Electronic Theses and Dissertations (PhDs)

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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.
Stock Price Prediction in Sub-Saharan Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020) Murekachiro, Dennis; Mokoaleli, Thabang
Investors, researchers and practitioners are continuously exploring various ways to understanding stock market price movements and the development of techniques that can assist them in accurately predicting the stock markets and improve on in- vestment decision making and policy making. This study sought out to develop a prediction model for stock markets, determine which factors move stock prices and investigate the inefficiency of 11 selected stock markets. In order to predict the stock markets, this study made use of deep learning prediction models (LSTM, RNN, GRU, BLSTM, BRNN, BGRU) and statistical GAM in ten sub-Saharan African coun- tries (Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and the S&P500 (USA). Stock markets are predictable with inef- ficiencies found for the African stock markets as evidenced through calendar anoma-lies and high prediction accuracies whilst the lower prediction results for the S&P500 indicate market efficiency. The prediction model greatly improved prediction accuracy. However, there is no remarkable difference between unidirectional and bidirectional prediction models accuracy results for the eleven countries concerned. GAM statistical approach outperformed compared to all deep neural networks architectures in this study. The varying results for each country point to the uniqueness of each market confirming the varying market ecologies. In addition, this study also investigated the effect of macroeconomic variables (inflation, money supply, interest rates, exchange rates) on stock prices. Time series analyses were implemented through Johansen cointegration and Granger causality tests for short and long run relationships between macroeconomic variables and each stock market. Overall, empirical results for the African stock markets reveal a negative association between closing price and exchange rates, a positive relationship between money supply and closing stock prices for all countries. Mixed results for the other variables for each country attest to the fact that stock markets are unique and are influenced differently by these macroeconomic variables. Notably, African stock markets relate differently to macroeconomic variables as compared to developed stock markets. Stock market predictions were run on a python 3.5 environment using deep learning libraries Theano, Tensorflow, and Keras and Scikit learn and the time series analysis was analyzed using stata13 and R 3.6 software
Financial System Stability in the East African Community: Prospects and Constraints
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Lyimo, Anna Gustav; Ojah, Kalu
This thesis examines the EAC financial system stability, focusing on the system’s prospects and constraints for the period 2000 - 2018. The primary agenda is divided into four objectives. The first objective is to investigate the evolution of the financial system and the kind of environment that it has been operating in. The relevant findings in respect of this objective indicate that the EAC financial systems have experienced both positive and adverse developments that have led to the initiation of several macro-economic and financial sector reforms. Credit risk is one of the major factors affecting the EAC financial system stability. The second objective is to conduct an empirical examination of the determinants of credit risk in the EAC financial sector. The associated results show that credit risk is responsive to the dynamics of member-countries’ macroeconomic and macro-financial variables. We found that prudent macroeconomic policies intended to stabilize inflation and exchange rates — which stimulate economic growth and increases the capacity to borrow – influence credit growth. And credit growth (with less prudent lending standards) increases the ratio of non-performing loans as well as raises credit risk during recessions. The third objective is to measure and forecast financial systems’ resilience in the EAC. Findings here suggest that EAC financial systems have remained relatively resilient, albeit vulnerable to shocks. Despite the differences in financial instability characteristics across the region, countries have reflected similar financial stability (or instability) patterns. The forecast results indicate that the EAC continues to experience financial system stability for the period 2018 -2020, other factors held constant. The last part (objective) examined the potential systemic risk contribution of individual banks to national financial systems. Here, the banking industries’ interconnectedness is shown to have increased significantly, especially during economic downturns, which poses a potential for spill-over of shocks (vulnerability) across the region during times of crisis. Each bank’s connectedness and potential systemic risk contribution is time varying. Also, there is a significant positive correlation between bank size and systemic risk contribution. Based on the above findings, and other findings of the study, the EAC region should monitor credit expansion to ensure it is consistent with economic and market realities; optimize benefits from linkages in the EAC financial system structure; and enhance effective policy formulation for more robust financial system regulation and supervision. There is also a need to conduct effective periodic risk assessments to identify and mitigate potential systemic risk, as to ensure regional financial system stability
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.
