Management and Resilience of African Organizations in Times of Crisis

The United Nations promotes global resilience via the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and via the goals of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). While these goals provide an exemplary road map toward achieving sustainability and resilience, missing is a discussion of personal resilience. This paper closes that gap by reviewing theories of personal resilience, locus of control, and how dimensions of national culture impact personal resilience. Using the Hofstede dimensions of culture, countries in Africa are compared uncertainty avoidance, power distance, and individualism, with a discussion of how those dimensions impact resilience. The paper concludes with a discussion of methods individuals and institutions can use to increase personal resilience.

Regarding the Education 2030 Agenda for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular the goal on education and training, professional development is seen as one of the powerful factors in improving public policies on employment and skills management. In addition, professional development plays a very important role in the development of higher education and is an interface with the socio-professional world.

In this context, several higher education institutions have invested in their human capital by encouraging the professional development of their teachers through training and skills certification cycles.

This article emphasizes the role of professional development in higher education and its interface with the socio-professional world. It presents the results of an experiment conducted by an African university and UNESCO ECHEI and shows the positive change in participants’ beliefs and skills in the design and production of educational capsules. Additionally, the difference’s standard deviations are rather significant when compared to the difference’s mean. This suggests that individual outcomes may differ.

The development of big cities is determined by the ability of their key actors to bring about successful solutions to existing and emerging challenges. African big cities and countries have considerable, although not yet fully exploited, potential. The chapter wants to point out some of the new challenges that big cities will be exposed to in terms of the need for sustainability of their ecosystems and to present some concepts for use to cope with these challenges. These challenges mean significant opportunities for urban firms. All urban actors will be challenged to best reconcile their different interests so that the resulting effects benefit not only firms but also the urban population in terms of more comfortable living in a healthy environment and environmental sustainability. Parallel phasing concept (PPC) and constructed regional advantage concept (CRAC), unlike traditional approaches, consider the cross-sectional plane of the economic space and thus add another dimension to the analysis by using the integration of three spaces (physical, cyber-physical, and digital) and three knowledge bases (analytical, synthetic, and symbolic). The term parallel reflects the simultaneous integration of different kinds of space together with active-adaptive approaches to phenomena such as openness, creativity, flexibility, or variety that it is needed for the analysis of complex urban phenomena. A combination of CRAC, Penta Helix (5H), multi-level governance (MLG), and PPC concepts was performed to describe the dynamic and competitive components of big cities. The transformation of African big cities and their actors may be assisted using those concepts. Their rapid embedment in urban/national policies may be an important factor affecting successful urban development.

This research analysed the sustainability reports of six retail companies that are listed companies in South Africa and part of the FTSE/Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Responsible Investment Index. A sustainability report provides internal and external stakeholders with an overview of the economic, environmental and social dimensions of the company.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers a wide range of interrelated global goals, including poverty eradication, economic growth, social inclusion, environmental sustainability and peace for all by 2030. The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) include universal goals aiming to promote more inclusive societies, fight inequalities and recognise the importance of cooperation and partnerships in pursuit of sustainable development along with human development.

A content analysis schedule was developed to provide the basis for the information to be extracted from the sustainability reports. Three categories, namely, biographical information, reporting format and the theoretical framework, were included in the schedule.

The results show that only 49% of the companies used sustainability reports, while 17% used annual integrated reports, abridged integrated reports or sustainability living reports, respectively. The majority (67%) of the companies used recognised frameworks and legislation as their guiding framework in developing their reports, for example, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Framework, King IV (2016) Edition, South African Companies Act 71 of 2008, the UNSDG and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE).

The majority of the sustainability reports focussed on social issues, while governance issues are sparsely reported on. As companies emerged from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the retail sector is growing at levels not seen in 20 years and retailers can be the frontrunners to achieve the stated sustainability goals. Some important trends are also evident from the results and include the need for a regulator for sustainability reporting and the standardisation of sustainability report content in South Africa.

Innovation could be a core part of innovation and development corporations, often determined by structure style variables as well as structure and capability for learning, for change, and for adjustment. Innovation ways have advanced as ways to deal with market agility and creativity inside the improvement associations. In any case, almost no examination has inspected structure inventiveness and its association with structure style and reception of innovation ways. Amid this work, we will in general propose a theoretical system to portray innovation’s inclined and reluctant examples on structure style in innovation and advancement organizations by movement dissemination and incorporation of advances and practices among individual, group, structure, and ecological dimensions. Innovation administration incorporates an accumulation of apparatuses that empower chiefs and designers to team up with a standard comprehension of procedures and objectives. It is not consigned to R&D; it includes staff at each dimension in tributary innovatively to an organization’s advancement, delivering, and advancing.

