IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/buogeo/v26y2014i26p10n6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of state- business relations in the performance of Zambia’s food processing sub-sector

Author

Listed:
  • Hampwaye Godfrey

    (University of Zambia, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, School of Natural Sciences, Lusaka; phone: +26 977 806 063; University of Johannesburg, School of Tourism and Hospitality, Faculty of Management, South Africa;)

  • Jeppesen Soeren

    (Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Department of Intercultural Communication and Management, Centre for Business and Development Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark; phone: +45 381 533 63;)

Abstract

In ensuring growth and development collaborative State-Business relations (SBRs) matters, and with economic growth comes increasing levels of employment, options for poverty reduction and hence more equitable development. Whereas it is known that SBR matters at a macro-economic level, the concept of SBR has also been employed in a more or less all-encompassing way in the literature. Accordingly, while it is clear that SBRs work, there is lack knowledge about which dimensions of SBRs are the most important. Due to the continued importance of agriculture in many developing countries, processing of the food produced in the sector is a key manufacturing activity of high economic importance to many economies. Ensuring collaborative SBRs in the food processing industry is therefore of interest to growth and development, particularly as it is a sector about which little is known about the role of SBRs. The paper attempts to examine how and why SBRs matter to and influence the growth and performance of local owned firms in the food processing sub-sector in Zambia. In particular, the paper analyses the roles and influence of government regulations and policies compared to those of business associations for the performance of the food processing sector in Zambia. The paper draws on primary data from a survey of firms in the food processing sector which was conducted between 2013 and 2014. It is shown that while the majority of the Zambian food processing firms experienced growth over the last five years, with increased employment and in a number of cases growing earnings, this seems to have happened in spite of a business environment which is not particularly supportive. The firms’ experience is that the SBRs mainly constitute institutional barriers to the performance of firms and highlight that formal government institutions and polices are incapable of assisting the firms and in most cases government institutions formulate and enact insufficient support schemes.

Suggested Citation

  • Hampwaye Godfrey & Jeppesen Soeren, 2014. "The role of state- business relations in the performance of Zambia’s food processing sub-sector," Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Sciendo, vol. 26(26), pages 1-10, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:vrs:buogeo:v:26:y:2014:i:26:p:10:n:6
    DOI: 10.2478/bog-2014-0046
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/bog-2014-0046
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/bog-2014-0046?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael W Hansen & Henrik Schaumburg-Müller, 2010. "Firms in Developing Countries: A Theoretical Probe into the Borderland of Business Studies and Development Studies," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 22(2), pages 197-216, April.
    2. Bates, Robert H & Collier, Paul, 1995. "The Politics and Economics of Policy Reform in Zambia," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 4(1), pages 115-143, May.
    3. Peter Kragelund, 2009. "Knocking on a Wide-open Door: Chinese Investments in Africa," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(122), pages 479-497, December.
    4. World Bank, 2009. "Zambia - Commercial Value Chains in Zambian Agriculture : Do Smallholders Benefit?," World Bank Publications - Reports 3075, The World Bank Group.
    5. James G. Copestake, 1998. "Agricultural Credit Management in Zambia: Business Development, Social Security or Patronage?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 16(1), pages 5-28, March.
    6. Abdel-Latif Abla & Schmitz Hubert, 2010. "Growth Alliances: Insights from Egypt," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(4), pages 1-29, December.
    7. Kunal Sen & Dirk Te Velde, 2009. "State Business Relations and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(8), pages 1267-1283.
    8. Handley,Antoinette, 2008. "Business and the State in Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521886055, October.
    9. Abdel-Latif, Abla & Schmitz, Hubert, 2010. "Growth Alliances: Insights from Egypt," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(4), pages 1-27, December.
    10. Handley,Antoinette, 2008. "Business and the State in Africa," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521713719, October.
    11. Taylor Scott D., 2012. "Influence without Organizations: State-Business Relations and their Impact on Business Environments in Contemporary Africa," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 1-37, April.
    12. Taylor, Scott D., 2012. "Influence without Organizations: State-Business Relations and their Impact on Business Environments in Contemporary Africa," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 1-35, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Burhan Can Karahasan & Fırat Bilgel, 2020. "State–Business Relations, Financial Access and Firm Performance: A Causal Mediation Analysis," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(7), pages 1033-1074, October.
    2. Taylor Scott D., 2012. "Influence without Organizations: State-Business Relations and their Impact on Business Environments in Contemporary Africa," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 1-37, April.
    3. Mohamed Ismail Sabry, 2017. "Informal state–business connections, institutions, and economic growth," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 34(2), pages 233-258, August.
    4. Pritish Behuria, 2019. "African development and the marginalisation of domestic capitalists," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-115-19, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    5. Rougier, Eric, 2016. "“Fire in Cairo”: Authoritarian–Redistributive Social Contracts, Structural Change, and the Arab Spring," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 148-171.
    6. Jerven , Morten & Austin , Gareth & Green, Erik & Uche , Chibuike & Frankema , Ewout & Fourie , Johan & Inikori , Joseph & Moradi , Alexander & Hillbom , Ellen, 2012. "Moving Forward in African Economic History: Bridging the Gap Between Methods and Sources," African Economic History Working Paper 1/2012, African Economic History Network.
    7. Fairfield Tasha, 2015. "Structural power in comparative political economy: perspectives from policy formulation in Latin America," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(3), pages 411-441, October.
    8. Frederick Bird, 2016. "The Practice of Mining and Inclusive Wealth Development in Developing Countries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(4), pages 631-643, June.
    9. Pritish Behuria, 2019. "The comparative political economy of plastic bag bans in East Africa: why implementation has varied in Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 372019, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    10. Melia, Elvis, 2020. "African jobs in the digital era: Export options with a focus on online labour," IDOS Discussion Papers 3/2020, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    11. Ziaja, Sebastian, 2017. "More donors, more democracy," Working Papers 0640, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    12. Chekir Hamouda & Diwan Ishac, 2014. "Crony Capitalism in Egypt," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 5(2), pages 177-211, December.
    13. Handley, Antoinette, 2014. "Varieties of capitalists? The middle class, private sector and economic outcomes in Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series 101, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    14. Sen, Kunal, 2013. "The Political Dynamics of Economic Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 71-86.
    15. Antoinette Handley, 2014. "Varieties of Capitalists?: The Middle Class, Private Sector and Economic Outcomes in Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-101, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph, 2017. "Cultivating greater self-confidence in African management research," MPRA Paper 79751, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2017.
    17. Papaioannou, Theo & Watkins, Andrew & Mugwagwa, Julius & Kale, Dinar, 2016. "To Lobby or to Partner? Investigating the Shifting Political Strategies of Biopharmaceutical Industry Associations in Innovation Systems of South Africa and India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 66-79.
    18. Ferdinand Eibl & Adeel Malik, 2016. "The Politics of Partial Liberalization: Cronyism and Non-Tariff Protection in Mubarak's Egypt," CSAE Working Paper Series 2016-27, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    19. Börzel Tanja A. & Hönke Jana & Thauer Christian R., 2012. "Does it really take the state?," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 14(3), pages 1-34, October.
    20. Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Lu, Yindfa, 2018. "Historical Evolution of Entrepreneurial Development in the Global South: The Case of Ghana, 1957-2010," MPRA Paper 88179, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:vrs:buogeo:v:26:y:2014:i:26:p:10:n:6. 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: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    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.