The Adaptation of the Shadow Corpse Belief System for Change Management in Corporate Organisations
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Chazuza, Richard G.; Maier, Christoph
This thesis examines how the use of an African natural idea and practice, Mumvuri loosely translated in English to the Shadow on the Corpse Belief System can be adapted and used to understand change management in corporate organisations. While the talk of Ubuntu and other African ideas has received a lot of prominence in organisations and academia of its potentially untapped value in management, few to non-existent African ideas and practices are known to realistically permeate and guide management thinking and practices in corporate organisations. This thesis is informed and guided by the interpretive paradigm. It adopted and followed the qualitative approach where the basic interpretive qualitative research design was used. In-depth, semi-structured, open ended and thematised interviews were used to collect data from 35 carefully selected experts that were placed into 3 homogeneous groups. Thematic analysis was used as the data analysis method aided by ATLAS ti version 8 software package, a computer assisted data analysis software package (CAQDAS). The evidence from the research revealed that Mumvuri is a known and commonly practised African socio-cultural belief system. Even though it is rooted in the Karanga ethnic culture of modern day Zimbabwe, its traces are found in other African cultures. Despite the prevalence of Mumvuri in African culture, it has not been adapted and used in corporate organisations. The main contribution was the development of a conceptual framework for change management in corporate organisations and the accompanying guidelines of implementation for executives and practitioners. These guidelines outline the process of adaptation of Mumvuri as an African idea, belief and concept in management. The thesis makes an empirical, methodological and practical contribution. Further research is suggested in testing this conceptual framework in corporate organisations.
The impact of foreign ownership on emerging markets' banking system: a case of BRICS
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Magagula, Sibusiso Vusi; MOKOALELI-MOKOTELI, Thabang
The current research examines foreign bank ownership’s impact on the financial soundness and benefits observable within-host banking markets and banks’ risk-taking behaviour in the BRICS. Also, this research examines the effects of foreign ownership on both fiscal and monetary policies’ transmission via the bank lending channel. Thus, the rationale to focus on the impact of foreign ownership on BRICS member countries’ banking markets is because post-global financial crisis, these economies stimulated their economy via banking. Moreover, the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 did not lead to deglobalisation in their banking markets because, generally, the BRICS bloc is found to have recovered quickly from the situation without their banks changing their privatisation strategy concerning foreign ownership. The CAMELS rating analysis, two- stage least square and two-way random effect panel models are the primary study tools in the current research, and the biasness testing was incorporated as a robustness check. The results show that the foreign-owned banks contribute procyclically to the bloc's financial soundness, indicating that their presence introduces some asymmetries into their banking systems. Furthermore, foreign banks in BRICS lead to benefits that outweigh risks. However, some risk elements need to be minimised to insulate the bloc from a future globally induced crisis. These risks include systemic risk of foreign-owned banks, lowering tier II capital as required by Basel III for all banks, the ineffectiveness of fiscal and monetary policy in regulating lending risk, and excessive leveraging of domestic banks. Despite the risks associated with foreign banks' presence in BRICS, foreign bank ownership increases the performance and efficiency of all banks, with domestic banks becoming risk-averse, which may explain the quick recovery of the BRICS banking sector post-2008 global financial crisis. The policy implications from the results highlight the need for local policymakers to strategies on ways to encourage banks to lend in domestic currency to regain control over lending risks post-acquisition of their host banks by global investors. Also, host regulators need to closely monitor the extent of systemic risk from foreign-owned banks to limit the chance of a banking crisis in the future.
Health Financing and its Effect on the Equity of Healthcare Systems and Universal Coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Okaka, Damianus Ochieng; Ojah, Kalu
This work examines the contribution of different arrangements for financing healthcare to health systems’ equity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA); with equity of the health system measured as health outcomes. More specifically, the study explores: 1) How financing of healthcare using domestic resources affects health outcomes. The effect of increased budgetary allocation to healthcare on health outcomes. And the effect of financial pooling and financial risk mitigation on the health systems’ equity. The concept of health production, based on Grossman’s (1972 & 2017) health capital theory, serves as the framework for empirical analysis of this work, using balanced panel data from 47 SSA countries, over 19 years. The dataset is pulled from relevant governments’ and multi-lateral organizations’ databases. Broadly, descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis are deployed in assessing the hypothesized relationships between the study’s relevant variables – financing of countries’ healthcare systems and various forms of health outcomes (i.e., life expectancy at birth, 5-year mortality rate, crude death mortality rate, and rate of infant mortality). The results indicate that financing healthcare using domestic public resources does relate insignificantly or negatively to health outcomes, but financing healthcare using domestic private resources relates significantly well with health outcomes. An increase in budgetary allocation to healthcare per capita relates beneficially to health outcomes. However, an increase in budgetary allocation as a percentage of total government expenditure affects the region’s health outcomes adversely; however, further