University of York

The York Management School

Working Paper No. 64

ISSN Number: 1743-4041

December 2011

Is Ghana an Emerging Destination for

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)?

A Comparative Analysis between Ghana

and India

Guggisberg Dowouna

Masters Dissertation

This paper is circulated for discussion purposes only and its contents should be

considered preliminary and use of any of its contents prohibited.

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Acknowledge

This study could not have been possible without the full support of my family.

Next, I wish to express my appreciation and gratitude to all of my tutors at York

University management school. Their devotion and sacrifice in sharing knowledge

and academic experiences is really appreciated.

Most importantly, I want to say a big thanks to my supervisor Dr. David Taylor for

his guidance and valuable suggestion throughout this dissertation.

Finally, I wish to thank my research respondents, interviewees and everyone who has

contributed to the successful completion this dissertation.

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Abstract

Purpose: The present study was designed to investigate Ghana as an emerging

destination for business process outsourcing (BPO). The aim was to undertake a

comparative analysis with India, a well-established BPO destination.

Methodology: India’s data was collected from Taylor and Bain (2003b, 2004, and

2005). In Ghana’s case, data from semi-structured interviews and self- completed

questionnaires emailed to 25 BPO firms in Ghana were analysed. However, all data

collected was guided by Terdiman and Berg’s (2001) country selection model.

Findings: Analysis showed that, the wildest differences between Ghana and India

were in the areas of quality initiative, regulatory environment, technological

infrastructure, industry association, education system, working pattern and political

stability. Overall, the analysis demonstrated that Ghana is not an emerging destination

for BPO because with the exception of political stability and working pattern; Ghana

failed to meet the most important factors that determine country competitiveness as

BPO destination.

Limitation: Limited sample size and the generalisation of results to all

BPO providers in Ghana and India; ignoring possible regional differences in each

context.

Implication and Originality: This dissertation provides BPO providers who are

considering West Africa as a potential market, a comprehensive analysis of the

current situation in Ghana.

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Table of Content

Acknowledge ................................................................................................................. 2 Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................. 8

1.1. Background of Dissertation ............................................................................. 8 1.2. Overview of BPO in India ............................................................................. 10 1.3. Overview of BPO in Ghana .............................................................................. 12 1.4. Research Aims and Research Questions ........................................................... 16 1.5. Overview of this Dissertation ........................................................................... 17

Chapter 2: Literature Review ....................................................................................... 19

2.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 19

2.2. Definitions......................................................................................................... 19 2.3. Review of Studies on BPO in India .................................................................. 20 2.4. Review of BPO Literature in Ghana ................................................................. 23 2.5. Theoretical framework ...................................................................................... 25

2.5.1. Review of Theories of BPO ....................................................................... 25

2.5.2. Relevant Theoretical Framework ............................................................... 28 2.6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 30

Chapter 3: Research Methodology and Data Collection.............................................. 31 3.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 31

3.2. Research Design................................................................................................ 31 3.3. Data Collection ................................................................................................. 32

3.4. Sampling Design ............................................................................................... 34 3.5. Data Analysis Design ........................................................................................ 35

3.6. Limitations of Data Collection.......................................................................... 36 3.7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 37

Chapter 4: Analysis of Findings .................................................................................. 38

4.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................... 38 4.1.1. Similarities between Ghana and India BPO Service Providers ................. 38

4.1.2. Differences between Ghana and India BPO Services Providers ............... 40 4.1.3. Key factors that motivate MNCs in offshoring BPO in Ghana or India .... 42 4.1.4. Strength and Weakness of India and Ghana BPO Service Providers ........ 47

4.1.5. Ghana is viable as BPO in the future not the present ................................ 52

4.1.6. Current maturity of Ghana as BPO destination ......................................... 53

4.1.7. Challenges and Suggestions on BPO in Ghana ......................................... 54 4.2. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 55

Chapter 5: Discussion .................................................................................................. 56 Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................ 60

6.1. Recommendation for Ghana Government ........................................................ 61 6.1.1. Industry Association .................................................................................. 61

6.2. Recommendations to BPO providers in Ghana ................................................ 62

6.2.1. Strong Collaboration .................................................................................. 62 6.2.2. Practical BPO Training .............................................................................. 62 6.2.3. Strategic Alliances with Well-Established International BPO Firms ........ 62

References .................................................................................................................... 63 Appendix 1: Interview Questions Guide...................................................................... 74 Appendix 2 : Modified version of Jefferson (1984) transcription notation ................. 77

Appendix 3: Transcription of interview (Avansant Respondent) with modified version

of Jefferson (1984) transcription notation.................................................................... 78

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Appendix 4: Transcription of interview ( GASSCOM Respondent) with modified

version of Jefferson (1984) transcription notation. ...................................................... 84 Appendix 5: Transcription of World Bank (2007) video interview on BPO in Ghana

with modified version of Jefferson (1984) transcription notation. .............................. 90 Appendix 6: Taylor and Bain (2003b) Report- Data Evidence from India ................. 94

Appendix 7: Dissertation Questionnaires .................................................................... 95 Appendix 8: Dissertation Proposal ............................................................................ 103 Glossary (List of Abbreviations) ............................................................................... 117

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List of Tables

Table 1.Size of global BPO market (US $ Bn) .............................................................. 8 Table 2. Ghana respondents’ and Taylor and Bain’s India respondents’ market

orientation (in percentages).......................................................................................... 38

Table 3. Segment of business processes outsourced to Ghana and India respondents-

Taylor and Bain (2003b) .............................................................................................. 39 Table 4. Size of Ghana and Taylor and Bain’s India respondents’ (firms) based on the

number of employees ................................................................................................... 40 Table 5. Ownership of BPO firms in Ghana and India ................................................ 40

Table 6. Key government support activities cited by respondents from India (Taylor

and Bain, 2003b) and Ghana. ....................................................................................... 44

Table 7. Responses on quality initiative by Ghana’s respondents (in percentages) .... 45 Table 8. Responses on Ghana’s respondents’ industry association (in percentage) .... 48 Table 9. Responses on Ghana’s viability as a BPO in the future or present (in

percentages) ................................................................................................................. 52 Table 10. Summary of responses to Ghana’s current maturity as a BPO destination . 53

Table 11. Summary on challenges and improvement suggestions for Ghana’s BPO

Industry. ....................................................................................................................... 54

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Review of Theoretical Perspectives on BPO ............................................... 26 Figure 2: Terdiman and Berg (2001) Country Selection Model .................................. 28

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Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1. Background of Dissertation

In recent years, business process outsourcing (BPO) has become a critical part of

service industries worldwide. They are on the increase not only in size but also in

numbers (Barnes, 2001; Deery and Kinnie, 2004; Kotabe et al., 2008; McCormick,

2011). As the Information Technology Association of America 2004 report indicated,

BPO increased at an annual compounded rate of 32 per cent between1998 and 2003;

which created over a million service jobs worldwide (Forrester Research, 2002). In

addition, it has been suggested that; the global demand for BPO was estimated at

$847bn (billion) USD (United States of America Dollar) in 2004 and $1,082bn in

2007 (Chanda, 2008:420). The size of the global BPO segment realized and projected

between 2000 and 2008 has increased immensely (see Table 1). All of these suggest

that BPO has become a very important industry globally.

Table 1.Size of global BPO market (US $ Bn)

Year Size (US $ Bn)

2000 119

2003 234

2008 (est) 310

Source: adapted from Chanda (2008) cited at 1

Business_process_outsourcing_in_India.

According to Duening and Click (2005), BPO is the movement of business processes

(BP) from inside the organization to an external service provider. Correspondingly,

Budhwar et al. (2006:881) argues that BPO is cost effective when the external service

is offshored. This has been manifested in recent times (Taylor and Bain, 2008:132);

with 55 per cent of Fortune 1000 companies outsourcing some part of their business

operations to other countries (Chanda, 2008:420). What this point to, is that offshored

service providers can be cost effective to organisations.

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As Greene (2006) indicates, transition economies around the globe are involved in

this BPO services; and interestingly more developing countries are aiming to become

the destination for BPO. India has been a top destination for these services (Kang,

2008). As a result, this has played a vital role in India’s emergence as one of the

fastest growing economies in the world (Chanda, 2008:423). Owing to this status;

several studies have examined the role of BPO in India (Taylor and Bain, 2005;

Budhwar et al., 2006; Richardson and Belt, 2001; Malik and Nilakant, 2011). Given

India’s BPO role, comparative analysis to other countries have also been undertaken

by other studies (Mehta et al., 2006; Chanda, 2008; Asaf et al., 2011). There has been

limited research however; on BPO in African countries. For example, Kuada et al.

(2009); and Mainsah and Mia (2004) have investigated BPO in Ghana from a multi-

theoretical perspective, and investment perspective respectively. Yet, neither of these

studies was a comparative study. This dissertation is an attempt to fill that gap. Ghana

will be analysed as a BPO case of an African country. The next section will give the

current overview of BPO in India and Ghana as derived from existion literature.

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1.2. Overview of BPO in India

As AT Kearney 2009 report indicates, India is the leading country for offshore

outsourcing; with a current BPO sector growth value of $47bn (Sourcingline, 2011).

Hence, India’s BPO sector has become one of the notable growth catalysts for the

Indian economy (National Association of Software and Services Companies

(NASSCOM), 2011). Moreover India’s BPO sector has made direct and indirect

contributions to varying socio-economic parameters: employment and standard of

living (NASSCOM, 2011). Furthermore, it has been suggested that, America and

Europe are the largest customers for the Indian outsourcing industry and account for

60 per cent and 31 per cent respectively of BPO exports (Sourcingline, 2011). All of

these suggest the BPO industry has positively influenced the lives of Indians.

In terms of the country’s overview, Central Intelligent Agency (CIA) factbook (2009)

indicates that India has a population with 1.1 billion citizens. According to the World

Bank 2004 quarterly report, the share of India’s BPO sector gross domestic product

(GDP) has risen steadily over the years, with an average share of 52 per cent between

2000-2001 and 2005-2006. Besides the GDP, there is evidence to suggest that India’s

BPO industry and information technology (IT) has been the backbone for the growth

of a new entrepreneurial class; and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) (Kumar

and Joseph, 2005). What this points to; is that, India’s population, GDP, and IT have

raised its BPO brand equity.

However, Sourcingline report (2011) suggests that a country’s cost competitiveness,

and its resources determine if a country is suitable for BPO. With cost

competitiveness; employee compensation in India is significantly low compared to

United States of America (USA). By way of illustration, junior voice and non-voice

resources are about 10 per cent to 17 per cent of their USA counterparts. At the more

senior levels, high skilled BPO employees and operations managers command about

21 per cent to 27 per cent of their American colleagues (Sourcingline, 2011).

However, according to Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) annual corporate

and indirect tax survey (2009); taxes in India are high. This demonstrates that low

employee remuneration compensates for high taxes in India’s BPO industry.

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In evaluating India’s resources, CIA factbook (2009) suggests the country’s

workforce as close to half a billion people. Arguably, this has been built on the

availability of skilled and educated workers (Sourcingline, 2011). United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in their 2009 Global

Education Digest illustrates this point; indicating that 3 million new graduates are

produced by India’s universities each year with about 16 per cent focusing on science

and technology. Also, evidence from the International Telecommunications Union

(ITU) 2009 report suggests that India’s technological readiness is relatively good. In

sum, India’s workforce and technological readiness are vital resources to its BPO

industry.

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1.3. Overview of BPO in Ghana

Ghana has been suggested as one of the rapidly developing nations for BPO (Peace

FM Online, 2011). By way of illustration, Ghana was ranked as number one in sub-

Saharan Africa (AT Kearney, 2009), thirteenth in the Top Outsourcing Countries in

2010 (Sourcingline, 2011) and a 25 per cent growth of its BPO sector (Sourcingline,

2011). Furthermore, Hallard (2011) argues that Ghana is attractive to European and

American BPO firms because of its strategic position on the equator; sharing the same

time zone with the United Kingdom. All of these suggest why Ghana is a rapidly

developing nation for BPO. Ghana’s country profile, tax cost competitiveness,

resources, and business environment for BPO is examined as follows:

In a review of Ghana’s country profile, Babou (2010) notes Ghana as the first sub-

Saharan colony in Africa to gain its independence. According to Ghana Statistical

Service bulletin (2010), Ghana has a population of approximately 25 million with

over 100 varying ethnic groups. As CIA factbook (2011) indicates, English is the

official language used in business, government and educational institutions. Although,

it has been suggested that Ghana is rich in natural resources; it is dependent on

financial assistance from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)

(CIA factbook, 2011). For instance, it went under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country

Program in 2002 and the Debt Relief Initiative in 2006 (Sourcingline, 2011). Also,

there is evidence from World Bank report (2011), to suggest that 30 per cent of the

population of Ghana lives below the international poverty line of $1.25 USD per day;

with low GDP, just $18bn USD. However, a report by EconomyWatch (2011)

indicated that agriculture (gold and cocoa) is mostly relied on by Ghana’s domestic

economy. The aforementioned difficulties notwisthanding, Ghana has been

democratically stable for 19 years (CIA factbook, 2011). Similarly, Kaufmann et al.

(2008) ranked Ghana as “politically stable with the absence of violence and terrorism”

in the World Bank’s Governance Indicators 2008. Equally, the United States

Department of Commerce report (2009:42) makes clear that, with “a solid democratic

tradition, Ghana offers a relatively stable and predictable political environment” for

investors. Correspondingly, it has been suggested that Ghana is the eleventh

friendliest country in the world (Forbes Magazine, 2011).

