Electronic Theses and Dissertations (PhDs)

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A phenomenological study of female entrepreneurial identity, aspiration, and success in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Mlotshwa, Semukele Hellen; Murimbika, McEdward
Background: The rise of identity movements or politics may seem sudden in modern culture, revolutionary in a sense as the world witnesses the reordering of group and group affinity discourse from the #MeToo, #BLM to trans activism. Yet in academic milieu of disciplines such as entrepreneurship, traditional scholarship seems to be stunted in failure to accept that social narratives, group or tribal self-identification, definition and identity are as important in defining history just like any other underlying socio-cultural and economic forces. This is captured well in entrepreneurship scholarship where the discipline is still struggling to build a reliable definition of female entrepreneurship applicable to both developed and developing countries and its effect on their respective economies. There is no unified female entrepreneurship discourse nor a discursive space that effectively accommodate female entrepreneurship interest groups. South Africa as an emerging African economy has not be spared this anomaly where, researchers have paid little attention to women's contributions to socioeconomic well-being through entrepreneurial activity. Although there is a multitude of female-centric debates and policies, their application seems largely rhetorical further accentuating the fragmentation of the entrepreneurship with respect to women participation. This gives the impression that studying female entrepreneurs is the study of the “other”. It is these challenges that inspired this research to explore the phenomenon of female entrepreneurship specifically how they self-identify, set, or define their aspirations and what they consider to be entrepreneurial success. The study goes beyond the dominant quantifiable content of entrepreneurship but rather emphasises the meaning content of entrepreneurship (i.e., nature and characteristics) from female entrepreneurs’ experiences and perspectives of their entrepreneurial practices. Methods: Utilising semi-structured in-depth individual interviews, group meetings, business visits with participants, a qualitative study was conducted using a two-phased phenomenological approach with thirty-five female entrepreneurs in South Africa. The data was analysed in two phases: first, through summative analyses aided by ATLAS.ti version 9.1 data analysis software program and second phase focused on seven participants was through explorative, descriptive qualitative approach. Results: Key themes identified from the data analysis in the two-phased approach were: participative entrepreneurship; resilience and relationship-focused entrepreneurial practice; creativity, resource, and venture control; personal dimension, access to resources and growth; entrepreneurial role, influencers and professional autonomy; market acceptance, self-fulfilment, work-life balance, and financial achievement. Female entrepreneurs simultaneously build, balance, and manage a wide range of entrepreneurial ventures of varying sizes across sectors while maintain both role and social identities. They have diverse entrepreneurial aspirations for personal and collective growth, while defining entrepreneurial success more widely than the present subjective and objective measurements prevalent in extant literature. While others still see their entrepreneurial identities in the male-centric constructs, this phenomenological study illustrates that these generic and traditional male-centric constructs do not adequately captures female entrepreneurial experiences. There is a distinct exhibition of strong personality traits, a high need for achievement, determination as well as perseverance in pursuit of success broadly defined beyond bank balances and turn-over. Women entrepreneurs also express strong views on earning high returns and income to not only grow their business but support their employees, communities, themselves, and their families. Conclusion: Female entrepreneurs in the South African context do not seem to limit their entrepreneurial identities to those in extant definitions based on male-centric metrics. They aspire to build ventures, build and maintain entrepreneurial role identity but not in isolation from their other social identities such gender roles as daughters, sisters, mothers, partners, family builders and leaders, female role models and community leaders. Success is measured beyond the financial and allied subjective measures but is tied to other social identity constructs while accounting for role identity related outcomes such financial achievements, professional legitimacy and acknowledgement, and personal growth. Future studies should test the conceptual model and associated conceptual thresholds proposed in this study on the relationships between identity, aspirations, and perceptions of success by subjecting them to empirical tests. The study provided novel distinctive traits of female entrepreneurs that can provide researchers with improved and inclusive entrepreneurial identity constructs, new measures of entrepreneurial success beyond the dominance of financial super-profits focus which do not consider the other equally important societal measures such as gender equity, sustainability, societal impact, and inclusivity at all levels of entrepreneurship in society. The thesis closes by arguing that the discipline of entrepreneurship needs to be continuously creative, rather than reactive; problematisation of new issues such as addressing female identity, their respective aspirations and perceptions of what success looks like. Only then can the discipline of entrepreneurship continue to be relevant to the present with a future focus without the trap of relativisation of the discipline both in research and practice
A series of experimental analyses into the Disposition Effect and its manifestations among South African investor teams
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Shandu, Philani; Alagidede, Ihmotep
In behavioural finance literature, there is a significant amount of both empirical and experimental evidence to suggest that prior outcomes impact investment decisions through cognitive biases which most (if not all) human investors succumb to. Among the most pervasive of these biases is the disposition effect, which manifests as the tendency of the investor to sell winning stocks too soon and hold on to losing stocks for too long (Shefrin and Statman, 1985). Critically, the disposition effect is understood to lead to suboptimal portfolio returns (i.e., suboptimal levels of investor welfare). While there have been several studies in other emerging markets, studies remain few in Africa and do not address some of the important issues underpinning the intensity and nature of the disposition effect among African investors. This thesis responds to this gap by designing and analysing several field experiments which explore causal relationships between psycho-social, public health-related, and socio-political factors and the emergence, prevalence, and intensity of the disposition effect among South African university student investor teams participating in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 runs of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Investment Challenge. The thesis is organised into three experimental studies, each speaking to specific theme/s that form the research’s core objective while employing unique data and sound econometric techniques known to be relevant to experimental analysis in finance studies. The first study in Chapter 2 of the thesis endeavours to determine (i) whether the disposition effect exists among South African investor teams, (ii) whether it is causally intensified by a set of psycho-social factors, and (iii) whether the disposition effect causally reduces investor welfare. Among the study’s main findings are that South African investor teams are susceptible to the disposition effect, and that their susceptibility to the bias causally attenuates their investor welfare. Furthermore, low female representation in an investor team is found to causally intensify the disposition effect, subsequently leading to a decrease in investor welfare. Using ii evidence from real-world observation, the study contributes to the literature on team gender diversity and investment decision-making, and – using Hofstede’s (2001) cultural dimensions – it offers a comprehensive account for how differences in culture may lead to differences in gender-related disposition effects across different nationalities. The study also introduces to the literature experimental evidence from the field that clearly demonstrates that – among South African investor teams – a causal relationship exists (i) between female representation and the disposition effect, and (ii) between the disposition effect and investor welfare.
