Willingness to participate and pay for index-based crop insurance in Ghana

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph A. Adjabui ◽  
Peter R. Tozer ◽  
David I. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Crop Insurance ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Farm Diversification ◽  
East Region ◽  
Insurance Programme ◽  
Valuation Technique ◽  
Upper East Region ◽  
The Cost

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess farmers’ willingness to participate and pay for weather-based index insurance in the Upper East Region of Ghana, and what factors influence the participation and purchase of crop insurance schemes. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 200 farmers in the region was carried out in 2018 to measure demographic information, farm characteristics, risks and risk-management practices and attitudes to crop insurance programs. The survey also captured maximum willingness to pay (WTP) for crop insurance. The double-bounded contingent valuation technique was used to estimate the WTP for crop insurance and the variables that affected WTP. Findings Farmers, in general, had an indifferent attitude to crop insurance in the region, but were willing to participate in the crop insurance programme, and were willing to pay between 7.5 and 12.5 per cent of the cost of growing maize as a premium for crop insurance. Demographic and economic variables did not impact WTP, but attitude towards crop insurance, farm diversification and frequency of drought negatively impacted on the WTP for crop insurance. Practical implications Education programs could be undertaken to improve the attitude and understanding towards crop insurance, as some farmers perceived the programme as not trustworthy, and others did not truly understand the operation of the programme. Social implications Drought can have a significant impact on household welfare, particularly in food insecure countries or regions. Crop insurance can provide a method of securing income for farmers allowing them to purchase food rather than other choices, such as removing children from education to reduce household expenses, improving the long-term welfare of the farm household. Originality/value This paper considers willingness to participate and WTP for a crop insurance programme in Ghana, it is one of a small number of papers that consider attitude to, and willingness to participate and WTP for crop insurance in developing countries. The value of the research is the expanded understanding of farmer attitude to crop insurance and their lack of knowledge of crop insurance operations.

scholarly journals A centralised cost management system: exploiting EVM and ABC within IPD

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faris Elghaish ◽  
Sepehr Abrishami
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Risk Sharing ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cost Management ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Cost Management System ◽  
The Cost

PurposeIntegrated project delivery (IPD) is highly recommended to be utilised with building information management (BIM), specifically with BIM level-3 implementation process. Extant literature highlights the financial management challenges facing the proposed integration. These challenges are mainly related to the IPD compensation and the conventional cost control approaches that are not consistent with IPD principles. As such, this paper presents an integration of several methods to support automating risk/reward sharing amongst project parties thus enhancing IPD core team members’ relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe literature review was used to highlight the challenges that face the IPD-based cost management practices such as the risk sharing/reward sharing amongst IPD core team members and potential methods to bridge the revealed IPD gap. A framework was developed by integrating the activity-based costing (ABC) – as a method to analyse the cost structure – and earned value management (EVM) to develop mathematical models that can determine the three main IPD financial transactions (i.e. …) fairly. To demonstrate the applicability of the developed system, a real-life case study was used, in which, promising results were collected in regard to visualising the cost control data and understanding of the accumulative status of the project cost and schedule for team members.FindingsA centralised cost management system (CCMS) for IPD is developed to enable the IPD cost structure as well as automating the risk-sharing/reward-sharing calculations. This system is linked with a web-based management system to display the output of proposed risk-sharing/reward-sharing models. Moreover, a novel grid is developed to show the project status graphically and to respect the diversity in core team members backgrounds. In addition, the case study showed that the proposed integration of different methods (ABC, EVM, BIM and web-based management system) is interoperable and applicable.Originality/valueThis research presents a comprehensive solution to the most revealed challenges in cost management practices in IPD implementation. The outcome of this research contributes to the body of knowledge through presenting new extensions of the EVM to be used with the IPD approach to calculate risk/reward. Moreover, the implementation of the proposed tools such as centralised cost management system (CCMS) and CCMS for IPD web system will enhance/foster the implementation of the IPD in conjunction with BIM process.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic factors influencing farmers’ specific adaptive strategies to climate change in Talensi district of the Upper East Region of Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian Felladam Tangonyire ◽  
George Agana Akuriba
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Adaptive Strategies ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
East Region ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Upper East Region

