Table 2 - uploaded by Samuel Ssekajja Mayanja
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Source publication
This paper examines the relationship between positive deviance and entrepreneurial networking among SMEs. Using a mixed method approach combined self-administered questionnaires and interview guide covering 228 SMEs in Uganda, the cross-sectional nature of this study revealed key nuances about SMEs. The research findings confirmed a significant pos...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... age factor is paramount in explaining the maturing of the interviewees in establishing business and social relationships contributing to successful access to resources. Table 2 shows that the mean scores of the study variables range between 3.9 and 4.1, while standard deviations range from 0.49 to 0.79. This, for a six -point Likert scale, indicates that the concepts in the study were being practiced to a reasonable level. ...
Context 2
... age factor is paramount in explaining the maturing of the interviewees in establishing business and social relationships contributing to successful access to resources. Table 2 shows that the mean scores of the study variables range between 3.9 and 4.1, while standard deviations range from 0.49 to 0.79. This, for a six -point Likert scale, indicates that the concepts in the study were being practiced to a reasonable level. ...
Citations
... Creativity and problem solving are important elements of action that enable the emergence of novelty. The novelty to be successful, rules are changed in ways that enable the convergence of disparate, sometimes conflicting individual perspectives, preferences, and activities into effective and predictable collective action (Mayanja et al. 2019). During periods of uncertainty, reinforcing feedback is offered to certain process fluctuations through amplifying actions that seem to offer promising new ways to bring back stability. ...
... Employees who notice and observe how new ideas, knowledge, and innovations evolve are likely to attach different meaning to information. Without new knowledge value, employees with no differences, social network agents would disseminate more of the same information along the network (Mayanja et al. 2019). The new knowledge value created by management and employees help in identifying new opportunities, which are exploited using the interactions, ties, and networking style within a social network. ...
... Previous researchers paid less attention on this line of inquiry at SME level in developing countries like Uganda to point out how SMEs can develop and use nexus of generative influence and ecologies of innovation relationships to overcome the liabilities of smallness, newness and isolation to achieve competitiveness (Mayanja et al. 2019;Turyahikayo 2015). Developing countries like Uganda need to promote entrepreneurial networking because it stimulates business growth by reducing transaction costs, creating business opportunities, and generating knowledge spill overs. ...
... According to Mayanja et al. (2019) argue that in SMEs' entrepreneurial networking, there are inequalities of control and power, and differing views and motives which influence the access of resources. Entrepreneurial networking perspective allows a discussion of asymmetric learning relationships where inequalities of control and power serve as stabilizing and controlling force in the network. ...
... As businesses share information across boundaries, the resulting entrepreneurial networking serve as a mechanism for the exchange of rich information. For example, entrepreneurial networking enable SMEs to obtain knowledge about available resources or regulatory requirements, or to learn of opportunities to forge new alliances (Mayanja et al. 2019). Sometimes, however, entrepreneurial networking constrain the amount of available opportunities and information. ...
This paper examines the mediating role of ecologies of innovation in the relationship between nexus of generative influence and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda. A cross sectional survey design using quantitative approach was employed in this study. Data were collected with the help of self-administrated questionnaire from 228 SMEs. Systematic random sampling technique was used. Multiple regression data were analyzed with the help of SPSS software. The results indicated that ecologies of innovation fully mediates the relationship between nexus of generative and entrepreneurial networking. The data was cross sectional in nature, thus limiting monitoring changes in resources accessed from entrepreneurial networks by entrepreneurs over time. The implications are that, policy makers and managers of SMEs should pay more attention to the role of nexus of generative influence in creating ecologies of innovation, conducive environment for employees to interact with mutual influence to advance creativity and innovation that enhance increased access to resources from entrepreneurial networks. The study of nexus of generative influence, ecologies of innovation and entrepreneurial networking using complexity theory among SMEs in Uganda is a contribution to literature.
... Creativity and problem solving are important elements of action that enable the emergence of novelty. The novelty to be successful, rules are changed in ways that enable the convergence of disparate, sometimes conflicting individual perspectives, preferences, and activities into effective and predictable collective action (Mayanja et al. 2019). During periods of uncertainty, reinforcing feedback is offered to certain process fluctuations through amplifying actions that seem to offer promising new ways to bring back stability. ...
... Employees who notice and observe how new ideas, knowledge, and innovations evolve are likely to attach different meaning to information. Without new knowledge value, employees with no differences, social network agents would disseminate more of the same information along the network (Mayanja et al. 2019). The new knowledge value created by management and employees help in identifying new opportunities, which are exploited using the interactions, ties, and networking style within a social network. ...