A theory of virtual culture formation
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Chitondo, Margaret Zvobgo; Carmichael, Terri
This research focused on the formation of organisational culture in virtual work teams that exist within the context of a virtual organisation. The concept of organisational culture has been studied since the late 1970s in traditional work contexts. Several studies have subsequently been carried out on the factors influencing and the processes involved in the formation of culture within the context of traditional brick and mortar workplaces. This study focused on the formation of culture in virtual organisations, which have become commonplace in the 21st century and whose key characteristics are technological enablement as well as geographic and spatial distribution. A sensitising literature review was presented to locate the study within the current discourse of organisational culture, process theory and virtual work teams within virtual organisations. A constructivist grounded theory study was carried out to investigate the phenomenon of culture formation in virtual organisations using respondents who were at the time working as part of a virtual team within a virtual organisation. Data from 18 interviewed participants and five sets of archival records were collected and analysed theoretically. The results of the study were integrated with extant literature to find that organisational culture within virtual contexts developed through managing the core theme of virtuality and by dealing with virtuality while maintaining organisational effectiveness and managing interpersonal relationships. The findings from this research are expected to inform stakeholders so that they may better anticipate, facilitate and r respond to organisational culture development within a virtual organisation context.
An analysis of the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility in the mining sector: a comparative study of South Africa and Zimbabwe mining companies
(2020) Mandevere, Melody
Over the past years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has received increased attention from the corporate world and international organisations. There has been a call for an Africanised CSR agenda based on the African context since CSR activities being undertaken in developing countries do not address the root cause of poverty and fail to improve relations with local communities. There is concern over the sustainability of the CSR projects undertaken by mining companies in Zimbabwe and the motives behind CSR activities aimed at benefitting the mining companies’ shareholders and less on the community where they operate. CSR projects in Zimbabwe differ to that of South Africa although the companies are subsidiaries. This comparative study between Zimbabwe and South Africa’s mining sectors has been carried out to analyse the effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility activities. The study followed the interpretivism philosophy and the qualitative research design with multiple case studies in the two countries. The target population for the research were two companies with branches in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Hence four mines were chosen, two in Zimbabwe and two in South Africa. A total of 22 respondents were purposively selected consisting of community representatives, mining company representatives, non-governmental stakeholders and governmental stakeholders. Data was triangulated by integrating semi-structured interviews and secondary documents. The findings indicated that in South Africa there is more stakeholder inclusion and ownership of the CSR projects as compared to Zimbabwe. This is more attributed to the nature of the South African legislation on CSR that encourages stakeholder inclusion. The stakeholder inclusion and ownership contributes to project sustainability which then leads to effectiveness of CSR. The research also concluded that an Africanised CSR agenda should prioritize legal iii issues over others. This means African countries need to attend to their legislation so that CSR is mandatory with ‘social impact’ as the driving force. The study contributes to the CSR literature specifically as a comparative study between African countries. This is one of the few empirical studies that compare CSR in neighbouring developing countries. Moreover, the study also addresses whether there is a need for a more Africanised CSR to address the social challenges and understand the effectiveness of the Africanised CSR agenda leading to sustainable development
An exploratory study of creating opportunities out of solving societal challenges in the South African banking sector: A Creating Shared Value perspective
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Moloi, Tsele; Horne, Renee
The purpose of this study is to explore the Creating Shared Value (CSV) practices that the South African banking sector undertakes to create business opportunities out of solving societal challenges. Anchored on stakeholder theory, the study seeks to establish this potential link between the opportunity concept and societal challenges by deploying the qualitative multiple case study analysis of four major banks and the banking association of South Africa (BASA). The study proposes a CSV-opportunity conceptual framework. The research relied on a multi- method approach, including preliminary interviews, semi-structured in-depth interviews, document analysis, and field notes to collect qualitative data. Thematic content analysis and coding were deployed. The empirical findings suggest that CSV is mostly motivated and driven from a responsive business case (regulatory compliance, risk management, societal contract and legitimacy), a compelling societal case (desire for societal change), corporate societal initiatives (CSR, corporate philanthropy, corporate sponsorships) and a compelling business case (business opportunity). However, the compelling business case comes as a by-product or an after-thought of these other motivating factors. These motivating factors are leveraged as transitional vehicle and enabler of CSV business opportunities. This means that within social constructivism view, business opportunities are created regardless of the motivating driving factors. Findings further indicate that CSV is seen and understood as an extension of other related concepts. Most importantly, CSV is understood as an extension of the transformation of the banking sector and society to ensure that it is inclusive of many previously marginalised as a result of the country’s history of apartheid and its skewed economic activity. The empirical evidence shows that the stakeholder co-creation nature of CSV is both internal and external. Unlike CSV pioneers who presupposed CSV as a Utopian concept, free of trade- offs and challenges, the empirical results indicate a CSV that is fraught with both internal and external challenges. Internal challenges include measurement and trade-off challenges between business and society. The external challenges include external stakeholder co-creation and other external issues such as the deep-seated structural challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality facing South Africa, all of which appear to hinder CSV interventions. Through the newly proposed CSV-opportunity framework, this study contributes to theory and practice. The study further demonstrates that CSV is indeed a social constructionist phenomenon where opportunity is subjectively constructed through actions and interactions with the social world