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On cost competitiveness, a report by the Consolidated Analysis Centre Incorporated

(CACI) in 2010 demonstrates that, the main element in BPO’s expense is corporate

tax rates. According to a KPMG 2009 tax survey, Ghana’s corporate tax rate is

relatively low compared to China (25%) and India (34%). To illustrate this point, the

government of Ghana has created tax free-zone (zero-tax) areas in the country for

offshore businesses undertakings. Companies are then required to pay a tax rate of 8

per cent after the period ends (Sourcingline, 2011). This demonstrates Ghana’s tax

cost competitiveness.

Carmel and Tjia (2005) however, argues that the effectiveness and the size of a

nation’s workforce also determine its competitiveness in the BPO industry. As CIA

factbook (2009) posits, Ghana has a total workforce of around 11 million. In terms of

education and skills, Sourcingline 2011 report reveals that, only 10,000 IT students

graduate from Ghanaian universities annually. However, it has been suggested the

country is developing BPO programs focusing on skills: customer service, typing and

accent neutralization (Sourcingline, 2011).Yet a survey by Ghana Statistical Service

(2010) shows that only 65 per cent of the total population are formally educated and

only 14 per cent can speak English. Parveez (2009) noted however that, Ghana has an

educated French speaking population. The evidence considered so far suggests that;

with a small national workforce, Ghana’s educated French speaking population can be

inducted into its BPO industry. This could compensate for the low educated English

speaking population.

Regarding technological readiness; Africanomics world press (2010) indicates that

Africa has been plagued by poor telecommunication and internet infrastructure in the

past. However, there is evidence showing Ghana among a few countries that had

internet connection in the 1990s (Osiakwan and Foster, 2004). This was facilitated by

the “Accelerated Development Programme 1994-2000” (Alemna and Sam, 2006).

This was part of the Structural Adjustment Programme of the World Bank (World

Bank, 1999). Similarly, it has been suggested that, a fibre optic initiative (South

Africa/West Africa Submarine Cable/South Africa Far East cable system) has

enhanced access to information and communication technology (ICT) services in

Ghana (Malcom, 2006). A classic example is the increased access to broadband

internet bandwidth. This has heightened not only data and voice transmission speed

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but also interactive multimedia applications in Ghana (Malcalm, 2006). A research by

International Financial Corporation (cited in Jensen and Soderberg, 2003:8) indicated

that this initiative has also created a favourable environment in Ghana; allowing for

achievement in network consulting, system administration and data processing just to

mention a few. Correspondingly, Jensen and Soderberg (2003:17) argue that the optic

fibre hubs in Ghana have attracted foreign BPO firms: Affiliated Computer Services

Incorporated and Rising Data Solutions to operate in Ghana. On the contrary, ITU

(2009) report illustrated that, Ghana has the lowest number of internet users with just

4.2 internet users per 100 inhabitants. In sum, though Ghana has some technological

infrastructures in place, it lags in terms of technological readiness for BPO.

In evaluating Ghana’s business environment: infrastructure and regulatory

environment is explored as follows. It is a known fact that, electric power grid forms

part of the metric for evaluating a country’s infrastructure for offshore outsourcing

(Sourcingline, 2011). According to the Resource Centre for Energy Economics and

Regulation (RCEER) report in 2005, the widespread usage of electric power in Africa

including Ghana has significant implications for productivity. The electric power grid

stability in Ghana is a major issue (Ghana Statistical Service, 2010). However, Obour

(2010) argues that electrical power is very cheap in Ghana. The average tariff for

electricity is a well-known example. It is just above 8 US cents per unit (Energy

Commission, 2005). In terms of power failure, Electric Company of Ghana (ECG)

2004 annual report indicates that, the cost of fuel for powering generators and plants

is quite less. This suggests that though Ghana has issues with electric power grid

stability, it is less costly to find alternative to ensure uninterrupted supply.

However, in evaluating Ghana’s regulations: there is evidence from Sourcingline

report (2011) to suggest, the overall ease of doing business is vital to a nation’s

competitiveness. This includes: tax payments, worker employment, construction

permit processing, contract enforcement and property registration. A survey by World

Bank (2010) ranked Ghana below average. Thus, it takes 33 days on average to

register a start-up in Ghana. However, the survey demonstrated that, it is only cheaper

to pursue commercial cases for outsourcing activities in Ghana, with costs below 30

per cent. This suggests that, the overall ease of doing business in Ghana may have

issues that need addressing.

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Following an in-depth overview of BPO in Ghana, the next section presents the aims

and the research questions of this dissertation.

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1.4. Research Aims and Research Questions

Based on the above overview of BPO in Ghana, this study attempts to investigate

whether Ghana is an emerging destination for BPO in comparison to India, an

established and market leader in BPO (Financial Times, 2010; McCormick, 2011).

Thus, Ghana’s competitiveness as a suitable destination for offshore outsourcing will

be examined. Differences and similarities between Ghana and India’s BPO industries

are also identified in this study.

The study uses data collected by Taylor and Bain in their empirical research; as

evidence for activities in India’s BPO industry (Taylor and Bain, 2003b, 2004, 2005).

On the other hand, data from Ghana was obtained from self-completed questionnaires

and telephone interviewing. Moreover, secondary sources of data were also used to

complement the data obtained on each country. The overall analysis of the data

gathered fulfilled the aim of comparing BPO in India and Ghana; by addressing the

following research questions:

What are the key factors that motivated multi-national corporations (MNCs) in

off shoring BPO in Ghana or in India?

What are the similarities and differences of Ghana and India BPO service

providers?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of Ghana and India BPO service

providers?

Is Ghana capable of competing with India in BPO?

Is Ghana viable as a BPO in the present or future?

How matured is Ghana currently as a BPO destination?

What are the implications of Ghana’s emergence in the BPO market?

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1.5. Overview of this Dissertation

This dissertation contains six chapters. In the introduction, it examines the

background of BPO and the current state of BPO in India and Ghana. The purpose of

this chapter is to briefly introduce the present study and provide an outline of the

dissertation structure.

Chapter 2 (Literature Review) presents an overview of BPO studies in India and

Ghana. It also discusses arguments relating to prominent theories of BPO. It then

provides a theoretical framework for the study. The aim of Chapter 2 is to review

literature, theories and arguments about BPO, and to link existing studies to the

present study.

In Chapter 3 (Methodology), the research design, methods, and process for the current

study is described and explained. The chapter also outlines the rational for each of the

research tools in this dissertation. In addition, it elaborates the methods in analysing

the data. The focus of Chapter 3 is to illustrate the research design of the study and to

report the research process of the dissertation.

Chapter 4 (Analysis of Findings) presents the findings of the study collected with

different research instruments. First, the chapter describes the findings of data related

to India; collected from Taylor and Bain’s report, and other secondary sources. Next,

it presents the findings collected by semi-structured interviews and self-completed

questionnaires from Ghana. The findings from these two countries are then compared.

Chapter 4 aims to present all the findings along with a preliminary analysis.

The discussion section of this dissertation contained in Chapter 5 begins with a

summary of findings. It then compares and contrasts the present study with existing

studies mentioned in Chapter 2, and in BPO discipline. The chapter also attempts to

identify factors underlying and contributing to the research findings. There is an

attempt to address the main research questions directly; and to discuss the findings on

BPO in Ghana and India.

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The last chapter concludes the study and reviews the significance of its findings. It

also speculates upon the implications for future research, and support some

recommendations, in particular BPO in Ghana.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1. Introduction

This chapter begins by providing an inclusive definition of BPO considered in this

study. Secondly, some of the studies on BPO in India will be examined. Next, a short

research review on BPO in Ghana will be presented. Finally, it will review some of

the prominent theories of BPO before presenting the theoretical framework adapted

for this dissertation.

2.2. Definitions

According to Duening and Click (2005), BPO is the movement of BP from inside the

organization to an external service provider; which arguably tend to be cost effective

when the external service is offshored (Budhwar et al., 2006:881). These BP includes:

recruitment and human resource management, fleet management, facilities,

maintenance, legal services, invoicing and payroll. However, it has been suggested

that, there are specific countries that specialize in these BP (Kang, 2008:17). For

instance, there is evidence to suggest that, the following BP are outsourced to India:

customer care, health care, finance, human resources, payment services,

administration and IT (Barthelemy and Adsit, 2003; Feeny et al., 2005; Baldry et al.,

2007; Chanda, 2008; Kang, 2008; Mcivor, 2011). With India, the model for

comparison, the definition of BP in this dissertation includes all the BP outsourced to

India. The next section reviews studies on BPO in India.

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2.3. Review of Studies on BPO in India

Research has been done on labour turnover (rate at which employer loses or gains

employee), employee commitment, service quality, staff training, trade union; and

stress management and control in India’s BPO industry (Fernie and Metcalf, 1998;

Taylor and Bain, 2000; Taylor and Bain, 2000; Hutchinson et al., 2001; Batt and

Moynihan, 2002; Taylor and Bain, 2003b; Taylor and Bain, 2004; Carton et al., 2004;

Malik and Nilakant, 2011). By way of illustration: Ritzer (2004) studied new forms of

knowledge work in India’s BPO industry. Bain et al. (2001) and Burgess and Connell

(2004) looked into the organization of work within a taylorist paradigm (mass

production), monotonous work, and excessive monitoring and control in India’s BPO

sector. Moreover, a study by Vanden Broek (2002) and Taylor and Bain (2006)

examines employee voice, resistance, and other coping mechanisms in India’s BPO

sector.

Indeed, some of the literature highlighted the opportunities in India as a favourable

destination for BPO. Batt and Appelbaum (1995) and Batt (1999) argued that, India’s

BPO firms have ‘empowered’ workers. Thus, they are more productive than routine

workers. Also, it has been suggested that, India accounted for 75 per cent of the total

BPO offshore delivery value in 2003; a value which increased by 55 per cent annually

in the last three years (Neale, 2004). In the same vein, the Deutsche Bank paper

(2005) makes clear that, there is a large labour cost savings of 20% - 40% from

offshoring to India irrespective of other cost (infrastructure cost, management costs,

and local adaptation cost). As Kumar and Joseph (2005) and Asher and Nandy (2006)

posit, India has a vibrant national innovation system, and a liberal trade and

investment policy regime. In addition, India’s outsourcing industry has shifted in

revenue composition to a more sophisticated and higher end services, called

knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) activities. This includes: risk analysis,

business research, clinical research trials, medical image processing and diagnostics,

and editorial selection and publishing, to name a few (Chanda, 2008). In addition,

India’s robust and proven technology has been suggested as the key to its global

success in BPO (Financial Times, 2010; McCormick, 2011).

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Most of the literatures above have examined the opportunities in India’s BPO

industry. Yet, there has been several criticism and scrutiny of BPO in India due to a

number of challenges. The McKinsey report (2003) illustrates this point; in India,

there is a need to set up office space equivalent to several existing outsourcing hubs.

This is at a rate of 25 million square feet per year which put cost pressures on the

BPO industry (McKinsey, 2003). Elsewhere, it has been proposed that India’s cost

advantage is offset partly by greater proportional expenditure equipment and

telephony; and the requirement to provide alternative supplies of telecoms

connectivity and power (McKinsey, 2003). In another vein, Taylor and Bain (2003b:

57) argues that, firms who have offshored in India cited “accent, cultural difference

and mistakes through misunderstanding” as the greatest disadvantage they have

experienced. Also, labour costs are rising, as rapid growth has produced “hot spots

marked by high and growing labour turnover, and inflating salaries” (Taylor and Bain,

2004: 27-30). Deery and Kinnie (2004); and Houlihan (2004) postulate the reasons

behind the high labour turnover in India’s BPO industry: the pressures of the job, lack

of promotion opportunities, working time, ‘phone rage’, work-life balance, and the

repetitive nature of work. Taylor and Bain (2005) critical review of BPO literature in

India concluded that India’s industry reproduces a labour process that has proved

problematical for UK and other countries’ employers and employees. Moreover,

Budhwar et al. (2006) put forward that, there is a bureaucratic nature of the work

settings of India’s BPO industry. This image has been referred to as the ‘electronic

sweatshop’ or ‘panoptical wired cage’ (Budhwar et al., 2006). Thus, with few career

prospects, work is de-skilled and monotonous, allocated automatically, and strictly

monitored and controlled by management.

Finally, recent events in India hint that, the country’s BPO industry is vulnerable. This

includes: currency movements, terrorism, and major corporate scandals. According to

AT Kearney 2009 report, India’s rupee (currency) per dollar was stronger in the late

2006 as compared to the early 2006. For instance, in 2007; it traded at 37 rupees per

dollar as opposed to 47 rupees in early 2006 (AT Kearney, 2009). The 30 per cent

cost increase in dollars raised questions about the sustainability of India’s BPO

industry. Despite the rupee returning to normality in 2008 (AT Kearney, 2009), its

development in 2007 shows how cost advantage can erode without warning. A

cheaper destination can therefore be an alternative option.

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In terms of terrorism, the Mumbai attack in November 2008 (Financial Times, 2008),

the fatal cricketers attack (BBC, 2009) and India’s cross border tensions with Pakistan

(Financial Times, 2010) indicate the risk of operations in India. With western interest

being targeted in the ‘Mumbai attack’, other foreign interest could be next.

