Browsing by Author "Ismail, I. J."

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    A review of the forms, rationale, and challenges of supplier development in public procurement: lessons for public buyers in Tanzania
    (The Future University, 2021) Changalima, I. A.; Ismail, I. J.; Mchopa, A. D
    This article synthesizes current insights into supplier management practices that professional buyers can apply in the public procurement context. Specifcally, it discusses the practices, rationale, and challenges associated with implementing supplier development as an important activity within supplier management practices. Drawing from the literature, the main arguments are on the applicability of indirect supplier development practices in the public procurement context. Therefore, it is concluded that public buyers can consider applying these practices in public organizations. However, caution should be exercised regarding the legal and regulatory structure that governs the country’s public procurement system. It further recommends empirical studies to be done on supplier development practices for local suppliers in specifc public procurement projects.
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    Adoption discrepancies of activity-based costing among the manufacturing SMEs in the developed and developing countries: empirical literature review
    (International Journal Publishing House, 2020) Ismail, I. J.; Molela, G. F.
    Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) constitute a very valuable component of economic enhancement framework that contributes significantly to countries’ GDP in the world. The financial performance of these enterprises have inarguably become of paramount importance for their survival and growth. Adopting the activity-based costing (ABC) system is among the strategic moves that SMEs are urged to take, in order to reduce their operational costs and boosting the profit at the same time. Nevertheless, the rates of adoption were reported in the previous studies to be low in both the developed and developing countries. This study assessed the effect of individual factors that caused the adoption discrepancies in the two geographical environments. The use of two-sample test statistic on analyzing the mean score data from twenty (20) empirical studies revealed that, there were no significant differences imposed by the system advantage, complexity, compatibility, knowledge, management support, implementation cost and perception on SMEs’ decisions to adopt the ABC system, in both the developed and developing countries.
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    Agriculture supply chain challenges and smallholder maize farmers’ market participation decisions in Tanzania
    (The Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), 2022) Changalima, I. A.; Ismail, I. J.
    This paper analyses the supply chain-related challenges affecting smallholder maize farmers’ market participation decisions in Tanzania. The research design adopted for this study was cross sectional in nature. The data was gathered from 633 smallholder maize farmers from six villages in Dodoma, Tanzania, using structured questionnaires, and the results were analysed using a probit model. Findings revealed that all supply chain-related challenges were significantly related to market participation decisions. Specifically, nine supply chain-related challenges were discovered to have a positive relationship with a decision that smallholder maize farmers make on market participation, including transportation facilities, road conditions, market prices, access to market information, quality of maize, access to inputs, storage facilities, household size, and farm size, while two challenges, market distance and transportation costs, were found to have a negative relationship. Based on this, it was concluded that agriculture supply chain challenges affect market participation decisions of smallholder maize farmers in Tanzania. Therefore, agriculture supply chain-related challenges need to be controlled to enhance the market participation of smallholder maize farmers for them to realise the participation benefits.
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    Book review: sales management
    (Emarald, 2022) Kazungu, I.; Ismail, I. J.; Changalima, I. A.
    This textbook is undoubtedly a very welcoming edition to the sales management literature. Sales management is a comprehensive textbook designed to meet the requirements of management students at undergraduate and postgraduate specialising in marketing. It openly explores how theoretical and practical aspects of sales practices link with other strategic issues in the complex and dynamic business environment. Pradip Kumar Mallik captures numerous industry examples, cases, exhibits and illustrations to make an easy reading to the students. Apart from these, each chapter has definitions of key terms, conceptual questions, critical review questions and project assignments. All these make a complete revising buddle for students using this textbook. The book comprises four unique features: (a) it provides in-depth coverage and analysis of the approaches to personal selling and the strategies for its implementation, (2) it explains the key concepts with the help of real life Indian examples, (3) it discuss in details the selection process of sales management team and its relation to other departments in an organisation and (4) it provides a guideline for effective sales performance. At 492 pages, this textbook is divided into five crucial parts, each comprising a set of chapters.
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    Effects of supplier selection and supplier monitoring on public procurement efficiency in Tanzania: a cost-reduction perspective
    (Emerald, 2023) Changalima, I. A.; Ismail, I. J.; Mchopa, A. D.
    Purpose This study aims to examine the role of supplier selection and supplier monitoring in public procurement efficiency in terms of cost reduction in Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire was used to collect cross-sectional survey data from 179 public procuring entities in Tanzania. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the collected data. Findings The findings revealed that supplier selection and supplier monitoring are positive and significant predictors of public procurement efficiency in terms of cost reduction. Research limitations/implications This study was conducted in Tanzanian public procurement contexts, so generalisations should be made with caution. Also, this study collected cross-sectional data; other studies may consider longitudinal data. Practical implications This study provides procurement practitioners with insights into selecting the proper suppliers and embracing supplier monitoring to achieve procurement efficiency in terms of cost reduction. Originality/value This study examines the effects of supplier selection and supplier monitoring on procurement cost reduction as a measure of public procurement efficiency in the Tanzanian context. Consequently, it provides empirical evidence of supplier management practices in the public procurement context.
