IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v21y2010i5p428-442.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Post-privatization performance and organizational changes: Case studies from Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Tsamenyi, Mathew
  • Onumah, Joseph
  • Tetteh-Kumah, Edmund

Abstract

A significant number of less developed countries (LDCs), including Ghana, have embraced the World Bank/IMF led economic reforms. Ghana has been implementing these reforms since the early 1980. One of the conditions of the reforms is the privatization of former state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Such privatization activities have however generated debates among academics, practitioners, and policy makers. Research findings so far have been mixed. This paper analyzes the performance of two large privatized companies in Ghana. Both companies have been paraded by the Ghanaian authorities and the international financial community as success stories of privatization. Our objective is to examine how and why these firms have been claimed to be successful. Drawing on the dimensions of the balanced scorecard, we examine the performance of the firms from five main perspectives—financial, customers, internal business process, learning and growth, and the community. The analysis is based on data gathered from diverse sources, namely, semi-structured interviews and discussions with managers of the selected companies and with personnel from key government departments, and analysis of internal and external documents. We conclude that, overall the performance of both organizations improved after privatization under all the performance dimensions examined. These improvements were also accompanied by certain organizational changes, including changes in the accounting and control systems. However we are not claiming that all privatization programs in Ghana have been successful. In fact there are stories in the Ghanaian media of several other privatization failures in the country. Instead what we have demonstrated is the need to explain the performance of privatized firms beyond the myopic macro-level and financial analysis which has been widely adopted by the international financial community and policy makers and we encourage other researchers to adopt such multidimensional approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • Tsamenyi, Mathew & Onumah, Joseph & Tetteh-Kumah, Edmund, 2010. "Post-privatization performance and organizational changes: Case studies from Ghana," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 428-442.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:21:y:2010:i:5:p:428-442
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2008.01.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235408000178
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2008.01.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Megginson, William L & Nash, Robert C & van Randenborgh, Matthias, 1994. "The Financial and Operating Performance of Newly Privatized Firms: An International Empirical Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(2), pages 403-452, June.
    2. Boycko, Maxim & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1996. "A Theory of Privatisation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 106(435), pages 309-319, March.
    3. Ogden, S. G., 1995. "Transforming frameworks of accountability: The case of water privatization," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 20(2-3), pages 193-218.
    4. Hopwood, Anthony G., 1987. "The archeology of accounting systems," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 207-234, April.
    5. Zahirul Hoque & Trevor Hopper, 1997. "Political and Industrial Relations Turbulence, Competition and Budgeting in the Nationalised Jute Mills of Bangladesh," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 125-143.
    6. Kikeri, Sunita & Nellis, John & Shirley, Mary, 1994. "Privatization: Lessons from Market Economies," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 9(2), pages 241-272, July.
    7. Ogden, S. G., 1997. "Accounting for organizational performance: The construction of the customer in the privatized water industry," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 529-556, August.
    8. Kikeri, S., 1998. "Privatization and Labour. What Happens to Workers When Governments Divest?," Papers 396, World Bank - Technical Papers.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Z-John Liu, 2013. "Operating Performance of Public Banks in Taiwan after Privatization," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 5(8), pages 424-433.
    2. Claudia Nyarko Mensah & Lamini Dauda & Kofi Baah Boamah & Muhammad Salman, 2021. "One district one factory policy of Ghana, a transition to a low-carbon habitable economy?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 703-721, January.
    3. Bakre, Owolabi M. & Lauwo, Sarah, 2016. "Privatisation and accountability in a “crony capitalist” Nigerian state," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 45-58.
    4. Ifrah Quais & Danish Ahmed Siddiqui, 2017. "Measuring the Performance of Logistics Industry in the Context of Karachi," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 9(5), pages 24-34.
    5. Hopper, Trevor & Lassou, Philippe & Soobaroyen, Teerooven, 2017. "Globalisation, accounting and developing countries," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 125-148.
    6. Mehmet Ugur & David Sunderland (ed.), 2011. "Does Economic Governance Matter?," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14356.
    7. Erik G. Hansen & Stefan Schaltegger, 2016. "The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard: A Systematic Review of Architectures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 193-221, January.
    8. Alawattage, Chandana & Azure, John De-Clerk, 2021. "Behind the World Bank’s ringing declarations of “social accountability”: Ghana’s public financial management reform," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    9. Kuo, Szu-Yu & Lin, Pei-Chun & Lu, Chin-Shan, 2017. "The effects of dynamic capabilities, service capabilities, competitive advantage, and organizational performance in container shipping," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 356-371.
