Following theoretical elaborations in network facilitation linking small entrepreneurs, self organisation, the formation of social capital and the organisation of knowledge in occupational networks are expected to produce a synergy promoting dynamism in business engagements and social groupings. Fundamentally, the organisation of thoughts310 have continually required the adaptation of systems in the development of motivations, the core assets being the basic ability for self organisation.
Network Function
The functions of networks however, seem only recognisable in as far as they seek not only the fulfilment of individual needs, but also lay priority on the accomplishment of the goals of the network. Particularly so, where for local entrepreneurs, membership acts as a bridge to access larger structures, a critical factor remains the ability of individuals within the network having the opportunity to express concerns relating to their betterment, thus for local economic actors, micro level occupational structures imply reaping benefits otherwise individually a challenge.
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Challenging conditions and context within which local entrepreneurs operate with efforts to increase market knowledge and technology in the expansion process acts as a coercive force particularly in their identification to formal networks, where priority should be laid on the strength of said networks to draw and hold resources as well as the ability to derive a high degree of attention in the acceleration of resource acquisition.
For trading groups, petty and household trading form the bulk of trading activities within rural communities, with challenges lying in transcending community boundaries to typical market centres in nearby cities or districts, where central marketing of agricultural produce and commodities are organised. OVERA311 refers to central marketing processes where rural traders are involved as ‘commodity*
chains’, identifying wholesalers, who buy in bulk from rural areas; wholesale retailers who sell in bulk at central market points and retailers who buy in specific quantities to resell in smaller quantities to small scale traders and petty traders. For the majority of traders in rural communities, the transactions are more often made with retailers of essential commodities needed by farmers and community households. The transaction ‘link’ described by Overa in the commodity chain process, where networks of trading activities are established amongst traders trading in similar commodities at various levels to reduce risks and expenses in transaction processes remains the bottleneck in most rural communities. Here, individual attempts to establish such linkages have remained weak due to low capacities in sustaining regularity in transactions. For small scale cocoa farmers groups, transaction costs remain an important factor based on the difficulty in receiving most current information on the state of developments and future predictions in market developments, leaving them in a permanent phase of uncertainty in market arrangements.
Role recognition within such contexts directly reflects on the perceptions in the distribution modus of resources in putting entrepreneurial groups in the position to maintain interrelations, through adequate control of the inflow of resources as well as fair distribution. This infers the creation of a continuous and dynamic process in the selection of resource acquisition options. For petty commodity traders and producers, the ultimate goal of belonging to networks implies the creation of a source having the ability to satisfy member interests which should invariably be juxtaposed with the concern of member interests not necessarily towing the line of formal institutions, rather more geared towards positioning them to have capacities to source in their strategy to support local enterprise growth.
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Overa, R. (2004:15:3) uses the term with reference to the definition provided by Dickson (1998:7), where he defines the term as “ a transactionally linked sequence of functions in which each stage adds value to the process of production of goods and services.”
Typical examples of such networks312 are prevalent at community levels where networks risk the danger of having leadership practised in a system negatively impacting on group development, reducing the morale for proactive behaviour amongst members. The continuous existence and function of such groupings further imply limited access to resources and resource sharing, presenting a situation of stagnancy of resources and information accrued at the rank and file of leadership, thus resulting in inactivity and lapse in member commitment. The responsibility of memberships in networks invariably lies in their ability to limit confrontations reducing their ability to access, and instead, through their capacity to leverage in the occurrence of such bottlenecks, in strategising to foster structural relations, steering such processes occurring within network activities to be directed to impact positively in group circles.
The creation of success oriented network structures may thus involve more than the fundamental activity of grouping individuals;, indeed, the collection of conscious efforts needed to steer networks successfully overbearingly includes the regular and constant effort to maintain culture of dynamism and shared identity in which members take up responsibility as well as feel accountable to the structure for their actions towards assuming collective responsibility in resource seeking.
In recognising local economic groupings acting as the binding element for small scale producers, petty commodity traders and retailers towards facilitating growth in competition, such collaboration, aside internal efforts, eventually feed largely on formal service organisations in acquiring linkages to formal structures. In building the ability to recognise potential, therefore, the onus lies on accruing relationships in network formation for resultant stable systems. Parallel to promoting vertical cooperation, horizontal linkages within stable occupational groups such as joint purchasing or marketing of produce offers group stability in harnessing external resources.
Trust values within communal groups offer avenues for the expansion of networks in building capacities to assume organisational dimensions necessary in building external linkages.
Nnoboa groups313 in rural communities represent traditional labour particularly offering cocoa farmers the ability to be further strengthened in group dimensions for further economic interaction through engagement in the minimal available spatial networks in creating an
312
See Mohammed, D. et al (2011:1043-1045) - onlinkage structures for cocoa farmers. 313
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opening. The established relations based on cognitive elements can as well be drawn into the building of group relations for more formal structures.
