PurposeThis study explores the perceptions, motivations and barriers influencing green career choices among National Service personnel in Ghana, highlighting green careers as key to addressing environmental sustainability and youth unemployment in lower-middle-income contexts.Design/methodology/approachUsing qualitative research design and interpretivist approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 National Service personnel in Ghana to provide an in-depth understanding of green career choices. Thematic analysis was performed with NVivo 15.FindingsThe study found green careers to be understood as value-driven roles focused on sustainability and environmental impact. Participants' perceptions were shaped by academic exposure, social networks, workshops and social media. Motivations included environmental commitment, social and global impact, innovation and international prospects. Barriers such as financial constraints, limited opportunities, unsupportive cultural attitudes and lack of awareness shaped how individuals navigated green career choices.Originality/valueThis study reframes green careers as socially constructed identities shaped by discourse, values and relational dynamics. It contributes new insight into how young people conceptualise and negotiate green career aspirations, extending career development theory beyond structural explanations.

Despite the consensus in the literature that design thinking practices spark innovation, research has yet to examine the creative confidence outcomes of design thinking practices. Integrating the Resource-Based Theory and the Componential Theory of Creativity, we hypothesised a parallel mediation model in which design thinking practices are associated with creative confidence via collaboration and diversity, and creativity. Based on a sample of 419 tertiary students in a Ghanaian University, it was found that design thinking facilitates students' creative confidence. Also, collaboration and diversity partially mediate the relationship between design thinking and creative confidence. The study also found support for the mediating effect of creativity. The findings underscore the importance of integrating design thinking principles into educational curricula to cultivate a culture of innovation and prepare students for the challenges of the 21st-century workforce.

Teacher professional development (TPD) has garnered increasing global attention and significant financial investments in recent years, yet empirical studies examining its direct influence on teaching quality remain scarce. Framed around the Theory of Performance, this study aimed to bridge this gap by exploring how TPD experiences influenced quality teaching at the second cycle level of the Ghanaian education ladder. The study employed a phenomenological design using 42 senior high school teachers selected from one region in Ghana through the purposive sampling technique. Participants took part in in-depth focus group discussions and follow-up classroom performance observations, after which data were analysed following a thematic analytical technique. The study revealed that while TPD experiences improved instructional delivery and classroom management aspects of quality teaching, their impact on the content knowledge aspect of quality teaching was less evident. Given that globally, prioritising teachers' content knowledge in continuous professional development programmes could help countries achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, which emphasises, among other things, quality education for all, the study recommended that TPD programmes in Ghana should place greater emphasis on improving the content knowledge aspect of quality teaching.

Patient well-being is a fundamental aspect of healthcare that encompasses physical, mental, and emotional health. Ensuring patient well-being not only improves individual outcomes but also enhances the overall healthcare provision process. This paper explores the dimensions of co-creation in healthcare provision that facilitate patient well-being. Through a comprehensive analysis, the study highlights the importance of a holistic approach in promoting and sustaining patient well-being in modern healthcare settings. The study involves a qualitative approach using an interview guide. Twenty interviews were conducted with patients of a Clinic based in Ghana in the malaria treatment process. Findings revealed that technological application, patient empowerment, service design, and healthcare providers' relationships facilitate patient well-being in the healthcare provision.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine ethical dilemmas in teaching and assessment (TA) in higher education institutions (HEIs) and their connections to academic integrity (AI), institutional policies (IPs), oversight mechanisms (OMs) and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4 and SDG 16). It proposes an integrated conceptual framework linking theory, policy and practice for advancing ethical and sustainable academic systems.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of 31 peer-reviewed studies (2004-2025) were conducted. Studies were categorized by period, theme and region to trace the temporal and thematic evolution of AI scholarship and its alignment with SDGs.FindingsFour evolutionary phases emerged, namely, foundational case studies (2004-2010), reframing misconduct as an institutional issue; expansion and technological response (2011-2018), focusing on digital assessments and heuristic reasoning; theoretical integration (2019-2021), embedding exemplification and institutional theories; and systemic and SDG-aligned inquiries (2022-2025), linking integrity, governance, ethics and sustainable development. The proposed framework illustrates how IP, OM and the ethics of TA shape AI.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper relies on secondary sources. Future research should use longitudinal and comparative designs to test policy effectiveness and contextual differences.Practical implicationsHEIs should institutionalize honour codes, establish independent integrity committees, use transparent reporting channels and integrate ethical training into curricula to strengthen accountability and institutional credibility.Social implicationsStrengthening AI enhances trust in HEIs, reduces inequities and fosters fair learning outcomes. These improvements contribute directly to SDG 4 (inclusive, equitable and quality education) and SDG 16 (peaceful, just and strong institutions).Originality/valueThis paper shifts the focus from individual misconduct to systemic governance, offering a novel SDG-aligned conceptual framework that integrates cognitive, cultural and institutional dimensions of AI.

