-09-21) Hokororo, Silver J.; Kitindi, Ernest; Michael, Francis
Universities in Tanzania as many others in Africa and the globe are faced with the challenge of retaining their academic staff. This study examined the dimensionality and generalization of Job Embeddedness Theory, a promising perspective for understanding employee retention, in the context of academic staff in Tanzania’s universities. A survey of 314 members of academic staff from 2 Public Universities and 3 Private Universities was conducted, and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Split Sample Cross Validation were used in determining the appropriate dimensionality and generalizability of Job Embeddedness Model in the context of study, respectively. Results indicated that that job embeddedness in the context of academic staff in Tanzania’s universities is a seven factors model. The results also indicate that seven variables out of 30 in the model were not stable, hence compromising generalizability of the model in the context of the study. It was recommended that, since Job Embeddedness Theory is a developing perspective, the volatile variables should be considered for revision or deletion in the future studies, before a seven-factor Job Embeddedness model is accepted for generalizability to larger population of academic members of staff in Tanzania’s Universities.
Analysis of competitiveness of textile industries in Morogoro and Dar es salaam regions, Tanzania
(An International Journal of Basic and Applied Research, 2021) Fasha, G.S; Itika, D
Tanzania is promoting industrialization with a motive to attain the middle economy status and broaden employment opportunities to the country’s population. This study analysed the competitiveness of textile industries in Morogoro and Dar es Salaam regions, Tanzania. More specifically, the overview of textile industries, their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOC). Furthermore, were analysed by examining the competitiveness score among the firms in the area of study. The study used both primary and secondary data, secondary data were collected from official publications and records provided from the respective firms, while and primary data were collected from seven operating textile industries in the study area. The data were collected through questionnaires, interviews and observation. Descriptive analysis was used to examine the firm’s performance, SWOC analysis was used to identify the strengths and weaknesses and the GEM Model was used to examine the competitiveness score. The results showed that, privately owned firms had a competitive advantage as opposed to public owned firms. Furthermore, the overall average GEM scores for competitiveness of the textile industries was 178 and industries with below 178 were considered as having competitive disadvantage. On the other hand, industries above 178 were considered as having a competitive advantage of above the national level. Hence, such textile industries were more competitive than was the case with the rest of textile industries and possesses the nationwide competitive advantage. Privately owned firms had a higher GEM competitive score than public owned firms. From the study, it is recommended that the textile and apparel firms need to consider adopting competitive strategies to enable them compete in a sustainable manner. Thereby, firms need to take into consideration the dimensions of diamond conditions in preparing for the corporate strategies that aim at attaining sustainable competitive advantage.
SME’s perception of product liability on product innovation of pre-packed food products in Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture., 2021) Masanda, M
The Tanzanian food market is saturated with processed food. The study aimed at investigating the perception of product liability rules (i.e. manufacture, design, and failure to warn defects) on pre-packed food product innovation in Tanzania. A randomly selected sample size of 100 respondents was involved in the study. Data were analysed through Exploratory Factor Analysis. Four factors namely defective manufacturing, design defect, failure to warn and product liability costs emerged to be important. Thus, the three dimensions of product liability and one dimension of product innovation emerged from the data. In the end, the study concludes that the product liability- product innovation relationship is much stronger for design defects than the manufacturing and failure to warn (labelling) defects.
SME’s perception of product liability on product innovation of pre-packed food products in Tanzania
(TAJAS, 2021) Masanda, M
The Tanzanian food market is saturated with processed food. The study aimed at investigating the perception of product liability rules (i.e. manufacture, design, and failure to warn defects) on pre-packed food product innovation in Tanzania. A randomly selected sample size of 100 respondents was involved in the study. Data were analysed through Exploratory Factor Analysis. Four factors namely defective manufacturing, design defect, failure to warn and product liability costs emerged to be important. Thus, the three dimensions of product liability and one dimension of product innovation emerged from the data. In the end, the study concludes that the product liability- product innovation relationship is much stronger for design defects than the manufacturing and failure to warn (labelling) defects.