tests of this relationship reveal that a reduction in indirect investment in healthcare could be responsible for the adverse effects. Thus, pointing to the need to balance the effects of the increase in both direct and indirect healthcare investments (expenditures). Lastly, apart from financial pooling using the private health insurance method, which affects health outcomes negatively, all the other pooling methods of healthcare financing affect the region’s health outcomes favorably. However, the social health insurance (SHI) effect on the region’s health outcomes is largely insignificant. Which may call into question its appropriateness as a vehicle for universal health coverage (UHC). The main conclusion of the study is that governments’ participation in healthcare financing is necessary for the SSA region’s health systems. However, increased government allocation should not be done at the expense of allocation to health-related activities (like the provision of clean water, sanitary services, etc.). We also found that domestic private healthcare funding methods associate favorably with health outcomes while domestic public healthcare funds do not. We argue that the reason for these confounding results is because of allocation problems, and recommend redistributive policies with a focus on the indigent and rural areas. Further diagnostic tests show that domestic public financing methods increase access to healthcare but not health outcomes. This shows that a financing method can increase access to healthcare but fail to improve population health status. Our findings also show that SSA health systems still need external financial assistance to be equitable. We recommend a gradual weaning from external assistance. On risk pooling, we recommend an increase in pool sizes and more accurate actuarial data to improve the performance of SHI and, to make it appropriate for UHC. Finally, governments of the SSA region should increase funding of healthcare by using public resources, ensure healthcare financing risk mitigation by increasing pool sizes of public financial pooling methods, and enact requisite legal and regulatory frameworks to guide the administration of private non-profit healthcare finance pooling schemes. Importantly, these governments should consider policies that correct for imbalances in the distribution of healthcare between the rich and the poor, and between rural and urban areas
Unpaid reproductive labour and decent work in the South African labour market
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Mackett, Odile; Pillay, Pundy
Since the 1970s, women’s increased labour force participation has caught the attention of scholars, governments, labour unions and organisations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The increase in female labour force participation has accompanied the globalisation and liberalisation of product and labour markets around the world. As a result, the ILO developed the ‘decent work agenda’ (DWA) to set a standard by which to measure the labour market vulnerability of workers. The DWA is an aspirational statement about the sort of work that ought to define the lives of all who work and who want to work. Unpaid reproductive labour, which is performed outside of the productive labour market and predominantly by women, has proven to be a major constraint for women’s advancement in paid work. Furthermore, despite gender equality in the workplace being listed as one of the main objectives of the DWA, in instances where unpaid labour has not intersected with the productive labour market, it has largely been ignored. This study empirically investigated whether the ILO’s DWA is conceptualised in a way that reflects a commitment to real gender equality in the labour market by demonstrating a link between work performed unpaid in service of the household and the quality or ‘decency’ of wage work. Using Labour Force Survey and Time-Use Survey data, theresults showed that the more time an employed individual spent on unpaid reproductive labour, the worse the quality of their paid job. However, this relationship was only significant for women and only during a period when the government undertook a contractionary fiscal approach. The findings of this study demonstrate important links between the household and the public sector and the extent to which women, through their household labour, keep the economy running when government and business are unable to do so
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
Policy uncertainty, economic distance, and macroeconomic variables in developing economies
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Adjei, Abigail Naa Korkor; Tweneboah, George
Although economic policy uncertainty (EPU) is a less explored source of uncertainty that is related to economic policy, economic policy uncertainty in describing the state of an economy has assumed dominance in decision-making in countries and has remained relevant to investors, governments, and policy makers across the globe. This has become the standard because studies have proved that policy uncertainty has a significant effect on the overall economy and heightened EPU (especially during recessions) has the potential to harm economic activities. The literature review revealed evidence that EPU comoves with business cycles, that uncertainty influences the distance between economies, and that EPU spillover shocks from one economy to another have a significant impact on the recipient economy's economic activities. As yet, there has been scant systematic investigation of these possible interactions. The study of EPU is of major importance to emerging market economies (EMEs) because, although literature has proved the harmful effects of EPU on EMEs, the studies done is meager since majority of study on EPU have focused on developed countries. These implications of uncertainty on EMEs have made it very relevant to focus on the role uncertainty plays in EMEs. In order to make significant contribution to the role EPU plays in EMEs, this thesis focuses on addressing three main problems. To begin, the study examines whether EPU correlates with business cycles and, if so, whether EPU is the cause or effect of recessions across business cycles. The study makes an important contribution by finding answers to why business cycles fluctuate. This study deviates from traditional sources of fluctuations and focus on uncertainty as a potential cause or effect of business