This community contains the ePrints and eTheses produced by the School's staff and students. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/2672 2026-11-14T18:11:50Z 2026-11-14T18:11:50Z Chapman, Gary Wapshott, Robert Caloffi, Annalisa Hottenrott, Hanna Mallett, Oliver http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38445 2026-11-10T15:51:29Z 2026-09-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Special issue introduction: Business Support for Entrepreneurs and Small Firms: Access, Design, and Impacts: A Research Agenda Author(s): Chapman, Gary; Wapshott, Robert; Caloffi, Annalisa; Hottenrott, Hanna; Mallett, Oliver Abstract: Governments and non-governmental organisations commit substantial resources to a range of business support interventions for small firms and entrepreneurs. A substantive body of research has investigated such support interventions over recent decades. While important progress has been made, the literature remains fragmented, and critical questions and long-standing concerns remain unaddressed. Utilising an access, design and effectiveness framework to structure the fragmented literature, this paper develops a research agenda that advances a more holistic understanding of business support. We also bring attention to novel themes around start-up mobility, artificial intelligence, and risk aversion, which we believe have important implications across the domains of business support research. In doing so, we advance ongoing business support debates and invite new inquiry that can inform the development of more effective and accessible business support interventions.

2026-09-01T00:00:00Z Hagan, Emmanuel Senior http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38419 2026-10-30T10:41:54Z 2026-02-26T00:00:00Z

Title: Institutional dynamics and regulatory reform in Sub-Saharan African banking: evidence from ownership, governance, and Basel III implementation Author(s): Hagan, Emmanuel Senior Abstract: Across three empirical studies, this thesis examines the institutional dynamics and regulatory reform in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) banking, focusing on ownership, governance and Basel III implementation. As corporate governance reforms and global prudential standards continue to reshape banking systems, understanding how such reforms operate within emerging market institutional contexts is increasingly important. The thesis therefore investigates how ownership structures, governance mechanisms, and regulatory reforms interact within SSA banking systems, characterised by persistent institutional weaknesses, regulatory heterogeneity and evolving financial markets. The first empirical study examines how different ownership structures—government, foreign, managerial, individual, and institutional ownership—affect bank performance and how these effects are conditioned by the broader business environment. The findings reveal mixed and sometimes counterintuitive patterns: institutional, foreign, and managerial ownership often reduce or fail to enhance profitability, suggesting that their expected governance benefits are constrained by weak legal and regulatory institutions. These demonstrate that ownership reforms cannot be assessed independently of the institutional and business environments in which banks operate. The second empirical study examines the effects of corporate governance practices, market discipline, and central bank supervision on the performance of listed and privately owned banks in SSA. Governance mechanisms have heterogeneous effects across the two groups. Board size, non-executive directors, female directors, and board committee structures exhibit stronger and more consistent associations with performance among listed banks, whereas private banks frequently demonstrate performance advantages associated with leaner organisational structures and greater operational adaptability. Domestic stock markets enhance transparency and discipline whiles Central bank independence improves private bank performance but reduces listed bank performance, and its interaction with governance committees can be counterintuitive when supervisory and internal oversight mechanisms are misaligned. The third empirical study investigates the effects of Basel III and related prudential regulatory reforms on banking efficiency and stability in SSA. The reforms initially reduce stability, profitability, and liquidity, consistent with short-term adjustment costs arising from stricter capital and liquidity requirements. Over time, improvements emerge in financial depth and efficiency, though gains in access remain uneven. Collectively, the three studies show that governance quality and regulatory outcomes in SSA depend fundamentally on institutional quality and business-environment conditions. The thesis contributes new evidence from an under-researched region and applies advanced panel-data and causal-inference methods to assess Basel III’s effects, demonstrating that governance and regulatory reforms must be contextualised within emerging-market institutional realities.