By using innovation administration instruments, administration will trigger and send the creative capacities of the hands for the ceaseless advancement of an enterprise. A pushed procedure depends on existing or crisp liked innovation that the association approaches and attempts to search out productive applications for innovation. A pulled procedure depends on discovering zones wherever clients’ needs do not appear to be met, so see answers for those needs. To prevail with either strategy, relate degree comprehension of each the market and in this way the specialized issues zone unit required. The research is with purpose of exploring the efficacy and impact of innovation methods for sustainable development in African firms within the context of the current scenario, to investigate how the implementation of various innovation techniques in the African corporate landscape might help to promote economic development, social inclusion, and environmental preservation. The present paper analyzes the responses of 300 customers of rural, urban, and semi-urban areas using the same product of different brands of Africa and quantitative analysis of 25 stakeholders by different innovative techniques based on economic development (ED), social inclusion (SI), and environmental preservation (EP). The company has an assorted portfolio and works in various FMCG classifications and brands; it adjusts its asset assignment keeping in mind the end goal to give satisfactory venture to each brand and item as indicated by its development profile and openings.

Business ethics is an increasingly important theme in management research. The objective of this research is to identify the main factors that influence the ethical behavior of the salesmen in the telecommunication sector in Morocco. The methodology used is a qualitative one.

The most important result is that there is a conflict between the code of ethics imposed by the company and the managers who supervise the respect of them and the values held by the salesmen in their relationship with customers. Sometimes, achieving goals seems more important than an ethical behavior.

Digital transformation is the adoption of digital technologies to improve an organisation’s processes, services and products. In microfinance institutions (MFIs), this can result in improved operational efficiency, risk management, revenues and customer experience (Redaelli et al., 2021). Automating administrative processes, reducing costs and loan processing times and improving cash management are all ways of optimising operational efficiency. In addition, the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and blockchain can help improve credit decision-making and risk management (Tufail et al., 2021). Such technologies make it feasible to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers, track repayments and reduce losses from defaults. In addition, participatory finance platforms and online payment systems can diversify funding and reduce dependence on traditional bank lending (Sanaa Rizkallah, 2021).

The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of digital transformation to the organisational performance of MFIs. To this aim, the study will examine the existing literature in order to establish a theoretical basis based on concrete cases of MFIs that have adopted digital transformation to improve their organisational performance. Finally, it will highlight the success factors and barriers encountered during the implementation of these successful initiatives.

This paper investigates the supply chain resilience measures adopted by the Regional Hospital Center of Agadir (RHC Agadir) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis underscored the vital importance of logistics and supply chain management in hospitals, highlighting their pivotal role in patient care. The study aims to identify essential resilience strategies to stabilize a hospital’s supply chain during such pandemics. Drawing from diverse theoretical and empirical research, the study uncovers various resilience techniques employed by hospitals to counter supply chain disruptions. Our findings affirm the significant impact of COVID-19 on the supply chain, but resilience measures effectively reduced its disruptive consequences. Consequently, this research at RHC Agadir offers insights into risk mitigation and suggests a resilient supply chain framework for the Moroccan hospital sector, equipping them to face future challenges and risks.

African businesses have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a considerable impact on the global economy, and Morocco has not been spared. Indeed, Moroccan SMEs have had to face unprecedented challenges that threaten their sustainability. In this context, the resilience of businesses can be significantly strengthened through digitalization and managerial innovation by implementing effective crisis management.

This article aims to examine the link between innovation, crisis management, and resilience, with a particular focus on the potential contribution of digitalization and managerial innovation to effective crisis management and, consequently, the resilience of SMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adopting a post-positivist paradigm and employing a hypothetico-deductive reasoning, the transition from the hypothetical model to the empirical phase of the study was conducted through quantitative research on a sample of 32 SMEs located in the Greater Agadir region. The results reveal the absence of a positive impact of digitalization on crisis management and, consequently, on resilience. However, managerial innovation demonstrates a positive impact on the resilience of the enterprise through effective crisis management. Furthermore, our findings also establish a positive and significant relationship between crisis management and enterprise resilience.