Purpose Farmers all over the country have been exposed to various adaptation strategies to climate change. The adaptation options however focus too closely on technical skills and technologies and fail to address critical social factors such as culture, beliefs and values that influence the adoption and effective implementation of new adaptation technologies, skills and capacity. This paper aims to assess the socioeconomic factors influencing farmers’ specific adaptive strategies to climate change in Pwalugu and Balungu communities in the Talensi district of the Upper East Region of Ghana. This study used purposive sampling technique to select the study communities, whereas simple random sampling technique was used to select a total of 100 respondents from the selected communities. Questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were used in collecting data from respondents. This study used detailed statistical test to analyze the data, and the results are presented in the form of figures and tables. This study highlights the legal and institutional context which must be adopted for effective response to climate change impacts in rural communities in Northern Ghana. It also recommends that government and relevant stakeholders should collaborate with financial institutions to ensure that funds are readily available to farmers to enable them to effectively adapt to climate change as well as provide training/workshop programs to farmers to enhance their capacity in planning and implementing effective strategies to climate change. Design/methodology/approach This study used the integrated methodological approach where quantitative methods were combined with appropriate qualitative methods. According to Sandelowski (2000), this method ensures reliability (the extents to which results are consistent over time) and validity (the means of which measurements are accurate) of the research. A combination of participatory methods, including key informant interviews, household questionnaire surveys and focus-group discussions were used, allowing local people the opportunity to participate by sharing their experiences and knowledge to outline possible solutions to the problem at hand. Multiple methods (Yeasmin and Rahman, 2012) are good at reducing the inadequacies of a single method. Cross-sectional study was used in designing the research. Variables were measured or determined at the same period in a given population. This method allowed the assessment of practices, attitudes, knowledge and beliefs of a population in relation to a particular event or phenomenon (Olsen and George, 2014). Findings The findings of this study revealed farming as the major occupation in the two communities with males being dominant. Diverse livelihood activities such as fishing, animal/poultry rearing, firewood/charcoal production, hunting and driving were other activities respondents engaged to earn a living. In terms of institutional arrangements, avoidance of bush burning and tree felling were the norms influencing decision-making in the two communities. Fear of being punished, animals feeding on some of the grasses, trees inducing rainfall as well as benefits respondents get from trees were the reasons these norms were adhered to in the study area. Access to land, gender dynamics and finance were identified as the socioeconomic factors in the study area. High demands by landowners, last minute change of mind by landowners, limited fertile lands, lack of money to acquire lands, behavior of tenants, number of acres required and lands far from water bodies were the challenges associated with acquiring land in the communities. Access to finance influenced respondents’ ability to acquire fertile lands, lands closer to water bodies and any number of acres of their choice. Gender however impeded women adaptation strategies to climate change. Women were not allowed to own land and other property in the form of animals simply because they are seen as migrants and they do not know the history of the land. Originality/value This is a master’s thesis project. This paper shows the socioeconomic factors, which are influencing farmers’ specific adaptation to climate change in the Talensi district of Ghana.

Robustness and flexibility of human resource management practices

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 594-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Gurkov ◽  
Evgeny Morgunov ◽  
Zokirzhon Saidov
Keyword(s):  
Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource Management ◽  
Human Resource ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Cost Minimization ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cost

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to retrace the sources of robustness of the operations of Russian manufacturing subsidiaries of western multinational corporation (MNC) during the downturn, from the point of view of applied human resource management (HRM) practices. Design/methodology/approach A repeated survey of heads of Russian manufacturing plants of western MNCs was implemented. The same respondents aswered the similar questions in 2014 and in 2016. Findings The current evolution of HRM arrangements in the Russian manufacturing subsidiaries of MNCs can be explained by an attempt for ambidexterity. On the one hand, managers of the Russian manufacturing subsidiaries of MNCs attempt to prevent employee alienation. Thus, they retain permanent contracts and preserve guarantees of home-take pay. On the other hand, there is the elimination of several social benefits. In the author’s opinion, the cost-minimization approach has been used excessively. The authors speculate that the system of social benefits will need to be adjusted again to transform the system from one that is “crisis-proof” to one that is “stagnation adapted.” Originality/value The findings provide a basis for a broader discussion on mutation of HRM systems in manufacturing subsidiaries of MNCs facing deteriorating market conditions.

Energy efficiency practices in facilities management in Johannesburg

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 331-343
Author(s):  
Yewande Adetoro Adewunmi ◽  
Anthony Alister ◽  
Bopape Phooko ◽  
Thabethe Nokukhanya
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Electronic Survey ◽  
Cost Implications ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Energy Efficiency Standards ◽  
Energy Conservation Measures

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine at energy efficiency practices within the facilities management sector and barriers to adopting energy efficient strategies, it further explored the factors that promote the employment of energy efficient practices. Design/methodology/approach The data were gathered by means of an electronic survey, administered to facilities managers in Johannesburg. Findings Energy efficient lighting is the most used energy efficiency practice. It further uncovered that occupant engagement and education is considered least, amongst current energy efficiency practices. This study revealed that the biggest barrier to the implementation of energy efficient facilities management practices was the cost implications of adopting FM strategies and rated the lowest were policies and regulations of energy efficiency standards. Cost reduction was the highest rated factor that promotes energy efficiency practices. Practical implications Occupants should be educated on energy efficiency through a change of their behaviours and also exposed to the benefits of using energy conservation measures. Management buy-in should be the goal of the facilities manager for the success of energy efficient practices. Originality/value This study is an encompassing study on energy efficiency where many aspects of energy efficiency and factors that promote energy efficiency were explored.