Moreover, the reputation of India took a massive ‘blow’ following the revelation of a

large scale accountancy fraud at Satyam in India (BBC, 2011). This scandal has put

India’s corporate governance practices and its regulatory environment under the

spotlight.

Last but not the least, there has been examples of firms returning BPO to domestic

destinations as they desert their location in India. This can be exemplified by Dell

rerouting its corporate customer calls from Bangalore (India) to exiting US facilities

(Graf and Mudambi, 2005). Customer complaints were the reason cited by Dell for its

decision. Another typical example is United Airlines relocating its customer services

from India to Chicago (Kundu, 2009). Similarly, Delta Airlines also moved its

customer service from India to US in April 2009 (Perkon, 2011). Delta Airlines cited

improvement and unacceptable customer service in India as the reasons behind its

decision.

The search for alternative locations for BPO has accelerated because of the various

challenges faced by India. Thus, several studies have examined other countries as a

possible destination for BPO (AT Kearney, 2005b; Infocomm Development Authority

of Singapore (IDA), 2006; Chanda, 2008; AT Kearney, 2009; McCormick, 2011;

Asaf et al., 2011). However, there has been few research conducted in West Africa

especially Ghana as a possible destination for BPO. The next section will present an

overview of some of the research conducted on BPO in Ghana.

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2.4. Review of BPO Literature in Ghana

There is a paucity of BPO research in the West African region. However, BPO

research in West Africa, and especially Ghana has begun to appear in the literature

(Mainsah and Mia, 2004; Kuada et al., 2009).

Mainsah and Mia (2004) examined Ghana’s success in its attempt to grow investment

in ICT and BPO sectors. These authors carried out an analysis of Ghana’s investment

environment in conjunction with a research survey of potential entrepreneurs; to

inform their study. They however, concluded that Ghana is not competitive in

comparison to other BPO countries, but competitive in such low-skill and low-margin

areas: transcription services, account activation, surveys and basic customer care. In

addition, they concluded that, a positive economic impact will justify Ghana’s

government efforts in investing in BPO. However, this study suffers from a number of

problems. First, no theoretical framework was adopted in testing Ghana’s success or

otherwise in growing investment in ICT and BPO. Secondly, Ghana’s investment

environment was the only factor tested for ICT and BPO. The methodology for their

research is also questionable. Their survey was conducted on Ghanaians living

abroad; with the assumption that, they were potential investors and entrepreneurs.

Arguably, the reliability of their source is questionable because it was part of a course

work at Columbia University; thus not authoritative enough. These limitations make

the conclusions from their study less convincing.

Kuada et al. (2009) on the other hand, used multiple-theoretical perspective to

investigate BPO in Ghana. They examined the impact of onshore activities in Ghana

based on selected Ghanaian firms as follows. First, the impact of foreign and local

firms’ onshore outsourcing activities was highlighted. Secondly, an insight into

challenges faced by firms and their suppliers in Ghana was considered. Third, the

authors carried out a comparison of the outsourcing strategies between local

(Ghanaian-owned) and foreign owned firms. In terms of enterprise development in

Ghana, the authors concluded that, outsourcing is beneficial to organisations in

Ghana. Moreover, they argued that, Ghanaian business organisations should re-

evaluate their BP. Thus, they should use internal business resources to exploit only

24

the core activities of their business. Conversely, this study was limited to onshore

outsourcing. Also in terms of methodology, randomly selected firms were used in the

research instead of BPO firms. Hence, there is a gap in this study that needs to be

filled.

The above studies certainly contribute to our understanding of BPO in Ghana and

perhaps the West African region. It must however be noted that, the first study

(Mainsah and Mia, 2004) suffers from a number of problems which this dissertation

will attempt to address. In addition, this research will aim to fill the gap mentioned in

the second study (Kuada et al., 2009). Moreover, neither of these studies was a

comparative analysis from a BPO firm perception in Ghana. This is another gap,

which this dissertation will attempt to fill. The next section reviews some of the

theoretical framework for BPO, followed by the relevant theoretical framework

adopted for this study.

25

2.5. Theoretical framework

Over the years, the study of BPO has been influenced by a number of theories

(Kuada et al., 2009; Khan et al., 2010; McCormick, 2011). This section first reviews

some of these theories. Next the justification for the theoretical framework adopted

for this dissertation is discussed and outlined.

2.5.1. Review of Theories of BPO

A review of some of the prominent theories of BPO is presented as follows: First, is

the transaction-cost theory (TCT). According to this theory, the transaction and

production cost associated with a service determines outsourcing decision

(Williamson, 1975). This view has been equally supported by a number of scholars

(Shelanski and Klein, 1995; Clark et al., 1995; Khan et al., 2010). Similarly, Lacity

and Willcocks (1998); and Poppo and Zenger (2002) have also suggested that; to

avoid opportunism, a detailed and formal contract between clients and vendors

(sellers) is accentuated by this theory. Equally, Mahnke et al. (2005) argues that a

firm will outsource its BP when transaction dimensions are low.

However, there is evidence to suggest that findings of TCT in BPO are less

conclusive (Harrigan, 1986; Walker and Weber, 1987; Rindfleisch and Heide, 1997).

As Ghoshal and Moran (1996) indicates, the formal and detailed contract advocated

by TCT may rather result in opportunism and distrust. Thus, there will be no effort at

maintaining a fairness reputation due to the presence of a contract (Baker et al., 2002).

Mehta et al. (2006:327) has therefore criticized TCT for being over-specific thereby

fostering distrust and rigidity among vendors.

Another classic theory that has influenced BPO is the resource based theory (RBT).

Resource-based theorists (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990; Barney and Hesterly, 2010;

Parayitam and Guru-Gharana, 2010) view firms as a unique bundle of assets and

resources which can create competitive advantage if exploited to the maximum. Thus,

a firm may outsource processes other than its core competencies (unique capabilities)

or processes (Quinn, 1992; Dekkers, 2000; Fine, 2002; Wu et al. 2005; McIvor,

2010). For instance, Gilley and Rasheed (2000); and Steensma and Corley (2002)

26

argued that a firm should outsource its information technology activities (ITA), if it is

not included in its core competences. In recent times, outsourcing critical resources

and processes is essential for firms’ performance. Thus, in order to be competitive,

firms have started outsourcing their core processes and activities (Mehta et al., 2006).

For this reason, the RBT on BPO is unsatisfactory.

Relational view theory is another theory that has influenced BPO. Partnership is the

main focus of this theory. Thus, ‘relational rents’ (superior profit) are created when

partners share, combine, or invest their assets, knowledge, or capabilities (Dyer and

Singh, 1998). Interestingly, Mahnke et al. (2005) argues that, this may be relevant;

where the BPO firms and vendors are mutually interdependent. Correspondingly,

there is evidence from Mehta et al. (2006:328) to suggest that, a firm will only

outsource if the vendor-client relationship offers relational rents generated through

inter-firm exchange or sharing of knowledge, capabilities, and assets. Figure 1 below

demonstrates the three theories reviewed above.

Figure 1: Review of Theoretical Perspectives on BPO

Source: adapted from Mehta et al. (2006)

Transaction–Cost theory

Lower costs and share

resources

Lower costs and focus

on core competences

Resource-Based

Theory

Develop competences

and share resources

Relational View

Theory

27

Although, BPO decisions may be driven by any one or a combination of these

theories, the destination for BPO is arguably equally or more significant (Terdiman

and Berg, 2001).The next section will state clearly the theoretical framework chosen

for this study and the justification for this framework.

28

2.5.2. Relevant Theoretical Framework

Despite several theories informing studies on BPO; Terdiman and Berg’s (2001)

country selection model hinted earlier, is adapted as a relevant theoretical framework

for this dissertation. This is because; there is evidence from Zatolyuk and Allgood

(2004) and Kang (2008) to suggest that country selection model is an effective

theoretical framework for comparative analysis studies of BPO. In addition, to the

authors’ knowledge; there is limited research in BPO based on this theoretical

framework. An adaption of this theoretical framework is an attempt to fill that gap.

Figure 2 below makes clear this theoretical framework:

.

Figure 2: Terdiman and Berg (2001) Country Selection Model

Source: adapted from Terdiman and Berg (2001)

Human expertise and resources

Availability of skilled resources

Educational system

English proficiency

Marketing skills

Country infrastructure

Political stability

Government support

Regulatory environment

Infrastructure

Cultural issues

Work style

Communication techniques

Revere hierarchy

29

2.5.2.1. Country Infrastructure (adapted from Terdiman and Berg, 2001)

• Government support

• Political and economic stability of the country.

• Country’s regulatory environment and its impact on business activities.

• Communication infrastructure and facilities available for business.

2.5.2.2. Human Expertise and Resources (adapted from Terdiman and Berg, 2001)

• Use of quality certification.

• Availability of skilled labour resources.

• Competence of IT graduates.

• Foreign language proficiency.

• Knowledge of global business practices.

2.5.2.3. Cultural Issues (adapted from Terdiman and Berg, 2001)

• Cultural difficulties

• Work style (shift pattern)

• Communication techniques

30

2.6. Conclusion

In this chapter, the terminologies BPO and BP have clearly been defined. Literatures

on BPO in India and Ghana have also been reviewed. In addition, a review of BPO

theories has led to a relevant theoretical framework adapted for this research. Overall,

these reviews have given an overview of BPO. Moreover, research gaps have been

identified. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is to give an intellectual rationale for

the arguments in this dissertation. In the next chapter however, the methodology

employed to investigate the research questions in Chapter 1, and to test the theoretical

framework in this chapter will be explained.

31

Chapter 3: Research Methodology and Data Collection

3.1. Introduction

As Jankowicz (2005) indicates, research methodology is “the analysis of, and rational

for, the particular method or methods used in a given study, and in that type of study

in general”. This chapter describes the research design, data collection, sampling

design, data analysis, limitations of data collection as well as the rational for each

design, and method employed in this study.

3.2. Research Design

Bryman and Bells (2007: 66) suggest a comparative research design as suitable for a

cross-national research where the researcher(s) is particularly interested in issues in

two or more countries. Hence, a comparative qualitative research design was adopted

for this study. Data was therefore required from both India and Ghana.

32

3.3. Data Collection

First, data evidence from India was based on secondary sources collected from

empirical research by Phil Taylor and Peter Bain. This is because, both authors

together carried out an extensive BPO research in India which lasted for three years.

By way of illustration, these authors first undertook fieldwork in Delhi, Mumbai and

Bangalore (BPO destination cities in India) in January-February and June 2003. Also

they conducted a semi-structured interview with senior NASSCOM personnel,

industry leaders, senior management of seven call centres, and trade union officials.

Also, they provided a complementary perspective from their group discussion with

workers from Mumbai. They further recorded and transcribed the proceedings of three

major industry conferences in India. Moreover, they gathered extensive

documentation on India’s development and published their research findings in a

report form (Taylor and Bain, 2003b) and in subsequent journals (Taylor and Bain,

2004; 2005). This demonstrates that, this data from India was ‘rich’ enough to be

drawn upon.

Ghana’s data was collected from a primary and secondary source. Semi –structured

telephone interviews and self-completed questionnaires were the two research tools

employed to collect primary data from Ghana. As Gubrium and Holstein (1997)

indicates, a research where the primary objective is to gather data which gives

authentic insight into people’s perception will favour semi- structured interviews.

With data to be drawn from BPO firms’ perceptions, a semi-structured interviewing

format was deemed appropriate. Similarly, there is evidence from Taylor and Bain

using this technique in their collection of data from India. To this end, a semi-

structured telephone interview was conducted with a key personnel of Ghana

Association of Software and IT Services Companies (GASSCOM) and Avasant

separately. GASSCOM is Ghana’s premier trade association for service industries

with member companies involved in BPO services (GASSCOM, 2008). It was set up

to be a “strong advocate in soliciting government and other public sector support, and

encourage the advancement of the BPO industry; as a strategic sector for the growth

of the Ghanaian economy in the next millennium” (GASSCOM, 2008). Avasant

however, is a US-based BPO advisory company hired by the Government of Ghana in

2009 to re-brand and market Ghana as a preferred BPO destination (Ghana News

33

Agency (GNA), 2009). Possibly, authentic insight into BPO in Ghana could be gained

from these respondents due to their background in BPO.

Prior to the interview, the whole process was planned: making appointment with

respondents, informing the respondents about the context of the interview, and

preparing an interview guide (see Appendix 1). This compares well with Spender

(1989:79) argument that semi-structured interviewing “combines unstructured

interviews with a loose pattern of agreement with the interviewee about the context of

enquiry”. With the respondents already agreeing with the interviewing context, the

telephone interview was conducted on 29th June 2011 for the Avasant respondent,

with the GASSCOM respondent interview on the 11th of July 2011. Each interview

lasted for 30 minutes. Despite the schedules including an interview guide, it was not

the aim of the interviewing procedure to read these out verbatim (word for word).

This is because there is evidence to suggest that “there is no specific sequence of

issues raised in semi-structured interviewing” (Prasad, 1993:1409). Throughout the

interviewing process, an in-depth ‘conversational’ interviewing technique was aimed

at encouraging the respondents to speak personally and at length about BPO, at the

same time covering the main issues of interest. Thus a constant balance was struck

between impersonality and rapport. The audio of the telephone interview was

recorded with a digital recorder which guaranteed a good sound quality. Good sound

quality is essential because what the respondents say is not the only thing of interest,

but ‘how they say it’ enhanced transcription. Transcription of both interviews is

explained in the data analysis section of this chapter.

