Impact of Culture in Small Business Enterprise Innovation in Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the effect of culture in small business enterprise innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular reference to Ghana. Traditionally, funeral was a social event to pay respect to a loved one but these past few decades, the concept has been exploited for financial gain and this new idea of funeral commercialization has inspired the study. Hence, the culture involving funeral arrangements has created opportunities for small business enterprise innovation, and has given the funeral industry a new significance. Thus, the establishment of innovative small-scale businesses in Ghana could continue to play a vital role in the relative reduction of the unemployment rate. The research results reveal that 79 percent of restaurant businesses and 76 percent of retail business owners affirmed that the culture of organizing prestigious funerals has given them the opportunity to acquire more than 10 years of business experience, while 68 percent of all business owners affirm that they have also been in business at least one year. This data demonstrates that small business enterprises are most of the time directly linked with the culture involving funerals, and they have shown a steady commitment of entrepreneurship. The research results demonstrate that the number of funeral home businesses increased by an average of 25 percent every five years over the past two decades. This remains the largest revenue producer among the small business enterprises. Thus, this study confirms that the cultural impact in the funeral industry plays a primary role in the Ghanaian sustainable economic expansion.

Keywords: Culture, loop, conspicuous, funeral, innovation, gigantic