3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Value-added tax and financial services(2017) Lebos, Jared JosephItem Financialisation in South African agriculture: two firm-level case studies(2017) Ackerman, Rudi MichielThe past decade has seen increasing attention given to the process termed ‘financialisation’ within the socio-political and economic literature. Despite the existence of robust macroeconomic literature, there is still a deficiency of firm-level studies on how financialisation takes root, particularly in developing countries. This paper contributes here by examining two agricultural firms within South Africa. South Africa is of particular heuristic value as it has a very advanced financial industry comparatively, and its agricultural industry has undergone very dramatic changes since the adoption of free-market policies in 1994. The study finds that the experience of financialisation remains variegated in South African agriculture. It does not support the view that financialisation is simply the ‘return of the rentier class’, instead illustrating how the changing role of the financial industry has had varied, though not insignificant effects on individual firms. It also confirms microeconomic linkages between liberalization and financialisation (previously identified on a macroeconomic level) as well confirming the importance of banks and ownership structures in facilitating financialisation.Item Investigating channels of cash circulation adopted by unbanked (African) migrants in Pretoria Central Business District (CBD)(2016) Mavodza, EmmaThis study explored cash circulation channels adopted by unbanked migrants in Pretoria Central Business District (CBD), South Africa. To understand the complex nature of cash circulation and the subjective practices of migrants, in-depth interviews were conducted with sixteen migrants selected through snowballing sampling. Collected primary data were analysed thematically, from particular to general themes depending on the responses provided by the informants. The study adopted the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) as an analytical tool to show how in the face of structural and institutional barriers, unbanked migrants have the capability to adopt digital solutions and socially embedded channels which are more flexible and sustainable in their livelihoods. These include informal channels such as hawala, malaichas and digital solutions like Kawena and Mukuru. By using this framework, the report reveals what unbanked migrants are doing on the ground, what shapes adopted cash circulation processes and the resultant livelihood outcomes. The study aimed at contributing to previous research on money transfer mechanisms adopted by unbanked African migrants. The conclusion reached is that, by adopting various socially embedded cash circulation channels, unbanked migrants circumvent structural constraints and, by so doing, financially include more people who were previously excluded. Although the study was limited to a small sample, it raises strong implications for policy makers to look at the inherent strength of migrants as development actors. Findings from this exploratory study are critical in that they open new niches for research on migrants and financial exclusion in Africa and beyond.Item Towards a perceptual model of corporate entrepreneurial activity: a focus on the South African financial sector(2016) Wood, Eric AnthonyImproved understanding of the entrepreneurial behaviours and motivations of employees would allow senior management of corporate entities a better understanding of their employees’ opportunity recognition processes, thereby guiding the provision of appropriate assistance and support of these processes in order to boost entrepreneurial activity. This research aimed to further academic understanding of the corporate entrepreneurial process and opportunity identification by employees within existing corporate entities. It investigated the influence of employee perceptions of their company’s corporate entrepreneurial building blocks, entrepreneurial alertness and meta-cognitive processing, on the extent and quality of opportunity recognition. The study focused on employees in the South African financial services sector. It proposed a model of corporate entrepreneurial activity and the individual, which attempted to combine current models of corporate entrepreneurial activity with current thinking around the individual’s entrepreneurial decision-making within the entrepreneurial process. The conceptual model aimed to add to the body of knowledge in terms of the entrepreneurial employee aspiring to fill the knowledge gap in terms of how they think and act within the corporate environment. It applied current theory, around the entrepreneurial individual, to the entrepreneurial employee. The employee’s perceptions of their company’s entrepreneurial building blocks was analysed, as were their perceptions of entrepreneurial alertness and meta-cognitive processing in stimulating corporate entrepreneurial activity within the company. A sample of 784 employees from 102 employers in the South African financial sector was examined. The conceptual model was analysed using hierarchical regression and structured equation modelling. A number of moderating influences on the model were examined using regression analyses. The integrative model showed that the entrepreneurial behaviour required of employees is primarily focused around entrepreneurial alertness and meta-cognitive processing. The central nature of entrepreneurial alertness, as portrayed in the mediation model, showed that employee entrepreneurial activity