An intersectionality of race and ethnicity: the glass ceiling in the banking sector in Kenya and South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Genga, Cheryl Akinyi Margaret; Maier, Christoph
Even though progress has been made in the Kenyan and South African banking sector, Black African women remain a minority in Top Executive leadership positions. Previous research on the “glass ceiling” focuses on Black African women as one homogenous group not acknowledging the diversity dimensions of Black African women from Africa. Invisible factors such as race and ethnicity have been stated to contribute to the glass ceiling in the banking sector, yet this has not been investigated making Black African women more invisible. This research primarily aims to provide an understanding of the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, and career advancement of Black African women in the Kenyan and South African banking sector. This research further aims: to describe the obstacles that Black African women still face, to analyse the diversity of Black African women in management, to identify the reasons as to why some Black African women have been able to crack the glass ceiling in the Kenyan and South African banking sector and to give recommendations to stakeholders as to how they can help crack the glass ceiling for Black African women in the Kenyan and South African banking sector. To address the research objectives, this research applied a qualitative Intercatergorical Intersectionality Approach to provide an understanding of the relationship between race, ethnicity, and gender in the Kenyan and South African banking sector. This was facilitated by the use of semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups that were carried out with the participantsbeing Black African women managers in the Kenyan and South African banking sector in Nairobi and Johannesburg, respectively. Data collected from the interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis in which themes and patterns were identified to address the research objectives. Firstly, findings from the research illustrated a relationship between race, ethnicity, and gender. The extent of the relationship between race, ethnicity, and gender was discussed by the role of race, the role of ethnicity, the intersectionality of race and gender, and the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, and gender in the career advancement of Black African women in the Kenyan and South African banking sector. Secondly, the findings identified the obstacles that Black African women still face in the banking sector, which were discussed and described into three groups: Black African women are their own worst enemies in the banking sector. Thirdly, the findings illustrated the diversity dimensions of Black African women managers from the Kenyan and South African banking sector in relation to their race, ethnicity, and the positions that they held in the banks they were working for. Fourthly, the findings highlighted reasons as to why some Black African women managers had cracked the glass ceiling (discussed with the use of the glass ceiling scale). Fifthly, the findings recommend that stakeholders have to be fully committed if they want to help Black African women crack the glass ceiling in the Kenyan and South African banking sector. In conclusion, through the findings, this research provides a conceptual framework to understand the glass ceiling in relation to the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, and gender of Black African women in the Kenyan and South African banking sector
An analysis of the effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility in the mining sector: a comparative study of South Africa and Zimbabwe mining companies
(2021) Mandevere, Melody
Over the past years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has received increased attention from the corporate world and international organisations. There has been a call for an Africanised CSR agenda based on the African context since CSR activities being undertaken in developing countries do not address the root cause of poverty and fail to improve relations with local communities. There is concern over the sustainability of the CSR projects undertaken by mining companies in Zimbabwe and the motives behind CSR activities aimed at benefitting the mining companies’ shareholders and less on the community where they operate. CSR projects in Zimbabwe differ to that of South Africa although the companies are subsidiaries. This comparative study between Zimbabwe and South Africa’s mining sectors has been carried out to analyse the effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility activities. The study followed the interpretivism philosophy and the qualitative research design with multiple case studies in the two countries. The target population for the research were two companies with branches in Zimbabwe and South Africa. Hence four mines were chosen, two in Zimbabwe and two in South Africa. A total of 22 respondents were purposively selected consisting of community representatives, mining company representatives, non-governmental stakeholders and governmental stakeholders. Data was triangulated by integrating semi-structured interviews and secondary documents. The findings indicated that in South Africa there is more stakeholder inclusion and ownership of the CSR projects as compared to Zimbabwe. This is more attributed to the nature of the South African legislation on CSR that encourages stakeholder inclusion. The stakeholder inclusion and ownership contributes to project sustainability which then leads to effectiveness of CSR. The research also concluded that an Africanised CSR agenda should prioritize legal issues over others. This means African countries need to attend to their legislation so that CSR is mandatory with ‘social impact’ as the driving force. The study contributes to the CSR literature specifically as a comparative study between African countries. This is one of the few empirical studies that compare CSR in neighbouring developing countries. Moreover, the study also addresses whether there is a need for a more Africanised CSR to address the social challenges and understand the effectiveness of the Africanised CSR agenda leading to sustainable development