Upon reflection, it appears that, the respondents’ answers to the questions were honest

but the Avasant respondent was however hesitant to some of the interview questions.

This could be that, the telephone interview was conducted while he was in office, in

the presence of other workers; arguably, this setting could have an effect on the

responses given. This proves Whyte (1953:22) claims that, the use of more than one

interview has meaning to a researcher due to the benefit of comparison and analysis.

This was therefore addressed in this dissertation by interviewing more than one

respondent.

34

The second research tool for primary data collection in Ghana was self-completed

questionnaires. Terdiman and Berg (2001) suggests self-completed questionnaire as

effective in gathering data to test their model. Hence, self- completed questionnaires

derived from Terdiman and Berg’s (2001) model (see Appendix 6) was emailed to the

sample drawn for the study. Also it has been suggested that the cheapness of self-

completed questionnaires is especially advantageous if samples are geographically

dispersed (Bryman and Bell, 2007:241). This is evidenced in the sampling section as

follows.

3.4. Sampling Design

With this research aimed at exploring BPO in Ghana in comparison with India, a

research across all BPO firms in Ghana could be appropriate to provide a good

overview. Yet a research of that size would be more expensive and time consuming.

Equally, Sekana (2003) makes it clear that, a good sample selection can eliminate data

processing errors. Keeping the above caveats in mind, a sample of 25 BPO firms was

randomly selected from GASSCOM using a simple random sampling. GASSCOM is

made up of member BPO companies with diverse specialities operating at different

geographical locations in Ghana (GASSCOM, 2008). Based on this sampling

technique, arguably, the sample drawn indicates a fair representation of BPO firms in

Ghana. Although, the number of sample size is relatively small, the sample covered

leading BPO firms in Ghana.

35

3.5. Data Analysis Design

Bryman and Bells (2007: 326) points out that, secondary analysis is the analysis of

data by researchers who will probably not have been involved in the collection of

those data. Thus, secondary analysis was used to analyse the India data collected by

Taylor and Bain (2003b, 2004, 2005).

However, a verbatim transcription was made of the telephone interview from Ghana.

This was transcribed using a revised version of the notation by Jefferson (1984) (see

Appendix 2) for conversation analysis (Silverman, 2010). This system captured not

only what the respondents said about their experience, but how they said it (see

Appendix 3 and 4). The system includes notation to represent paralinguistic features

of spoken interactions, such as interruptions, pauses, and so forth. “Attention to fine

details is thus an essential ingredient of conversational analysis” (Bryman and Bell,

2007:534). Indeed, features in the data were linked together from detailed analysis of

the transcript. This resulted in particular extracts chosen to analyse findings in the

next chapter. “By examining how elements in your data are linked together, you can

bring out the active work of both interviewer and interviewee and, like them, say

something lively” (Silverman, 2010:49). To ensure confidentiality, extracts from each

interviewee was labelled with the respondent job title.

Content analysis was deemed appropriate as an objective and systematic analytical

tool for analysing both the research questionnaires and secondary data from Ghana

(Holsti, 1969:14). However, all the above analysis was guided by Terdiman and

Berg’s (2001) country selection model.

36

3.6. Limitations of Data Collection

First, to avoid personal bias and to make up for recent updates; data evidence from

recent research on BPO in India together with recent India government statistical

updates was used to compare the India data evidence from Phil Taylor and Peter Bain.

Thus, data was collected from recent studies by Winkler et al. (2008); Atesci et al.

(2010); Bhasin (2011); and other current sources. Equally, data was also drawn from

the government of India Ministry of Statistics and Implementation documents (2011)

which include updates on BPO in India.

With regards to Ghana’s data evidence, there were some problems with a third

respondent from Ghana’s Ministry of Communication – a governmental department

which has been promoting BPO (GNA, 2009). Although the respondent was proposed

in the dissertation proposal (see Appendix 8) as a third interviewee, this failed to

materialise. Tight schedules on the respondent’s part and numerous cancellation of

interviewing appointment made the interviewing impossible. However, a video

interview on BPO from Ghana’s Ministry of Communication and key personnel of

BPO firms in Ghana was accessed from 2007 World Bank survey. This was then

transcribed and analysed using a revised version of the notation by Jefferson (1984)

(see Appendix 5). To ensure confidentially the respondents in the video interview

were labelled according to their job titles in their firm.

For the self-completed questionnaires, 18 out of the 25 questionnaires (72 per cent)

sent to the BPO firms in Ghana were returned. There was a high responses rate

because there is evidence from Bryman and Bell (2007:242) to suggest that, self-

completion questionnaires are more convenient for respondents; because they “can

complete a questionnaire when they want, and at the speed that they want to go”.

However, with subsequent follow up and reminders, seven firms failed to return the

questionnaires citing tight schedules and dealing with their own internal (firm) issues.

With the possibility of a generalized point of view because of self-completed

questionnaires, secondary data on GASSOM and Ghana from different sources

(journals and Ghana government official statistics) was also used. Arguably, this

complements the primary data gathered from Ghana.

37

3.7. Conclusion

The above methodology aided in the collection and analysis of data in this study.

Findings are however, presented in the next chapter.

38

Chapter 4: Analysis of Findings

4.1. Introduction

This chapter presents the research findings organized by research questions. However,

each presentation contains common themes derived from the responses of

respondents; which were guided by the theoretical framework of this study. This is

organized as follows:

4.1.1. Similarities between Ghana and India BPO Service Providers

There were some similarities between the samples collected from Ghana and that

collected by Taylor and Bain (2003b) from India. This was evidenced in the market

orientation and the BP outsourced by Ghana and India BPO service providers:

4.1.1.1. Market Orientation

Although the surveyed respondents all had offshore BPO, Table 2 proves that

majority of the BPO firms had an international market orientation. This trend was

similar in both Ghana and India.

Table 2. Ghana respondents’ and Taylor and Bain’s India respondents’ market

orientation (in percentages)

Countries Domestic International

Ghana 28% 72%

India 28% 72%

39

4.1.1.2. Business Processes Outsourced

Equally, similar BP was outsourced to Ghana and India BPO service providers. Table

3 illustrates that with the exception of language services, all the BP outsourced to

Ghana was also outsourced to India.

Table 3. Segment of business processes outsourced to Ghana and India respondents-

Taylor and Bain (2003b)

Country Business Process Segment

Ghana Customer Care, Health Care, Finance,

Human Resources, Language Services,

Payment Services, Content Development

and Administration.

India Customer Care, Health Care, Finance,

Human Resources, Payment Services,

Content Development and

Administration.

40

4.1.2. Differences between Ghana and India BPO Services Providers

Sizes of firms based on employee numbers and firms’ ownership were the differences

noted in the respondents from Ghana and India:

4.1.2.1. Size of Firms Based on Employee Numbers

Table 4 shows that respondents (firms) from India in total, employed more people

than the respondents from Ghana. This compared well with secondary data from

Chanda (2008).

Table 4. Size of Ghana and Taylor and Bain’s India respondents’ (firms) based on the

number of employees

Countries Total number of employees

Ghana 6000-7000

India 75000-115000

4.1.2.2. Firms’ Ownership

Table 5 demonstrates that there was difference between BPO firms owned in Ghana

and that in India. Sampled firms collected by Taylor and Bain (2003b) from India

were owned locally, foreign or a joint venture. However, the sample collected from

Ghana indicated the firms were either locally (72%) or foreign (28%) owned.

Table 5. Ownership of BPO firms in Ghana and India

Country Ownership

Ghana Local (72%) or Foreign (28%)

India Local, Foreign or Joint Ventures

The Avasant Ghana Manager confirmed this finding:

International BPO firms is not really popular in Ghana:: ( see Appendix 3).

41

Equally, the Chief Executive Officer of Novel Solution added:

Currently most people including foreign BPO firms see Africa especially

Ghana as a more of a Safari [sightseeing] destination:: rather than a

hhh[outbreath] business destination ( see Appendix 5).

42

4.1.3. Key factors that motivate MNCs in offshoring BPO in Ghana or India

Country stability, government support, quality initiative and regulatory environment

by BPO firms has been cited by Zatolyuk and Allgood (2004) as key factors that

motivates MNCs - to offshore BP to a given country. This sub section outlines the

findings on these factors:

4.1.3.1. Stability

Political and economic stability was the first criteria cited in choosing a destination

for BPO by MNCs and foreign BPO firms. According to Taylor and Bain (2003b),

respondents from India cited economic stability in their country as vital for BPO. For

instance, Navi Manager commented:

There is growing interest from foreign based firms because the recession

made a difference and the threshold for convincing people about cost

savings has come down (see Appendix 6.1).

However, 94 per cent of surveyed respondents from Ghana cited Ghana’s politically

stability as key to attracting MNCs and foreign BPO firms. Correspondingly,

GASSCOM Executive Officer noted:

YES= Ghana .hhh has been politically stable since 1992 constitution

which::: has attracted a lot of [.3] investors. So I think Ghana is stable not

only politically but also economically for offshoring businesses (see

Appendix 4).

Similarly, Avasant Ghana Manager commented:

Yes .hhh Ghana is politically and economically stable:::which is good.

Security is very good in Ghana. [.] its good for outsourcing [operations] (see

Appendix 3).

43

4.1.3.2. Government Support

In terms of government support in India, policies stemming from successive India

governments facilitated the migration of BPO to India. For instance, at a session at

NASSCOM’s information technology enabled services (ITES)-BPO Conference as

stated by Taylor and Bain (2003b), a participant commented:

Government policies in the past like the software policies of 1986 have

benefited our [[India]] BPO industry (see Appendix 6.2).

Conversely, 67 per cent of the survey respondents’ responses from Ghana stated

that the government of Ghana provides support for BPO in Ghana. 11 per cent

disagreed while 22 per cent were unsure. The Director of Ghana’s ITES

Secretariat confirmed this point:

The government has .hhh decided or recognise the need to focus on BPO

area as a country. [.3] Because we believe that we can use IT [[Information

Technology]] and BPO to leap frog in our developmental process (see

Appendix 5).

In the same vein, the Chief Executive Officer of Novel Solution commented:

The government of Ghana has really taken some bold steps to get .hhh

business process outsourcing establish in Ghana [.2] especially the ministry

of communications =There is a long way to go though (see Appendix 5).

44

Interestingly, respondents from India according to Taylor and Bain (2003b) cited tax

incentives, telecom deregulation and labour market deregulation as vital to their BPO

businesses. Ghana’s respondents however, cited not only tax relief but also

improvement in infrastructure, legal and regulatory environment, and creation of

specialized economic zones as essential to their BPO business. This is demonstrated

in table 6 below.

Table 6. Key government support activities cited by respondents from India (Taylor

and Bain, 2003b) and Ghana.

India’s Respondents Ghana Respondents

Tax incentives Tax relief for offshore companies

Telecom deregulation Country infrastructure improvement

Labour market deregulation Improving legal and regulatory

environment

Creation of specialized economic zones

45

4.1.3.3. Quality Initiative

In the case of India, proceedings from the NASSCOM Conference (2003) revealed

that almost all the major India BPO service providers have obtained the International

Standards Organization 9000 (ISO 9000) certification; which adheres to global best

practices ( Taylor and Bain, 2003b).

In comparison to Ghana, Table 7 makes clear that, majority of the BPO firms (72%)

used in this dissertation had no quality certificate. However, there was a majority

(70%) agreement that quality certificate is important and will be acquired in the next

five years.

Table 7. Responses on quality initiative by Ghana’s respondents (in percentages)

Quality Initiatives by respondents

(BPO firms)

Percentages

Possess quality certificate 28%

Does not possess quality certificate 72%

Quality certificate is vital and will

acquire in the next 5 years

70%

Quality certificate is vital and will not

acquire in the next 5 years

20%

Neutral on quality certificate 10%

Likewise, the Avasant Ghana Manager confirmed the importance of quality

certificates to Ghanaian BPO firms and the reason behind the lack of the certificate in

Ghana.

[Yes quality certificate is very important to BPO firms in Ghana but: [ the

application fee is very expensive. It is not cheap at [all] (see Appendix 3).

46

4.1.3.4. Regulatory Environment

Taylor and Bain (2003b) reported no regulatory environment responses from India.

In the case of Ghana however, majority (97%) of the foreign owned BPO firms

ranked “Visa regulations” as the most important regulatory issue that has a negative

impact on their businesses. To support this finding, Avasant Ghana Manager

commented:

There are .hhh [.3] issues with visa regulations= it cost about ten thousand

dollars for only visa::::::( see Appendix 3).

47

4.1.4. Strength and Weakness of India and Ghana BPO Service Providers

It has been suggested that communication infrastructure, industry association,

education system and training, English language proficiency and communication

style, and working style is very important for BPO (Kumar and Joseph, 2005; Kang,

2008; Overby, 2010). This section presents the finding on these factors as strengths or

a weakness of Ghana and India BPO service providers.

4.1.4.1. Industry Association

Taylor and Bain (2003b) research responses from India’s respondents demonstrated

that industry association (NASSCOM) was vital to India’s BPO industry. By way of

illustration, a representative from the ITES conference in India added:

the Labour Department of Maharashtra relaxed regulations forbidding

women working at night after a lobby by NASSCOM, benefiting India’s

BPO industry as a whole (see Appendix 6.2).