could only occur through entrepreneurial alertness. The entrepreneurially alert employee is able to make connections and identify opportunities that an employee who is not entrepreneurially alert is unable to do. It is only once the entrepreneurially alert employee has identified potential entrepreneurial ideas (by connecting the dots in terms of the business information gathered), that the meta-cognitive processing abilities of the employee are able to turn this potential entrepreneurial idea into a viable entrepreneurial opportunity. Entrepreneurial alertness can therefore be seen as the first step in the employee entrepreneurial process, after the establishment of the entrepreneurial building blocks set in place by the company. The mediation model showed the importance of employee perceptions of their company’s entrepreneurial building blocks. It is therefore not only important that the company put these entrepreneurial building blocks in place, as the precursor to employee entrepreneurial activity, but also that these entrepreneurial building blocks be adequately communicated to employees. Employee perceptions of these building blocks, not their physical existence, allow for the appropriate employee entrepreneurial behaviour necessary to produce the appropriate levels of entrepreneurial activity for their company. This mediation model was shown to have a number of moderating influences at both the individual and the company level.Item The relationship between internal brand management and brand citizenship behaviour in the financial services sector in South Africa(2016) Siziba, Lydia NtsatsiThis study addresses the nature of the relationship between brand citizenship behaviour and its antecedent instigator, strategic internal brand management as they pertain to the quest for distinctive service competencies by firms in the financial services sector. In today’s fast moving technologically accelerated world of commerce and industry, the quest for differentiation and innovation has simultaneously become acute while at the same time significantly more challenging to attain and sustain. Such behoves organisations to identify competency areas that can be leveraged for segment level distinctiveness. For one, the value of a strong brand is well recognised in business and much has been written about the diversity of elements that accentuate the construct of a brand. Being exploratory in nature, the study was guided by a qualitative design. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of executives representing the functions of marketing, human resources and operations from a selection of leading South African financial services firms as part of an exploratory investigation. These senior level practitioners were identified in literature as the anchors upon which meaningful strategic initiative emanates. The aspirant attainment of employees who become true citizens of the brand in their behaviour towards customers and other stakeholders was noted to be an outcome of leadership deliberateness in ensuring sustained immersion of employees in an organisation’s culture and values. A model that offers a foundation for the identification of key intra-organisational constructs and processes was proposed as a key outcome of the study. In addition, the study raises awareness of how to frame the scope of aspects that need to be included into an integrated approach to internal brand management to yield employee brand citizenship behaviour and ultimately assist in enhancing an organisation’s differentiation efforts. Keywords: internal brand management, brand citizenship behaviour, brand identity, brand communication, brand leadership, internal marketing, retail financial services.Item Corporate entrepreneurship behaviour in a South African financial services organisation(2016) Mogopodi, MogomotsiPurpose The purpose of this study is to assess corporate entrepreneurship behaviour and identify elements that influence and promote corporate entrepreneurship in a South African financial services organisation. The study also defines corporate entrepreneurship and assists in gaining an understanding of corporate entrepreneurship behaviour in a context of a financial services organisation in the South African financial services sector. Data collection Online questionnaires were used to collect data. The online questionnaire was sent out to via email to employees at different hierarchal levels of a financial services organisation. The email contained a link which directed the participants to the online survey. Completed responses were sent back to a centralised system for collation with only one response per computer possible. Key findings The key findings of the study elucidate corporate entrepreneurship in a financial services organisation as not perceived as demonstrated and or used. There is a neutral sentiment towards CE which is widespread across the organisation regardless of hierarchal levels. Management support for corporate entrepreneurial activities was significantly low which goes to show that there by-in-large a low acceptance for CE. Key contribution This research contributes to the further improves the understanding of corporate entrepreneurship in financial services organisations in South Africa, and benefits. The study will additionally provide an improved understanding of the financial services industry. The outcome of this study will challenge executives in the insurance sector to consider the benefits of executing on corporate entrepreneurship intentions. To this end, the study adds value to the financial iii services sector and may potentially change how the players in this sector operate.