cycle fluctuations. We also propose new variables as measures ofbusiness cycles (GDP, CPI, SPX, import, export and broad money). The wavelet multiple correlation and wavelet multiple cross-correlation proposed by Fernandez-Macho (2012) is used to investigate the comovement between EPU ad business cycles. The analysis shows that business cycles commove with strong records of interdependence. The scale by scale analysis, on the other hand, has shown that the level of integration is strongest in the long-term. We further investigated the role EPU plays in the comovement of variables (gross domestic product (GDP), consumer price index (CPI), SPX (SPX), import, export and broad money) within each EME and discovered that positive correlation was generally recorded between EPU and CPI within each EME. Likewise, evidence of negative correlation for EPU was recorded between EPU and SPX across all EMEs. We also note that, although there is strong evidence of comovement between EPU and the macroeconomic variables, EPU has no lead/lag potential across all the time scales within the selected EMEs. To also clear all the inconsistencies of whether uncertainty is the cause or effect of fluctuations in the business cycle, the study adopts Diks and Panchenko (2005, 2006) non- parametric test. It was discovered that causality with respect to the economic indicators of business cycles is specific to each EMEs. We conclude that EPU is both a cause and effect of business cycles fluctuations in the selected EMEs except for India where business cycles cause EPU fluctuations. The second objective is to ascertain the relationship between EPU and distance in EMEs. The study focuses on the investigation of economic distance and geographical distance. This section makes two contributions to the study. First, we conduct a novel investigation on the relationship between economic distance and EPU. Second, we adopt a non-parametric geospatial analysis to investigate the spatial dependence between EMEs (with respect to their EPU measures). We first find an answer to the question, “can EPU influence economic distance in EMEs?”. The extent of similarities (or dissimilarities) of economic characteristics between units (or countries) is termed as economic. Despite evidence that uncertainty increases when the economic characteristics between countries are different, no study has investigated the relationship between economic distance and EPU although EPU has a greater significant impact on an economy than uncertainty in general. The dynamic linear regression method is adopted to investigate the relationship between EPU and economic distance. We discover that macroeconomic variables were largely statistically significant and have explanatory power to explain the economic distance between the EMEs as compared to the role EPU plays in explaining the economic distance between EMEs. We therefore find limited evidence of EPU’s effects on the economic distance between EMEs. We also discover that changes in the values of import, CPI and broad money in most EMEs are statistically relevant and significantly drive the changes in the values of economic distance between the selected EMEs
Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Firm Performance in Ghana: Examining the Mediating and Moderating Factors
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Asante-Darko, Disraeli; Saruchera, Fanny
In the wake of increasing environmental degradation and human rights violations and their effect on firm performance in Ghana and the rest of the world, sustainable supply chain management has increasingly become recognised as a critical component for business advancement and competitiveness. Subsequently, this study sought to investigate the role of Supply Chain Integration, Firm Capabilities, Business Environment Uncertainty, and Operational Competitiveness in the inextricable relationship between Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) and firm performance. Drawing on the political economy theory, an integration of institutional, legitimacy, and stakeholder theories, this study proposed and tested a model using the PLS variance-based structural equation modelling. The proposed model suggested that the relationship between sustainable supply chain management and firm performance, from a triple bottom line (TBL) perspective, is mediated by firm capabilities and supply chain integration and moderated by business environment uncertainty and operational competitiveness. Grounded in deductive reasoning and a probabilistic sampling technique, the study adopted a cross-sectional quantitative approach to evaluate the proposed model. Data was collected from the managers of 455 sample firms in Ghana's service and industrial sectors using a self-administered questionnaire. From a TBL perspective, the study revealed a direct, positive, and significant relationship between sustainable supply chain management and firm performance. Additionally, firm capabilities mediate the relationship between sustainable supply chain management and firm performance from a TBL standpoint. Supplier integration, a component of supply chain integration, was also found to mediate the relationship between economic and environmental supply chain management and firm performance but not the relationship between social supply chain management and firm performance. It further emerged that customer and internal integration mediate the relationship between sustainable supply chain management and firm performance. Finally, the study discovered that when business environment uncertainty and operational competitiveness are high, the positive direct effect of sustainable supply chain management on firm performance (from a TBL standpoint) is strengthened. The study's findings provide a plausible explanation for the disparate and often contradictory results reported on the direct sustainable supply chain management-firm performance relationship. The theoretical implication is that multiple variables and elements account for the SSCM-firm performance relationship. There is a need to adequately address these factors to realise the full benefits of sustainable supply chain management and firm relationships from a TBL perspective. SSCM practitioners and policymakers are advised to take cognisance of the role of supply chain integration, firm capabilities, business environment uncertainty, and operational competitiveness in their implementation and legislation of SSCM practices