Structure
In the adhesion to roles supporting communal occupational structures, although purely communal networks with ethnic similarities may experience less challenges in interactive processes communally; network structure for sourcing resources beyond the scarcity and limited capacities for small entrepreneurs within the communal structure however, should lay more emphasis on fostering acquaintances through guiding community level individuals in external interactive processes.
Collaborative actions within networks thus imply a clear structure and maintenance of ‘rules and regulations’ in achieving group goals as well as sustaining a measurable flow of activity within the system. This borders on the clear issue of sensitivity relating to rank, where leadership within structures should be organised such as to preserve the feeling of an organised framework within groups at the same time tactfully avoiding attitudes producing the feeling of excessive control and intimidation towards members.
For petty farmers and traders, opportunities to enter into district economic engagements imply reducing costs as a result of growth in business, however this implies developing of networks away from a static structure towards one possessing the ability through collective efficiency. Thus, the density of interactions within formal frameworks interrelatedly acts as a positive element in magnifying the community size toward sourcing external support, where group maintenance as a feature, bears effectively on network size.
Communities countrywide 314 experience a prevalence of communal networks structures established without consideration of the effect of group size on performance, where instances of group structures reflect dimensions which impair regular interconnectivity vital for group function, implying a lower probability of leadership being able to rally and organise concerns for formal support. This then presents greater challenges for leadership in creating strategies for information sharing and dissemination. Though communities within the Mpohor wassa east district such as Elembelle have made strides in reaching out to external sources, other communities including the study area remain static.315 Trader and farmer groups structured in smaller sizes at local levels may possess the advantage of smaller dimensions in social
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See Marney, I.E. et al, (2000), in Ecology and Society, Vol. 12, No.2 Art.32 315
disparities as well as closer relations between members and between leadership, increasing the chances of a clear knit fabric transcending homogenous boundaries as preparatory phase for nurturing external linkages.
In determining functional success, organisatory developments within groups demand a scope of attention on community homogeneity, suggesting the formation of clusters being widely dependent on the foreseeable form of relations among members. This is more especially reliant on the process through which such groups are organised, where they may tend to have an extremely hierarchical form in structure, aborting the very purpose of permitting individuals realising the value of using membership within such groups as channels in achieving resource seeking goals.
In developing such structures therefore, similar caution should be attached to the merging of groups sharing similar identity at community levels.
Large mergers based on common occupational identity, though strategic in amassing more strength in bridging external gaps may just as well cause disengagements leading to extinction in view of large variations in culture, ultimate goals, as well as differences in approaches to resource seeking strategies.316
Typically, community level organisational structures in Ghana witness entrepreneurial groupings focusing more on forming conglomerations to assume greater numbers towards increasing their degree of influence, concentrating less on intra-group relations where social dimensions could largely vary. The retention of formed clusters in communities thus implies recognition of circumstances, mechanisms and elements having the tendency to bear positively on the accumulation of assets for network growth.
In observing trust forms, with local small scale enterprises in Ghana typically limited in scope, the formation of and involvement in micro level formal groups and clusters are expected to, through increasing opportunities, speed up economic growth through promoting small enterprise development. Within the country, ethnic diversities as well as social characteristics partially imply the formation and existence of various types of networks relying on density, form and linkages accessible to provide expected services to local economic actors. This categorically implies leadership within formed structures should take into account the building of trust between communal structures accustomed to trust relations amongst ethnic groupings as they commence relations with external clusters. The realisation
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Though organisations like the FONG with member bodies such as Ghana Federation of Agricultural Producers GFAP try to represent member interests, disparities parallelly arise from its umbrella nature.
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of the relevance of improved quality in activities of local entrepreneurs acts as the drive to belong to such clusters, to benefit from such structures through a more intensified local economic actor collaboration. This implies the importance of the network striving to achieve stability and trust as basis for structure, which could further enable it determine regulatory frameworks in sourcing the type of assistance required.
The purpose of self organisation leading to expected results is largely a reflection of the background of members comprising the network.
Bearing in mind the individualistic nature and response of individuals to group expectations being based on past experiences, cultural backgrounds as well as economic and social conditions within the settings they find themselves, groups may experience instances of less flexibility in interaction as well as in external collaboration.
The ‘structural strength’ of networks granting them the ability to link up to external structures is highly dependent on the degree of social interaction available. EHIN317 describes this form of interaction as ‘social nesting’ in deducing that ‘ample quantities’ of such form of interaction form the basis for enhanced productivity.
The very existence and development of business within networks implies a form of interaction dependent on various dimensions such as cooperative and reciprocal values. Equally as exchange of ideas and active interaction is expected to build and support the institutional structure with such formal networks; the thriving entrepreneurial activity within networks is largely owed to the reciprocal nature of relations within the networks, implying the sense of concern for individual well-being as well as for members acting as the connecting tissue creating a ‘draw-in’ effect to sustain a network built on trust.
Frequent interaction made possible through the presence of a stable system thus allows for the function of a vicious cycle of the establishment and absorption of norms accepted. Here, this implies the possibility of a regular and long term interaction amongst economic actors at the local level, resulting in the unhindered flow and dissemination of information needed to establish institutional arrangements as well as bridge structural gaps.