Using regulatory fit in cost reduction announcements

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulf Diefenbach ◽  
Benedikt Schnellbächer ◽  
Sven Heidenreich
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Focus ◽  
Cost Reduction ◽  
Employee Motivation ◽  
Regulatory Fit ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Regulatory Fit Theory ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how the usage of regulatory fit in cost reduction announcements affects employees’ willingness to engage in the cost reduction program (CRP). Design/methodology/approach Based on the regulatory fit theory, a scenario-based experiment was conducted (n = 517) to investigate the effect of promotion- or prevention-oriented framing of the CRP on the acceptance and the motivation to actively contribute to the CRP using multiple ANOVAs. Findings The study results point out that the framing of the cost announcement messages should use feelings or emotions and ensure gains for promotion-focused employees to decrease the negative effects of regulatory nonfit. However, in the case of prevention-focused employees, facts and reasons should be used in combination with an assertion of nonlosses in the announcement message to prevent regulatory nonfit. Research limitations/implications This research deepens the understanding on the decision-influencing role of managerial cost announcements on employee motivation and the impact of different regulatory orientations. By this, the authors enhance the current understanding of how employees can effectively be integrated into CRPs and expand previous research on how regulatory fit theory can be used by organizations dealing with negative events. Practical implications The study findings offer several opportunities and implications for managers engaged in corporate communication. More specifically, the study findings provide helpful guidelines for organizations to align their cost reduction announcement with the regulatory focus of their employees to reach regulatory fit and thus enhance employee willingness to participate in the CRP. Originality/value Despite the increasing attention of regulatory focus and regulatory fit theory and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to search for combined effects of emotions and facts versus potential gains and ensuring nonlosses, which both were shown to influence outcomes predicted by regulatory fit.

Duration analyses of precision agriculture technology adoption: what's influencing farmers' time-to-adoption decisions?

2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 647-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Ofori ◽  
Terry Griffin ◽  
Elizabeth Yeager
Keyword(s):  
Precision Agriculture ◽  
Crop Insurance ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Embodied Knowledge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Farm Level ◽  
Adoption Decisions ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

PurposePrecision technologies have been available at the farm level for decades. Some technologies have been readily adopted, while the adoption of other technologies has been slower. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing farmers' time-to-adoption decisions as duration between year of commercialization of precision agriculture (PA) technologies and year of adoption, at the farm level.Design/methodology/approachTime-to-adoption, which is the difference in years between technologies becoming commercially available and the year of adoption was determined using non-parametric duration analysis, and the impact of specific farm/farmer characteristics on time-to-adoption were estimated using a semi-parametric Cox proportional-hazard (CPH) model, based on a panel dataset of 316 Kansas farms from 2002 to 2018.FindingsThe findings indicate that, time-to-adoption for embodied-knowledge technologies such as automated guidance and section control were statistically shorter than for information-intensive technologies such as yield monitors, precision soil sampling and variable rate fertility. Duration was indirectly (directly) proportional to commercialization date of embodied-knowledge (information-intensive) technology. More so, time-to-adoption statistically differed among technologies within these two broad categories. Time-to-adoption varies across farm location and between both types of technologies. Millennial farmers are more likely to adopt both types of technologies sooner compared to baby boomers. Net farm income, percentage changes in debt-to-asset ratio, corn to total crop acres and machinery investment had no significant impact on the time-to-adoption for both information-intensive and embodied-knowledge technologies. On the other hand, while variations exist, time-to-adoption of PA technologies is mainly driven by location of farm, generation of farmer, number of workers, years of farming experience, total acres cropped and the cost of crop insurance.Originality/valueThis study investigates how the financial position of farms, amongst other important factors might influence time-to-adoption of PA technologies. Results are useful to extension personnel and retailers for planning marketing or farm outreach programs taking into consideration that, time-to-adoption differs across regions and by specific characteristics, key amongst them: generation of farmer, number of workers, years of farming experience, total acres cropped and the cost of crop insurance.