Leadership Development Impact Evaluation Approaches
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Mbatha, Vuyile Cynthia; Matshabaphala, Manamela
This mixed methods multiple case study research investigated the approaches used in the impact evaluation of leadership development initiatives within the context of financial services corporate organisations operating in the African continent and headquartered in South Africa. Organisations around the world are continuously investing incremental amounts of money into learning and development, more specifically directed towards leadership development initiatives (Boyett & Boyett, 1998; Clark & Clark, 1994; McCauley, Moxley, & Van Velsor, 1998) and yet to date, research and literature on leadership has been predominately focused on theories and approaches to leadership (Bass & Stogdill, 1990; Boyett & Boyett, 1998; Brungardt, 1996; Gardner, 1990; Jackson, 1992; Northouse, 1997; Yukl & van Fleet, 1992) with limited research focused on demonstrating the holist impact of leadership development investments (Avolio, 2007). Although research has been done on evaluation practices in relation to training and development, few researchers have addressed the matter of impact evaluation specifically for leadership development, through case study research using the mixed methods lenses. This research study was aimed at investigating the approaches used to measure the impact of leadership development initiatives, through engaging with stakeholders that have a vested interest in leadership development. The qualitative results revealed that the current leadership development evaluation approaches are a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy, enabled by the unilateral design of the current evaluation approaches and matrices for evaluation are not agreed upfront with relevant key stakeholders. Furthermore, the current approaches do not measure leadership impact holistically. This is problematic as business stakeholdersare not able to obtain a sense of the true and holistic impact of leadership development initiatives, in relation to their context and matrices that are important for them as business stakeholders are not included. The quantitative findings highlight the importance of having a leadership development evaluation approach that is 1) credible; 2) simple; 3) enables the evaluation to be done across all three levels of the triple bottom line; and an approach that is 4) theoretically sound. The results provided insights into the core elements that should be included in evaluating leadership development impact holistically and through this theory emerged which informs the theoretical contribution in this research study. In this, a proposed holistic leadership development impact evaluation approach is presented as an evaluation framework with underlying principles used to explain what informs the framework and how the framework may be applied in the evaluation of leadership development initiatives within the context of corporate leadership in South Africa
Studies on Philanthropy and Impact Investment in Ghana
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Osei, Dennis Boahene; Alagidede, Imhotep Paul
Anecdotal evidence of practices and institutions has accumulated over the years through oral traditions and all over the psyche of the African. While giving to good causes is not new in the Ghanaian traditional system and culture, there is a general paucity of literature regarding recent developments on the topic. Studies regarding investments that simultaneously generate financial, as well as social and /or environmental returns, are equally lacking. Using Ghana as a case study, this thesis contributes to the literature on three thematic areas in accordance with identified gaps in the philanthropy and impact investment literature. Specifically, the thesis relies on quantitative (instrumental variable probit model) and qualitative (content analysis, multiple-case study) research techniques to examine the relationships, and determinants of formal and informal charitable giving; uncover the motives, priorities, strategies, opportunities, and challenges of corporate foundation giving; and explore the approach to impact investing. These are critical issues whose understanding is theoretical and western-oriented, lacking empirical attention in the emerging literature of African philanthropy and impact investment. Given this, the thesis produced three independent essays to address these salient gaps in the philanthropy and impact investment literature. Empirical findings evolving from these essays are instructive and generally present crucial insights on African philanthropy and impact investment which is relevant for policy and practice. The first essay examines the extrinsic (socio-demographic) and intrinsic (personality) determinants of both formal and informal charitable giving. In addition, it explores whether the relationship between different types of charitable giving –cash and in-kind donations as well as time donations (volunteering) – is substitutable or complementary. Our findings, based on survey data from 1,533 households and instrumental variable probit model revealed that while marital status, education, household size, religiosity, ethnicity, and empathic concern are important predictors of formal cash and in-kind giving, informal giving of cash and in-kind is driven by income, religiosity and empathic concern. On the other hand, it was evident that formal volunteering is mainly determined by income, household size, religiosity, and empathic concern, whereas gender and religiosity influence informal volunteering. We established that, in both spheres of formal and informal giving, the relationship between cash and in-kind giving and volunteering is complementary. Premised on these findings, we recommend non-profits and policymakers to recognise the complementary role and distinctive determinants of the spheres of giving in designing tools and policies to raise the levels and effectiveness of fundraising and volunteering campaigns. In the second essay, the practice of corporate philanthropy was explored through the lens of corporate foundations. Specifically, we investigate the motives, priority areas, strategies, opportunities, and challenges of corporate foundation giving. Based on qualitative content analysis, our findings revealed that corporate foundations are influenced by both altruistic and instrumental motives of giving, and that, their