Antecedents and consequences of online customer brand engagement in business-to-business in an emerging market
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Sibanda, Tonderai Gilbert; Yvonne Kabeya , Saini
The purpose of the research is to study the antecedents and consequences of online CBE in the context of emerging markets and B2B. The role of mediators between CBE and its consequences is yet to be fully explored. CBE has not been studied much in the B2B context in emerging markets. Data was collected from ICT decision makers in South African and Kenya through an online survey on Qualtrics. In total, four studies were done, namely, a pilot study in South Africa, two main studies in South Africa using different samples and the last one in Kenya. A PLS structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed to test the hypothesis using SmartPLS4. A mediation analysis was done to check the effect on mediators between online CBE and its consequences. The research shows that involvement, brand equity, participation and brand love are antecedents of online CBE. Relationship quality amplifies the effect of online CBE on its consequences, namely loyalty, brand advocacy, brand preference and purchase intention. This research provides business and brand managers with ideas on how to approach online CBE in B2B. It shows that a multidimensional approach to online CBE is better because each of the online CBE components are affected by the antecedents differently and each one has a different effect on the consequences. Mediators amplify the effect of online CBE on its consequences. This thesis makes a contribution in four ways: a) It makes an incremental scholarly contribution by bringing together constructs from various cognate theories and study areas relating to relationship management; and investigates how the predictors of customer brand engagement and how customer brand engagement predicts the outcome variables, b) It makes a practical contribution in the sense that it adds to our understanding of the factors that influence customer brand engagement and the expected outcomes of customer brand engagement in practice, c) It also makes a contribution relating to the study of emerging market contexts by drawing data from more than one emerging market country, namely, South Africa and Kenya d) The thesis delves into highly significant and relevant topics, with a notable focus on introducing the construct (CBE) in the B2B context, ii incorporating data from emerging markets. This pioneering inclusion of CBE in a new context highlights the thesis's exceptional contribution, as well as originality, bridging a research gap and expanding knowledge in the field.
Banking industry response to competition from the financial inclusion paradigm in Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Kamau, Simon Muhia; Ojah, Kalu
This study examines the effects of increased competition from microfinance institutions (MFIs)– reflective of the financial inclusion paradigm – on commercial banks in Africa. More specifically, I analyze the banking industry’s response to competition for financial inclusion and how the response affects the cost efficiency, asset portfolio risk, and social outreach (performance) of the banking industry. I employ panel data comprising 16 countries that possess the most advanced national banking markets in Africa, for the period 2010-2017. Fixed effects model (FE), Fractional Probit regression method (FRM), and Generalized methods of moments (GMM) are variously the main estimation techniques. I find that banks are responding to the competition for financial inclusion by increasing the supply of credit to households and SMEs, in support of the market power hypothesis of competition. Furthermore, estimation results show strong evidence that increased supply of credits to households and SMEs, in response to competition for financial inclusion, contributes positively to the banking industry’s cost-efficiency. Additionally, results suggest that increased bank lending to households and SMEs has a negative but statistically insignificant effect on banking stability. Interestingly, additional results indicate that banks’ positive response to the financial inclusion paradigm is mainly limited to the relatively wealthier segment of the low-income population. Moreover, these findings are robust to using alternative measures of competition for financial inclusion, and banking industry response, among several other robustness checks. From these results and more, I recommend policies such as enabling access to borrowers' information and supporting the development of financial market infrastructure, in order to promote competition in providing financial services to the low-income market and further drive financial inclusion. I also recommend the adoption of improved and proactive regulatory measures to ensure that competition for financial inclusion does not compromise the stability of the banking industry. Lastly, I propose policies that would ensure that competition for financial inclusion does not hurt outreach to the poorest segment of the population, as banks seek to enhance their efficiency while providing financial services to households and SMEs
Bicultural Life Experiences and Career Orientation of South African Indian Women Engineers
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Pillay, Vanishree Nundagopaul; Ndaba, Zanele
The purpose of this research is to explore the bicultural life experiences of South African Indian women engineers and from this, understand how identity experiences in their bicultural context inform their decision to remain in the profession. A review of the relevant literature offered biculturalism within the discourse of Identity Theory, and social cognition stemming from Social Cognitive Career Theory, as the main concepts to guide the trajectory of this investigation. The study is exploratory in nature with a qualitative design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 South African Indian women engineers from the public and private domains. Non-probability sampling strategy was adopted and effected through a snowballing technique to purposively secure candidates fitting the eligibility criteria. A narrative analysis of the transcripts was executed in a two-step process. First, by means of a three-part approach consisting of personal, social and temporal dimensions; life stories were unearthed from the interview transcripts in a deductive manner and formulated into a narrative. Secondly, narratives were inductively analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicated that support from family, coupled with the transformed application of an Indian androcentric cultural value system within the home, positively influenced participants’ socialisation process. This triggered optimistic social cognition that informed high levels of self-efficacy and progressive decision-making. The limited organisational support reported by participants pointed to ubiquitous gender challenges: these negatively impacted professional opportunities and growth. Also clearly evident were perceptions and bias about women in the profession, strongly premised on gender identity, as opposed to racial identity. Motivation to remain an engineer was predicated on: (a) passion for the discipline; (b) career growth and opportunities; and (c) financial independence/empowerment. The findings, and their implications, offer higher education institutions and engineering bodies a point of departure that can inform strategies to motivate female engineers to remain in the profession. The study contributes to the evolving body of knowledge on biculturalism through the bicultural life stories presented by a sample of ethnic minority women who are absent from the literature pertaining to biculturalism. The research offers an assimilated version of Lent and Hackett’s Social Cognitive Career model, represented in a Bicultural Social Career Trajectory, as an understanding of the interplay between identity tags, context, cognitive processing and action behaviour. The sample’s location and nationality impose certain limitations on this study. Participants were South African- born Indian women engineers from three of the country’s nine provinces. Hence, the findings cannot be generalised to South African Indian women engineers from the remaining six provinces, nor to foreign nationals of Indian descent. These limitations offer an opportunity for future research on ethnic minority women of Indian descent, regardless of nationality. This would entail an extended geographical reach to include countries that have a population of Indian womenengineers. Such a study could potentially unearth interesting nuances regarding the bicultural life experiences and career orientation of Indian women engineers on a global scale.
Central bank communication: a survey and content analysis of the South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee statements
(2022) Segawa, Arnold
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB), South Africa’s central bank, adopted inflation targeting in 2000. In 2000, the SARB adopted flexible inflation targeting as a monetary regime and in doing so, set its inflation target at 3%–6% for the CPIX (Coco and Viegi, 2020). However, for inflation targeting to prove effective, it remains vital that the monetary institution in question contains the expectations of the private sector primarily in line with the expectations channel of the transmission (Svensson, 1999). To this end, the role of effective communication has in the past two decades proved vital in monetary policy. This PhD dissertation seeks to evaluate the SARB’s communication strategy, with particular emphasis on its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) statements, and thereafter appraise its interaction with the media and other market agents. This evaluation takes the shape of three studies, with particular focus firstly on SARB’s MPC statements over the past twenty-one years. This study assesses whether there has been more clarity in SARB’s communication over the past twenty-one years by relying on the Flesch and Flesch-Kincaid methods, which are widely accepted in central bank communication literature. In evaluating SARB’s communications and upon surveying the data, this section offers empirical evidence about SARB’s MPC meeting statements spanning more than two decades, clearly exhibiting its evolution. The second facet of the study examines whether the SARB’s MPC communications between 2010 and 2021 triggered causality in the subsequent news reports from the Mail & Guardian newspaper in South Africa. The study examines whether SARB’s post-MPC statements’ readability was reciprocated in the subsequent Mail & Guardian newspaper articles. Relying on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score and Flesch Reading Ease Score methodology to survey both SARB’s MPC statements and the corresponding Mail & Guardian newspaper articles, a computation is created that is subsequently used to examine Granger causality.
Culture, contraceptive attitudes and advertising perceptions: the case of rural Zimbabwe
(2021) Jaravaza, Divaries Cosmas
This study examined information processing and behavioural responses to reproductive health advertising in subsistence marketplaces, providing an opportunity to advance marketing science through deepening our understanding of rural consumers‘ patterns of advertising responses (cognitive and affective) and how they relate to values, social axioms, contraceptive attitudes and socio-demographic factors. Birth control and safe sexual practices are important concerns, but, are least understood in the institutional context of subsistence marketplaces (Burgess & Steenkamp, 2006). Study 1 was on relations between culture and contraceptive attitudes and study 2 was on latent classes of advertisements responses to advertisement stimuli designed for subsistence markets. Study 1 and 2 had 395 and 225 respondents respectively. Measurement scales for study 1 were: the Portrait Values Questionnaire, the Social Axioms Scale, and the Contraceptive Attitude Scale. Study 2 used the same scales which were used in study 1 plus Mitchell and Olson‘s (2000) Attitudes Towards the Ad Scale items to evaluate four poster advertisements designed through qualitative research in rural Zimbabwe. Structural equation modeling was done using the rigorous two step approach of Anderson and Gerbing (1988), of which study 1 established that resultant self-conservation and religiosity had positive relations to contraceptive attitudes, whilst, fate control had negative relations to contraceptive attitudes. In study 2, the best fitting model, using latent class analysis, identified three segments of subsistence women‘s cognitive and affective perceptions of poster ads. Rural women‘s public health poster ads responses have not been previously studied. The four poster ads and the cues designed specifically for the unique context of subsistence markets rural consumers are a contribution to advertising research and practice. Also this study is the first to combine contraceptive attitudes, culture and advertising perceptions. Important lessons on ads design, measurement properties of scales and constructs relations are outlined
Determinants of intrapreneurial performance within the banking industry in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Govender, Thanusha; Urban, B.
