A Synthetic Indicator of the Quality of Support for Businesses in Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, and Ghana

This paper proposes a synthetic indicator of the quality of support for companies and identifies the factors that can contribute towards improving the quality of such support in three countries (i.e., Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, and Ghana). The study uses static mechanics and applies techniques of factor analysis. A principal component analysis is performed on the data collected from 80 business support structures in the sampled countries. After constructing the indicators, correlates are provided on how the constructed indicators are linked to the objectives of sustainable development. Our results are robust after controlling for variables relating to the general characteristics of the support structure. The findings are consistent with the position that taking sustainable development objectives into account in business support practices would significantly improve business performance in sampled countries and, by extension, in sub-Saharan Africa. The originality of the study stems from the fact that it considers specific sustainable development goals and assesses their contribution to improving the quality of support for companies, a research area that has not been investigated hitherto by the extant literature. Implications for all stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and future research directions are discussed.

Automated summary

This paper proposes a synthetic indicator to measure the quality of support for companies and identifies factors that can contribute to improving such support. The study uses static mechanics and factor analysis techniques, conducting a principal component analysis on data collected from 80 business support structures in Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, and Ghana. After constructing the indicators, the study correlates them with sustainable development objectives. The results indicate that considering sustainable development goals in business support practices significantly improves business performance in the sampled countries, and the originality of the study lies in its assessment of specific sustainable development goals' contribution to support quality.