The environmental impacts of hotels have heightened public interest, resulting in an increased focus on their sustainable practices. This study investigates the effect of institutional pressures and green values on the sustainable performance of hotels through green innovation. Quantitative data were collected from a sample of 310 hotels and relationships assessed using PROCESS MACRO in SPSS (v.26). The analysis confirmed that institutional pressure and top management green values significantly predict sustainable performance. Moreover, green innovation was found to partially mediate the effect of institutional pressure and top management green values on sustainable performance. This paper provides a solid ground for giving a comprehensive explanation of the driving force behind organizations' adoption of green innovation practices and how it enhances the sustainable performance of organizations.

The purpose of this study was to examine the intention to adopt the WhatsApp group as a source of business financing. The study incorporated anxiety, perceived content quality (PCQ), perceived system quality (PSQ), and image into the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to forecast the adoption level in WhatsApp groups based on these variables. Employing a quantitative research approach, data was gathered through an online questionnaire from 362 respondents in Ghana. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis using Amos 27. Findings revealed positive effects of image, perceived content quality, and perceived ease of use on perceived usefulness. Additionally, the study identified that perceived system quality had a significant effect on perceived ease of use, while perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness had significant effects on attitude towards use. Also, perceived usefulness and attitude towards use had significant positive effects on behavioural intention. Finally, the study found that attitude toward use played a partial mediating role in the relationships between perceived usefulness and behavioural intention to use. This empirical paper is one of the first to have tested the TAM in the users' intention to adopt the WhatsApp group as a source of business financing.

PurposeThis study investigated the impact of entrepreneurship education on the international entrepreneurship intention of the university students while considering the mediating roles of entrepreneurship alertness, proactive personality, innovative behaviour and the moderating role of global mindset in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe research employs a survey methodology, utilising a structured questionnaire for data collection. The study specifically concentrates on students enrolled at Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) in Ghana, drawing its sample from six academic programmes within the university. Data analysis is conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe findings of this research revealed that entrepreneurship education exerts a positive influence on the international entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, entrepreneurship alertness acts as a mediator in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and innovative behaviour. Similarly, a proactive personality serves as a mediating factor between entrepreneurship education and innovative behaviour. Moreover, innovative behaviour operates as a mediator in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and international entrepreneurship intention. Additionally, a global mindset plays a crucial moderating role in the connection between entrepreneurship education and international entrepreneurship intention.Originality/valueThis study makes a significant contribution to the field by shedding light on the mediating roles of proactive personality, entrepreneurial alertness, innovative behaviour and global mindset moderating the relationship between entrepreneurship education and international entrepreneurship intention. These insights offer fresh perspectives on the complex dynamics at play in the realm of entrepreneurship education and its impact on students' intentions for the international entrepreneurship.