A systematic review of Asian community participation in biosphere reserves

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mastura Jaafar ◽  
Andrew Ebekozien ◽  
Daina Mohamad ◽  
Ahmad Salman
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Biosphere Reserves ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Managing biosphere reserves (BR) have become more challenging regarding the socio-cultural conflict between communities and BR administrators. For the past two decades, community participation (CP) has become the central narrative for BR management practices in Asia. This paper aims to set out to analyse the current literature because of the paucity of systematic reviews on CP in Asian BR. Also, it proffers possible solutions to enhance biosphere performance. Design/methodology/approach In total, 31 related studies were identified from the Scopus, Web of Science databases and materials from organisations in the field of practice of territorial conservation. Three themes emerged from the review – willingness to participate, encumbrances and possible solutions. Findings Factors that influence community willingness to participate in a BR, encumbrances facing the community and possible policy solutions to enhance CP in a BR in Asia were the three themes that emerged from the review. The factors that influence community willingness were categorised into the level of participants in education, perceived waste of time, no confidence of the outcome, okay with current management, land owned, household size and gender factors. Research limitations/implications This paper’s recommendations were based on empirical literature reviewed systematically but do not compromise the robustness concerning BR management practices in Asia. It was established that to enrich the findings of this research, regional studies of CP in BR should be conducted, including primary source data using the mixed methods paradigm. Practical implications As part of the practical implications, recommendations were highlighted to enhance CP in BR. Also, the paper suggested that BR administrators should have two-way communication mechanisms, cross-sectoral participation and collaboration, implement locally-based solutions through full engagement of community members in decision-making. Originality/value This is probably the first systematic review paper on BR management practices in Asia. Filling the theoretical gap via systematic review was part of the significant contribution to CP in Asian BR.

Adoption of crop insurance in Ghana: an application of the complementary log-log truncated Poisson double-hurdle model

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwame Asiam Addey ◽  
John Baptist D. Jatoe ◽  
George Tsey-Mensah Kwadzo
Keyword(s):  
Crop Insurance ◽  
Hurdle Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Double Hurdle Model ◽  
Rice Farmers ◽  
Normal Regression ◽  
Insurance Programme ◽  
Truncated Normal ◽  
Double Hurdle ◽  
Insurance Decisions

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to identify the factors that influence rice farmers' decisions to adopt crop insurance and premium payments (willingness to pay [WTP] amounts). The paper also demonstrates the usefulness of the complementary log-log (cloglog) truncated Poisson double-hurdle model as an alternative hurdle model.Design/methodology/approachThe study first investigated the nature of the dependent variable, which had non-normal residuals and was overdispersed. The probit truncated normal regression double-hurdle model was tried but it failed the normality and homoscedasticity tests; hence, the cloglog truncated Poisson double-hurdle model was employed in the study.FindingsAn estimated 61% of respondents would purchase crop insurance, despite farmers not having prior experience with this product. Amongst others, the factors that influence insurance adoption amongst rice farmers are the share of rice in total income, reliability perception of crop insurance schemes and the probability of failure to achieve target yields. The latter helps the authors to address adverse selection, a central issue to the viability of such an insurance programme. The determinants of farmers' WTP are also identified.Research limitations/implicationsSampling was limited to farmers using irrigation and living in one region of Ghana, which may limit the study’s wider applicability.Originality/valueAs far as the authors are aware, this study is the first to select the appropriate hurdle model based on established properties of the dependent variable on this topic – crop insurance decisions.

scholarly journals Advantages and potential challenges of data management in e-maintenance

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arian Razmi-Farooji ◽  
Hanna Kropsu-Vehkaperä ◽  
Janne Härkönen ◽  
Harri Haapasalo
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Maintenance Systems ◽  
Industry Leader ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to understand data management challenges in e-maintenance systems from a holistically viewpoint through summarizing the earlier scattered research in the field, and second, to present a conceptual approach for addressing these challenges in practice. Design/methodology/approach The study is realized as a combination of a literature review and by the means of analyzing the practices on an industry leader in manufacturing and maintenance services. Findings This research provides a general understanding over data management challenges in e-maintenance and summarizes their associated proposed solutions. In addition, this paper lists and exemplifies different types and sources of data which can be collected in e-maintenance, across different organizational levels. Analyzing the data management practices of an e-maintenance industry leader provides a conceptual approach to address identified challenges in practice. Research limitations/implications Since this paper is based on studying the practices of a single company, it might be limited to generalize the results. Future research topics can focus on each of mentioned data management challenges and also validate the applicability of presented model in other companies and industries. Practical implications Understanding the e-maintenance-related challenges helps maintenance managers and other involved stakeholders in e-maintenance systems to better solve the challenges. Originality/value The so-far literature on e-maintenance has been studied with narrow focus to data and data management in e-maintenance appears as one of the less studied topics in the literature. This research paper contributes to e-maintenance by highlighting the deficiencies of the discussion surrounding the perspectives of data management in e-maintenance by studying all common data management challenges and listing different types of data which need to be acquired in e-maintenance systems.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document