Organizations have employees who tend to deviate from norms, come up with different ways of doing things to increase their competitiveness. The effects of deviant behaviors in the organization have economical, sociological, psychological, and anthropological implications. Positive deviance (constructive deviance) is a behavior that deviates from the norms of the reference group and has positive effects on the organization. It is an endogenous source of organizational creativity that has been shown to be a powerful tool for learning and change. It is positive in terms of intention, effects, and conforms to hyper norms. It is not harmful to other employees or organization as a whole.
... A study conducted by Khan and Abasyn (2017) found that entrepreneurial strategy influences entrepreneurial networking. In entrepreneurship studies, there is insufficient evidence on the significance of PD and ecologies of innovation in enabling SMEs to access tangible and intangible resources from entrepreneurial networks (Mayanja et al., 2019). Today, we see some entrepreneurs using positive deviant employees and ecologies of innovation to access resources from entrepreneurial networks in a complex environment. ...
... Employees will endeavour to use their own judgement even when they deviate from the norm; their deviating practices are opportunities for the management to learn when they apply tolerance of failure (Kibirango et al., 2017). The literature on ecologies of innovation suggests that by its very nature, innovation requires a departure from the 310 WJEMSD 15,4 organisational accepted norms (Mayanja et al., 2019;Lichtenstein, 2011). This is because innovative thinking involves the creation and development of new ideas that are not held by the majority, and are aimed at benefiting the organisation. ...
... Positive deviant employees may use their ties and interactions in the network to access resources to support divergent views that may not be very popular to the whole business. Mayanja et al. (2019) argue that some positive deviant employees may realise that there is no adequate internal enabling environment for them to access resources due to low employee support and interactions. This means that not all deviant employees can access resources without top management support. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of ecologies of innovation in the relationship between positive deviance (PD) and entrepreneurial networking among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey design using quantitative approach was employed in this study. Data were collected with the help of self-administrated questionnaires from 228 SMEs. Systematic sampling technique was used. Multiple regression data were analysed with the help of SPSS software.
Findings
The results indicated that ecologies of innovation partially mediate the relationship between PD and entrepreneurial networking. Besides, PD and entrepreneurial networking are significantly related.
Research limitations/implications
The data were cross-sectional in nature, thus limiting monitoring changes in resources accessed from social networks by entrepreneurs over time.
Practical implications
Managers of SMEs and policy makers should pay more attention to the views of employees with divergent views, ecologies of innovation in creating a conducive environment for creativity and innovation among SMEs.
Originality/value
The study of PD, ecologies of innovation and entrepreneurial networking using complexity theory among SMEs in Uganda is a contribution to literature.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to begin to explore the strategic priorities of unicorn ventures as pursuers of market disruption. This study approaches this task by drawing on the positive deviance concept for studying outliers with the intent of understanding the strategic priorities of these ventures.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a comparison study of the priorities of 75 unicorn ventures, 37 early-stage ventures and 45 Fortune 500 organizations. The authors use computer-aided text analysis to conduct within-sample and between-sample means comparison tests of 12,487 newswires from 2022.
Findings
Where early-stage ventures emphasize their mission, and Fortune 500 companies emphasize financial results, unicorn ventures, occupy the middle of the spectrum, balancing their priorities between pursuing market disruption and achieving financial results. These high-growth outliers indicate their priorities by using significantly less positive tone, affective and prosocial language, and focusing less on corporate social responsibility initiatives, compared to early-stage ventures (and using more of this language compared to Fortune 500 ventures). An additional finding emphasizes that public Fortune 500 companies focus significantly more on money than their topic of interest.
Originality/value
This work has implications for understanding the strategic priorities of entrepreneurial ventures in different development stages. The results suggest that unicorn ventures actively work to balance their startup mission, which allows them to experience high-growth and achieve market disruption, with the financial demands of venture capital investors. This novel conclusion demonstrates the value of using positively deviant outlier cases, such as unicorn ventures, as a viable sample for studying market disruption.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to establish whether self-organisation and its components matter for supply chain agility in the context of humanitarian relief operations in a developing country, Uganda.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a cross-sectional design to collect data from a sample of 101 humanitarian organisations (HOs) that deliver relief to Bidi-Bidi refugee settlement in Uganda.
Findings
Based on the findings, self-organisation explains 56% of the variance in supply chain agility.
Research limitations/implications
Since the study was cross-sectional, changes in the perception of the subject matter could not be established. Hence, a longitudinal approach was recommended for subsequent studies. Data was collected only from HOs that deliver relief services in Bidi-Bidi refugee settlement.
Practical implications
It is recommended that managers of HOs should ensure that their organisations have flexible, adaptive structures that can affect self-organisation during emergencies so as to increase the speed with which they respond to victims' needs.
Originality/value
This study generates significant empirical evidence on a less studied phenomenon in the humanitarian sector. It vividly highlights the effect of self-organisation on building supply chain agility.