In the case of Ghana, GASSCOM (Ghana’s Industry Association) Executive Officer

commented:

Industry association is important=we are [.3] a typical example. There is lot

of benefit from an association= we learn from each other any new

technology enhancement; new challenges of BPO, etc. (see Appendix 4).

48

However, only 39 per cent of Ghana’s respondents were members of GASSCOM.

This is illustrated in Table 8 below.

Table 8. Responses on Ghana’s respondents’ industry association (in percentage)

Ghana’s Respondents Percentage

Member of Industry Association

(GASSCOM)

39%

Not a member of Industry Association

(GASSCOM)

61%

4.1.4.2. Communication and Technological Infrastructure

Taylor and Bain (2003b) reported that facilities and technological aspects of work

organization in India’s BPO industry were essentially the same as those in advanced

countries. Contrary, Ghana had some few issues with communication and

technological infrastructure. The Chief Executive Officer of Novel Solutions

confirmed this issue and commented as follows:

In order to get Ghana to reach that potential as the number one in the world

.= there are three things I .hhh believe the government of Ghana and the

BPO firms should concentrate on. Ah::::First ensure the infrastructures are

there for companies when they needed them. Right now rent is a cost, most

company cannot bare. [.3] Our rents are comparable to New York or Los

Angeles. The second one is connectivity:::Right, the prices for connectivity

should come down. In the U. S. [[United States]], they will pay about 70 to

100 dollars a month for bandwidth connectivity but in Ghana we PAY about

5000 to 7000 dollars per month (see Appendix 5).

49

4.1.4.2. Education System and Training

Despite Taylor and Bain (2003b) reporting that India produced a large pool of

computer-literate, undergraduates, and post graduates each year; they were given

effective training before commencing careers in BPO. As a classic example, the

Manager of Powai added:

During training in how to relate to Canadian customers, there was a lack of

empathy in the voice of trainees’. Your speech can tell us that you want to

get off the phone as soon as you can … you have to spend time with the

customer and concentrate on the softness of the sounds (see Appendix 6.1).

In comparison to Ghana, although there was limited skilled labour; respondents

ranked undergraduate and post graduate staff competence level as “Good”. However,

“Staff Training” was ranked as the most important for retaining staffs and improving

competence levels. The Executive Officer of GASSCOM affirmed this finding:

Competences level of graduates is good but = they lack practical BPO

experience. Some firms have advocated for further training and education

abroad in order for staffs to [.3] gain experience (see Appendix 4).

4.1.4.3. English Language Proficiency and Communication Style

The significance of linguistic capability is evidenced by the fact that ‘over 90 per cent

of India’s [ITES-BPO’s] revenues come from English-speaking geographies’

(NASSCOM, 2003: 56). However, India BPO staffs have problems with accents.

From Taylor and Bain (2003b) findings, one India manager from Noida (India BPO

firm) noted:

Most applicants failed because of thick accents: For some people it would

be impossible to speak with the neutral accent we require. More applicants

fail this hurdle than any other, as it is a very important issue for us and our

clients (see Appendix 6.1).

50

Equally, an India Manager of Powai commented:

At the language training, the ‘r’ sounds are not coming out clearly and

neither are the ‘v’ sounds (see Appendix 6.1).

Ghana’s respondents in comparison ranked Ghana’s English language proficiency

level as “Very Good”. In terms of English language accent, Avasant Ghana Manager

noted:

Although we have not employed any Ghanaian, from our marketing

experience = I know their English language proficiency is [.4] quite very

good and their accent is very impressive (see Appendix 3).

4.1.4.4. Working Style

The working life of India’s BPO staffs is significantly affected by India’s time zone

(Kikuchi and Long, 2010). Call-handling for overseas customers in India takes place

at night or during the evening as reported by Taylor and Bain (2003b). One agent at a

BPO group discussion confirmed the prevalence of ill-health as a result of night calls

by commenting:

Many cases have arisen where people have lost weight … usually because

the cycle of eating and sleeping is disrupted. Symptoms include dark circles

under the eyes … in most of the people (see Appendix 6.2).

51

In the same way, the General Manager of Hughes BPO (India) was emphatic in his

identification with the problem:

Working the night shift … is not something that you can willingly adjust to

easily. It does lead to a high level of stress.... It isolates you from your

family, friends, social life. When there are birthday celebrations in the

evening, you find you can’t go because you have to work. This is a very big

area of concern, and why you see a lot of people getting out of the industry.

Stress is accentuated by bad eating habits– eating food at all hours. At least

one in two people is a smoker, which is not healthy. I think, as this industry

grows, we need to ask questions, what are the effects of this working routine

at a physiological level, psychological level, social level, and family level?

(see Appendix 6.2).

Ghana however has a strategic position on the equator sharing the same time zone

with the United Kingdom (Sourcingline, 2011). Hence, the respondents from Ghana

reported no issues with shift patterns. The Chief Officer of exZeed confirmed this

finding:

Personally i think Ghana is positioned to take advantage of the BPO land

scape =We are in the GMT, same as Europe so we can take businesses while

people are sleeping, and take businesses while people are [awake] (see

Appendix 5).

The finding goes to shows that, although India seems to have advantages over Ghana

in some areas; Ghana has got advantages in other areas. As such the research question

on Ghana’s ability to compete with India in BPO will be fully explored in the

Discussion Chapter.

52

4.1.5. Ghana is viable as BPO in the future not the present

Table 9 illustrates that; majority of the respondents (80%) from Ghana were very

optimistic about Ghana’s viability as BPO in the near future not the present. Although

2 per cent were sceptical, 18 per cent were unsure.

Table 9. Responses on Ghana’s viability as a BPO in the future or present (in

percentages)

Reponses Percentage

Very optimistic in the future 80%

Very optimistic in the present 0%

Not sure 18%

Sceptical 2%

Similarly, the GASSCOM Executive Officer noted:

Hmmm [.2] I will say I am very optimistic Ghana can lead BPO in West

Africa in the near future (see Appendix 4).

53

4.1.6. Current maturity of Ghana as BPO destination

Table 10 shows Ghana is still at the fundamental stage for BPO.

Table 10. Summary of responses to Ghana’s current maturity as a BPO destination

Beginning stage

Early stage

Foundation stage

Initial stage

Premature stage

Still a long way to go

Still under construction

Equally, the chief Executive Officer of Novel solution affirmed this finding and

noted:

Ghana is in its early stage in BPO::Looking forward in ten years, I believe

hh BPO will be very influencial in Ghana:::: Not only economically but

socially (see Appendix 5).

54

4.1.7. Challenges and Suggestions on BPO in Ghana

Table 11 summarises the challenges and suggestions on BPO in Ghana; outlined by

Ghanaian respondents.

Table 11. Summary on challenges and improvement suggestions for Ghana’s BPO

Industry.

Challenges Suggestions

Inadequate infrastructures (power

grids) by Ghana government

Provision of adequate infrastructure by

Ghana government

High internet connectivity and

broadband prices

Accessibility to internet connectivity

Visa regulatory barriers More focus on clients’ request

Legal regulatory barriers Localization of businesses and services

Lack of skilled BPO labour Availability of BPO skilled human

resources

Lack of strong industry association Strong industry association

Ineffective marketing of Ghana as

BPO destination

More marketing promotions of Ghana as

BPO destination

Lack of BPO staff training Practical training of staff

More useable hardware requirement

Ghana’s Ministry of Communications acknowledges that these challenges need to be

addressed:

There is so:: much potential in the BPO system. That is good reason why we

are .hh [.2] working in that area to close these challenges and gaps::: so that

we can push BPO as a major contributor of building the [economy] (see

Appendix 5)

55

4.2. Conclusion

In concluding this section, other common themes discovered from the research

questionnaires and interviews were noted but not reported. This is because it was not

relevant to this dissertation.

56

Chapter 5: Discussion

This section will attempt to highlight the meaning and significance of the dissertation

results in the context of current knowledge; not only in the literature review but also

in the field of BPO study. First, the results will be related to each other. Then previous

findings in literature will be related to the findings. Third, the findings will be related

to existing theory. Next, evaluation and speculations will be made about what the

result means, which will eventually lead to a conclusion.

The study results answered all the research questions in the findings section with the

exception of Ghana’s capability to compete with India in BPO, and the implications

of Ghana’s emergence in the BPO market. This is because; the findings have to be

related before those two research questions could be answered. This section will

therefore make that possible.

In relating results, the findings indicate that Ghana and India are both similar in terms

of their international market orientation and type of BP outsourced. Thus the findings

suggested that the percentage of BPO firms in Ghana which had international market

orientation was similar to that reported in India by Taylor and Bain (2003b). The

common BP outsourced by both countries is stated as follows: customer care, health

care, finance, human resources, payment services, content development and

administration.

However, India and Ghana differ in terms of firm ownership, and BPO firm size;

based on the number of employees. Thus, in Ghana, BPO firms are either foreign or

locally owned. In India, BPO firms are owned locally, foreign or joint ownership.

Also BPO firms in India recruit more employees as compared to the BPO firms in

Ghana. This compares well with findings from Neal (2004), Kumar and Joseph

(2005), Mehta et al. (2006) and Chanda (2008); who indicated that the India BPO

industry employs more employees than most BPO destination countries.

Conversely, the findings also revealed that country stability, government support,

quality initiatives and regulatory environment are key factors that will motivate

57

MNCs in offshoring BPO in Ghana or India. Despite India been economically stable,

there was no report on political stability at the time of Taylor and Bain’s (2003b)

research. However, the Mumbai attack in November 2008 (Financial Times, 2008),

the fatal cricketers attack (BBC, 2009), cross border tensions with Pakistan (Financial

Times, 2010) and recent bus attack by India Maoist rebels (BBC, 2011) suggests that

India has its fair share of politically instability. Even with India’s economic stability,

the currency (rupee) movement in 2007 (AT Kearney, 2009) posits that, its economy

can be unpredictable. Ghana on the other hand has been stable, especially politically,

for nearly 20 years. Respondents from Ghana confirm that Ghana’s political stability

will motivate MNCs in offshoring BP to Ghana. Similarly, responses from Ghana

indicate no issues on economic instability. This finding is largely in agreement with

Kaufmann et al. (2008) findings that Ghana is politically stable with the absence of

violence and terrorism.

Although findings indicate that Ghana has recently being receiving BPO support from

their government, they lag in terms of quality initiatives which adhere to global best

practices. In another vein, Ghana’s regulatory environment has some challenges: visa

issues for foreign BPO owned firms. This is largely in agreement with World Bank

2010 survey: Ghana is below average in terms of regulations. Arguably, this can

affect decisions made by MNCs to offshore BP to Ghana. On the contrary, India’s

BPO industry seems to have tremendous support from their government with no

known regulatory issues. Furthermore, results suggest that India adhere to global best

practice as in their quality initiative. This result also follows similar findings from

Kumar and Joseph (2005).

Moreover, India’s BPO industry seems to have adequate technological infrastructure,

strong BPO industry association, and an effective education system that produce

skilled BPO labour. Yet India tends to have problems with English language

communication and working shift patterns. This view is however in agreement with

Taylor and Bain’s (2005) findings and Kantak (2007) SWOT (strength, weakness,

opportunities and threats) analysis on India’s BPO industry. Ghana in comparison has

no issues with BPO working pattern, and English language communication (accent)

irrespective of its low educated Engish speaking population (Ghana Statistical

58

Service, 2010). The finding on Ghana’s language proficiency follows the work of

Lacey (2005), which emphasises that Ghanaians English accent is beneficial in BPO.

In sum, the wildest differences between Ghana and India are in the areas of quality

initiative, regulatory environment, adequate technological infrastructure, industry

association, education system, working pattern and English language proficiency. On

this study evidence, the factors most important to BPO outsourcers are: quality

initiative, regulatory environment, adequate technological infrastructure, industry

association, education system, working pattern and political stability. While Ghana

was stronger in working pattern and possibly political stability, India was stronger in

all these vital factors.

In addressing the research question: Ghana’s capability to compete with India in BPO,

results of this study has to be related. Overall, Ghana’s BPO industry is stronger in

only two of the most important factors for BPO outsourcers: working pattern and

possibly political stability. Arguably, that is not enough for Ghana’s BPO industry to

compete with the demands of a matured BPO industry like India. This argument is

along the lines of the findings on the current maturity of Ghana’s BPO industry. The

result postulates that, Ghana is still at the fundamental stage of BPO, and as such has

a long way to go. However, there could be a mutual gain for Ghana and India in a

joint venture or a strategic alliance. This is because similar BP are offshored to each

country. In this speculative venture however, India BPO firms can off shore some of

their BP to Ghana in order to make use of Ghana’s BPO capabilities.

The implications for Ghana’s emergence on the BPO market suggest; small scale BP

can be offshored to Ghana. However, by addressing its challenges stated in the

findings, Ghana is likely to be an emerging destination for BPO in the near future.

Finally, before drawing any conclusion, Williamson (1975) transaction cost theory

and Prahalad and Hamel (1990) resource base theory did not find adequate support in

this context. Rather Terdiman and Berg’s (2001) country selection model provided so

many factors that help in comparing Ghana and India’s BPO industry. For example,

both Ghana and India have a cost effective transaction cost (Kuada et al. 2009). So it

will take the analysis of other factors to determine which destination is better for

59

BPO. Fortunately, the country selection model proves to be effective and reliable in

this case.