Effects of credit management practices on performance of women owned Smes in Morogoro municipality Tanzania
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2021) Mutalemwa, Doris F
This study investigated the effects of credit management practices on the performance of women owned SMEs in Morogoro Municipality. Specifically, the study addressed the following specific objectives (i) to assess credit management practices among women owned SMEs in Morogoro Municipality. (ii) To assess the performance of women owned SMEs in the study area; (iii) to determine the effects of credit management practices on performance of women owned SMEs in Morogoro Municipality; and (iv) to assess factors, influencing women owned SMEs performance in the study area. Data were collected randomly from one hundred and twenty women entrepreneurs in three randomly selected wards in Morogoro Municipality. The information was collected using a questionnaire with both structured and non-structured questions. Descriptive and inferential analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences were employed in data analysis. The results indicated that 55 percent of the women respondents are running their business with credit while 45 percent are non-credit recipients. Among women who received credit, 68.18 percent use the credit to invest within the same business while 21.1 percent use the credits to invest in other new businesses and while about 50 percent use the credit for other purposes such as paying school fees, paying house rents, and supporting their spouses. About 10.61 percent of the credit recipients used their whole loans in other activities such as organizing parties and paying school fees, it means they divert the loan of the business to other uses. An Independent t-test was run to assess whether there is a significant difference between SMEs performance among women with credit and those without credit. The performance indicators were all significantly different in terms of asset value, number of employees, monthly sales, and gross margin at p >0.05. Hence, the majority of women who received credit invests the whole credit within the same business and are performing well compared to those who are not receiving it. In addition, the findings show that information network, location, and household size affect negatively the performance of women who owned SMEs in the study area. Conversely, marital status, education, purchase plan, market plan, age, and gross margin were important factors in nurturing the performance of women owning SMEs. The findings also show that credit availability influenced the performance of women owning SMEs. It is therefore concluded that if credit is available and women use the whole credit in investing within the business, then the performance of their SMEs will improve. Therefore, women are encouraged to establish business, which are less competitive and can lead to high profitability and high switching cost to curb competition. It is also recommended further that women owning SME’s should be encouraged to use the credit to the intended purposes rather than diversify the credit to non-business areas, which affect the growth and performance of their businesses.
Livelihood assessments among small-holder farmers in the Southern agricultural growth corridor in Tanzania: Lessons from households in ihemi cluster
(Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2020) Fasha, G. S; Minde, A.
The study on which this paper is based assessed livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Ihemi cluster. Specifically, the study looked at the identification of institutional factors governing the use of water and land resources, determinants of the factors influencing male and female-headed households’ income inequalities, and lastly, the comparison of agriculture production between male and female- headed households. The methodology involved a cross-sectional research design with a sample size of 150 households. Purposive sampling technique was used to select Ihemi cluster among other clusters of the SAGCOT intervention and stratified sampling technique was used to select respondents. The main method of data collection used were a structured household questionnaire- based survey and focus group discussion. Descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression and independent T-test statistics were used to analyze the data. Descriptively, majority (66.7%) of the respondents in Mufindi and Wanging'ombe district were married followed by Kilolo (56.7%). Very few respondents (3.3%) in Iringa district were single and very few had divorced (3.3%) in Mufindi district. Further, findings indicate that the number of Female Headed Households (FHH) is slightly higher in Njombe district (46.7%) followed by Kilolo (43.3%), Iringa district (40%), Wanging'ombe (36.7%) and relatively less in Mufindi (33.3%). The compounded independent T-test for mean production difference revealed that, there was a significant difference in production scores for male-headed households (M=12.4, SD=9.1) and that of female-headed household (M=9.4, SD= 7.8) conditions; t (142) = -3.233 and p=0.002, indicating significant indifference between male and female-headed households in the cluster. Furthermore, multiple linear regression model revealed that land ownership, access to credit, number of livestock owned, household education level and household size were found had significant influence on male and female-headed households’ income inequalities. On the institutional factors, water sources such as shared taps, private owned taps, wells covered are for domestic purposes only while water sources such as streams, springs and rivers can be used for domestic purposes, livestock watering, watering gardens and irrigation. With this, general hygiene should be maintained and agreed contribution for maintenance in case of breakdowns. The study recommends that, diversification of income sources between female headed households and male headed households should be encouraged, fostering of community- investor linkage and increase access and control over natural resources such as land to female- headed households who are important actors in agriculture in rural areas as thy depend on land for their livelihoods. Conclusively, at the household level, female-headed households should have the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase productivity significantly. Women are good drivers for change towards more sustainable production system.
