AAU Institutional Repository (AAU-ETD)
Addis Ababa University Institutional repository is an open access repository that collects,preserves, and disseminates scholarly outputs of the university. AAU-ETD archives' collection of master's theses, doctoral dissertations and preprints showcase the wide range of academic research undertaken by AAU students over the course of the University's long history.
How to Submit Your Work
The repository contains scholarly work, both unpublished and published, by current or former AAU faculty, staff, and students, including Works by AAU students as part of their masters, doctoral, or post-doctoral research
- All AAU faculty, staff, and students are invited to submit their work to the repository. Please contact the library at your college.
You may contact digirep@aau.edu.et.with any questions about the repository
Colleges,Institutes in AAU-ETD
Select a college,institute to browse its collections.
Recent Submissions
Factors Affecting the Performance of Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises: in the Case of Kirkos Sub-City Administration
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-06-02) Shegaw Misene; Challa Amdissa
Small and medium manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs) play vital role in economic development, employment creation and poverty reduction in Ethiopia. However, their performance is constrained by several internal and external challenges. This study examined the internal and external factors affecting the performance of small and medium manufacturing enterprises (SMMEs) in Kirkos Sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It assessed the influence of managerial skills, technology adoption, working premises, marketing strategies, access to finance, market access, the regulatory environment and economic stability on the productivity, competitiveness, and sustainability of manufacturing SMMEs. The study employed a mixed exploratory–descriptive research design. Data were collected from 199 owners and managers of manufacturing SMMEs using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used using SPSS software. The findings of the study showed that internal factors managerial skills and technology adoption influenced enterprises' performance positively. However, the external factors such as access to finance, infrastructure and regulatory constraints affected business growth and sustainability negatively. Managerial skills and technology adoption were identified as major challenges limiting enterprise competitiveness. The study concluded that SMME manufacturing performance is dependent on internal and external factors. If there are no supportive institutional and economic environments, then improving managerial competencies and technology adoption are insufficient. Therefore, the study recommends strengthening of entrepreneurship and managerial training programs, improving access to affordable finance, simplification of regulatory procedures and expansion of infrastructure and market support services to enhance the long-term performance and sustainability of manufacturing SMMEs.
Exploring Consumer Narratives of Traditional and Modern Clothing in Addis Ababa: an Interpretivist Study ADDIS
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-06-02) Leul Taye; Meskerem Mitiku
This study explored how consumers in Addis Ababa construct and narrate meaning around traditional and modern clothing, and how those meanings shape clothing choices across different social contexts. The study aimed to understand what clothing signifies to urban Ethiopian consumers, how personal histories and social interactions shape those meanings, which situational contexts drive choices between traditional and imported clothing, and what those findings mean for local producers and policymakers. Thirty participants were interviewed using a life-history approach, drawn from a wide range of ages, genders, occupations, and migration backgrounds across three market sites: Shero Meda, Merkato, and Shola. Observation sessions ran alongside the interviews at all three sites. Trustworthiness was established through triangulation, member checking, peer debriefing, and reflexive journaling. identity, ceremony, and ethnic pride. Modern and imported clothing functions as social currency signaling professionalism and aspiration. A consistent set of situational rules governs when each type fits. Life turning points such as migration and career entry restructure how people relate to clothing over time. A persistent gap exists between the desire to support local production and what people actually buy. Three broader patterns ran across the dataset: a dual wardrobe logic most participants lived without questioning, an aspiration-constraint tension felt most sharply by younger participants, and a migration recalibration narrative among those who moved to Addis Ababa from other parts of Ethiopia. The findings show that locally produced modern clothing lacks a clear design identity and carries almost no visible Ethiopian character, placing it in a weak market position between traditional and imported clothing. The desire most participants expressed to support local production is genuine but largely inactive, waiting for products and occasions that make acting on it feel like a real choice. These findings carry direct implications for local designers, retailers, and policymakers who want to grow the domestic clothing market by engaging the cultural and symbolic dimensions of consumer behavior that production-side investment alone has not reached.
Assessment of Performance of Ethiopia’s Special Economic Zones Under the Home-Grown Economic Reform Agenda: Evidence from Employment and Exports in Selected SEZs (2017 – 2025)
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-06-01) Feven Mulugeta; Challa Amdissa
This study examined the performance of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Ethiopia under the Home-Grown Economic Reform Agenda focusing on employment and export outcomes as well as a discussion on social and environmental changes. It aimed to assess the performance of SEZs under HGER by analysing measurable economic results and briefly discussing institutional and operational changes that shaped these outcomes. In doing so, the study aimed to address a gap in existing studies which focus on evaluating SEZ performance with limited indicators without consideration of recent policy reforms and implementation dynamics. The research used mixed methods approach combining quantitative analysis that focused on examining employment and export performance and qualitative analysis that looked into how the reforms were experienced and implemented in practice. Both approaches compared pre reform (2017 – 2019) and post reform (2020 – 2025) periods. For the quantitative analysis descriptive statistics were complemented by econometric analysis using a fixed effects panel model that removes permanent differences across SEZs ensuring the estimated effect is driven by changes over time rather than structural differences between zones and across time. For the qualitative analysis document review and a semi structured interview with relevant stakeholders was used to assess the perceived impact of HGER measures on SEZ operations, incentives and support provided, challenges and opportunities and social and environmental considerations. In total, 14 semi structured interviews were conducted across three selected SEZs including Hawassa, Bole Lemi and Adama, involving SEZ managers, workers representatives and government officials. The findings show that average employment and export levels were higher in the post reform period with employment increasing by approximately 53 percent and exports by approximately 105 percent on average relative to the pre reform period. However, these changes fluctuated across zones and time suggesting that the study does not provide strong evidence to attributable measurable performance improvements directly to the reforms. The qualitative findings helped explain this pattern by showing that there are gradual improvements in things related to governance, institutional coordination and social and environmental standards but structural challenges related to infrastructure inefficiencies, foreign exchange constraints, logistical issues and labour related problems persist limiting performance and contributing to the fluctuations observed in the quantitative results. The findings suggest that the reforms may have contributed to improvements in the institutional and operational environment of SEZs although their measurable economic effects remain unclear highlighting the need for continued institutional strengthening and improved policy coord
Determinants of Customer Satisfaction on Public Service Delivery: in Case of Ethiopia Immigration and Citizenship Service
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-05-01) Zeleke Alemu; Desalegn Amlaku
institutions understand that service delivery and customer satisfaction are key determinants of organizational effectiveness, public trust and service efficiency. The study designed to evaluate the impact of service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction. The research identified the most significant problems affecting customer satisfaction such as delay in service delivery, lack of responsiveness, inadequate complaint resolution system, lack of information sharing, and lack of customer-oriented service practices. The study also found that the institution is facing lack of training opportunities and weak accountability systems, which negatively affect the quality of services and customer satisfaction. The study adopted a descriptive research design and utilized both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The researcher used primary and secondary sources of data. The customer of ICS is unknown, and it is difficult to determine exactly. As a result, the researcher was used sample size determination formula in case of infinite population, the researcher distributed 385 questionnaires for customers, from this, 373 were returned properly completed and the remaining questionnaires were not returned or incomplete. Respondents were selected by using convenience-sampling technique. The results of the study showed that empathy, reliability, and responsiveness had positive and significant effects on customer satisfaction. Empathy was the strongest predictor of customer satisfaction, indicating that customers greatly value individualized attention and understanding and caring service from employees. Tangibility had a negative and significant relationship with customer satisfaction suggesting dissatisfaction with physical facilities and the service environment. However, assurance had a positive but statistically insignificant effect on customer satisfaction. The finding of the study recommends that Ethiopian Immigration and Citizenship Service should improve customer centered service delivery, facilitate employee-training programs, enhance responsiveness and enhance the physical service environment. The institution should also develop effective complaint handling mechanisms, improve accountability systems and regularly assess service quality to improve overall customer satisfaction.
The Effects of Talent Development Programs on Job Satisfaction with Moderating Role of Perceived Organizational Support at the Bank of Abyssinia
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-06-02) Hiwot Tamiru; Meskerem Mitiku
Talent development programs are critical for improving employee’s skills, motivation and organizational performance in the banking sector. Bank of Abyssinia has implemented several talent development initiatives including training and development, career management, succession planning and e-learning. Despite these efforts, the Bank’s 2023/24 employee engagement and satisfaction survey indicates fluctuations in satisfaction levels with only 53.8% of staff reporting adequate access to training and 56.3% perceiving fair internal job opportunities, suggesting that talent development programs may not be reaching employees equally. This study assessed the effects of talent development programs on job satisfaction and assed the moderating role of perceived organizational support at the Bank of Abyssinia Head Office guided by three objectives: to examine how talent development practices affect job satisfaction, to identify which program contributes most and to test the moderating effect of POS.A quantitative approach with an explanatory research design was adopted in this study. Using Yamane's formula, 141 clerical employees were selected through simple random sampling technique and primary data were collected by structured self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regressions were used to examine relationships among variables, while the moderating effect of POS was tested using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 1). The findings revealed that succession planning and career management emerged as the strongest positive drivers of job satisfaction. Conversely, training showed a negative effect when controlling for the other talent development programs, indicating that it must be explicitly linked to career management and succession planning pathways to be effective, rather than deployed as an isolated administrative requirement. At the end, the analysis demonstrated that Perceived Organizational Support (POS) acts a powerful independent predictor of satisfaction rather than a conditional moderator. Based on these findings, the study recommends that Bank of Abyssinia explicitly connect training programs to career advancement and succession pathways rather than delivering it in isolation, establish transparent performance based promotion systems, make e- learning role specific and interactive.