60

Chapter 6: Conclusion and Recommendations

Results reported in this study indicate that there are some similarities between Ghana

and India BPO service providers: market orientation and BP outsourced.

On the other hand, on the overall evidence, there are many noticeable differences

between the two countries in terms of the factors most important to BPO outsourcers.

Of particular interest is education system. While respondents from India reported of

large pool of BPO trained graduate, respondents from Ghana reported of limited BPO

trained graduates and staffs. On the issue on quality initiative and regulatory

environment, responses from the two countries have varied. Indian respondents

indicated no issues with regulatory environment and adherences to global best

practice, in contrast to the responses from Ghana’s respondents, which reported issues

with visa regulations and quality certificate.

Another interesting difference that was identified in this research was that Indian BPO

firms’ get enough support from their industry association while Ghanaian BPO firms

have reported weak support from their industry association.

Overall, the analysis of findings demonstrates that Ghana is not yet an emerging

destination for BPO. With the exception of political stability and working pattern,

Ghana fails to meet the most important factors that determine country competitiveness

as BPO destination.

However, Ghanaian BPO service providers are optimistic about the future of their

Industry. With the country showing progress in some of its weaker factors, small BP

can be outsourced in Ghana. This dissertation reinforced and extended the limited

existing empirical research regarding small BPO in Ghana (Kuada et al., 2009). This

study provides BPO service providers who are considering West Africa as a potential

market, a comprehensive analysis of the current situation in Ghana.

Two limitations of this dissertation need to be highlighted. First, the study generalises

and compares results for the entire Ghana and India BPO service providers ignoring

61

possible regional differences in each context. For instance, there are ten culturally

diverse regions in Ghana. In the northern regions, it is not acceptable to work on

Fridays because of Islamic religion. Likewise, other regions which practice tradition

religion do not work on specific sacred (special) days. The second limitation is the

sample size of this dissertation. Further studies with larger, more representative

samples are suggested.

This research is however, the first comprehensive crack at understanding outsourcing

activities in Ghana from a comparative perspective. Future studies might focus on

replicating this study in other developing countries especially in Africa. However, this

dissertation supports the following recommendations:

6.1. Recommendation for Ghana Government

6.1.1. Industry Association

This dissertation indicated that the BPO industry association in Ghana is not

supportive enough. Similarly, its lobbying is very weak as compared to a successful

India BPO’s industry association (NASSCOM). Equally, Ghana’s industry association

(GASSCOM) is considered a non-profit organisation which is self-funded.

The main recommendation to Ghana’s government is that GASSCOM should be

supported fully; financial support and favourable governmental policies could

empower the industry. This will eventually aid GASSCOM to work with international

bodies such as International Association of Outsourcing Profession (IOAP); thereby

creating a competitive and stimulating environment for Ghana’s BPO industry.

The rest of the recommendations to Ghana’s government are stated as follows:

Availability of BPO skilled and trained human resources.

Provision of adequate infrastructure.

Accessibility to internet connectivity.

Market promotions of Ghana as BPO destination.

62

However, there could be some difficulties on the part of Ghana government in

implementing these recommendations. Thus, Ghana is a middle income economy and

might not have abundance resources to implement these recommendations.

6.2. Recommendations to BPO providers in Ghana

This is organised as follows:

6.2.1. Strong Collaboration

By working together, a strong industry association can be developed to lobby Ghana’s

government in passing policy that will favour the industry. Moreover, sharing

experience and expertise will make the industry competitive like other international

industry associations. However, with industry competition, Ghanaian BPO providers

are less likely to share all their experiences and expertise.

6.2.2. Practical BPO Training

The dissertation also discovers that, staffs and graduates from Ghana exhibited more

of BPO theoretical knowledge instead of practical BPO knowledge. Through in –

house training or training from trade associations, this issue could be addressed by

BPO providers. However, BPO firms are less likely to invest in such training because

of the possibility of brain drain.

6.2.3. Strategic Alliances with Well-Established International BPO Firms

Forming strategic alliances such as joint ventures and partnerships should benefit

local BPO providers to leverage some of the core competences and resources of

internationally established BPO firms. However, the different firm culture of local

and international BPO providers could be a barrier.

63

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74

Appendix 1: Interview Questions Guide

Date:

Time:

Setting:

Respondent:

Introduce self:

Permission to record:

Purpose of study:

Interview Questions

1. Do you consider political instability has a negative impact on outsourcing?

2. Do you regard Ghana as a stable country for offshoring business?

3. Does Ghana government provide enough support for Business Process Outsourcing

(BPO)?

4. Do your firm (or BPO firms) rely on government support?

5. Rank in order of importance (1-6) to the following support activities by Ghana’s

government; giving 6 as the most important?

A. Improving legal and regulatory environment

B. Tax relief for offshore companies

C. Providing promotional marketing

D. Software association support

E. Creation of specialized economic zones

F. Country infrastructure improvement

75

Appendix 1 (continued)

6. Rank in order of importance (1-7) to the following regulatory environment in

relation to its negative impact on BPO; giving 7 as the most important?

A. Tax issues

B. Visa regulations

C. Import/export regulations

D. Intellectual property laws

E. Labour laws

F. Data privacy laws

G. Encryption laws

7. Do you rate BPO firms’ facilities in Ghana?

8. Do you think the quality certification by international bodies (ISO/SEI) is important

for BPO in Ghana?

9. Are there any difficulties in companies acquiring quality certificates?

10. Do you see industry association as vital?

11. Is there a shortage of skilled labour in Ghana?

12. How do BPO firms retain staffs in Ghana?

13. What do you think of the competence level of undergraduates from Ghanaian

universities?

14. What do you think of post graduate competence level in Ghana?

15. What do you think of your employees’ (employees) English language proficiency

in Ghana?

16. Do you think culture is important to BPO in Ghana?

17. How well do BPO firms deal with foreign clients?

76

Appendix 1 (continued)

18. How well do BPO firms deal with cultural issues?

19. What is your expectation of Ghana’s BPO industry development in the near

future?

20. How matured (develop) is Ghana currently as a BPO destination?

21. What are some of the challenges of BPO in Ghana?

22. Do you have any suggestion for Ghana’s BPO industry development in the near

future?

(Thanks for your precious time and have a good day)!

77

Appendix 2 : Modified version of Jefferson (1984)

transcription notation

The researcher has provided only the notations used in the transcript of the interview.

[ Left bracket indicates onset of overlapping speech

: Colon indicates that the preceding sound is lengthened or drawn out

(more colons indicate greater prolongation, e.g. Ah:::::)

[.] A dot in parentheses indicates a tiny gap, probably no more than one-tenth of a

second

[0.3] Numbers in parenthesis indicates elapsed time in silence in tenth of a second

= Equal signs, one at the end of a line and one at the beginning, indicates no

gap between the two lines

WORD Capitals, except at the beginning of lines, indicates especially loud sounds

relative to the surrounding talk.

[ ] Empty parentheses indicate the transciber’s inability to hear what was said.

.hhh A row of h’s prefixed by a dot indicates an inbreath; without a dot (hhh)

indicates an out breath. The length of the prefix h’s indicates the length of inbreath or

outbreath.

[word] Parenthesized words are possible hearings.

[[ ]] Double parentheses contain author’s descriptions rather than transcriptions.

. , ? Indicates speaker’s intonation (.= falling intonation; ,= flat or slightly rising

intonation).

Source: adapted from Silverman (2010)

78

Appendix 3: Transcription of interview (Avansant

Respondent) with modified version of Jefferson (1984)

transcription notation.

Date: 29/06/2011

Time: 17:01 to 17.31

Setting: Respondent was in office at the time of telephone interview

Respondent: Gurmeet (Avasant Ghana Manager)

Interviewer: Int

Unstructured Telephone Interviewing

Int: Good afternoon once again Gurmet and thanks for agreeing to participate in this

research [.2] and allowing me to record this [interview

Sam: [you are welcome

Int: [.] Before we continue, any information you provide me today will be held in

confidence.

Gurmeet: Okay?

Int: How was your day at work [today?

Gurmeet: [ not too bad hhh thanks

Int: [.] .hhh this interview will be based on BPO [[business process outsourcing]] in

Ghana =

Gurmeet: = Okay

Int: Do you consider political [ ] instability has a negative impact on [outsourcing?

Gurmeet: Yes

Int: In what way

Gurmeet: Because stable hh political environment can enhance productivity of

outsourcing. Likewise::: [.2] instability, I mean political instability with affect

outsourcing::

79

Appendix 3 (continued)

Int: Do you regard Ghana as a stable:: [.2] country for offshoring business?

Gurmeet: Yes .hhh Ghan is politically and economically stable:::which is good=

security is very good in Ghana. [.] its good for outsourcing [operations].

Int: Does Ghana government provide enough support for Business Process

Outsourcing (BPO)?::::

Gurmeet: hmm::: [.3] they have some policies but I don’t think there is enough

support.= there is still a huge GAP

Int: Do your firm rely on government .hhhh support?

Gurmeet: No:: we are just advisers on BPO to the Ghana government.

Int: Do you rate hmm::BPO firms’ facilities in Ghana?

Gurmeet:No:: ,= there is facilities and infrastructure gap as compared to other

sucessful BPO destinations like India and China.

Int: Do you think the quality certification by international bodies (ISO/SEI) is

important for BPO in [Ghana?

Gurmeet: [ Yes quality certificate is very important to BPO firms in Ghana

Int:Okay?:::

Gurmeet:= Ghanaian firms need training

Int: .hhh Is there any difficulties in companies acquiring [.4] quality certificates?

Gurmeet:YES

Int: [Why?

Gurmeet: [ but the application fee is very expensive. It is not cheap at [all]

Int: Do you see industry association as vital?

Gurmeet: Yes

80

Appendix 3 (continued)

Int:Okay?.=

Gurmeet: for both private and government sectors BPO firms

Int: Is there [.4] hhh shortage of skilled labour in Ghana?

Gurmeet: Yes I think there is::: as compared to other [ ]COUNTRIES

Int: How do [.3] BPO firms:: retain staffs in Ghana?

Gurmeet: staffs have no choice to move on hhhh be::cause, there:: is limited BPO

firms in [.2] Ghana.

Int: What do you [.2] think::: of undergraduates from Ghanaian universities .hhh

competence level in [.3] Ghana?

Gurmeet: They lack BPO training:: = they still need some finishing to be down.

Int: What do you [.2] think of Postgraduates from Ghanaian universities competence

level in [.3] [Ghana?

Gurmeet:[ same as the undergraduates:::::::: finishing is definitely [needed]

Int: What do you think:: of your employees’ English language [.3] proficiency in

Ghana:::?

Gurmeet: Although we have not employed any Ghanaian = from our marketing

experience I know their English language proficiency is [.4] quite very good and their

accent is very impressive.

Int: Do you think culture [ ] is important to BPO in [Ghana?

Gurmeet:[ Yes, it is

81

Appendix 3 (continued)

Int: Rank in order of importance (1-6) to the following::: support activities by

Ghana’s government; giving 6 as the most [.3] important?

A. Improving legal and regulatory environment

B. Tax relief for offshore companies

C. Providing promotional marketing

D. Software association support

E. Creation of specialized economic zones

F. Country infrastructure improvement

Gurmeet: Hmm [.5] just a minute

Int: okay? [.15]

Gurmeet: I will assign a score of 6 to “Tax relief for offshore companies” then ahh

[.3] then 5 to “Country infrastructure improvement”, [.2] 4 to “Software association

support”, 3 to “Improving legal and regulatory environment” .hhh 2 to “Creation of

specialized economic zones” and 1 to “Providing promotional marketing”.

Int:Sorry another question on ranking

Gurmeet:Okay? Go on:::

Int: Rank in order of importance (1-7) to the following [.3] regulatory environment in

relation to its negative impact on BPO; .hhh giving 7 as the most important?

A. Tax issues

B. Visa regulations

C. Import/export regulations

D. Intellectual property laws

E. Labour laws

F. Data privacy laws

G. Encryption laws

Gurmeet: Hold on a second[17]

82

Appendix 3 (continued)

Int:Okay?

Gurmeet: I will give 7 to “Tax issues”, [.2] then assign ahhh 6 to Import and export

regulations::, then 5 to “Labour laws”, 4 to “Visa regulations” hhh [.3] 3 to “Data

privacy laws”, 2 to “intellectual property law” hmmm:: finally 1 to “Encryption

laws”.

Int:Right?

Gurmeet:.=hmm

Int: How well do BPO firms hmm:: deal with foreign clients?

Gurmeet: International BPO firms is not really popular in Ghana:::

Int: How well do BPO firms .hhh deal with cultural [issues?

Gurmeet: As I said internationaly BPO is not popular here. However I think

Ghanaians have to do a bit of work on their English language ACCENT.

Int: What is your expectation [.4] of Ghana’s BPO industry development .hhh in the

near future?=

Gurmeet:= To lead BPO may be in the near future.

Int: Okay? Not long to finish with the questions:::

Gurmeet:Okay?

Int: How matured:: is Ghana [.3] currently as a BPO [destination?

Gurmeet:[ still a long way to go:::

Int: What are some of the .hhh challenges of [.4] BPO in Ghana?

Gurmeet: There are .hhh [.3] issues with Visa regulations= it cost about ten thousand

dollars for only Visa::::::, lack of infrastructures, problems with internet connectivity,

.hhh electric Power issues and lack of BPO [ ] training.