The ability for large corporates to remain competitive and grow ahead of the market in an era that has been defined by globalisation, the fourth industrial revolution, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic has become increasingly difficult. Therefore, it is a critical imperative for organisations to develop a new capability that equips them to navigate the turbulent global macro-economic environment and complex business markets successfully. Globally, banks have experienced severe pressure to transform their business models from capital intense businesses into revenue diversification drivers through new fee-based services. Investors are leaning towards new generation banking models that serve customers holistically, intuitively, and better by employing “new age” technology solutions, as profitability levels within global banks have slipped below the cost of shareholder equity. Coupled with the reality on the ground pre-2020, COVID-19 has become awatershed transformation moment for banks. It has accelerated many long-term banking trends that have resulted in customer shifts in relation to their needs, behaviours and expectations and has subsequently impacted their recovery performance. As such, African banks need to pivot their focus towards growth and relevance by ensuring the establishment of a fundamentally different business model that provides integrated digital ecosystem solutions that go beyond traditional banking, and offer to ensure market competitiveness. Corporate entrepreneurship is a strategic capability that enables organisations to embed innovation as a core competency and simultaneously engage in explorative and exploitative activities, which are essential thrusts in the strategic renewal of a company. This research study enriched the domain of corporate entrepreneurship by deepening the understanding of the mechanisms that underpin the corporate entrepreneurial embedment process, within a dynamic complex organisational setting. This was through the development of a core embedment capability model of corporate entrepreneurship that predicts the value drivers of corporate entrepreneurial performance and explores the contextual corporate entrepreneurship nuances attributed to banking corporations domiciled in Africa. This study importantly furthered contextual setting theory development and shed light over the heterogeneity of corporate entrepreneurship, which arose due to an idiosyncratic corporate entrepreneurship embedment process. This process consists of institutional path dependencies that resulted from gradations in the macro, meso, and micro layers. The model and theories emanating from this study not only aimed to bridge the research gap by exploring the dynamic complexity of corporate entrepreneurship, but also assessed the knowledge transfer of market intelligence into corporate entrepreneurial performance, and the significance of network ties in developing countries as an influencer of corporate entrepreneurial activity. In this research study, the levels of corporate entrepreneurship within the financial services sector of companies domiciled in South Africa were analysed to determine the quantum of influence that organisational, individual, and environmental antecedent factors have as predictors of corporate entrepreneurial performance. This was a precursor to crafting an embedment capability model that would enable financial services organisations to embed a corporate entrepreneurial ecosystem systematically, and enable effective and agile corporate entrepreneurial transformation. The research purpose was achieved by employing a three-prong approach. First, a configurational method was applied to existing literature to consolidate prevailing theories and to integrate existing models and frameworks as a basis of the proposed theoretical model. Second, the theoretical model was empirically tested using partial least squares structured equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to validate the model and to establish causal relational influence among the three different sets of antecedent variables. This would determine their quantum of impact on corporate entrepreneurial performance. Finally, an optimal configuration was proposed as a premise to describe and predict corporate entrepreneurial performance as a function of system thinking. The empirical evidence from this study validated that the most significant transformational driver of corporate entrepreneurial activity within incumbents remained organisational antecedents and entrepreneurial corporate strategy as the bedrock of a corporate entrepreneurial embedment ecosystem. Its singular effect on corporate entrepreneurial activity was circa five times larger than any other predictor within the corporate entrepreneurial embedment ecosystem. This was flanked equally by employee enablement of the corporate entrepreneurial strategy and the execution of the corporate entrepreneurial strategy. Employee enablement consisted of two supporting predictors, namely, the decisions and behaviours of transformation leaders, and the entrepreneurial cognitive horsepower of employees to develop initiatives and formulate strategic plans that enable the delivery of the corporate entrepreneurial strategy. Strategy execution encompassed two underpinning predictors, namely, the implementation of an organic organisational structure and the deployment of novel resource recipes to build new capabilities and adjacent capabilities to a firm’s core offering. Considering the nuances in the African operating environment, both macro level antecedents and network ties were deemed non-significant direct value drivers of corporate entrepreneurial performance within African banks.