    10. Morales, Jérémy & Sponem, Samuel, 2017. "You too can have a critical perspective! 25 years of Critical Perspectives on Accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 149-166.
    11. Rahaman, Abu Shiraz, 2010. "Critical accounting research in Africa: Whence and whither," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 420-427.
    12. Josiah, Jairos & Burton, Bruce & Gallhofer, Sonja & Haslam, Jim, 2010. "Accounting for privatisation in Africa? Reflections from a critical interdisciplinary perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 374-389.
    13. Harney, Nicholas DeMaria, 2011. "Accounting for African migrants in Naples, Italy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(7), pages 644-653.
    14. Rozenfeld, Gabriela Cecylia & Scapens, Robert William, 2021. "Forming mixed-type inter-organisational relationships in Sub-Saharan Africa: The role of institutional logics, social identities and institutionally embedded agency," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Cláudio de Araújo Wanderley & John Cullen & Mathew Tsamenyi, 2011. "Electricity Sector Reforms and the Tariff Review Process in Brazil," Chapters, in: Mehmet Ugur & David Sunderland (ed.), Does Economic Governance Matter?, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Claessens,Constantijn A. & Djankov, Simeon, 1998. "Politicians and firms in seven central and eastern European countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1954, The World Bank.
    2. J. David Brown & John Earle & Almos Telegdy, 2005. "Does Privatization Hurt Workers? Lessons from Comprehensive Manufacturing Firm Panel Data in Hungary, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine," CERT Discussion Papers 0509, Centre for Economic Reform and Transformation, Heriot Watt University.
    3. Andreyeva Tatiana, 2003. "Company Performance in Ukraine: What Governs its Success," EERC Working Paper Series 03-01e, EERC Research Network, Russia and CIS.
    4. Yu, Wusheng & Jensen, Trine Vig, 2003. "Trade Preferences, WTO Negotiations and the LDCs: the case of the "Everything But Arms" Initiative," Conference papers 331124, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    5. Richard B. Goud Jr., 2002. "Ownership and Firm Performance: Evidence from 25 Countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union," Development and Comp Systems 0207002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Bozec, Richard, 2004. "L’analyse comparative de la performance entre les entreprises publiques et les entreprises privées : le problème de mesure et son impact sur les résultats," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 80(4), pages 619-654, Décembre.
    7. Barberis, Nicholas & Maxim Boycko & Andrei Shleifer & Natalia Tsukanova, 1996. "How Does Privatization Work? Evidence from the Russian Shops," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(4), pages 764-790, August.
    8. Chen, Ruiyuan & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane & Wang, He, 2017. "Do state and foreign ownership affect investment efficiency? Evidence from privatizations," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 408-421.
    9. Wali Ullah, 2017. "Evolving corporate governance and firms performance: evidence from Japanese firms," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 1-33, February.
    10. Gong, Stephen X.H. & Cullinane, Kevin & Firth, Michael, 2012. "The impact of airport and seaport privatization on efficiency and performance: A review of the international evidence and implications for developing countries," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 37-47.
    11. Alawattage, Chandana & Alsaid, Loai Ali, 2018. "Accounting and structural reforms: A case study of Egyptian electricity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 15-35.
    12. Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Luis Alfonso Dau, 2009. "Structural Reform and Firm Exports," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 479-507, September.
    13. Ferry, Laurence & Zakaria, Zamzulaila & Zakaria, Zarina & Slack, Richard, 2018. "Framing public governance in Malaysia: Rhetorical appeals through accrual accounting," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 170-183.
    14. Zhi Wang & Miao Yu, 2022. "Political embeddedness and firms' growth," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(1), pages 127-153, February.
    15. Dyck, I. J. Alexander & Wruck, Karen Hopper, 1998. "Organization structure, contract design and government ownership: A clinical analysis of German privatization1," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 265-299, September.
    16. Hamdi Ben‐Nasr & Narjess Boubakri & Jean‐Claude Cosset, 2012. "The Political Determinants of the Cost of Equity: Evidence from Newly Privatized Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3), pages 605-646, June.
    17. Brown, J. David & Earle, John S. & Vakhitov, Volodymyr, 2006. "Wages, layoffs, and privatization: Evidence from Ukraine," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 272-294, June.
    18. Florencio López-de-Silanes, 1997. "Determinants of Privatization Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 965-1025.
    19. Chris Hunt & Dunstan, Keitha, 2008. "Why do Queensland Urban Water Entities Resist the Adoption of User Pays Pricing?," Working Paper Series 3999, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    20. Tatahi, Motasam, 2010. "Enterprise Performance, Privatization and the Role of Ownership in Italy," MPRA Paper 27059, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:21:y:2010:i:5:p:428-442. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.