Dr Demola Obembe

• Organization and Product Design Pairings: A Review of Product Innovation Capabilities, Conceptualization and Future Directions
  Organization and Product Design Pairings: A Review of Product Innovation Capabilities, Conceptualization and Future Directions Mafimisebi, Oluwasoye; Obembe, Demola; Aluko, Oluwakayode Drawing on the Resource-based view of firms and market orientation theory, this paper presents a complementary view of the influence of product innovation capabilities (PICs) on organization and product design pairings. By exploring the influence of three complementary factors; market orientation, organizational form, and managerial strategic decisions, as essential determinants for emergence of architectural pairings, we theorize that PICs lead to better; organization and product design pairings selection, unique customer benefits, market acceptance, significant cost reductions, and new products development, and consequently superior organizational performance. We propose in essence, that PICs significantly shape and determine the success of architectural pairings between organization and product designs, and act as a source of sustainable competitive advantage for organizations. We further identify scope for future research to evaluate measures and validity of product innovation capability dimensions, and the extent of influence of the identified factors on architectural pairings. The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
• The Future of Strategy Implementation Research in the Strategy Context: A Call for a Divergent Shift in Strategizing
  The Future of Strategy Implementation Research in the Strategy Context: A Call for a Divergent Shift in Strategizing Obembe, Demola Although researchers have extensively investigated obstacles to strategy implementation, many organisations, both public and private, still face strategy implementation failure. In this research, we examine the way in which strategy is communicated among top and middle managers from a social practice perspective. We argue that strategy implementation research and relevant obstacles are no longer representative of the problem of strategy failure; rather, it is the accumulation of social interactions between internal social actors that need to be internally understood in terms of strategizing. Our data is based on a single case study with 20 interviews drawn from one public sector organisation, from which we find that internal social actors must align both individual- and group-level cognition prior the strategy implementation phase. Furthermore, we found that most of the strategy implementation barriers are in fact related to the strategy communication prior the actual execution of the associated strategic objectives. Our findings report a vital concern in terms of how future strategizing should be formed, and therefore calls for a shift in thought from strategy implementation barriers to the social practice barriers that impede the execution of strategic objectives. Our exploration therefore pushes the field forward by enriching the under-researched area of strategy communication processes and the cognitive understanding of internal social practice.
• Technological constraints to firm performance: the moderating effects of firm linkages and cooperation
  Technological constraints to firm performance: the moderating effects of firm linkages and cooperation Kolade, Oluwaseun; Obembe, Demola; Salia, Samuel Manufacturing and services SMEs in Africa face challenges and constraints exacerbated by ineffectual government policies, environmental turbulence and the near-absence of institutional support. This study investigates if informal linkages and formal cooperation are helping firms to overcome constraints to uptake of technological innovations in Nigeria. The paper is based on quantitative data obtained from structured interviews of 631 Nigerian firms. These firms were selected using stratified random sampling from a total population of 18,906 manufacturing and services companies in the national database obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics. The result of the binary logistic regression indicates that, while informal linkages appear to be insignificant, formal inter-firm cooperation is an effective moderator of barriers to technological innovations. The paper focuses only on technological, rather than non-technological, innovations. The paper recommends that, in addition to other interventions to promote diffusion of technological innovations, governments should give priority to interventions that support formal cooperation among SMEs. Previously studies have generally looked at the impact of cooperative networks on firms' innovation uptake. This paper provides original insights into the "how" of cooperative impact, specifically with respect to helping SMEs to overcome constraints. The paper also delineates formal cooperation from informal linkages
• The Influence of Power Distance on Top and Middle Managers’ Strategy Communication: An Insight from Kuwaiti Context
  The Influence of Power Distance on Top and Middle Managers’ Strategy Communication: An Insight from Kuwaiti Context Obembe, Demola We examine the role of power distance in regulating strategy communication practice among top and middle managers from a social practice perspective. We argue that power distance cannot be treated as a material factor that can be controlled and easily measured beyond the organisation boundary; rather, it is the accumulation of social interactions between organisational members that needs to be internally understood. Based on a single case study with 27 interviews drawn from a public sector organisation in Kuwait, we find that strengthening the communication practice among organisational members and aligning both individual- and group-level cognition are key drivers for the successful communication of strategy in public sector organisations. Furthermore, we found that in a high power distance culture, the most powerful individuals make decisions in a dictatorial manner. Equally, organisations with high power distance cultures are prone to deliberate mismanagement and high cultural tension. Our exploration therefore pushes the field forward by enriching the under-researched area of power distance and the cognitive understanding of social practice.
