Internationalisation andEnterprise Development inGhana

Policy makers and scholars consider private enterprise development as one of the most promising avenues of economic growth in Africa. To grow, enterprises must improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations, often through internationalisation. It is generally believed that internationalisation enhances the technological and managerial capacities of firms and also helps them to leverage other types of resources not immediately available within their own countries. In recent years, there has been an upsurge of interest in exploring the extent to which African firms are integrated into global business networks, and the benefits, if any, derived from such integrations. The above informed the need for an empirical investigations in Ghana from 2002-2003, the results of which are presented in this book. Based on the experiences in Ghana, contributors to the volume explore the issues of internationalisation in Africa by focusing on firm-level activities and inter-firm relations rather than on macro issues. They draw on dominant theories of internationalisation to explore issues such as sustained competitive advantages of firms, management and business relations in export processing zones, organisational structures, competence and leadership; culture, learning and cross-border inter-firm linkages as well as finance and stock exchange performance in Ghana. Internationalisation and Enterprise Development is a major contribution to the body of knowledge on enterprise development in Africa in general, and Ghana in particular. It is a must-read to all who are interested in Africa's enterprise development including the role played by internationalisation in that process.

Policy makers and scholars consider private enterprise development as one of the most promising avenues of economic growth in Africa. To grow, enterprises must improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations, often through internationalisation. It is generally believed that internationalisation enhances the technological and managerial capacities of firms and also helps them to leverage other types of resources not immediately available within their own countries. In recent years, there has been an upsurge of interest in exploring the extent to which African firms are integrated into global business networks, and the benefits, if any, derived from such integrations. The above informed the need for an empirical investigations in Ghana from 2002-2003, the results of which are presented in this book. Based on the experiences in Ghana, contributors to the volume explore the issues of internationalisation in Africa by focusing on firm-level activities and inter-firm relations rather than on macro issues. They draw on dominant theories of internationalisation to explore issues such as sustained competitive advantages of firms, management and business relations in export processing zones, organisational structures, competence and leadership; culture, learning and cross-border inter-firm linkages as well as finance and stock exchange performance in Ghana. Internationalisation and Enterprise Development is a major contribution to the body of knowledge on enterprise development in Africa in general, and Ghana in particular. It is a must-read to all who are interested in Africa's enterprise development including the role played by internationalisation in that process.