Chad Coffman, an assistant professor in the Department of Management, presented a study titled “A Process Model of Informality: Business Registration In Sub-Saharan Africa” at the Babson College Entrepreneurship Conference, where he received the top 40 award.
The conference is an annual event that brings together global scholars to present and discuss leading research in entrepreneurship. Hosted in June 2024 by the Technical University of Munich, Germany, it offers researchers, educators and doctoral students the opportunity to share insights, explore recent findings and network within the academic entrepreneurship community. The event included paper presentations, panel discussions and a Doctoral Consortium. At the conference, Coffman’s research was recognized among the top 40 submissions out of 1,011 entries from researchers worldwide, earning him the opportunity to present his work.
Coffman’s research explores the factors that influence whether entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Ghana and the Ivory Coast, choose to formally register their businesses. The presentation details three different studies:
- Study #1 involves interviewing entrepreneurs to identify factors affecting their registration decisions, including legitimacy, complexity, citizenship, transparency, visibility and return.
- Study #2 employs surveys with Likert-style questions (a type of survey question that asks respondents to select an answer on a scale to measure their opinions, attitudes or behaviors) to analyze different ethnic groups in various countries.
- Study #3 utilizes scenario design (a strategic planning tool that involves creating detailed, plausible narratives about different possible futures) to observe responses to hypothetical situations regarding business registration.
The findings suggest that business registration is influenced by multiple factors, with different pathways (unregistered, locally registered, nationally registered) that vary according to individual business contexts and stakeholder involvement. This research is significant because fees and taxes paid by registered businesses are essential for funding infrastructure, utilities and public education. In contrast, unregistered businesses often make informal payments to government agents rather than public services.