While Innovation Education holds significant potential for driving economic development, its specific impact on Learner Innovative Behavior within Ghanaian higher education remains unexplored due to a lack of research in this area. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to explain the relationship between innovation education and learner innovative behaviourbehaviour, and the role of entrepreneurial alertness and university support. We used a purposive sampling technique to select a sample the (N = 574). Findings revealed a positive relationship between innovation education and learner innovative behaviourbehaviour, with entrepreneurial alertness and university support playing critical roles in fostering this relationship. The findings imply that solely relying on innovation education may not sufficiently impact learner innovative behaviour. The study, therefore, recommends integrating entrepreneurial alertness and university support to enhance innovation-oriented learning through innovation-focused curricula. By investing in innovation education and supporting student innovators, universities can contribute to the growth of local economies and address broader societal challenges.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine students’ innovation capability in virtual team projects from the COVID-19 pandemic era. Design/methodology/approach The researchers conducted an empirical study and the data were collected from a total of 308 participants engaging in virtual team projects. A structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the relationship of the conceptual framework. Findings The findings showed that virtual team culture positively influenced propensity to innovate. Also, knowledge management and communication influenced propensity to innovate through the mediation of support for innovation. Practical implications Developing a strategy for propensity to innovate in any organization demands that project team members should be able to seamlessly communicate. Developing knowledge management, communication and support for innovation strategy in a virtual team may prepare an organization for permanently different post-pandemic events and the future turbulent business environment. Originality/value This study highlights innovation capability for the propensity to innovate, a topic that is not widely researched, especially in the context of virtual teams.

Purpose This study aims to assess how employee innovativeness, employee self-efficacy and customer-centricity intervene in the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational competitiveness of insurance firms. Design/methodology/approach This study was a survey, with data collected using a structured questionnaire. The population was the insurance firms in Ghana, and the target respondents were employees. The sample comprises 218 employees drawn from 19 insurers. Data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings This study concludes that transformational leadership had a direct effect on organizational competitiveness. Employee innovativeness partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational competitiveness. Employee self-efficacy moderated the effect of transformational leadership on employee innovativeness. Finally, customer-centricity moderated the effect of employee innovativeness on the organizational competitiveness of insurance firms. Research limitations/implications Future studies should pay particular attention to the individual dimensions of transformational leadership (individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation and idealized influence), in combination with the other constructs studied. Practical implications Insurance is a service industry, which sells mostly unsolicited products. Customer-centricity is therefore very crucial in achieving organizational competitiveness. Attention should also be paid to transformational leadership and employee self-efficacy, as they enhanced employee innovativeness needed for competitive advantage. Originality/value This study contributed to the understanding of the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational competitiveness, by identifying employee innovativeness, employee self-efficacy and customer centricity, as intervening variables.

The outbreak of COVID-19 severely affected the achievement of the sustainable development goals. The American Hospital Association estimated an average loss of US$50.7 billion per month for US hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the less developed economies, it costs about US$52 billion per month to effectively manage COVID-19. This current study, therefore, sought to assess how risk management practices could moderate the relationship between supply chain risk and healthcare delivery, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A survey research design was adopted, with a quantitative research approach. The study adopted purposive sampling technique to select 216 respondents (senior/management members from procurement, stores/inventory, pharmacy, and administration) of the selected public hospitals. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was run in Amos (v.23), to estimate the path coefficients. The study concludes that supply chain risk had a significant negative effect on healthcare delivery among public hospitals in Ghana. Also, supply chain risk management had a significant positive effect on healthcare delivery among public hospitals in Ghana. Finally, it was concluded that risk management practices positively moderated the negative effect on supply chain risk on healthcare delivery.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the influence of human resource management (HRM) practices on the level of innovativeness observed within the service sector of Ghana, taking into account the potential mediating role of innovation capability.Design/methodology/approachThe research used a quantitative methodology to fulfill the study's objectives. A Web-based survey questionnaire was designed to gather data from a sample of 168 respondents, selected through a convenient sampling technique. The proposed model was tested using the Process Macro Model 4 by Hayes in SPSS version 26.FindingsThe study's outcomes indicate that there is no statistically significant correlation between HRM practices and firm innovativeness. However, the mediating role of innovation capability was observed to fully account for the relationship between human HRM practices and firm innovativeness. Additionally, a positive and significant association was identified between HRM practices and innovation capability, as well as between innovation capability and firm innovativeness.Research limitations/implicationsIt is important to note that the findings are limited to the perspective of employees within the service sector of Ghana. Therefore, future research could explore the manufacturing and/or extraction industries in Ghana to obtain a more comprehensive understanding. Furthermore, a larger sample size could be considered in future studies.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study presents a novel examination of the hypothesized model within the Ghanaian context, providing valuable insights into the relationship between HRM practices, innovation capability and firm innovativeness.