Determinants of intrapreneurial performance within the banking industry in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Govender, Thanusha; B, Urban
The ability for large corporates to remain competitive and grow ahead of the market in an era that has been defined by globalisation, the fourth industrial revolution, and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic has become increasingly difficult. Therefore, it is a critical imperative for organisations to develop a new capability that equips them to navigate the turbulent global macro-economic environment and complex business markets successfully. Globally, banks have experienced severe pressure to transform their business models from capital intense businesses into revenue diversification drivers through new fee-based services. Investors are leaning towards new generation banking models that serve customers holistically, intuitively, and better by employing “new age” technology solutions, as profitability levels within global banks have slipped below the cost of shareholder equity. Coupled with the reality on the ground pre-2020, COVID-19 has become a watershed transformation moment for banks. It has accelerated many long-term banking trends that have resulted in customer shifts in relation to their needs, behaviours and expectations and has subsequently impacted their recovery performance. As such, African banks need to pivot their focus towards growth and relevance by ensuring the establishment of a fundamentally different business model that provides integrated digital ecosystem solutions that go beyond traditional banking, and offer to ensure market competitiveness. Corporate entrepreneurship is a strategic capability that enables organisations to embed innovation as a core competency and simultaneously engage in explorative and exploitative activities, which are essential thrusts in the strategic renewal of a company
Determinants of successful coopetition between SMEs in SADC countries – implications for strategy and firm performance
(2021) Feela, Tshepo
The purpose of the study was to investigate the existence of coopetition (the simultaneous competition and collaboration between two or more firms) amongst the SMEs in the SADC as well as to ascertain whether these relationships have a positive effect on firm performance. Firm performance is divided into financial performance, strategic performance, and innovation performance. Furthermore, an additional aim is to investigate which variable(s) (foresight, risk aversion and exploiting opportunities) moderate the relationship between coopetition and firm performance. The results show that there is strong coopetition amongst SMEs in SADC and that coopetition has a positive and significant effect on firm performance. However, although no variable moderates this relationship, risk aversion has a positive and significant direct effect on firm performance
The effects of individual and organizational factors on ethical behavior in the South African construction industry
(2019) Makonye, Chido
Employees often face many difficult situations that demand ethical decision making from the viewpoint of society and organizations. Various factors influence the outcome of ethical or unethical decision-making and behaviour of employees. This paper briefly examined some of the major factors that may affect ethical behaviour in construction companies. The strength of these factors may vary from individuals to individuals, organizations to organizations, and situation to situation. The factors that were investigated are personal values, corporate ethical values and the organisational climate. Age and gender were used as moderators in this study. South Africa is a developing country in which many private and public organizations are being faced with a lot of fraud and corruption. It is not only in private organization but also the government. This call for an investigation on ethical behaviour but to solve a problem one must find the source of the problem. The study was designed to answer the major question: Are there any significance relationships between personal values, corporate values and organisational climate and ethical behaviour in the South African construction industry? The researcher employed a quantitative research method. Data collection was done by use of questionnaires distributed to various construction companies. A computer programmer called SPSS version 25 and Microsoft excel were used to analyse data. Descriptive statistics was used to interpret data collected from the first section of the questionnaire that is the biographic information. Linear regression and correlations were used to test the proposed hypothesis. Multiple regression was used to test the moderation effect of age and gender. The findings largely confirm previous studies that personal values and corporate values influence ethical behaviour. However contrary to some previous studies, there was no significant relationship between ethical behaviour and organisational climate. Conclusions, findings and recommendations were drawn from the results.
Empirical essays on exchange rate dynamics in large emerging market economies
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Iwegbunam, Ifeoma Anthonia; Odei-Mensah, Jones
This study investigates the impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade flows using disaggregated industrial trade data, the effects of nominal exchange rate changes on the validity of real interest rate parity conditions, and the effects of monetary policy responses on real effective exchange rate volatility in large emerging market economies (LEMEs) were also examined. As part of countries with convertible currencies, the exchange rate plays a vital role in LEMEs’ economic activities, including engagement in the global markets. The countries’ participation in international trade and financial markets has improved since the liberalisation of global markets at the end of the Bretton Woods era. However, just as they have enjoyed and recorded tremendous successes through economic openness, lack of suitable monetary policy makes LEMEs susceptible to external global contagion shocks ranging from financial crises to interest rate hikes or monetary policy changes in foreign countries. As commodity-dependent countries with increased exchange rate volatility, LEMEs have not benefited profitably from participating in international trade compared to their comparative advantages, such as abundant natural resources, human capacity, skills and production capacity. Moreover, the economies also suffer from internal policy instabilities and other systemic challenges that weaken the institutions and worsen the external challenges faced by LEMEs. All these problems are believed to result from increased exchange rate volatility prevalent in LEMEs. As such, problems related to exchange rate volatility and its impacts on international trade flows in LEMEs have lingered on for years as economic and financial instabilities widened. These challenges can be viewed from increased levels of current account deficits, the rising balance of payment disequilibrium, market imperfections such as asymmetric information, uncertainties leading to increased risk aversion, and systemic imbalances faced by LEMEs. This implies that growth recorded from economic openness have not shielded LEMEs from exchange rate volatility, monetary policy instabilities and economic sustainability challenges. Therefore, whether LEMEs should adopt unconventional monetary policies that suit the characteristics of the economies or the fixed exchange rate regime to mitigate exchange rate