approach to giving prioritises multiple areas of national interest such as education, health, economic empowerment, environment/social amenities, and sports. We also found that corporate foundations rely on a combination of strategies (request, media-lead, adoption, and contest) to identify potential beneficiaries and implement their giving programmes. Further evidence indicates that giving of corporate foundations presents opportunities to both foundations (serve society, get partnership offers from other companies, and obtain goodwill from the public) and their parent companies (indirect business and advertising opportunities). However, corporate foundation giving is constrained by insufficient funding, lack of support from stakeholders, managing expectations of individuals, poor maintenance culture, and cultural rites. The findings have implications for practitioners as it presents insights which could serve as a model to guide new entrants into the corporate foundation landscape of developing economies. In addition, the findings could assist the development of government interventions necessary to foster greater corporate giving. The third essay applies a change in perspective to explore the approach to impact investing from a supply-side standpoint. This contrasts existing studies which are mostly theoretical and provide an understanding that is western-oriented and from a demand-side viewpoint. Using multiple-case study design and qualitative data from two Ghanaian organisations, we provide evidence of an impact investment approach characterised by concurrent motive of financial and social/environmental returns, longer time horizon, and engagement or provision of non-financial support. We conclude that this approach leverages the tools of venture capital to realise social or ecological purposes. The findings can potentially assist investors and entrepreneurs to make informed decisions and navigate the complexity surrounding the emerging impact investment environment in Ghana and economies of similar nature. Additionally, it can help in developing explicit policies to regulate the sector, increase its awareness, widens its appeal, and use to serve the intended purpose of addressing social and environmental problems
Combining complexity leadership with operational systems and structures for adaptability in South African private hospitals
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Nel, Karen
The global healthcare landscape is complex. The South African Government and various other researchers have highlighted the unequal nature of the healthcare system in South Africa. The system is unsustainable and urgently needs substantial transformation in its current form. As set out by the South African Government, introducing universal healthcare coverage for the whole population is a solution. This will, however, significantly impact and change all role- players relatively quickly, especially for private hospitals. The purpose of this study was to critically examine whether private hospitals in South Africa were positioned for adaptability, considering complexity leadership (with concepts: entrepreneurial leadership, operational leadership and enabling leadership) and operational systems and structures (with concepts: agile, lean and leagile), as an approach to deal with the potential changes. A mixed methods study with an explanatory sequential design was utilised where the quantitative results and sample informed the population and questions of the qualitative study. Additionally, the quantitative results' drivers were identified in the qualitative study, namely causal factors, leadership and operational consequences, and aggravating factors. This study confirmed that the leadership displayed in private hospitals and the operational systems and structures implemented in private hospitals were not aligned with complexity leadership and operational systems and structures as defined in the conceptual model of this study. A unique finding was that operational systems and structures in private hospitals had a significantly higher impact on the hospitals' daily management than the leadership displayed in these hospitals. This was especially evident between managers and non-managers and between clinical and non-clinical employees, with non-clinical employees viewing the impact of the operational systems and structures implemented in hospitals as significantly more impactful than the leadership displayed in these hospitals. Furthermore, it was identified that operational leadership and lean systems and structures were the preferred approaches in private hospitals and negatively impacted the display of entrepreneurial leadership and agile systems and structures in these hospitals. Moreover, it was found that exploitative leadership, which is the leadership approach when dealing with old certainties, labelled as operational leadership in the current complexity leadership framework, should be relabelled a administrative-operational leadership in South African private hospitals, as a result of the hierarchical, autocratic culture. Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the leadership displayed and the operational systems and structures that were implemented in these hospitals, it was identified that employees can either experience disruption in a positive light through an adaptive response supported flexibility, or be traumatised by it when management implemented an order response with increased controls. It was conclusively confirmed that private hospitals in South Africa do not regularly display complexity leadership nor implement operational systems and structures as defined in this study's conceptual model. Four recommendations were made that can assist the private hospital industry in becoming more adaptable. The first recommendation is for the industry to implement CL and OSS as defined by the study's conceptual model. This implementation will naturally develop into an adaptive space. The second recommendation is to overcome the disconnect between industry players, head offices and hospitals, and to increase collaboration. Although the adaptive space will impact this recommendation positively, it has to be driven and supported by senior leadership. The third recommendation is to develop a formal industry framework for adaptability in private hospitals. The fourth recommendation is for the implementation of integrated and applied development programmes for leaders and staff at all levels. The programmes will assist everyone to better understand the relationship between CL, OSS, business acumen, and business success