The catalytic role played by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) toward economic development has been widely recognized globally. Through these enterprises, entrepreneurship and innovation are boosted, thus improving the lives of individuals. This paper set out to review the available literature on SMEs’ contribution toward achieving Kenya’s sustainable development goals. This research review gives a systematic and detailed summary of evidence and future research directions. Existing literature from reliable research articles, institutional reports, and policy documents was reviewed from 2012 to 2022. The paper established that most SMEs are flexible and dynamic, putting them in a better position to effectively contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) monitored by the United Nations (UN). The enterprises have been recognized as key engines in attaining SDGs through poverty alleviation, income generation, and boosting the living conditions of citizens. However, most SMEs operating in Kenya’s emerging economies are still informal, limiting their long-term sustainability and meaningful contributions toward achieving SDGs. These enterprises are still grappling with a number of challenges that slow down their contributions toward attaining SDGs. Key stakeholders need to put in place comprehensive policy measures that can assist the enterprises in overcoming the various challenges they face.

Kenya is among the top ten avocado exporters in the world and the top exporter in Africa. There is a rising demand for good-quality avocados in the domestic market in Kenya and globally. Food safety is also increasingly becoming a big concern for consumers of fresh food in local and domestic markets. This study was conducted as part of the SiA-funded FORQLAB (Food Waste Reduction and Food Quality Living Lab) project. The project’s objective is to contribute to structural reduction of post-harvest and food losses and food quality improvement in the Kenyan avocado value chain via the application of technical solutions and tools as well as improved chain governance competencies. The specific focus of this study was the assessment of the readiness of stakeholders in the local and export-oriented avocado chain in adopting integrated ICT-based traceability solutions. It also made an inventory of the various ICT technologies that can be used to develop an integrated traceability system. Other focus areas of the study included understanding the value chain and governance structure of the avocado chain. The study area was Nandi County, Kenya. The study was modeled on a conceptual framework that combined the Network Readiness Index, value chain analysis, and the Triple-Layered Business Model Canvas. The study concluded that there are existing and emerging technologies that can be used to develop an integrated ICT-enabled traceability system. These include existing solutions like SokoFresh, UjuziKilimo, and GTNet by Tracesoft and emerging technologies like Blockchain and IoT sensor technology. These would be used in a hybrid format with information being shared in cloud-based solutions like Amazon Web Services and accessed by users via a user interface like an app.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make considerable contributions to the economic development of many nations across the globe. Corruption is rampant in most developing countries, Kenya included. Most SMEs in these countries face unique challenges, forcing them to engage in unethical business practices to survive. This paper analyzed the driving forces behind ethical business practices and their contributions to SMEs’ sustainability. The researcher reviewed available literature on ethical business and enterprise sustainability. A total of 30 published journals from various institutional repositories and Google Scholar were reviewed, making the study secondary research. Findings from empirical analysis established that enterprises that implement and adhere to codes of ethics are better positioned to achieve better performance and long-term sustainability. Engaging in ethical business practices is integral to building trust and confidence among organizational stakeholders. SMEs with policies that guide their ethical behaviors can attract and retain critical stakeholders such as talented employees, customers, suppliers, and investors. The current study is relevant to those running SMEs since they will understand the importance of ethical business practices on the long-term sustainability of enterprises. Policymakers will also find the study suitable for developing and strengthening ethical policy frameworks that can boost the long-term sustainability of SMEs. Researcher has made key recommendations that can encourage ethical business practices among enterprises.

Street vending is a widespread phenomenon in many developing countries including the African region, providing a source of livelihood for millions of people and a convenient and affordable service for consumers. However, street vendors often operate in precarious and hostile conditions, facing harassment from local authorities, eviction from public spaces, and marginalization from formal planning processes. This study aims to explore the problems and prospects of street vending in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, that shares a border similarity with its African counterparts, with a focus on the socioeconomic situation of vegetable vendors and their potential role in urban development. The study is based on primary data collected through semi-structured interviews with 42 vegetable vendors in several areas where street vending is prevalent, as well as secondary data from relevant literature and reports. The study reveals that street vending is not a hindrance to urban progress and sustainability but a vital component of an alternative street economy that contributes to reducing poverty, enhancing social inclusion, and diversifying urban culture. The study argues that instead of trying to eliminate street vendors, it is necessary to adopt a more inclusive and participatory approach that recognizes their rights and needs and integrates them into the existing regulatory framework. From the experience of Dhaka, the study also suggests some policy recommendations for improving the working conditions and livelihoods of vegetable vendors, as well as for enhancing their contribution to urban development that can also be reflected in the context of African countries.

