5. Discussion and implications
The primary question that we have addressed in this study is why firms persist with underperforming workers. Drawing on insights from two emerging economies in Africa: Ghana and Nigeria, we uncovered that persistence with underperforming workers stems from factors such as information hoarding, favouritism through tribalism, “idiosyncrasy credit”, externally imposed constraints and escalation of commitment. Interestingly, we have uncovered evidence to advance the notion that ethnic ties and tribalism play an influential role in the decision by managers to persist with underperforming workers. Another broad category of sources of persistence stems from the emotional bond created between supervisors and subordinates. The existence of such ties constrained managers' ability to act in the face of persistent poor performance. It also stems from firms' attempt to gain and retain political ties and “special privileges”. In addition, we uncovered that outside the work environment, some of such workers are utilised as a means of gaining legitimacy and cultivating trust with the local politicians.