The Glass Cliff: Exploring the Dynamics Around the Appointment of Women to Precarious Leadership Positions in Corporate South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Mashele, Winsome; Alagidede, Imhotep Paul
The current research explores the "glass cliff" form of discrimination. The research argues that while women are now appointed in high-profile positions, there is a greater likelihood that they end up on a 'glass cliff' as compared to their male counterparts. Glass cliff positions put women executives' in potentially risky roles that could harm their reputations and career prospects because, when a company performs poorly, people tend to blame its leadership without considering situational variables. The research problem statement centres around the overrepresentation of women who are in senior leadership positions in organizations that are experiencing difficulties, which is an increasing concern in corporate South Africa. The main objectives of the study, among others includes to: (i) gain a better understanding of why women choose risky leadership positions. (ii) identify the leadership experiences of women in leading organisations in relation to gender. (iii) understand the suitable leadership styles that women facing the glass cliff have at their disposal to build relationships with internal shareholders as well as influence the structure of the organisation. (iv) understand the tools and resources that are needed to support women in senior leadership roles during times of crises in corporate South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research methodology was employed, and data collected through semi-structured interviews from a total of 15 participants. Findings: The findings suggest that women are now allowed to occupy senior leadership positions where these positions record a decline in status, competence and prestige, and as a result are time consuming and difficult to combine with a successful academic career. An important set of findings is: (i) the participants perceived the risky activity as a form of promotional opportunity and were willing to accept an offer. (ii) if women are placed in the right positions with the right skills, success is potentially guaranteed. (iii) leaders should practice the situational leadership style which evolves according to the situation, the time at hand and its nature. Contribution / value: Despite some limitations that were experienced over the course of the study, some answers emerged in response to the key question on which the study was premised. Furthermore, the aim of this study was achieved in terms of its contribution not only in providing guidance to organizational decision makers, policy makers and business leaders to address inequalities in corporate South Africa, but also in highlighting the role played by women in making career decisions within the rubric of the glass cliff phenomenon
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
The impact of foreign ownership on emerging markets' banking system: a case of BRICS
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Magagula, Sibusiso Vusi; MOKOALELI-MOKOTEL, Thabang
The current research examines foreign bank ownership’s impact on the financial soundness and benefits observable within-host banking markets and banks’ risk-taking behaviour in the BRICS. Also, this research examines the effects of foreign ownership on both fiscal and monetary policies’ transmission via the bank lending channel. Thus, the rationale to focus on the impact of foreign ownership on BRICS member countries’ banking markets is because post-global financial crisis, these economies stimulated their economy via banking. Moreover, the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 did not lead to deglobalisation in their banking markets because, generally, the BRICS bloc is found to have recovered quickly from the situation without their banks changing their privatisation strategy concerning foreign ownership. The CAMELS rating analysis, two- stage least square and two-way random effect panel models are the primary study tools in the current research, and the biasness testing was incorporated as a robustness check. The results show that the foreign-owned banks contribute procyclically to the bloc's financial soundness, indicating that their presence introduces some asymmetries into their banking systems. Furthermore, foreign banks in BRICS lead to benefits that outweigh risks. However, some risk elements need to be minimised to insulate the bloc from a future globally induced crisis. These risks include systemic risk of foreign-owned banks, lowering tier II capital as required by Basel III for all banks, the ineffectiveness of fiscal and monetary policy in regulating lending risk, and excessive leveraging of domestic banks. Despite the risks associated with foreign banks' presence in BRICS, foreign bank ownership increases the performance and efficiency of all banks, with domestic banks becoming risk-averse, which may explain the quick recovery of the BRICS banking sector post-2008 global financial crisis. The policy implications from the results highlight the need for local policymakers to strategies on ways to encourage banks to lend in domestic currency to regain control over lending risks post-acquisition of their host banks by global investors. Also, host regulators need to closely monitor the extent of systemic risk from foreign-owned banks to limit the chance of a banking crisis in the future
The role of emotions and values in executive behavioural strategy
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Kader, Aziez