Service performance and customer satisfaction as antecedents of corporate reputation: A comparative analysis between local and foreign banks in Tanzania
(Business Education Journal, 2021) Fasha, George S
The competitiveness of commercial banks is of vital importance for a developing country that is striving to enhance the standard of living of its citizens by ensuring an expansion of banking services. This study compared service performance and customer satisfaction as antecedents of corporate reputation between foreign and local banks in Tanzania. The study had a sample size of 380 respondents who were the customers of these banks. The structural equation modelling was carried out so as to examine the interrelationships of the constructs and how the findings can be inferred on the entire population. Chi-square statistical values, Incremental Fit Index, the Tucker-Lewis Fit Index, the Comparative Fit Index, the Parsimony Normed Fit Index and the Root Mean Square Error Approximation were applied to examine the models’ fit. While the mean values were applied to compare customers’ perceptions of service performance, customer satisfaction and corporate reputation between local and foreign banks. The main findings from the study indicate that, service performance levels were perceived relatively positively; customer satisfaction on corporate reputation was slightly stronger for the foreign banks than the local banks and there are very strong positive relationships between service performance and customer satisfaction in the Tanzanian banking industry. The study recommends that managers of the banks need to understand that customers’ perceptions on the banks’ service performance have a significant influence on the perceived banks’ reputation.
Cultural orientations as antecedent of customers’ perceptions of banking services: evidences from Tanzanian banking industry
(Business Education Journal, 2021) Fasha, George S.
The paper examined how the cultural orientations influence customers’ perception on the banking services offered in the Tanzanian banking by carrying out a comparison between foreign and local banks. The sample size of 380 customers were involved, of whom 196 used local banks services while 184 used foreign bank services. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the psychometric properties of cultural orientations as based on the Tanzanian bank customers. Validity and reliability assessment as well as measurement invariance testing were performed on the cultural orientations’ measurement models used in the study. In carrying out the confirmatory factor analysis, Sharma’s (2010) cultural orientation scale was applied and, the dimensions consumer innovativeness, traditional values and prudence values were used in the model. The findings indicate that Foreign bank customers had significantly higher mean values than local bank customers for consumer innovativeness and traditional values, but there was no significant difference between the two types of banks for prudence values. The findings of the study suggest that there are significant differences in the consumer innovativeness between local and foreign bank customers, with foreign banks customers having significantly higher latent mean consumer innovativeness scores than local customers. There were no significant differences between local and foreign bank customers based on prudence values. Surprisingly, foreign bank customers had a slightly higher significant mean traditional values than local bank customers. The study recommends that Bank managers should change the strategic focus of their offerings by identifying the exact customers’ needs, incorporating cultural values so that these needs can be met and exceeded.
Customers’ perception on service performance: A comparative analysis between foreign and local banks in Tanzania
(The Pan-African Journal of Business Management, 2020) Fasha, G, S.
This study was a comparative study of the level of service performance between foreign and local banks. It focused on customers’ perception of service performance. This comparison was purposely done due to the fact that different international banks have opened their branches in Tanzania, and this has in one way or another forced to change the competitive landscape of the country’s banking industry. The study had a sample size of 380 respondents who were the customers of these banks. Confirmatory Factor Analysis at the second-order level was analyzed by looking at the Chi-square statistical values, Incremental Fit Index, the Tucker-Lewis Fit Index, the Comparative Fit Index, the Parsimony Normed Fit Index, and the Root Mean Square Error Approximation as the indicators of the model fit. Mean values were compared between foreign and local banks. The main findings from the study indicate that the fit indices indicated measurement invariance of service performance. quality of service, service innovativeness, and cash distribution facilities were perceived better by foreign banks’ customers than local banks’ customers.
Agribusiness CSR Practices on the Establishment of Underdeveloped Supply Chains: Evidence from Tanzania
(2017) Nandonde, F. A.; Liana, P.J.; Sachs, P.
