To Explore or to Exploit? Opportunities, Dynamic Capabilities, and Performance of Maritime Enterprises in Ghana

George Acheampong, Oliver Kwabena Aggrey, Annette Skovsted Hansen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigates how the recognition and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities influence small business performance via interactions with firm-level innovation capability and learning orientation. We frame the study within the maritime-sector context and seek to contribute to the understanding of how the interplay between opportunity recognition, exploitation, innovation capability and learning orientation affects the entrepreneurial performance of local businesses when there is a technological policy change. The study further frames its arguments from a dynamic capability perspective and tests its arguments with data from 284 local businesses operating in the Port of Tema. Findings reveal that opportunity exploitation and learning orientation as well as their interplay have a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial performance. The study consequently presents local micro-entrepreneurial reactions to macro-level policy changes within the maritime sector–an issue that has largely remained uninvestigated in the African business literature due to maritime blindness.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)705-727
Number of pages23
JournalJournal of African Business
Volume25
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Entrepreneurial opportunities, maritime SMEs, dynamic capability
  • innovation capability
  • learning orientation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'To Explore or to Exploit? Opportunities, Dynamic Capabilities, and Performance of Maritime Enterprises in Ghana'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this