Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)

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    Exploring the CSR Leadership Competencies that contribute to successful sustainable development in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Oliphant, Chanell; Mogotsi, Keratiloe
    Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has evolved from ad-hoc giving towardsstrategic sustainable focus projects, with many organisations creating departmentsor CSR-focused positions. However, critiques abound regarding the sustainabilityof CSR projects aimed at social change and uplifting, and industry thought leadersacknowledge a skills shortage or deficit in South Africa. For sustainable CSR, it isnecessary to understand the competencies required by CSR professionals and howthe competencies contribute towards sustainable CSR. Thus, the study exploredwhat functional, social, and cognitive, competencies CSR professionals need tomanage and execute CSR initiatives for practical, sustainable development throughCSR, applying the holistic managerial competency model. Data was collectedthrough semi-structured face-to-face interviews, with 18 CSR professionals. Thestudy found that, in practice, CSR professionals employ various competenciesintegratively. Social competency elements that understand the context to navigatesocial dynamics and positively impact collaboration and cognitive competencieselements that support a development mindset in CSR are needed. Functionalcompetency elements enable managing projects, which supports the successfulexecution of projects and identifying value-creation opportunities for greater impact.Meta-competencies, like motivation, reflection, and perseverance, facilitate theapplication of these competency elements. The study found that collaborationcompetency was a common thread across competencies. The findings of this studyhave implications for organisations with CSR functions and CSR professionals. Itprovides a repository for CSR professionals of the competencies they already haveand need to develop. In addition, organisations can use the identified competencieswhen hiring and developing CSR professionals. The study recommends that ifsustainability is the focus of organisations, organisations in South Africa must drawtheir attention to intensifying collaboration efforts with a strategic developmentmindset for sustainable CSR
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    Essays on industrialisation, innovation, and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Akorsu, Patrick Kwashie; Tweneboah, George
    Sustainable development has attracted discourses from academics and policymakers for some time now. The United Nations has instituted seventeen (17) goals to promote sustainable development, and these goals have been decomposed into 169 sub-goals to be achieved under the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. The goals are essentially grouped into economic, ecological, and social goals. Following this, the African Union (AU) has embraced the SDGs by motivating member countries to come up with programmes that are directly related to the goals. However, whereas a lot of discussions have occurred, much of the talk has been oblivious to empirical data analysis. The AU has realised the importance of industrialisation in spearheading the bridging of the poverty gap in Africa. Industrialisation is seen as the panacea for job creation, prosperity, and wealth creation. Industrialisation induces innovation by introducing new equipment, new production techniques, increasing capacities and spreading improvements across sectors of the economy. However, since the 1990s when the policymakers started talking about industrialisation, not much has been achieved on that score. Common to industrialisation and economic development is financial development. The level of financial development can stimulate positive or negative externalities on sustainable development. The drive towards the promotion of sustainable development in Africa by the African Union and other parastatal bodies, especially the UN, motivated this thesis to examine the convoluted connections between financial development, technological innovation, industrialisation, and sustainable development in Africa in three related studies. The first study analysed the complementary role of financial development in the relationship between industrialisation and sustainable economic development in Africa. The system dynamic Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) technique was employed with a dataset covering 2010-2019 for 48 African countries. Under this analysis, this thesis found that Industrialisation, Innovation, and Sustainable Development in Africa © Patrick Kwashie Akorsu, 2023 industrialisation is a significant positive driver of economic development. The role of financial development in the economic development agenda among African economies was also emphasised by the results. The outcome of the moderation analysis suggested that the level of financial development significantly complements industrialisation towards improving economic growth. Thus, a more developed financial sector is potent in building an industrial economy which facilitates value addition in the manufacturing sector. The second empirical analysis examined the interactive role of technological innovation in the relationship between financial development and sustainable development in Africa after controlling for the influence of ICT infrastructure, trade openness, inflation, and population size. The results indicated significant effects of financial development on sustainable development as well as significant relationships between technological innovation and sustainable development. In terms of social sustainability, the findings suggested that financial development tends to reduce social sustainability among African economies such that increasing the quantum of broad money and increasing