This paper explores the entrepreneurial orientation factors that influence SMEs’ digital transformation strategy. To achieve this, this paper proposes a conceptual framework by revisiting and extending Miller (Management Science 29:770–791, 1983) and Gerschewski et al. (Review of International Business and Strategy 26:446–471, 2016) individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) model (i.e., innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, entrepreneurial passion, and perseverance). The proposed model is validated using structural equation modeling (SEM). Our findings indicate that risk-taking and entrepreneurial passion positively affect the achievement of SMEs’ digital transformation strategy goals, while proactiveness, innovativeness, and perseverance do not. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind in this area.

Purpose: The objective is to determine the profiles of resilient companies in Africa, as well as the key factors of organizational resilience. Models for building the resilience of African organizations are highlighted, along with implications for businesses and policymakers.

Design/methodology/approach: The article is written following the approach of a systematic literature review as a research methodology, in order to examine the resilience management of African organizations during times of crisis.

Findings: The results show that the key factors of organizational resilience include adaptability, versatility, the ability to foresee and prepare for crisis situations, and diversity of activities.

Practical implications: The practical implications of the article include establishing a culture of preparation and planning, encouraging cooperation and communication, investing in training and development, promoting business diversification, and policymakers can support the development of business resilience by promoting innovation and economic expansion.

Originality/value: This article provides important contributions to the literature by demonstrating how organizations can manage resilience during times of crisis and how decision-makers can support this effort. It also offers recommendations and perspectives for future research.

Organizations are currently operating in an increasingly turbulent environment. In response, a number of studies have highlighted the importance of developing resilience within companies. Given their role in the economy of many countries (particularly Morocco) and their vulnerability and sensitivity to environmental hazards, SMEs are particularly concerned. Moreover, research has shown that SMEs suffer most in times of crisis and are the least prepared of all organizations. Previous research has identified several determinants that explain organizational resilience, including innovation. Hence, the following question: “To what extent does innovation contribute to the organizational resilience of SMEs to crises?” To this end, a qualitative study was carried out among various SMEs in order to answer the question. The choice of a qualitative approach was justified by the desire to explore in depth the relationship between the two concepts. The results show a significant impact of innovation in SME’s resilience.

The construction sector has been the largest consumer of materials for almost a century. It absorbs two fifths of the world flows of materials and energy while it presents 40% of the total flow of raw materials in the world each year (Horvath, 2004). However, companies in this sector have encountered multiple challenges stemming from several crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the soaring prices of building materials due to international tensions, supply difficulties, and the shortage of certain products. These factors are hurting the real estate sector, hampering its projects, and slowing down its construction sites. Property developers are finding it increasingly difficult to meet delivery deadlines. These increases and shortages of raw materials lead to delays and even work stoppages. And it is the entire production chain that is impacted (MHPV.GOV.MA, 2022). The aim of this contribution is to provide a literature review on the factors influencing the resilience of companies operating in the construction sector.

The environment in which organizations operate is increasingly turbulent and uncertain, exposing them to disruptive and unpredictable events. To survive, organizations need to be more agile, more proactive, and better prepared to deal with uncertainties. This calls for organizational leadership as a form of dynamic capability.

This article aims to enrich the research by focusing on the influence of leadership capabilities on organizational resilience in the management of uncertainty. It also examines the role of risk management practices in mediating the relationship between leadership capabilities and organizational resilience. The aim is to identify the role that leadership capabilities and risk management practices play in enhancing organizational resilience. Thus, our work will lead to the development of a conceptual model that brings together the three concepts and research hypotheses to clarify this relationship. The results of this study show that risk management practices play a mediating role in the relationship between leadership capabilities and organizational resilience.

The accounting industry is currently undergoing significant changes aimed at bolstering ethics and professionalism. The primary focus is on upholding the utmost standards of integrity and independence when it comes to financial reporting. This endeavor is of paramount importance as it plays a pivotal role in fostering investor, shareholder, and general public trust in financial reporting while simultaneously promoting transparency in business transactions. It is imperative for accounting professionals to adhere to ethical standards and regulations to ensure the quality and reliability of financial information. These efforts to enhance ethics and professionalism are indispensable for maintaining transparency, accountability, and the overall credibility of the industry.

