Browsing by Author "Horvey, Sylvester Senyo"

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    A customer communication application for organisations
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Netangaheni, Shumani; Horvey, Sylvester Senyo
    The aim of this study was to investigate the need for an integrated communication application dedicated to service communication for organizations as well as to determine factors that users consider important for the adoption of a new communication mobile application system. This study is important to the building of an application where resources are constrained and need to be traded off. The growth of social media has seen a rise in the need for consumers to instantly want access to information that is of importance to them. It is for this reason that communication has become a commodity that organizations invest in to build stronger relationships with their customers. However, it is not always easy for organizations to get it right as the communication methods they rely on may not be efficient or cost effective. It is for this reason that theoretical work was consulted to determine a need for a central communication application which various organizations can plug into to publish messages when they have service failure or recovery. The literature advised of a need but for a different problem. Primary data was collected from respondents using a survey where respondents were asked if they would use an integrated mobile application dedicated to communication when their service providers have service failure and when the service has recovered
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    Enterprise risk management, corporate governance, performance and risk-taking behaviour of the insurance industry: empirical evidence from Ghana and South Africa
    (2022) Horvey, Sylvester Senyo
    The growing complexities in the business environment have led to the adoption of enterprise risk management (ERM). ERM is a new approach to managing organisational risks holistically to achieve its goals. Regardless of the diversities in the business environment, ERM has become an essential factor for businesses and is believed to enhance shareholder value. Despite the growing number of studies on ERM, literature suffers some limitations regarding its proxies and inconclusive results between ERM and performance. This study adopts a more comprehensive measurement of ERM, which captures various characteristics (such asrisk governance, operational mechanisms, and quality of risk oversight) within the risk ecosystem. The study uses a panel regression technique on a sample of 33 and 63 insurers from Ghana and South Africa, respectively, covering 2015-2019. This thesis is centred on four thematic papers. Each focuses on a specific subject (s) at the heart of the problems or research questions being investigated. The first paper provides a comprehensive and systematic literature review on the measurement and performance of ERM. Google Scholar was the primary search tool for ERM literature spanning 2001 to 2020, and papers listed in SCImago journal ranking were discussed. The study finds that most studies rely on secondary sources, particularly the Chief Risk Officer’s appointment, as a simple ERM proxy. This is widely adopted in the literature due to the difficulty in assessing ERM information. The study recommends that empirical measurement of ERM rely on both primary and secondary data as they complement each other and allow more insight and factors to be considered for a robust ERM measurement. In terms of performance, the ERM literature reveals mixed findings, but enough evidence supports the assertion that ERM enhances firm profitability and value. The study suggests that scholars consider examining the ERM-performance relationship in emerging economies as most of these studies centred on the US and European economies. The second paper analyses the determinants of ERM adoption in Ghana and South Africa using a panel logistic regression technique. Building on the contingency theory, the study posits that several factors contribute to ERM adoption. The study finds that firm size, ownership, leverage, industrial diversification and the type of audit firm are positively associated with ERM adoption in both countries. Findings from the quantile regression also highlight that the initial levels of size, profitability and leverage reduce ERM adoption, and an extreme increase in these factors promotes iii ERM adoption, which implies a nonlinear direct U-shape relationship. On the contrary, the study sees an inverted U-shape for return on assets and leverage for Ghana. Industrial diversification, Big4 audit companies and ownership show consistent patterns of a significant positive effect on ERM adoption at different quantiles for both samples. The findings support the fact that insurers could improve their risk management system by considering the factors that significantly affect them. The third paper first examines the impact of ERM on insurance performance (underwriting performance and Return on Assets) and second investigates how corporate governance (CG) characteristics such as the board size, board independence, and gender diversity interact with ERM in affecting insurance performance. The major findings are summarised as follows: (1) a positive relationship exists between ERM and insurance performance for both countries; and (2) board size, board independence and gender diversity interact with ERM in affecting underwriting performance and return on assets. This was mostly positive and significant in both samples. The study suggests that insurers interested in ensuring an effective ERM system should leverage these corporate governance factors to appreciate the overall impact of ERM on performance. In the final paper, the study examines the linear and non-linear effects of ERM and CG on risktaking behaviour. The result from the linear regression elicits a significant positive relationship between ERM and risk-taking for both countries, implying that insurers with a strong ERM system are more likely to pursue higher risks. The empirical evidence also suggests that board size and board independence have a significant positive impact on risk-taking for both samples. In contrast, gender diversity shows an inverse relationship with risk-taking. Using the dynamic panel regression by Seo et al. (2019), the study confirms non-linearities between ERM, CG and risktaking. Evidence from the South African sample indicates that ERM significantly increases insurers’ risk-taking beyond the threshold level. Again, the South African sample shows significant threshold levels for board size, gender diversity and board independence at 10.03, 0.274 and 0.547, respectively. The Ghanaian sample also documents significant threshold levels at 7, 0.286, and 0.692. The study recommends that insurers consider the significant threshold levels to determine the optimum level of risk that must be pursued.
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    Perceptions of health care professionals on the feasibility of NHI in the current South African context
    (University of the Witswatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Shezi, Khulekani; Horvey, Sylvester Senyo
    The research aimed to investigate the perceptions of health care professionals on the feasibility of a National Health Insurance (NHI) policy in the current South African context. This is motivated by the country’s government plan to introduce a single health care system that is able to provide quality, affordable, and accessible health care services to all citizens, regardless of their socioeconomic status. Listed as one of the programmes for implementation on the country’s National Development Plan (NDP), the NHI is expected to be rolled out to South African citizens by the end of 2026. The study considered different countries that have introduced universal health coverage by use of the NHI, extrapolating key lessons and considerations that can be applied by South Africa for this context, with a specific focus on the views and perceptions of healthcare professionals on the feasibility of such a programme and the uncovering of any undocumented concerns and fears about the NHI. The study employed a qualitative approach, interviewing sixteen health care professionals through open-ended questions. Participants were all based and placed in Ekurhuleni and employed at the public hospitals in the area. This specific sample was chosen because of the volume of patients they see and the challenges regarding resources they face. Most healthcare professionals believe the NHI is not feasible in South Africa. They expressed concern over the required political prowess for implementation and the lack of trust in current governmental structures to ensure the successful running of such a state-owned entity. The participants also mentioned that the current planning for the NHI excludes the voices of healthcare professionals, who will be some of the major stakeholders on the ground. Therefore further fuelling the scepticism on the positive rollout of such a programme. The key recommendation from the research is that the country’s government must involve all stakeholders to ensure the success of the NHI. Additionally, it is presented that there be mandatory cross-subsidization for the elderly and value-added tax for the unemployed. Lastly, it is presented that the government should focus on improving the public sector and its readiness for such a rollout before emphasizing time frames