2026-02-26T00:00:00Z Shafi Choksy, Umair Ayaz, Muhammad Gorvett, Fraser Malcorps, Wesley Newton, Richard http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38417 2026-10-23T00:05:45Z 2026-10-16T00:00:00Z

Title: Bridging Global Mandates and Local Realities: A Comparative Analysis of Environmental Upgrading of Salmon Global Value Chains Author(s): Shafi Choksy, Umair; Ayaz, Muhammad; Gorvett, Fraser; Malcorps, Wesley; Newton, Richard Abstract: This study examines the role of multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries in facilitating environmental upgrading in value chains, with a specific focus on the salmon aquaculture sector. Addressing the critical challenge of Scope 3 emissions, this research investigates the dynamics between a French food MNE’s UK subsidiary (Company X) in UK, acting as a Tier 1 supplier, and its lower-tier suppliers in Scotland and Norway. We explore how do multinational enterprise subsidiaries act as bridging mechanisms to mediate sustainability mandates and local institutional contexts, driving environmental upgrading and addressing Scope 3 emissions in the context of salmon value chains. Through qualitative analysis of interviews and secondary data, the findings highlight the subsidiary’s bridging role in reconciling global corporate mandates with local institutional pressures. Institutional context plays a defining role in shaping subsidiary’s bridging strategy with divergent implications for Scottish and Norwegian suppliers environmental upgradin

2026-10-16T00:00:00Z Bulut, Cevdet Onwona-Hwesofour Asante, Kwaku Akon-Yamga, Gordon Adu-Gyamfi, Monica Ode Appiah-Kubi, Zippora Odame Afari, Sarah Brett, Josua Onwona Simpe, Kwame Nutefe Kuavedzi, Reuben http://hdl.handle.net/1893/38392 2026-10-14T14:21:42Z 2026-10-06T00:00:00Z

Title: A stage-weighted environmental risk and visual severity integration model for climate-smart management of cassava anthracnose in humid tropical systems Author(s): Bulut, Cevdet; Onwona-Hwesofour Asante, Kwaku; Akon-Yamga, Gordon; Adu-Gyamfi, Monica Ode; Appiah-Kubi, Zippora; Odame Afari, Sarah; Brett, Josua; Onwona Simpe, Kwame; Nutefe Kuavedzi, Reuben Abstract: Colletotrichum anthracnose is a persistent constraint on cassava root yield and planting material quality in humid tropical systems, where calendar-based management often leads to poorly timed or excessive fungicide use. This study developed and pilot-tested the Cassava Anthracnose Risk Index (CARI), a stage-sensitive, persistence-adjusted early-warning framework integrating low-cost environmental sensing with structured visual severity scoring for climate-smart, input-reduced disease management. Microclimate sensors were deployed at CSIR-CRI Fumesua, Ghana, across a 13-month rainfed crop cycle (March 2025 – April 2026) using the susceptible landrace Debo. A stage-weighted Environmental Risk Subscore (ERS; 0–600 points, ERS%) was constructed from six environmental components, moderated by a persistence factor requiring sustained infection-favorable conditions, and stratified across three growth stages. A Visual Symptom Subscore (VSS; 0–40) was derived from standardised weekly severity assessments of 15 sentinel plants, integrated into a composite CARI (0–100) with stage-specific alert thresholds. Across 73 valid Stage 3 monitoring days, CARI classified all observations as Low Risk and issued no Amber or Red alerts, including on 37 of 73 days with sustained nocturnal high-humidity conditions that would have triggered a precautionary alert under a simple threshold approach. In the single confirmed disease episode observed, an approximately one-day interval separated the highest environmental risk signal from confirmed symptom onset; this is not presented as a validated lag value, a preceding 25-day sensor outage means antecedent conditions cannot be characterised. CARI did not issue an intervention recommendation during this episode (11–24 February 2026) because concurrent environmental risk remained below the Amber threshold. Published decision support systems for Colletotrichum anthracnose in other pathosystems report fungicide reductions of 30–70% relative to calendar-based approaches; these figures are cited only for benchmarking and were not measured here, as no comparative fungicide trial was conducted. These results provide proof of concept for the technical operability of CARI and identify the dataset and analyses required for formal predictive evaluation in a planned multi-season study; they should not be interpreted as evidence of CARI’s predictive accuracy or input-reduction performance.

2026-10-06T00:00:00Z