This article explores the link between value co-creation, a project's success and satisfaction of the project's stakeholders. It also looks at how a project's success mediates the relationship between value co-creation and the stakeholder's satisfaction. A quantitative approach with an online questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 140 respondents in Ghana. Data were analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that value co-creation positively and significantly relates to a project's success and stakeholder satisfaction. The findings also support that a project's success mediates the impact of value co-creation on the stakeholders' satisfaction. Based on these findings, we suggest that project managers be critical about the type of value co-creation strategy they will use to engage project stakeholders. This would apply when adopting the value co-creation approach to manage their projects while not sacrificing success. This study focused on the impact of value co-creation on a project's success and its stakeholder's satisfaction. The survey data were collected only to evaluate the overall effect of value-co-creation on the success and stakeholder's satisfaction of projects. The adoption and implementation of value co-creation in project management may enhance the definition of the project's scope, performance specifications and other criteria used to measure the success of a project, to meet the needs of stakeholders. By empirically presenting a project's success as a key mediator in shaping the effect of adopting value co-creation in project management on the stakeholder's satisfaction, this study laid a foundation for further theoretical explorations involving value co-creation in project management.

Purpose This study explored the moderating role of organizational culture in the relationship between organizational leadership and organizational culture in the banking sector. Design/methodology/approach The sample comprised of 331 full-time bank employees in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The reliability and validity of the data was tested using confirmatory factor analysis, with structural equation modeling as the main means of analysis, run using Amos (V23) in the data analysis. Findings The study concluded that all four leadership styles (transformational, transactional, servant and sustainable leadership styles) had a positive effect on banks' efficiency. Organizational culture also had a direct positive effect on banks' efficiency in Ghana. The study concludes that organizational culture positively moderated the relationship between organizational leadership and organizational efficiency in the banking industry. This implies organizational culture strengthens the relationship between organizational leadership and organizational efficiency in the banking industry. Research limitations/implications – A limitation of this study was to consider organizational culture as a composite variable, instead of considering the effects of the individual dimensions (clan culture, adhocracy culture, hierarchy culture and market culture). Although using the composite variable was not theoretically wrong, each of the four dimensions had unique characteristics and may influence organizational outcomes differently, and should have been considered. Practical implications To achieve strategic organizational outcomes, leaders are to comprehend the various leaderships styles and how they could be transformed to influence organizational outcomes. Originality/value Past studies have paid limited attention to the interaction between organizational leadership and organizational culture, and how this affects organizational efficiency.

The study examined the effect of innovation education on entrepreneurial intentions among postgraduate students and the role of innovation competence and gender. The study was a survey, with data collected using a structured questionnaire. The study used Master’s students of Akenten-Appiah Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), Ghana. The sample includes 370 Master’s students from 10 faculties of the university. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The study found that innovation education has significant positive influence on entrepreneurial intention. Innovation competence was found to mediate the relationship between innovation education and entrepreneurial intention. Finally, gender moderated the relationship between innovation education and innovation competence and also moderated the relationship between innovation competence and entrepreneurial intention. Assessing the moderating role of gender between innovation education and innovation competence, as well as, innovation competence and entrepreneurial intention, represents novel contributions of this study.