volatility and the associated negative effects remains conflicted. The way forward can only be determined by examining the impacts of exchange rate volatility on international trade flows in LEMEs. These unanswered questions have also left the economies hanging as the ripple effects result in real interest rate parity deviations. This reflects the assumption that when financial flows are restricted in economies, the chances of deviation in real interest rate parity increase. Additionally, recorded financial crises since financial market liberalisation also affect exchange rates in countries with convertible currencies. LEMEs are undoubtedly vulnerable to external contagion effects due to the poor-quality financial systems in the economies. Furthermore, research has shown that countries with underdeveloped financial systems remain trapped in vicious cycles affecting their global market performance. However, achieving real interest rate parity conditions is essential and requires standards for adequate capital mobility and efficient market integration. Since achieving real interest rate parity conditions seems implausible due to challenges faced by LEMEs, it would be insightful to explore the possibility of such parity conditions holding amid monetary policy reforms that result in nominal exchange rate regime changes in LEMEs. The problems related to the impacts of exchange rate volatility on international trade flows and achieving real interest rate parity conditions in LEMEs beg for an answer on how monetary policy should be strengthened to suit LEMEs’ financial stability agenda. Over the years, the attempt to restructure LEMEs’ financial systems through monetary policy reform has constituted a significant discussion. Considering that LEMEs suffer institutional setbacks caused by increasing price variability, a poor policy framework, underdeveloped financial systems, and institutional imbalances through exchange rate volatility. Adjusting how monetary policy responds to real effective exchange rate volatility vis-a-vis the inflation targeting (IT) framework guided by the Taylor policy rule does not seem to be the answer. Arguments have been presented regarding the practicability of the Taylor rule in LEMEs, considering the developmental level of policies in these economies. Moreover, there are concerns that the Taylor rule is limited, lacks some macroeconomic instruments that cater to the disadvantages associated with LEMEs, and might not adequately capture the relevant factors needed to restructure monetary policy
Empirical Evaluation of the Possible Impacts of the Transformation of Microfinance Institutions in Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Karuitha, John King’athia
This dissertation explores the impacts of Microfinance Institutions’ (MFIs) trans- formation from Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) model to profit-seeking commercial firms’ model. Specifically, the research examines the drivers of this MFI operating model transformation and the transformation’s attendant effects on financial inclusion in Africa. The study also explores the drivers of financial efficiency, social efficiency and joint socio-financial efficiency of Africa’s MFIs. Lastly, the study examines the prevailing financing structures of Africa’s MFIs and the factors associated with these MFIs’ choice of financing alternatives. Fundamentally, older MFIs and MFIs in civil law countries are more likely to convert their operational mode from the conventional NGO model to the for- profit, financially sustainable model. Additionally, larger MFIs and MFIs located in countries with “other” legal traditions and better institutional quality, are more likely to transform. However, stock market size negatively relates to the odds of transformation. Interestingly, the transformation to the for-profit model negatively affects the depth of MFIs’ outreach. MFIs with NGO-based models reach more women and advance smaller denomination loans. Similarly, NGO- type MFIs have markedly better social efficiency and socio-financial efficiency scores than other MFIs models. Only cooperatives and rural banks consistently outperform traditional NGO-type MFIs in financial efficiency. Stock market and private credit market sizes, proxies for financial sector development, negatively affect social and socio-financial efficiencies. Most MFIs in Africa attain both financial and social goals. However, rural banks and NGO-type MFIs are more likely to achieve the dual goals than other MFI legal forms. Age, size, financial development, institutional quality, legal tradition, and legal status are statistically significant factors in MFIs attaining joint financial and social objectives. Furthermore, at the firm level, size, age, legal status, and profitability drive MFIs’ choice of financing alternatives. For example, asset structure varies inversely with leverage. And at the country level, institutional quality varies inversely with deposits and donations, respectively. Overall, most of these results indicate that the transformation of MFIs in Africa, does not necessarily lead to financial sustainability; instead, it appears to be harmful to the financial inclusion goal. There also seems to exist a need to craft better financing models for MFIs to support their twin objectives of social outreach and sustainabiliy
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.
Entrepreneurial Orientation and Performance within the South African Minibus Taxi Industry
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Kier, Jessica; Urban, Boris
The primary purpose of this research is to understand the relationship between the three dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation within the South African minibus taxi industry. This industry is pivotal to the South African economic structure and landscape as a whole. The taxi industry serves as the main mode of public transport in South Africa. A survey was used to conduct an empirical research study. A sample size of 120 participants was originally selected; however, of those 120, only 95 surveys were valid and used due to missing values in the data provided in the others. This sample size is representative of the population concerning the taxi industry. The research instrument included a 7-point Likert scale. Further, the instrument included demographic coverage and sections covering the three entrepreneurial orientations’ dimensions. The aim of this study is to understand the extent to which entrepreneurial orientation enables small- to medium-enterprise growth performance within the South African taxi industry. Empirical data to support research suppositions is difficult to access within the public domain, but this research identified and provided an analysis extracted from private enterprise which fills the gap in the current research literature space. The results indicated a weak positive influence between the three dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and growth performance within the industry. Due to the significance of the findings, the results are not strong enough for generalising the same findings for the entire South African minibus taxi population. This industry is the main source of public transport within the country and needs to increase its literature in order to grow and further improve. Further findings can contribute to the understanding of the complexity that surrounds the industry’s atmosphere. The value of working to formulate constructive information on the taxi industry will allow for further engagement within the field

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