83

Appendix 3 (continued)

Int: Do you have any suggestion for Ghana’s BPO industry development in the near

future?

Gurmeet: BPO firms needs basic training from government, special training, [.3]

customer training. Also government [.3] government needs to provide adequate

insfrasture and accessibility to internet connectivity.

Int: Okay, that’s fine hmmmm that was my last question:: > do you have anything to

add to this conversation interview.

Gurmeet: when will I receive [[laughter]] my check for this interview [[laughter]] [.]

am joking [[Laughter]]

Int: [[laughter]]

Gurmeet: [[ laughter]]

Int: Thanks very much for the interview..hhh and have you got any thing else to

clarify or say?

Gurmeet: .=No.. not really

Int: Thanks for your participation today and your have really being help =

Gurmeet: =you welcome, hmmm [.] I case you need any more clarification on this

interview , I am happy to be contacted again and explain further.

Int: Thank You=

Gurmeet: = Good luck in your research.

84

Appendix 4: Transcription of interview ( GASSCOM

Respondent) with modified version of Jefferson (1984)

transcription notation.

Date: 11/07/2011

Time: 18:30 to 19:00

Setting: Respondent was at home at the time of telephone interview

Respondent: Kelvin (Executive Officer)

Interviewer: Int

Unstructured Telephone Interviewing

Int: Good evening once again Kelvin:: and thanks for agreeing to participate in this

research and allowing me to record this interview=

Kelvin: = no problem::

Int: Before I continue, any information you provide me today:: will be held in

confidence.

Kelvin: [.2] Okay?

Int: How was your day at work [today?]

Kelvin: .hhh Good

Int: this interview will be based on BPO [[business process outsourcing]] in Ghana =

Kelvin:hmm:: business process outsourcing?

Int: [.2] Do you consider political instability has a negative impact on outsourcing?=

Kelvin: Yes

Int: Okay::=

Kelvin: = this is because a political stable country will always attract foreign investors

85

Appendix 4 (continued)

Int: Do you [.2] regard Ghana as a stable country for offshoring business?

Kelvin: YES= Ghana .hhh has been politically stable since 1992 constitution which:::

has attracted a lot of [.3] investors. So I think Ghana is stable not only politically but

also economically for offshoring business

Int: Does Ghana government [.] provide enough support for Business Process

Outsourcing (BPO)?

Kelvin: From my opinion, the government has made some recent attempt to attract

BPO firms[.4] however they need to make and implement policies on BPO and also

give enough support to upcoming .hhh BPO firms in [Ghana].

Int: Do you rely on government [support?

Kelvin: [No [.2] we are just an association for the IT software and services

industry..hh and we are non profit organisation advocating for BPO in Ghana as an

effective [.3]way of improving Ghana’s economy.

Int: Do you rate BPO firms’ facilities in [Ghana?

Kelvin: [ In general firms facilities are not up to date hence we keep advising

government and BPO firms [.3] to invest in particular facilities that can eploit BPO to

the maximum.

Int: Do you think the quality certification by international bodies (ISO/SEI) is

important for BPO in Ghana?

Kelvin: Yes it will guarantee .hhh efficiency

Int:Is there any difficulties in companies acquiring .hhh quality [certificates?

Kelvin:YES, I think

Int: Okay::

Kelvin: Some BPO firms complain hhh about the application process [.3] and fees

involve.

86

Appendix 4 (continued)

Int: Do you see industry association as [vital?

Kelvin: [Yes

Int:WHY?=

Kelvin: Industry association is important =we are [.3] a typical example. There is lot

of benefit from an association= we learn from each other, any new technology

enhancement, new challenges of BPO, etc.

Int: Is there shortage of skilled [.2] labour in Ghana?

Kelvin: Yes unfortunately::

Int: How do .hhh BPO firms retain staffs in Ghana?

Kelvin: some firms have adocated for further training and education abroad in other

for staffs to [.3] gain experience.

Int: What do you think of undergraduates from Ghanaian universities:: [.3]

competence level in Ghana?

Kelvin: competences level of graduates is good but = they lack practical BPO

experience.

Int: What do you think of Postgraduates from [Ghanaian] universities competence

level in Ghana?

Kelvin: they seems to lack the theoretical knowledge of BPO but lack::: the

experience of outsourcing.

Int: What do you think of English language .hh proficiency in Ghana?

Kelvin: Very GOOD.

Int: Do you hmm .hh think culture is important to BPO in Ghana?=

Kelvin:=Yes, because BPO clients will come from different cultural [.2] backgrounds

87

Appendix 4 (continued)

Int: Rank in order of importance (1-6) to the following support activities by Ghana’s

government; giving 6 as the most important?=

A. Improving legal and regulatory environment

B. Tax relief for offshore companies

C. Providing promotional marketing

D. Software association support

E. Creation of specialized economic zones

F. Country infrastructure improvement

Kelvin: Okay

Int: hmm::[.17]

Kelvin: I give a score of 6 to “Creation of specialized economic zones” [ ], 5 to

“Providing promotional marketing”, 4 to “Improving legal and regulatory

environment” hmm .hh 3 to “Tax relief for offshore companies”, 2 to “Software

association support” and 1 to “Country infrastructure improvement”.

Int: Also can you please rank in .hh order of importance (1-7) to the following

regulatory environment in relation to its negative impact on BPO; [ ] giving 7 as the

most important?

A. Tax issues

B. Visa regulations

C. Import/export regulations

D. Intellectual property laws

E. Labour laws

F. Data privacy laws

G. Encryption laws

Kelvin: Alright [.15]

88

Appendix 4 (continued)

Int:Okay?

Kelvin: I will give 7 to “Tax issues”, .= 6 to “Labour laws”, .hh 5 to “Data privacy

laws”, 4 to “Encryption laws” [ ] .hh, 3 to “intellectual property law”, 2 to “Import

and export regulations” and 1 to “Visa regulations”::

Int:Okay::

Kelvin:[ahh]

Int: How well do BPO firms deal with foreign [clients?

Kelvin: the few foreign BPO firms have experience and tend to be better than the

local BPO firms in dealing with foreign [.2] clients.

Int: How well do BPO [.2] firms deal with cultural issues?

Kelvin: Some firms gives training to their staffs on the different cultures but staff may

be more experience if they get [.2] the chance to work in different culture

.hhhenvironment as compared to Ghana.

Int: What is your expectation of Ghana’s BPO industry development in the near

future?

Kelvin:hmmm [.2] I will say I am very optimistic Ghana can lead BPO in West Africa

in the near future.

Int: How matured is Ghana currently:: as a BPO [destination?

Kelvin: still under “construction”.

Int: What are some of the challenges of .hh BPO in Ghana?

Kelvin: Lack of proper infrastructure, [.2] such as reliable Internet connection and

power grids, affect BPO firms’ in Ghana endeavours on a daily basis.

89

Appendix 4 (continued)

Int: Do you have any suggestion [ ] for Ghana’s BPO industry development in the

near future?

Kelvin: More focused on clients’ requests and localize their businesses/ services.

Int: That is the last question=thanks very much for the interview [.2]. have you got

any thing else to clarify or say?

Kelvin: NO

Int: Thanks for your precious time=

Kelvin: no problem [.3] and all the best to you young man.

90

Appendix 5: Transcription of World Bank (2007) video

interview on BPO in Ghana with modified version of

Jefferson (1984) transcription notation.

Respondents are from key BPO firms and Government departments in Ghana.

Chief Executive Officer of Novel Solution

Currently most people including foreign BPO firms see Africa especially

Ghana as a more of a Safari[sight seeing] destination:: rather than a hhh

business destination.

The government of Ghana has really taken some bold steps to get .hhh

business process outsourcing establish in Ghana [.2]especiall the ministry of

communications =There is a long way to go though.

In order to get Ghana to reach that potential as the number one in the world .=

there are three things I .hhh believe the government of Ghana and the BPO

firms should concentrate on. Ah::::First ensure the infrastructures are there for

the companies when they needed them. Right now rent is a cost most company

can not bare. [.3] Our rents are very comparable to New York or Los Angeles.

The second one is connectivity:::Right now the prices for connectivity should

come down. In the U. S. [[United States]], they will pay about 70 to 100

dollars a month for bandwidth connectivity but in Ghana we PAY about 5000

to 7000 per month.

The [ third] one is to ensure that we have hmmm::::enough human resources.

That is the skills should be available to accommodate the businesses when

they COME in.

91

Appendix 5 (continued)

Ghana is in its early stage in BPO::looking forward in ten years, I believe hhh

BPO will be very very influencial in Ghana:::: Not only economically but

socially.

Eservice Manager

If am taking calls from the United States, its very likely someone from

vietnam is a backup on us = And if we don’t perform, .hhh [.2] its just a

switch away.

This is a [ ] major opportunity for [us].

Our strategy is to align ourself little bit more::: to the customer. =So is not just

taking the calls but trying to add value. We want to be in a position where we

are an extension .hhh literally extension of our customers business. Where we

can be innovative and creative in coming [.4] out with solutions for revenue

generations and not just as a COST CENTRE.

Hmmm I think is very clear that the government of Ghana::: [.3] there is no

doubt of the fact that since::BPO has a huge opportunity [ ] I mean things

have been said that it can hmm supercede what cocoa and Gold has done and

[quadruple] that.

We are all CUSTOMERS to someone else business ,=We all know how we

get treated when we go for service hhh [.3]And for our clients to become the

provider of choice we have to go the extra mile::

Chief Officer of exZeed

I don’t think we have any time to wait at all:::: If we don’t do something now

ahhh [.4] and I mean like yesterday. [.4] we will miss out.

92

Appendix 5 (continued)

Personally i think Ghana is positioned to take advantage of the BPO land

scape =We are in the GMT same as europe so we can take less businesses

while people are sleeping, and take more businesses while people are [awake].

Our education levels are hhh very very high:::: For example I have over 400

agents and 70 percent are graduates, University graduates. =That is the type of

labour you get when you come to GHANA.

A lot of people talk about off shoring .hhh outsourcing and the like. But I

think that prior to us going that further:::: we can do something locally, [.2]

domestic. Since the government is the biggest employer, we can start with the

government Business:::::

Personally, [.4] from where I sit, this is the best poverty alleviation strategy. If

all this challenges can be hmm:: solved then Ghana will be better [off].

Minister of Communication

The first BPO firm to arrive in the Country was ACS. [.3] At the time it was

like a revolution in this Country. =Because this was a company [.2] within a

short time develop employment to the tune of nearly two thousand::

There is so:: much potential in the BPO system. That is good reason that we

are .hh [.2] working in that area to close these callenges and gaps::: so that we

can push BPO as a major contributer of building the [economy]

93

Appendix 5 (continued)

Director of Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) Secretariat of

Ghana

The government has .hhh decided or recognise the need to focus on BPO area

as a country. [.3] Because we believe that we can use IT [[Information

Technology]] and BPO to leap frog in our developmental process.

94

Appendix 6: Taylor and Bain (2003b) Report- Data

Evidence from India

This includes only India’s data evidence used in this Dissertation

6.1. Indian Manager Interviews

Navi, Mumbai, 27 January 2003.

Powai, 30 January 2003.

Noida, 24 January 2003.

6.2. Conferences

ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) Conference, Mumbai, 27–

30 January 2003.

Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies’) ITES-

BPO Conference, 13 June 2003.

Group discussions of call centre and BPO employees, Mumbai, 2 February

2003.

Goyal speech, 13 June 2003- General Manager from Hugo BPO.

Source: adapted from Taylor and Bain (2003)

95

Appendix 7: Dissertation Questionnaires

(Please complete the questions by ranking or filling in the gap with the options

provided)

1. Have you had offshore outsourcing experience before? _______________

• Yes

• No

2. Which of these markets does your firm operates in? _______________

• International market

• Domestic market

• Similar percentage in both markets

3. What is the size of your company in terms of number of employees?

______________

• 1-50

• 50-100

• 100-500

• Above 500

4. Do you consider political instability has a negative impact on outsourcing?

_________

• Strongly agree

• Agree

• Neutral

• Disagree

• Strongly disagree

96

Appendix 7 (continued)

5. Do you regard Ghana as a stable country for offshoring business?

_________________

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

6. Does Ghana government provide support for your business? ______________

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

7. Does your business rely on government support? __________________

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

8. Rank in order of importance (1-6) to the following government support activities,

giving 6 to the most important?

A. Improving legal and regulatory environment _____

B. Tax relief for offshore companies_____

C. Providing promotional marketing______

D. Software association support_____

E. Creation of specialized economic zones_____

F. Country infrastructure improvement ______

97

Appendix 7 (continued)

9. Rank in order of importance (1-7) to the following regulatory environment, in

terms of its negative impact on your outsourcing; with a score of 7 as the most

important.

