Risk and Operational Performance: Evidence from the Sachet Water Supply Chain in Ghana

Abstract

Actors in Ghana’s sachet water supply chain are constrained by numerous risks factors from functioning properly. The study recognises the need to investigate the risks faced by actors in the sachet water supply chain and its impact on their Operational performance. Underpinned by constraints and theory, the study adopted the positivism paradigm, quantitative approach and explanatory research design due to their relevance to the research objectives. The simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of three hundred and seventy (370) actors in the sachet water supply chain from the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) for the study. Structured questionnaires were administered which yielded a response rate of 74.32%, (275), reliable data set which was processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 25. Descriptive tools such as frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations and inferential tools like correlation and regression, the study found variations in risks’ probability, impact and threshold in sachet water supply chain. Also, financial (p = 0.006), supply-related (p = 0.001), managerial and operational (p = 0.005) and Logistics and infrastructural risks (p = 0.022) significantly affected operational performance, whiles on the contrary political (p = 0.710) and demand-related (p = 0.410) risks did not affect significantly operational performance. The study, therefore recommended that, actors in the sachet water supply chain are to consistently identify and quantify risks thresholds/impact frequently as this will aid in developing prompt actions to mitigate the high-level risk sources whiles monitoring and developing contingency plans for the medium-level risk sources.