Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)

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    Developmental finance institutions’ decision-making criteria and the financing of new ventures in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Mtsewu, Samkelisiwe; Murimbika, Edward
    The South African government has established Development Finance Institutions to increase entrepreneurial activity and to aid in bridging the financial gap confronted by entrepreneurs. Despite the government’s initiatives to bridge the financial gap, total early-stage entrepreneurship activity rates are low. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2020) reported that South Africa has one of the lowest total early-stage entrepreneurship activities, with lack of funding and education being cited as some of the contributing factors. The study aimed to determine the extent to which the entrepreneurs’ human capital attributes significantly impact the decision-making criteria of Development Finance Institutions in South Africa. The human capital attributes reviewed in this study were the level of education, experience, skills and knowledge. The study aids in filling the gap that exists in Development Finance Institutions financing criteria in developing economies thereby contributing to budding entrepreneurs for funding their new ventures. A cross-sectional quantitative research methodology as adopted with convenience and snowball non-probability sampling methods used for data collection using an online questionnaire. Out of 118 responses that were received from small to medium enterprises, 74 were usable and indicated that they had been funded by government-owned Development Finance Institutions. Correlations test analyses were used to determine the significance of the relationship between identified constructs. The study revealed that there is a positive relationship between the entrepreneurs’ human capital and the DFIs’ decision to finance, however, this relationship was not statistically significant. The findings assert that human capital does serve as a signal when funders are deciding to fund. The study contributes towards reducing the gap in the body of knowledge on the decision-making of DFIs. Thus, the study implicates and provides direction to the government and or policymakers to draft policies that will improve human capital levels of the population to enable increased entrepreneurship participation and contribute to the growth of the economy
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    Digital transformation and human capital in retail banking in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-03) Lediga, Katlego; Appiah, Erasmus Kofi
    The digital transition is disruptive because it brings great change along with it. The banking business is being reshaped by powerful forces like but not limited to expectations from customers, technological abilities, legislative requirements, demographic trends, and economics. These are all combined to create a pressing need for change. Banks must anticipate these problems and retool in order to succeed in the future age. Banks must not only meet today's demands but also drastically innovate and restructure themselves in order to be competitive in the future. In the banking industry, digital transformation is a continual process involving both the micro and macro environment through revamping internal procedures and systems. Digital transformation occurs for a variety of reasons, including serving rural areas without branch locations, differentiating from competitors, and lowering operational expenses. In any event, there are many reservations about digital technologies' acceptability. Most people's computers or mobile phones are now used to conduct a substantial proportion of banking transactions. The variety of options, as well as the time and cost savings, and the ease of use of these applications, ensure that they continue to outperform traditional banking channels like bank branches. (Kitsios & Giatsidis, 2021) The purpose of the study is to ascertain how human capital in the form of business units and line managers within retail banks responded to the technological disruptions within the South African context. The objective of this research is to provide an overview of the shift from a workplace that does not rely on technology to one that is heavily reliant on technological integration to achieve operational needs. It will examine the repercussions of process automation migrations, as well as how this affects attrition rate and retention as human capital tries to adjust to such a radical change
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    A human capital perspective of digital business and service delivery in Johannesburg
    (2022) Thari, Kagiso
    The digitalisation of processes and services has grown popular as a result of the fourth industrial revolution. Digital businesses have successfully demonstrated that technology can offer strategic value, inspiring global governments to improve the quality of services offered to the public through digitalisation. The integration of digital technology into the service delivery strategy of the City of Johannesburg remains a subject with limited understanding. This qualitative study explored the level of integration of digital technologies in the delivery of public services by conducting six semi-structured interviews with the middle managers within the city. The collected data were thematically analysed by applying a dynamic capabilities framework with a focus on human capital. It was determined that the level of integration is still in its infancy, owing to the decentralised nature of the organisation. It was further determined that the human capital within the city is adequate to improve the level of integration of digital technology with the service delivery strategy from infancy to an advanced state, provided that there is organisational support for the middle managers.
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    The relationship between human capital variables and the growth of small, medium and micro enterprises operating in the Johannesburg inner city
    (2020) Ramahlako, Sello
    The study examined one of the critical issues in South Africa - the role of human capital in Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). It adds to the existing theoretical and empirical studies in human capital theory. Human capital has long been acknowledged by scholars as playing a significant role in the productivity of individuals. Based on various studies, it has now gained increasing traction as the most influential factor that largely influences the growth of firms. Human capital is broad with varied definitions, which might leave even the most accomplished scholar confused. Depending on the context, some scholars attribute human capital specifically with education, whereas in other instances, other scholars associate it with the establishment of firms for the economic development of a nation (Mincer, 1996; Texeira, 2002). The main thrust of this study was to establish whether there is a positive relationship between human capital components, namely, knowledge, and education and work experience (independent variables) with firm growth (dependent variable). More important, the study sought to offer insight into the perceived significance of the relationship between these specific human capital elements and firm growth as delineated in the literature review. This study was motivated by the high failure rate of SMMEs, their staying power and slow growth as major concerns for a country faced with high unemployment, job losses, poverty and crime with an economy almost in recession. The study used quantitative methods to gather data, as shown in the research methodology chapter. Hypotheses were tested using descriptive statistics. Firstly, the study hypothesised that an entrepreneur’s knowledge has a positive relationship with firm growth (H1). Secondly, the study hypothesised that an entrepreneur’s level of education has a positive relationship with firm growth (H2). Extant literature has long confirmed the important links between education, venture creation and firm performance (Raposo & Paco, 2011). Thirdly, the study hypothesised that an entrepreneur’s work experience has a positive relationship with firm growth (H3). Unger, Rauch, Frese and Rosenbausch (2011), who argued that most entrepreneurs have significant years of previous experience before becoming entrepreneurs themselves, provide a similar assertion. The perceived importance of human capital in stimulating firm growth was examined and the results showed no significant relationship between knowledge, education, work experience and firm growth. However, a significant positive relationship exists between the three independent variables. The study was basic as it only focused on the perceived positive correlation of three elements of human capital, rather than dealing with each variable, as outlined in various strands of entrepreneurship theory.