The rise of modern food retailing in developing economies is criticised for marginalising the small scale agribusiness actors. The marginalisation is due to high requirements on delivery and set food standards which are obstacles to most of small scale actors. The current project explores the CSR practices of agribusiness entrepreneurs in Tanzania in improving the underdeveloped value chain of fresh meat and processed peanut butter. Interviews were conducted in Arusha and Morogoro in Tanzania with managers, owners and beneficiaries of the practices. By using thematic qualitative case studies of the interviews, the study reveals that trust, regular supply of the products and relationship are very important for the CSR supply chain establishment. Furthermore, the study shows that reduced credit facility and rudimentary technology are major challenges that threaten the practices of linking small scale farmers to modern food distribution in Africa. The recommendations are offered regarding the steps for further improved underdeveloped supply chain. This study adds value on the CSR practices of agribusiness entrepreneurs from developing economies
Commercial Bank Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Tanzania
(Springer, 2017) Nandonde, F. A.; Sachs, P.
The present chapter offers a preliminary exploration of the CSR issues being addressed and reported by five commercial banks in Tanzania. These issues are illustrated through an examination of how CSR is operationalized within the commercial banking industry within Tanzania. The commercial banking industry is chosen for review because its operations affect all aspects of the country’s economy and citizenship. Moreover, the regulatory and reporting requirements of commercial banking allow for ample documentation that can be reviewed to assess the industry’s approach to CSR. Like most countries in Africa, Tanzania faces number of environmental and social challenges. These include, but are not limited to, land degradation, climate change, over exploitation of natural resources (e.g. over fishing and mining), illegal timber harvesting and poor access to social services such as education, health services and utilities. Given this situation, commercial banks play a key role in protecting the interests of the community, especially in distributing financial support to various programmes which sustain the environment, communities and their populace. Content analysis of the banks’ annual reports is presented and discussed. Particular attention is given to mission and values statements, board composition, social and philanthropic activities and compliance monitoring. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the policy, strategy and research implication of the findings.
Building Commitment in Supplier–Retailer Relationship in Developing Economies: The Case of Tanzania
(Sage, 2019) Nandonde, Felix Adamu
This article investigates the establishment of commitment in developing economies between suppliers and retailers. Previous studies in supplier–retailer commitment relationship used data only from one side. Furthermore, knowledge of institutions governing relational exchanges was limited. Network relationship theory and cross-case analysis of sixteen cases that comprised retailers and suppliers were used. The study shows that affective and behavioural commitments are important in understanding the level of relationship between retailers and suppliers in Tanzania. Implications of the study and areas for further research were provided.
Factors limiting the flow of food innovation ideas from modern food retailers to local food suppliers in Tanzania
(Routledge, 2019) Nandonde, Felix Adamu
This paper explores factors that constrain the flow of innovation ideas among downstream actors in the food value chain in Tanzania. Prior focus was on the improvement of products, but the influence of downstream actors has received little attention from the researchers in Africa. Qualitative method was deemed to be adequate and advantageous because the study was on understanding the challenges of innovation flow among downstream actors in the food value chain in Tanzania. Food suppliers were selected from international or local retailers using contact information of the processers provided on the packaging. The empirical findings of this study indicate that trade credit, government requirements, counterfeit products, consumers’ preference and lack of skilled staff limit the flow of innovation in the food value chain in Tanzania.
Exploring Foreign Tourists’ Image of Tanzania: A Factorial Analysis Approach
(Routledge, 2015) Nandonde, Felix Adamu
In the last decade, the economy of African continent and Tanzania in particular has witnessed a business boom of the tourism sector. While the sector has continued to grow and become a dependable source of direct and indirect employment to youths in urban and rural areas, the sector has been awash with challenges. These challenges include terrorism attacks, energy crises and poor infrastructure. However, the impact of these challenges on the image of Tanzania as a tourist destination has not received the deserved attention. This study explores the perception of visitors towards Tanzania as a tourist destination after they have completed their tourist visit. This study employs factor analysis technique to explore country destination image. Questionnaires were administered to visitors at some of the tourists’ hotels and Julius Kamabarage Nyerere International Airport (as a major exit point) in the country. Frontline employees, various tourist sites and access to services emerged to be strong tourist destination image factors. This implies that the efforts of marketing tourism destination should focus on promoting all the sites the country has.