A fundamental divide in strategy research is made according to whether the research adopts rationality or behavioural mechanisms. Behavioural strategy, unlike the 'conventional' approach to research, adopts a non-positivistic notion of reality. It assumes that behaviour changes across both time and cultures, with the understanding that economic participants are not always rational and in many ways are more than economic agents. In South Africa, we have witnessed large-scale corruption and strategic failure by senior executives in the public and private sectors. Extending strategy research substantively into human-motivation complexities is bound to suggest positive but also confusing implications for our understanding of strategic conduct. Developing our knowledge with a fine-grained appreciation of the psychological foundations is likely to be especially beneficial for strategy’s behavioural movement. The study's fundamental objective is to investigate whether and how values are central to strategic behaviour, further contributing to the relationship between strategy research and psychological and sociological theories in other social science disciplines that are currently only weakly related. A glaring research opportunity persists in the strategic-management literature concerning the relationship between strategy and central values. Only limited and tenuous efforts have been made to connect strategic management and values in the literature. This study employed an interpretive, qualitative methodology involving six participants and multiple interactions. The researcher triangulated public non-interview data with interview data and observed behaviour in an unsuccessful investment venture during the research period. The study explores detailed interpretations and constructs deeper meaning in the participant experiences. It further adopts both sensemaking and goal-framing theories as analytical lenses to understand behavioural decisions in context. The study makes several contributions that link values, emotions, and cognitive psychology to strategic attention. This research adds to behavioural strategy primarily by establishing empirical connections between congruent or conflicting values, emotional and cognitive salience, and strategic attention. Secondly, the research derives a framework to understand better the motivational dynamics of values, and cognitive and emotional salience in terms of strategic attention, and ultimately behavioural strategy. Thirdly, the study extends the use of goal-framing theory to the field of behavioural strategy
Towards a framework for asset pricing in developing equity markets
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Ouma, Wycliffe Nduga; Kodongo, Odongo
The need to accurately determine risk-return trade-offs in financial markets is an important question that has occupied minds of various players in capital markets for over five decades now. In this study, we addressed this question by attempting to determine the drivers of returns in developing equity markets. Further, we test the ability of the identified factors to command significant and reasonable risk premiums in the returns of developing equity markets. The results of this analysis were compared with those of a select group of emerging and developed equity markets. This study employed monthly stock price data from 20 developing equity markets, starting January 1, 1996, and ending February 1, 2020, resulting in 290 months of observation. Countries are included in the study as their data became available. Monthly stock price data were used to calculate individual stock returns for the first phase of the study, which involved determining the covariance matrix of returns. This was done through a dimensionality reduction technique of Asymptotic Principal Components Analysis and standard PCA whenever data permitted. The underlying drivers of returns variations determined through these procedures resulted in a few significant principal components (PCs) driving overall stock variations. The next step related the identified PCs to the candidate risk factors ensuring that empirical testing of asset pricing factors only included factors with important influence on stock variations. The study has found important empirical results on asset pricing in developing equity markets. First, the study has established that only a few fundamental drivers influence returns in the sampled 20 developing equity markets. At country level, factor identification strategy employed discovered that only a few principal components were significantly related to the covariance matrix of returns. Canonical correlations analysis largely confirmed the results as factors such as excess market returns, book-to-equity and aggregate volatility significantly influenced returns variations in most of the individual markets in the sample. The empirical evaluation of the identified factors further established that excess market returns (MKT), book-to-market (value) factor (HML), profitability factor (RMW), momentum factor (UMD), unanticipated inflation factor (UI), aggregate volatility (VOL), and trade weighted US dollar index (TW$) were significantly priced in the returns of developing equity markets. Although FM regression did not price UI and TW$, the associated 𝑡 −statistic of their coefficients were closer to the threshold value of 2. For instance, UI and TW$ respectively produced 𝑡 −stat 1.952 and 1.929, which are significant at the 10% level. The GMM analysis, used for robustness checks, confirmed that MKT, HML, UMD and VOL were significantly priced, but further found that both UI and TW$ were not only significant drivers of risk variations, but also priced in the returns of developing equity markets Further, DS-LASSO was used to check the robustness of the entire system starting from the factor identification to testing the identified factors. The results largely corroborate the conclusions of GMM, that MKT, HML, UMD and TW$ significantly explain returns variations of frontier equity style portfolios and are priced. The results also indicated that UI is marginally priced with a 𝑡 −stat of 1.958. This study puts forward some recommendations. First, we recommend a favourable policy environment to accelerate capital market development and investment in developing countries. Since accounting information has been established to proxy for common pervasive risk drivers in stock markets, financial reporting standard is, therefore, crucial to the quality accounting information disseminated. Developing equity markets need to institute prudent and harmonised accounting practices and strong corporate governance systems to ensure quality reporting. Debt variables such as corporate bonds and government bonds form a significant component of capital market investment and are important drivers of returns in these stock markets. Unfortunately, developing equity markets do not have well-functioning debt markets rendering the variables irrelevant in their risk-return equation. Thus, these countries should institute deliberate policy measures to ensure growth of debt markets
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

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