• Institutional Environments and Youths Entrepreneurial Orientation: Evidence from Nigeria
  Institutional Environments and Youths Entrepreneurial Orientation: Evidence from Nigeria Ogunsade, Isaac A.; Obembe, Demola; Woldesenbet, K.; Vershinina, Natalia Entrepreneurial activities and venture creation among youths represent one of the key drivers of job creation and economic growth (OECD, 2016; Acs, 2006). What influences individual entrepreneur to business start-up remains an enduring issue of interest in academic research on entrepreneurship. Recent studies suggest that the institutional context plays a key role in influencing individual behaviour, as well as in facilitating entrepreneurial climate for new ventures. Consequently, this study draws on institutional theory as a valuable lens to investigate the extent to which the regulative, normative and cultural-cognitive environments affect individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) and self-employment among Nigerian youths. The study adopts a quantitative research approach, allowing for primary data collection conducted through survey questionnaire and administered to a sample of 482 student respondents. A three-stage hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses and to investigate the predictability impact of the model. The result revealed that all three predictor variables (Institutional environments) made a statistical unique contribution to the model. However, the regulative and cognitive model made a statistically significant unique contribution to impacting the individual entrepreneurial orientation among the university educated Nigerian youths.
• Achieving Strategic Consensus through Individuals’ Social Practice: The Perspective of Kuwaiti Managers
  Achieving Strategic Consensus through Individuals’ Social Practice: The Perspective of Kuwaiti Managers Al Mansour, Jarrah; Obembe, Demola It has been established that successful communication and implementation of organisational strategies is highly relevant to the understanding and commitment of internal stakeholders to this strategy. Termed strategic consensus, research in this area has quantitatively suggested that the concept is material in nature and can be simply controlled and aligned with other constructs including strategy implementation processes (Aranda and Arellano, 2010; Edh Mirzaei et al., 2016). However, there is limited research available in the literature on the social practice roles of both top and middle managers in achieving strategic consensus and their commitment to such understanding in terms of driving strategy. In this study, we explore the role of top and middle managers in forming a shared understanding of strategy during the communication and the implementation processes from a social practice perspective. Particularly, the focus of this investigation is to understand how a shared understanding is socially practiced and achieved between top and middle managers, and the consequent implications this might have for strategy communication and execution. A qualitative approach with a single case study was applied with a total of 27 interviews conducted. We argue that whilst strategic consensus as a factor affecting various business areas, the overall effect is not wholly dependent on the factor in and of itself; rather, the social interaction of both top and middle managers in reaching a shared understanding and their commitment to such an understanding plays a critical role in the extent to which strategies may be successfully realised.