Factors influencing consumers’ supermarket visitation in developing economies: The case of Ghana
(Elsevier, 2019) Schmidt, Dadzie H.; Nandonde, Felix Adamu
The purpose of this chapter is to explore the factors that influence consumers in developing economies, and specifically in Ghana into shopping in the supermarkets. A convenience sampling technique was used to collect data in two cities of Accra and Kumasi in Ghana. Using exploratory factor analysis and analysis of variance for 300 respondents, the findings show the curiosity of economic shopper, quality and safety, esthetic motives, and social motives are the four factors that influence Ghanaian consumers to shop in the supermarkets. The study provides areas for further research and strategies to be undertaken by retailers in Ghana.
Perspectives of retailers and local food suppliers on the evolution of modern retail in Africa
(Emerald, 2018) Nandonde, Felix Adamu; Kuada, John
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of an exploratory qualitative study of the evolution of modern food retailing in Tanzania ( from both retailers and suppliers’ perspectives). Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative case approach was used in this study. Participants were drawn from three sets of actors: retailers, local food suppliers, and government institutions. Data were collected using semi-structured interview format. Thematic qualitative analytical technique was used for the data analysis. Findings – According to the results of the study, seven major factors that account for the evolution of modern food retail in the country were identified. These are availability of suppliers, acceptance of trade credit, innovation, lifestyle change, institutional support, convenience, and availability of consumers. Originality/value – The study has expanded the knowledge of the evolution ofmodern food retail in developing economies by using the relationship marketing theory. Furthermore, the study employed some major actors in the food value chain to understand determinant factors that accelerated the evolution of supermarkets in Tanzania.
Modern food retailing buying behaviour in Africa: the case of Tanzania
(Emerald, 2016) Nandonde, Felix Adamu; Kuada, John
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore modern food retail buyers’ behaviour in developing economies using the case of Tanzania. This paper provides an insight into the decision-making practice of modern food retail buyers’ behaviour in emerging modern food distribution systems, where the buying task involves balancing the retailer’s commercial interests with more stringent government regulations that shape food business in the region. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study approach was used for the study. The researcher used semi-structured interviews with retailers for data collection and corroborated them with secondary data. Data were thematically analysed. Findings – The study shows that the criteria used by modern food retailers in the selection of local food suppliers are reliability, quality, trade credit and legal certification. The task is further complicated by the overlapping food certification requirements of various government agencies, which impose limitations on the buyers’ decision. Due to the exploratory nature of the study and its focus on the context of a particular geographical marketplace, the findings may not be generalizable to other countries. Originality/value – This is the first academic study of the criteria used by modern food retailers in the selection of local food suppliers in Tanzania.
"International firms in Africa's food retail business-emerging issues and research agenda
(Emerald, 2016) Nandonde, Felix Adamu; Kuada, John
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the state of the retail sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, to point out the lack of information on some critical issues and to raise some questions about relevant topics for researchers and practitioners in the retail area for the African market.This paper is comprised of a comprehensive review of the literature and integrates the fragmented body of knowledge on the area of retail internationalisation and food marketing. The gaps in the literature identified here may help to understand the sector better and develop academic research agendas on both the growth of the modern food retail sector and the agribusiness sector in Africa. Four major topics were identified in the urban agri-food retail business in the African continent: large global retailers in Africa’s food sector; the internationalisation of African food retailers; the procurement practices of international retailers; and, the food-buying behaviour of Africa’s middle class.
Relationship Establishment in SCM in a Market with Enforcement and Regulation Challenges: Case of Tanzania
(IGI Global, 2016) Nandonde, Felix, Adamu; Nguni, Winnie
In absence of effective state institutions, informal and private sector operations tend to govern the market. This problem is evident in the petroleum industry in Tanzania. However, little is known about how players in petroleum industry operate in those business environments. The purpose of this chapter is to explore establishment of a relationship between supplier-logistic firms in a post planned economy. The study employed case study interview with two petroleum products distributors in Tanzania to achieve its objective. Data were analyzed by thematic analytical techniques. Three major findings regarding buyer-suppliers relationships in developing economies are presented: actors do not prefer to enforce contract that they sign, discretional relationships exist in petroleum business among actors and ‘undugunization’ is the strongest criteria in selection of actors. Study implies that for a supplier-logistic relationship to exist government has a great role to play in enforcement of laws.

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