the amount of domestic credit to the private sector either by households or by banks would not necessarily improve the level of social development in Africa. Concerning economic sustainability, the findings divulged a positive relationship between financial development and the economic dimension of sustainable development (i.e., economic sustainability), suggesting that African countries could leverage financial development, particularly by encouraging the supply of credit to the private sector either by households or banks to enable industries to improve their operations. As regards ecological/environmental sustainability, findings from this empirical analysis indicated mixed relationships between financial development and ecological sustainability. Thus, depending on the proxy, financial development either increases or decreases energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in Africa. Meanwhile, the effect of technological Industrialisation, Innovation, and Sustainable Development in Africa © Patrick Kwashie Akorsu, 2023 innovation on sustainable development was positive for all dimensions of sustainability but had varied implications. This emphasised the need to analyse how sustainable development is affected by the interaction between financial development and technological innovation. The findings from the moderation effect divulged that more technological innovation lessens SDI but increases GDP growth per capita, carbon dioxide emissions, and energy consumption. The last empirical chapter revealed investigated the interactive role of technological innovation in the relationship between financial development and sustainable development in Africa. The findings from such an analysis highlighted the complementary role of technological innovation in the relationship between financial development and sustainable development in Africa. In an era of an increasing need for sustainability, these findings stressed the need to further ascertain possible convolutions between sustainable development, technological innovation, and industrialisation among African economies. The impetus for this analysis partly stemmed from the fact that industrialisation has some externalities it poses to economies. Therefore, there was a need to provide empirical evidence that helps understand the true role of industrialisation in the relationship between technological innovation and sustainable development to foster policy formulation. Upon analysing the mediating effect of industrialisation on the relationship between technological innovation and the three dimensions of sustainable development (social, economic, and ecological/environmental sustainability) in Africa, positive relationships between technological innovation and all dimensions of sustainable development, emphasise the need to analyse how sustainable development is indirectly affected by industrialisation. The findings provide evidence of a partial contribution from industrialisation toward the impact of technological innovation on sustainable development. As a result, this thesis Industrialisation, Innovation, and Sustainable Development in Africa © Patrick Kwashie Akorsu, 2023 concluded that the level of industrialisation complementarily mediates the relationship between technological innovation and sustainable development in Africa. The study recommends that economies within Africa should focus on industrialisation and financial development to achieve sustainable development. Policymakers should prioritise the development of a resilient financial sector to complement industrialisation, while promoting technological innovation to support all dimensions of sustainability. Also, a balanced approach to sustainable development should be promoted by managing the trade-offs between sustainability dimensions. Finally an effectively coordinated set of policies should be put in place to reduce negative externalities resulting from industrialisation, and policymakers should carefully select implementation policies and channels
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    Consumer perceptions of the transition from coal to renewable energy in South Africa: Consumer perception toward the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy technology for electricity generation in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Sebothoma, Captain; Hildebrandt, Diane; Bruce, Young
    The South African government has announced investments in renewable energy technology initiatives to address the electricity supply gap created by loadshedding and inefficiencies at Eskom, the country's power utility. However, a few studies on public acceptance on renewable energy technology have been undertaken in many countries, including one conducted in Nigeria by Rosemary Nike Wojuola, which found that the public always has some opposing thoughts on the deployment of such technologies. The purpose of the study was to understand the consumer's perceptions on the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy technology for electricity generation in South Africa, and it will assist to improve policies that encourage consumers to embrace and learn about electricity generated by renewable energy sources. The “technology acceptance model’ and ‘theory of reasoned action” are used to evaluate the beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions concerning renewable energy technology in relation to sustainable behaviour. A quantitative approach (survey) was employed in this study to investigate South African electricity consumers' awareness of sustainable development (including knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes). Statistical software (IBM SPSS Statistics version 28) was used to conduct inferential and descriptive statistical analysis on the collected data, allowing the researcher to derive predictions (or "inferences") from the data. The majority of participants, according to the data, had high levels