• Fostering Entrepreneurial Activities through Microfinance in Nigeria
  Fostering Entrepreneurial Activities through Microfinance in Nigeria Babajide, A.; Obembe, Demola; Solomon, O. Helen; Woldesenbet, K. This paper examines the mechanisms by which microfinance loans foster entrepreneurship using social capital. Our empirical data was gathered through questionnaire survey of 317 active small business borrowers in Nigeria. Two models were considered for this study, social capital as a measure of social network and social capital as a measure of trust among group members were tested. On microfinance and social network on entrepreneurial success our study shows that: a) microloans obtained on group membership platform enhances entrepreneurial success of borrowers; b) further probing of the sex of respondents interacted with relationship with loan officers shows that female respondents perceive their relationship with their loan officers yield better entrepreneurial success. Female borrowers also perceived their group membership as the platform for their entrepreneurial success. On pre-loan training and level of education, we found that borrowers with lower levels of education receiving microloans were more successful in their entrepreneurial activities than borrowers with higher levels of education. In the same vein, borrowers with lower levels of education perceived the relationship with their loan officers enhances their entrepreneurial activities more so than respondents with higher levels of education. c) On trust as a measure of social capital, microloan show positive significant impact on entrepreneurial success. Further probing shows that borrowers with lower levels of education are more trusting of their group members than borrowers with higher education levels and this we believe enhances their entrepreneurial success. Also, borrowers with lower level of education believe that group membership enhance their access to microloan although result obtained is not statistically significant at 5 percent. In the same vein, borrowers with lower education levels perceived their group membership enhance their welfare while borrowers with higher education levels do not. We also observed gender differences in loan access such that female borrowers perceived group membership enhances ability to access loans while male respondents did not see any connection between group membership and loan access. Interacting this with entrepreneurial success resulted in a negative influence which implies that access to loan on the platform of group membership does not enhance entrepreneurial success of the respondents. Furthermore, female borrowers perceive group membership enhances their welfare and have positive impact on their entrepreneurial success but not male borrowers. The result also suggests that female borrowers place more trust on their group members which in turn enhance their entrepreneurial success. Further robust check shows that both models are of good fit and statistically significant at 1 percent. This study thus extends the entrepreneurship literature to microfinance and provides empirical insight into the significance of social capital in facilitating microfinance contribution to business creation and growth.
• The influence of informal institutions on informal sector entrepreneurship: A study of Nigeria’s hand-woven textile industry
  The influence of informal institutions on informal sector entrepreneurship: A study of Nigeria’s hand-woven textile industry Ogunsade, Isaac A.; Obembe, Demola This paper draws on the institutional theory framework to explore the prevalence of entrepreneurship in the informal economy in Nigeria. An interpretive approach was taken in analyzing open-ended interview data collected from 26 entrepreneurs in the hand-woven textile industry in the southwestern region of Nigeria. Our findings show that beyond regulatory burden or survivalist economic necessity, the enterprise culture in the Nigerian informal economy is determined by value-driven criteria of sociocultural and normative environment that constitute part of the cognitive process of entrepreneurial emergence in a typical institutional context. The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.
• Shared Leadership in Voluntary Organisations: An Exploratory Survey using Internal Stakeholder Perspective
  Shared Leadership in Voluntary Organisations: An Exploratory Survey using Internal Stakeholder Perspective Mumbi, Henry; Obembe, Demola Management research has predominantly focuses on vertical leadership, which is synonymous with top-down management. Increasingly however, other forms of distributed leadership are observable across organisations. In this research, we explore the involvement of stakeholders in the functions of leadership through the shared leadership paradigm. Using a quantitative approach, the research surveyed 126 respondents in the voluntary sector with a view to assess the level of shared leadership among organisation stakeholders and identify key factors that affect the shared leadership process. Findings suggest relatively high level of shared leadership with stakeholder involvement more prevalent at consultative levels rather than participative levels. Furthermore, stakeholder status within the organisation is identified as a significant factor in determining the level of shared leadership.
• Exploring Crisis Management and Business Continuity among Nigerian Small and Medium Scale Enterprises
  Exploring Crisis Management and Business Continuity among Nigerian Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Obembe, Demola; Chukwudum, Victoria; Nnabuife, Nnenna Crisis management is widely researched but not among SMEs and not particularly in emerging economies. Using a combination of interview and survey techniques, we explore how Nigerian SMEs perceive and deal with crisis, and motivations as well as practices adopted for engaging in crisis planning. Specifically, we consider the impacts of actual experience, crisis awareness and top management attitude on crisis management planning. An interpretive approach was adopted for the analysis as was use of quantitative statistical package. Our results indicate that the level of awareness generates a higher degree of concern for crisis management planning than both top management attitudes and actual crisis experience, and a lack of awareness significantly limits firms’ preparedness for crisis management and business continuity.

 Journal reviews: Organization Studies, Management Learning, Public Money and Management, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. African Journal of Management.

Conference reviews British Academy of Management; International Conference on Information Systems