Environmental protection and sustainable development are inextricably linked. This linkage is particularly crucial for North Africa, where the use of carbon-intensive energies has created environmental and economic challenges. Amazingly, limited studies on the connection between energy consumption and environmental quality has been conducted to help with policy options to minimize the above menace in the region. Inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, this study contributed to filling this gap by examining the energy consumption–CO2 emission nexus in North Africa for the period 1990 to 2018. In order to account for cross-sectional dependence, endogeneity, and slope heterogeneity that are mostly ignored by some conventional econometric techniques, this exploration adopted second generation econometric methods that are robust to the aforestated issues in its analysis. From the results, the studied panel was heterogeneous and cross-sectionally correlated. Also, the investigated series were first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long-run. The cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) and the dynamic common correlated effects mean group (DCCEMG) estimators were adopted to explore the elasticities of the explanatory variables and from the results, energy consumption worsened environmental quality in the region due to its positive influence on CO2 emissions. Also, urbanization and economic growth increased the rate of CO2 emissions in the countries. On the causal connections amid the series, bidirectional causalities between energy consumption and CO2 emissions, between urbanization and CO2 emission, between economic growth and CO2 emissions, and between urbanization and energy consumption were unraveled. Finally, unidirectional causalities from economic growth to energy consumption, and from economic growth to urbanization were confirmed. It is recommended that countries in North Africa should shift to the consumption of clean energies to help them attain low-carbon economy. Unavailability of data for some periods was the major limitation of the study. Therefore, in future when such data become available, similar explorations could be conducted to confirm the robustness of the study’s results.

Purpose: The study assessed how owner-managers’ psychological attributes (attitude towards behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control) influenced sustainability reporting among SMEs. Design/methodology/approach: The study was based on cross-sectional data gathered using a structured questionnaire as the research instrument. The population of the study comprised SMEs in Kumasi metro of Ghana. The study focused on 213 SMEs, and respondents were owner-managers. The data analysis was based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) run in Amos (v.23). Findings: Owner-managers’ attitude towards behavior had a significant positive influence on sustainability reporting among SMEs. Similarly, SME owner-managers’ subjective norms positively influenced sustainability reporting. Also, SME owner-managers’ perceived behavior control positively influenced sustainability reporting. Among these variables, however, attitude towards behavior had the greatest impact. Research limitations/implications: The study used a closed-ended questionnaire to solicit responses from respondents. Such a questionnaire acknowledges the presence of inherent problems of not permitting respondents to explicitly express their own views as they may wish. Practical implications: The findings of the study have an important implication for considerations by the government in trying to encourage owner-managers to adopt or improve sustainability reporting behavior among SMEs in Ghana. Social implications: This study contributes to solving the societal need for sustainability by identifying how owner-managers’ psychological characteristics influence sustainability reporting. Originality/value: The theory of planned behavior has been used widely in a number of studies, but very little is known about how it could predict sustainability reporting among SMEs, especially in developing countries.

There is now intense competition among tertiary education providers due to proliferation of private and public universities offering online and offline courses. The role of marketing is becoming more important among universities as competition in the environment is getting more intense. One main approach that can facilitate the universities marketing activities is understanding what determines students' online course preference. This study aims at examining the factors that influence student's preference for online education. The purpose of this research is two fold: to investigate the number of attributes that are important for a student in opting for pursuing online course and to help universities marketing effort and the understanding of what determines a student's preference for online education. Conjoint analysis was used to investigate the number of attributes in prospective students in Ghana and Iran. The results indicate that the four most important determinants of preference for online course were course suitability, quality of teaching, quality of the course and library services which are important for education strategist to consider when developing and rolling out marketing campaigns and programmes. Keywords: Online education; Course selection; Conjoint analysis