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    Obtaining the best value for money through procurement planning: can procurement regulatory compliance intervene?
    (Emerald, 2022) Changalima, I. A.; Ismail, I. J.; Mwaiseje, S. S.
    Purpose While empirical studies establish the importance of procurement planning in achieving value for money (VfM) in procurement, there is scant evidence demonstrating a link between procurement planning and procurement regulatory compliance, and thus VfM. As a result, this study examined how procurement regulatory compliance can be applied when procurement practitioners in Tanzania seek to maximize VfM through procurement planning. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional research design was adopted from which data were collected once through a structured questionnaire. The structural equation modeling (SEM) and Hayes’ PROCESS macro test for mediation analysis were used to analyze the collected data. Findings Procurement planning has a significant and positive relationship with procurement regulatory compliance ( ß 5 0.491, p < 0.001). Procurement regulatory compliance has a significant and positive relationship with VfM in procurement ( ß 5 0.586, p < 0.001). Results also show that procurement planning is a significant positive predictor of VfM ( ß 5 0.257, p 5 0.005). Furthermore, the bootstrapping confidence intervals revealed that procurement regulatory compliance significantly mediates the relationship between procurement planning and VfM in procurement. Research limitations/implications Although the study was able to accomplish its overall objective, it is limited in terms of the geographical setting under which the study was conducted. Hence, the generalization of research results should be made with caution as each country has specific public procurement laws and regulations governing the conduct of procurement activities in the public sector. Originality/value The study contributes to the growing debate on achieving VfM in procurement activities. The study adds to the literature on public procurement by establishing the mediation effect of procurement regulatory compliance on the quest toward achieving VfM in public procurement.
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    Supplier monitoring and procurement performance in the public sector in Tanzania: the moderating role of contract management difficulty
    (Emarald, 2023) Changalima, I. A.; Mchopa, A. D.; Ismail, I. J.
    Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of supplier monitoring on procurement performance in the Tanzanian public sector, as well as how contract management difficulty moderates the effect of supplier monitoring on procurement performance. Design/methodology/approach In this paper cross-sectional data were collected from 179 Tanzanian public procuring organizations using a structured survey questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the PROCESS macro were used to analyse the collected data. Findings Supplier monitoring has a positive and significant relationship with procurement performance in terms of cost reduction, lead times and buyer satisfaction. Furthermore, contract management difficulty has a negative moderating effect on the relationships between supplier monitoring and procurement performance dimensions. Research limitations/implications Because public procurement is governed by laws and procedures, generalization of results should be done with caution. This is because the study is currently limited to Tanzanian public procurement. Apart from contract management difficulty, future research can look at other factors that may be needed to moderate the link between supplier monitoring and procurement performance. Practical implications Procurement practitioners must monitor major suppliers’ timeliness, product quality and order accuracy in order to improve procurement performance. Furthermore, proper contract management is required, which necessitates effectively reinforcing procurement contract managers’ responsibilities and providing contract management training for practitioners in order to control anomalies when suppliers and contracts are involved. Originality/value By adding a moderating variable, the study adds to the literature on supplier monitoring in public procurement and the on-going debate on supplier monitoring and performance.
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    Thank you for sharing! unravelling the perceived usefulness of word of mouth in public procurement for small and medium enterprises
    (Emarald, 2022) Ismail, I. J.; Changalima, I. A.
    Purpose Over time, the concept of word of mouth (WOM) has spread beyond marketing into other disciplines. This is because WOM is important in decision-making at both the individual and organisational levels. Also, people are more likely to trust recommendations from their peers than those from companies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the perceived usefulness of WOM messages for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers in participating in Tanzanian public procurement opportunities. Design/methodology/approach The study collected cross-sectional data from 214 SME suppliers who supply common use items to public procuring organisations in Dodoma City, Tanzania. Structural equation modelling was used to test the direct relationships between study variables, and Hayes' PROCESS macro was used to test for the indirect effect of WOM message delivery on WOM attributes and the perceived usefulness of WOM. Findings WOM attributes that include expertise differential, perceptual homophily, and trustworthiness are related to the perceived usefulness of WOM. Also, WOM message delivery mediates the relationship between the WOM attributes and the perceived usefulness of WOM in enhancing public procurement participation. Therefore, the study's findings revealed that WOM is applicable in the public procurement context, under which public buyers act as senders and suppliers act as receivers. The latter finds out about public procurement opportunities and responds to them, while the former gives suppliers whatever information they need to respond to public procurement tenders that have been advertised. Research limitations/implications Because the study was cross-sectional, it was difficult to determine whether the opinions gathered over time remained consistent. Furthermore, only suppliers who are parties to framework contracts under Government Procurement Services Agency were included in the study. Therefore, the sample was limited to only suppliers supplying common use items to various public organisations in Dodoma City, Tanzania. Originality/value This paper integrates the concept of WOM from the marketing discipline and public procurement. As a result, the study adds to the understanding of the use of information transmission in terms of the contribution of WOM messages from public buyers to suppliers to enhance small and medium enterprises' participation in public procurement opportunities.