A. Tax issues_____

B. Visa regulations ______

C. Import/export regulations_______

D. Intellectual property laws________

E. Labour laws________

F. Data privacy laws________

G. Encryption laws __________

10. Which of the following facilities does your company possess? ________________

• Fax facilities

• Multilingual website

• Groupware platforms

• Audio-conferencing

• Satellite communication

• Video-conferencing

• None

11. Do you think quality certification by international bodies (ISO/SEI) is important

to your business? _______________

• Strongly agree

• Agree

• Neutral

• Disagree

• Strongly disagree

98

Appendix 7 (continued)

12. Does your company possess any certificates, if yes, what is it? ____________

• Yes

• No

13. Does your company intend to acquire any quality certificates in the next 5 years?

_________

• Yes

• No

14. Has your company faced any difficulties in acquiring quality certificates, if yes,

what was the experience? ________________

• Yes

• No

15. Do you accept that industry association is vital to your business?

________________

• Strongly agree

• Agree

• Neutral

• Disagree

• Strongly disagree

16. Is your company a member of any industry association, if yes, what is it?

_______________

• Yes

• No

99

Appendix 7 (continued)

17. Rank in order of importance (1-5) to the following reasons for loss of skilled

staff/labour; giving 5 to the most important.

A. Salary issues__________

B. Experience abroad __________

C. Professional growth ____________

D. Work conditions _______________

E. Other _____________

18. Does the time (shift pattern) of work have any effect on your employees?

A. Yes

B. No

19. What do you think of Ghanaian university undergraduates’ competence level in

Ghana? __________

• Very good

• Good

• Average

• Low

• Very low

20. Do you have post graduates working in your firm?

• Yes

• No

100

Appendix 7 (continued)

21. What do you think of your employees’ English language proficiency?

_______________

• Very good

• Good

• Average

• Low

• Very low

22. Rank in order of importance (1-5) to the following solution to staff shortage;

giving 5 to the most important?

A. Employ western specialist _______________

B. Train staff abroad __________________

C. Hire external consultant ___________________

D. Do nothing _______________

E. Other __________________

23. Is culture important to your business? _______________

• Yes

• No

• Sometimes

101

Appendix 7 (continued)

24. Rank in order of importance (1-5) to the following cultural issues in terms of

dealing with foreign clients; giving 5 as the most important?

A. Work styles __________________

B. Verbal communication _________________

C. Resolving problems ____________________

D. Written communication __________________

E. Other ______________

25. Rank in the order of importance (1-5) to the following methods in addressing

cultural issues, giving 5 to the most important?

A. Learn from experience __________________

B. Staff training ____________________

C. Not an issue _____________________

D. Clients training _____________________

E. Other __________________

26. What is your expectation of Ghana BPO industry development in the present or

near future? __________________

Optimistic at present

Optimistic in future

Do not know

Very optimistic at present

Very optimistic in future

Sceptical

102

Appendix 7 (continued)

27. How matured is Ghana currently as a BPO destination?

_________________________________________________

28. What are the challenges to BPO in Ghana?

___________________________________________________________________

29. Do you have any suggestion for BPO industry development in the near future?

____________________________________________________________________

(Thanks for your precious time and have a good day)!

103

Appendix 8: Dissertation Proposal

The York Management School MASTERS PROGRAMMES

Proposed title: Is Ghana the Next Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO)

Destination? A Comparative Analysis between Ghana and India.

104

Appendix 8 (continued)

Table of Content

1. Title………………………………………………………………………………105

2. Aims and Research Questions…………………………………………………...105

3. Theoretical Basis…………………………………………………………………106

4. Research Methodology…………………………………………………………..108

5. Research Plan…………………………………………………………………….111

6. Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...114

105

Appendix 8 (continued)

1. Title

Is Ghana the next Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) Destination? A

Comparative Analysis between Ghana and India. Dissertation proposal for

Masters (MA) in Management.

2. Aims and Research Questions

2.1. Introduction

In recent years, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has become a critical part of

service industries worldwide. They are on the increase not only in size but also in

numbers (Deery and Kinnie, 2004; Barnes, 2001).

According to Duening and Click (2005), BPO is the movement of business processes

from inside the organization to an external service provider. Conversely, Budhwar et

al (2006:881) argues that BPO is cost effective when the external service is off

shored. India and China have been top two destinations for these services (Kang,

2008).

Hence, several studies have examined BPO in these countries (Taylor and Bain, 2005;

Budhwar et al, 2006; Richardson and Belt, 2001; Malik and Nilakant, 2011). To my

knowledge, however, there has been limited research on BPO in Africa including

Ghana. For example, Kuada et al (2009) and Mainsah and Mia (2004) have

investigated BPO in Ghana from a multi-theoretical perspective and technology

investment perspective respectively. Yet, neither of these studies was a comparative

analysis from a BPO firm perception in Ghana. The proceeding dissertation is an

attempt to fill that gap.

106

Appendix 8 (continued)

2.2. Research Questions

Based on the above research aim, the following research questions shall be addressed

when the study proceeds accordingly:

What are the key factors that motivated Multi-National Companies (MNCs) in

off shoring BPO in Ghana or in India?

What are the strength and weakness of Ghana and India BPO services

providers?

Is Ghana capable of fulfilling the weakness of India BPO services providers?

Is Ghana viable as BPO in the present or future?

What are the implications of Ghana’s emergence in the BPO market?

3. Theoretical Basis

3.1. Introduction

Several theories have informed studies in BPO (Kuada et al, 2009; Khan et al, 2010;

McCormick, 2011). However, Terdiman and Berg (2001) country selection model is

posited as a relevant theoretical framework for the proceeding study. This is because;

there is evidence to suggest that Terdiman and Berg (2001) Country selection model

is an effective theoretical framework for comparative analysis (Kang, 2008; Zatolyuk

and Allgood, 2004).

107

Appendix 8 (continued)

3.2. Country Selection Theoretical Framework

As Terdiman and Berg (2001) indicate, country’s factors are more important for BPO

than offshore outsourcing vendor’s expertise. The diagram below gives an overview

of this framework.

Source: adapted from Terdiman and Berg (2001)

3.2.1. Country Infrastructure

Government support, political and economic stability of the country.

Country’s regulatory environment and whether factors: intellectual property

law and export regulations have negatively impacted on business activities.

Communication infrastructure and facilities available for business.

Cultural issues

Work style

Communication techniques

Revere hierarchy

Country infrastructure

Political stability

Government support

Regulatory environment

Infrastructure

Human expertise and resources

Availability of skilled resources

Educational system

English proficiency

Marketing skills

108

Appendix 8 (continued)

3.2.2. Human Expertise and Resources

Use of quality certification.

Availability of skilled labour resources.

Competence of IT graduates.

Foreign language proficiency.

Knowledge of global business practices.

3.2.3. Cultural Issues

Cultural difficulties and issues in offshore projects.

3.3. Conclusion

Possibly, this theoretical framework is relevant for the intended study.

4. Research Methodology

4.1. Introduction

This section proposes the methodology for the proceeding dissertation.

4.2. Research Design and Data Collection

Bryman and Bells (2007: 66) postulates that, a comparative research design is suitable

for a cross-national research where the researcher(s) is particularly interested in issues

in two or more countries. Hence, a comparative qualitative research design is

proposed for the proceeding study. Data will therefore be required from India and

Ghana.

109

Appendix 8 (continued)

Firstly, data evidence from India will be based on secondary sources collected from

empirical research by Phil Taylor and Peter Bain. This is because, both authors

carried out extensive BPO research in India. This includes a three-year long project

into off shoring to India, semi-structured interviews and transcription of three major

industry conferences in India. Moreover, they gathered extensive documentation on

Indian developments and published research findings in a report form (Taylor and

Bain, 2003b; 2004). This demonstrates that, this data from India is ‘rich’ enough to be

drawn upon.

Ghana’s evidence secondly, will come from a primary and secondary source. As

Gubrium and Holstein (1997) indicates, a research where primary objective is to

gather data which gives authentic insight into people’s perceptions will favour semi-

structured interviews. With data to be drawn from BPO firms’ perceptions, a semi-

structured interviewing is proposed. Similarly, there is evidence from Taylor and Bain

using this technique in their collection of data from India. A semi-structured

telephone interviews will thus be conducted with key personnel of Ghana Association

of Software and IT Services Companies (GASSCOM), Avasant and Ghana’s Ministry

of Communication-governmental department which has been promoting BPO (GNA,

2009). GASSCOM is Ghana’s premier trade association for services industry with

member companies into the business of BPO services. Avasant however, is a US-

based BPO advisory company hired by Government of Ghana in 2009 to re-brand and

market Ghana as a preferred BPO destination (GNA, 2009). Possibly, authentic

insight into BPO in Ghana could be gained from these respondents due to their

background. Terdiman and Berg (2001) suggest that self-completed questionnaire is

effective in gathering data to test his model. Henceforth, self-completed

questionnaires derived from Terdiman and Berg (2001) model will be emailed to the

intended dissertation samples.

110

Appendix 8 (continued)

4.3. Sampling Design

With the proceeding research aimed at exploring BPO in Ghana in comparison with

India, a research across all BPO firms in Ghana could be appropriate to provide a

good overview. Yet a research of that size would be more expensive and time

consuming. Equally, Sekana (2003) makes clear that good sample selection can

eliminate data processing errors. Keeping the above caveats in mind, a sample of 20

BPO firms will be randomly selected from GASSCOM. GASSCOM is made up of

member BPO companies with diverse specialities (GASSCOM, 2008). Arguably, this

will represent a fair representation of BPO firms in Ghana. Although, the number of

sample size is relatively small, however, the sample will cover the leading BPO firms

in Ghana.

4.4. Limitations of Data Collection

Conversely, with the possibility of a generalized point of view because of self-

completed questionnaire, secondary data on GASSOM and Ghana from different

sources (Journals, official statistics) is offered. This could supplement the primary

data gathered or address problems with primary data access, when the study proceeds.

4.5. Analysis

Bryman and Bells (2007: 326) points out that, secondary analysis is the analysis of

data by researchers who will probably not have been involved in the collection of

those data. Thus, secondary analysis will be used to analysis the India data collected

by Taylor and Bain (2003, 2004, 2005). Also telephone interviews from Ghana will

be transcribed using a revise version of Jefferson (1984) notation for conversation

analysis (Silverman, 2010). Furthermore, content analysis is offered as an objective

and systematic analytical tool for analyzing both research questionnaires and

secondary data from Ghana (Holsti, 1969:14). However, all these analysis will be

guided by Terdiman and Berg (2001) country selection model.

111

Appendix 8 (continued)

4.6. Evaluation

If the intended dissertation is successful, it will be able to answer the research

questions, fill the gap of related research and present future implications for BPO.

4.7. Conclusion

This section posits a conclusive methodology for the intended study.

5. Research Plan

5.1. Introduction

This section discusses the time scale and resources needed for the proposed study.

The aim is to have the dissertation submitted by 23RD September, 2011. On this

basis, it is anticipated that the work will start from 6TH June, 2011 and finished by

22ND September, 2011. This is outlined in the timetable below:

5.2. Timetable for the Proposed Work

The proposed study can be divided up into the following phases:

Phase 1: Preparation of questionnaires/Interview questions

Phase 2: Dispatch of questionnaires/Conducting interviews

Phase 3: Theoretical review

Phase 4: Collating interviews and questionnaires

Phase 5: Contextualising original data

Phase 6: Analysis

Phase 7: Writing up

Phase 8: Draft dissertation to supervisor

Phase 9: Feedback corrections and proof reading

Phase 10: Report binding

Phase 11: Potential problems

112

Appendix 8 (continued)

Phase 12: Submission of dissertation

Summary of estimated time for each phase:

Phases Start Date Duration

(Days)

End Date

Preparation of

Questionnaires/Interview

Questions

06/06/11 7 13/06/11

Dispatch of

Questionnaires/Conducting

interviews

13/06/11 7 20/06/11

Theoretical Review 20/06/11 14 04/07/11

Collating Interviews and

Questionnaires

04/07/11 6 10/07/11

Contextualising original

data

10/07/11 3 13/07/11

Analysis 13/07/11 8 21/07/11

Writing up 21/07/11 35 25/08/11

Draft dissertation to

Supervisor

25/08/11 4 29/08/11

Feedback corrections and

Proof reading

29/08/11 14 12/09/11

Report Binding 12/09/11 2 14/09/11

Potential Problem 14/09/11 7 22/09/11

Submission of dissertation 22/09/11 1 23/09/11

5.3. Resources

Possibly, printing facilities and international phone card (telephone interviewing) are

the main resources required. Both are affordable and should not be hindrance to the

dissertation.

113

Appendix 8 (continued)

5.4. Conclusion

Based on the time table and resources proposed above, the expected time for the

dissertation to finish is the 22ND September, 2011.

114

Appendix 8 (continued)

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Appendix 8 (continued)

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117

Glossary (List of Abbreviations)

$ USD - United States of America Dollar

Bn – Billion

BP- Business Processes

BPO-Business Process Outsourcing

CACI - Consolidated Analysis Centre Incorporated

CIA - Central Intelligent Agency

CIA -Central Intelligent Agency

ECG - Electric Company of Ghana

EST- Estimate

FDI- Foreign Direct Investment

GASSCOM - Ghana Association of Software and IT Services Companies

GDP - Gross Domestic Product

GNA - Ghana News Agency

ICT - Information and Communication Technology

IOAP - International Association of Outsourcing Profession

IT- Information Technology

ITA - Information Technology Processes Activities

ITES - Information Technology Enabled Services

ITU - International Telecommunications Union

KPMG- Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler

KPO - Knowledge Process Outsourcing

MNCs - Multi-National Corporations

NASSCOM - National Association of Software and Services Companies

RBT - Resource Based Theory

RCEER - Resource Centre for Energy Economics and Regulation

SWOT - Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats

TCT- Transaction-Cost Theory

UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization