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The repository contains scholarly work, both unpublished and published, by current or former AAU faculty, staff, and students, including Works by AAU students as part of their masters, doctoral, or post-doctoral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
Investigating the Challenges and Drivers of Performance Among Female Entrepreneurs in Bishoftu Town
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-03) Kalkidan Misrak; Habtamu Endris
The main objective of this study is to analyze factors that affect women entrepreneurs’ performance on MSEs in case of Bishoftu town. A sample of 363 women entrepreneurs engaged in 5 sectors, namely construction , manufacturing, service, trade and urban agriculture sectors was taken for the study using stratified and multi stage sampling techniques. The structured questions were prepared to collect information on women entrepreneurs’ performance on selected 5 MSEs. After the data has been collected, it was analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviations, tables, percentages and figures) and econometric model (logistic and marginal effect reporting coefficient). The study found that marital status, educational level, working experience, access to finance, access to infrastructure and land ownership are statistically significant forecasters of women performance in the study area. Conclusion of the study, women entrepreneur’s performance in terms of profitability indicated that women-owned business is profitable 45.17% and women-owned business is not profitable 54.83% in the study area. Recommendation of the study was that women must get much access to finance, infrastructure and land ownership which is positively stimulating women entrepreneur performance. Therefore, concerning body on MSEs should give more attention in order to encourage women entrepreneur performance providing access of finance, access of infrastructure and access of land ownership.
The Effect of Strategic Orientation on Organizational Performance: The Case of Some Selected Banks
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-06-02) Michael Melaku; Jemal Mohammed
The issue of poor understanding concerning the influence of different orientations of strategy towards
organizational performance is prevalent in the banking industry in Ethiopia. Although several strategies
are put in place, the specific effect of the strategies is not known and the literature available is largely
limited to the development of strategies. Consequently, this paper aims to investigate the effect of
strategic orientation on organizational performance in a selected bank focusing on evaluating the impact
of market orientation, technology orientation, entrepreneurial orientation and learning orientation on
organizational performance of the selected bank. Chapter Three outlines the methodology used in
investigating the effect of strategic orientation on organizational performance in selected banks. In this
case, the research philosophy adopted is positivist. This philosophy stresses empirical measures of
phenomena which makes it appropriate in exploring the effect of variables such as strategic orientation
and organizational performance. The deductive approach was used in developing theories and hypothesis
based on Resource Based View, Dynamic Capability and Market Based View. An explanatory design was
used in order to find cause and effect relationship. The data was obtained in one point of time in order to
make the study efficient and effective. Quantitative research approach was used in the study to enable
generalizability of findings since it enables objective measurement and statistical analysis. Employees of
the selected commercial banks of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia who know well enough the bank's strategies
were targeted to participate in the study. Stratified Random Sampling technique was used to select a
sample of 286 respondents using Yamane formula. The data sources included primary data collected from
structured questionnaire survey as well as the secondary data taken from books, reports and journals.
The questions of the questionnaire consist of demographic attributes, strategic orientation elements and
organizational performance measured using Likert scale. The questions were validated using previous
similar studies. The validity of the questionnaire was established through experts' reviews and factor
analysis. At the same time, the reliability of the tool was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha where all of
the variables exceeded the acceptable cut-off value of 0.70. Independent variables in the study include
Market Orientation, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Learning Orientation and Technology Orientation
while organizational performance was the dependent variable. The analysis of the data involved
descriptive analysis using SPSS version 27. On the other hand, inferential analysis involving multiple
regressions and correlation was conducted. The relationship between independent and dependent
variable were specified using the Multiple Regression Analysis and the diagnostic test conducted includes
the normality test, VIF/Tolerance Test for Multicollinearity, Durbin Watson Test for Autocorrelation,
Homoscedasticity and Linearity test to verify the model. The results indicate that market, technology,
entrepreneurial and learning strategic orientation are practiced in moderate levels in the selected bank
and are positively correlated with the bank's performance by 36.6%. However, among these variables,
learning orientation and entrepreneur orientation showed very strong positive correlation with
performance while market orientation showed negative correlation.
Enhancing Global Market Competitiveness of Ethiopian Coffee Exporters: Exploring International Branding and Value Addition Strategies and Consumer Cosmopolitanism
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-06-01) Dania Endris; Ethiopia Legesse
This study examines export competitiveness among Ethiopian coffee firms. It focuses on branding,
value addition, and cosmopolitan consumers. The study uses a qualitative approach. Researchers
conducted semi-structured interviews with seven Ethiopian coffee firms, selected through
purposive sampling. They analyzed the data using thematic analysis. All seven firms use
geographical and cultural branding to differentiate their products. Weak geographical indication
protection and brand dilution limit the impact of this strategy. Firms add value through methods
like anaerobic fermentation, carbonic maceration, and roasting at origin. Tariff escalation and
foreign exchange rules block further downstream value addition. Global demand is shifting toward
knowledge-based, ethically sourced, and locally rooted products. This shift creates opportunities
for firms with strong traceability systems and supply chain governance. Firms face several
institutional barriers. These include weak regulation from the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority,
forex retention rules, and uneven compliance demands under the EU Deforestation Regulation.
Together, these barriers limit firm competitiveness. Firms need to invest in supply chain
governance, through vertical integration or closer partnerships with suppliers. This study adds to
research on global value chains, agricultural export competitiveness, and institutional economics
in developing countries.
Managing Organizational Change in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Leadership Challenges and Opportunities the Case of Ethio Telecom
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-06-01) Kemal Mohammed; Meba Tadesse
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how large organizations work and Ethio Telecom which is
Ethiopia's main telecom operator is moving through this change at an early stage and in an
emerging economy environment . By the first half of the 2025/2026 fiscal year it served about 87.1
million subscribers and 49 million mobile data users and had introduced AI-based and digital
services such as Telebirr, Ardi chatbot and biometric registration. Because adopting AI is as much
a leadership and human task as a technical one, this study explores how that change is led and
how employees and customers experience and accept it. It used an exploratory mixed methods and
qualitative dominant design with 70 participants which is made up of 25 employees 15 managers
and 30 customers. Data was from semi structured interviews and open-ended questions, Likert-
scale questionnaires and six non-participant observations and secondary resources. The
questionnaire answers were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics while the open-ended
answers, the observation and the secondary sources were analyzed thematically and brought
together with the numbers through a joint display.
The central finding is that the technical side of the change largely succeeded while the human side
was undermanaged. communication weakened as it moved down the organizational hierarchy and
the weakest link was between senior management and middle managers. Employee fear was real
as a psychological experience, but not based on actual local job displacement. Formal training
was the weakest support so staff gained competence primarily through peer learning and self
learning. Employees were left out of decisions but accepted the change because the tools were
useful. Customer experience split in two ways: routine tasks like payments worked well while
problem resolution was the lowest rated part of the study and connected urban users were served
well while regional and older customers were left behind by a clear digital divide. The one clear
human-side gain was that leading this imperfect change built real leadership confidence in
managers. The study recommends briefing managers properly before each roll out, communicating
honestly about AI and jobs, involving employees in decisions, redesigning training around real job
tasks with follow-up support and keeping the branch and USSD channels open while improving the
chatbot so complex problems can be solved without a call or a branch visit. Its contribution is a
locally grounded account of the human process behind AI-driven change in a large Ethiopian
organization complementing earlier work that measured performance gains but did not explain
how they were achieved.
Modeling the Determinants of Ethiopian State Owned Enterprises’ International Business Expansion In Emerging Markets: The Roles of Legal Framework, Political Stability, and Market Knowledge
(Addis Ababa University, 2026-06-02) Kassahun Mulatu; Amare Abawa
The internationalization of State-Owned Enterprises (SoEs) from emerging economies represents
a rapidly growing but under-researched phenomenon in global business, particularly within sub-
Saharan Africa. While existing literature heavily focuses on private multinational enterprises or
state enterprises from major emerging markets, limited empirical evidence explains how
institutional environments and organizational capabilities jointly determine the cross-border
expansion of Ethiopian federal SoEs. This study addresses this gap by examining the direct and
interactive effects of the Home-Country Legal Framework, Host-Country Legal Framework,
Host-Country Political Stability, and Corporate Market Knowledge on the international business
Based upon Institutional Theory, the Uppsala Model, and Transaction Cost Economics, an
integrated analytical framework was developed. A quantitative, explanatory cross-sectional
research design was employed, with primary data gathered via structured questionnaires
administered to 95 senior executives, strategy directors, and legal compliance officers across
major Ethiopian federal SoEs operating under Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH). The
empirical model was tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-
SEM) The findings indicate that both external institutional conditions and internal firm-specific
capabilities play critical roles in driving outward expansion performance. Among the examined
determinants, corporate market knowledge emerged as the primary driver of foreign market
success, highlighting the fundamental importance of experiential learning, localized
understanding, and strategic intelligence. Supportive home and host-country legal frameworks,
alongside a stable political environment in target markets, provide essential institutional enabling
conditions This study contributes to international business literature by offering empirical investigations
into the international expansion determinants of Ethiopian federal State-Owned Enterprises. By
bridging institutional and capability-based perspectives, the research extends existing knowledge
on state-capitalist internationalization in developing economies. Practically, the findings offer
actionable insights for public policymakers, Ethiopian Investment Holdings, and enterprise
executives seeking to strengthen the global competitiveness and long-term sustainability of
Ethiopian state enterprises