Furthermore, accounting organizations are actively introducing continuous education programs designed to keep professionals abreast of the latest standards, regulations, and best practices for maintaining high levels of integrity and independence. Encouragingly, accounting professionals are also being urged to report any instances of inappropriate ethical behavior or violations of standards. This approach is pivotal in sustaining transparency and accountability within the industry.

To understand what is taking place with women’s health in Africa, this paper looks at a number of key variables: population, age structure, median age, mother’s mean age with their firstborn, maternal mortality, infant mortality, life expectancy, fertility rate, contraceptive rate, current health, physician density, hospital bed density, HIV rates for women, obesity rates for women, and the percentage of underweight children per country. These key health variables play an important role in deciphering women’s health and are analyzed using World Factbook data from 55 African countries from five African subregions: Northern Africa, West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. The World Factbook provides basic intelligence data on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, environment, communications, transportation, military, terrorism, and transnational issues for 266 world entities and countries.

This article discusses methods to use education and empowerment as a means to increase the resilience and entrepreneurship of women and girls. The article begins with a review of the level of gender inequality globally and in Liberia, and discusses the guidance of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goal #5 regarding gender equality. The article then reviews the barriers and benefits of empowerment and education for girls and women. The article concludes with the author’s story of her rise from poverty to professional roles and her creating a school to provide vocational training to girls and women.

The COVID-19 has brought severe impacts across various fronts, transforming a health crisis into an economic shock of unprecedented scale. Since its emergence in December 2019, the world has witnessed an unprecedented disruption across all sectors, including health, economy, and daily life. However, all the measures taken to encounter the spread of the virus led to the cessation of economic activities across the world. At the same time, countries recognized that COVID-19 is not only a health crisis but also an economic and social one. Morocco is one of the countries that enfolded its efforts to control the situation at the beginning of the pandemic. Implementing preventive measures and declaring a state of health emergency since March 20, 2020. In this context, several businesses have been profoundly affected by the crisis and the subsequent consequences of the lockdown measures. The aim of this paper is to critically examines the effectiveness of Moroccan government policies and programs in bolstering SME resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It conducts a comprehensive analysis of the government’s response, including financial support mechanisms, and collaborative efforts. The article underscores the positive outcomes stemming from the government’s proactive approach, such as targeted financial relief and fostering a supportive ecosystem during the pandemic.

Climate change has been identified as a major challenge facing the world in the twenty-first century. The fact that the economies of developing countries depend on agriculture makes the effects of climate change even more pronounced. In Morocco, the rate of growth is closely linked to the rate of agricultural production. Our study is related to the impact of climate change on the Moroccan agricultural sector. The analysis covers the period 1966 to 2021 in order to estimate the short and long-term impacts of climate change on agricultural GDP. In order to study the possible effects of climate change on the agricultural sector, the relationship between temperature, rainfall, CO₂ emissions, and agricultural GDP was estimated using the cointegration model ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag). The empirical results show a positive and significant relationship between rainfall and agricultural GDP. However, the 1 °C increase in temperature has a negative impact on agricultural GDP with a decrease of 2.07% in the short term and 1.26% in the long term. In addition, the impact of CO₂ emissions is estimated to be negative and statistically insignificant. This result may be due to the fact that carbon dioxide emissions in Morocco are low compared to industrialized countries. The findings confirm that climate change is negatively affecting Morocco’s agricultural sector.

In South Africa, the ocean economy is generally defined as all economic activities that are linked to the oceans’ natural resources and environment. These activities include marine aquaculture, fisheries, marine transport and manufacturing, offshore oil and gas exploration, coastal and marine tourism, and small harbors. Studies have shown that climate change has remarkable impacts on the ocean economy, in general, and, particularly, economic activities discussed in this paper to varying degrees. Climate change presents a tangible threat to sustainable trade and development and will impact on the potential of the ocean economy. The ocean economy could contribute to the economic growth of South Africa and have reciprocal impact across businesses, government, and society. Ocean economy and climate change are constructs that are multidimensional in essence and span a range of public policy domains. Achieving the full potential of the ocean economy while simultaneously mitigating the knock-on impact of climate change requires a horizontally integrated public policy framework. Policy development should be cognizant of the need for adaption and mitigation and needs to be inclusive of a broad spectrum of stakeholders, notably government, business, and communities.