of education (at least a graduate degree), which means that the sample does not represent the South African population as a whole. Based on the study findings, participant’s generally have an average level of knowledge regarding renewable energy technology, with females scoring lower than males. The results of a regression study between attitude calculated and behavioural intention of the consumers to adopt renewable energy technology were F=15.378 and p=0.001. This means that the research model fit the data and there was a positive association between the two variables (attitude calculated and behavioural intention). Lack of information, affordability, and unknown benefits of renewable energy technologies were the main barriers to participants' willingness to install renewables in their homes. Additionally, the study revealed that consumers depend on the government to speed up the development of renewable vi energy technologies for the production of electricity; however, there is evidence that the current administration is failing to maintain the existing fossil fuel infrastructure to ensure that the public has access to reliable electricity. The findings also show that the consumer's perception or attitude toward renewable energy technology is influenced by the perceived usefulness and ease of use, as well as the participants knowledge and beliefs about the technology. Thus, there is a need for renewable energy technology education that is sufficient to foster a favourable impression of renewable energy technologies among the general public. To foster a sustainable culture driven by the adoption of renewable energy technology for electricity generation across the country, sustainability should also be covered in education programs at all educational levels
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    Evaluation of the extent of disclosure of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in integrated reports by 40 South African companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Manack, Ilhaam; Maroun, Warren; Lange, Yvette
    In a world where resources are finite, sustainable development is of utmost importance to ensure the survival of the world as we know it. Many of the crises faced by the world such as poverty, a lack of clean water, deforestation and pollution can be reduced and, potentially, resolved through contributions from public and private organisations. In actual fact, many of these organisations contribute to the problems at hand as a result of a lack of regulatory guidance on sustainable development. This report provides insight into the integrated reports of 40 JSE-listed companies using the process of content analysis to ascertain each company’s contribution to sustainable development, through aligning its corporate practices with achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). No guideline currently exists for preparing SDG-related disclosures to be presented in integrated reports. As a result, a disclosure checklist was created for this purpose. It was found that SDG-related disclosures are predominantly vague and minimal, ifthey were given at all. Additionally, companies tend to provide more SDG-relateddisclosures over time. This research contributes to a small body of existing research in the field of SDG disclosures in integrated reports. This study is the first study to analyse the extent of SDG-related disclosures in South Africa
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    Environmental spatial planning: achieving sustainable development in sensitive areas
    (2019) Snyman, Louis Gerhardus; Humby, Tracy-Lynn
    South Africa is at a crossroads. Near stagnant economic growth and rising levels of poverty are at the top of the political agenda. In response, the state has adopted a rapid developmental growth strategy in an attempt to build an efficient economy that makes inroads into reversing a legacy of social and economic marginalisation. In a rural context, this includes supporting large industrial developments which include extractives-related activities that exploit precious natural resources. The status quo has positioned many state-sanctioned development plans on a collision course with the sustainable utilisation of sensitive natural landscapes. It is thus vital to investigate how planners and decision-makers appropriately reconcile the seemingly conflicting environmental, social and economic considerations that constitute ‘sustainable development’. This fine balancing exercise requires tough compromises to create harmony between imperatives deeply embedded in the language of rights. The two intersectional areas of law at the centre of this debate are environmental management and spatial planning; each of which prescribe numerous tools that attempt to operationalise the balancing of the often conflicting imperatives within ecologically and culturally sensitive areas. The difficulty in managing development in sensitive areas is the application of interconnecting, yet often conflicting, legislative and governance systems. Therefore, the key research questions are: How are spatial planning and environmental management paradigms being applied in sensitive areas in South Africa? Moreover, what are the chief factors inhibiting or promoting the effective use of spatial planning and environmental management to achieve a reconciliation between development and conservation in sensitive areas? Lastly, what are the legal dimensions of these questions, if any? The purpose of this study is thus to suggest ways in which spatial planning and environmental management can be better integrated to achieve the desired outcome of sustainable development in sensitive areas. Although this is a pressing issue, little empirical research has been conducted in this specific area and previous work has failed to address the specific legal, institutional and operational obstacles that exist in creating a cohesive and inclusive system.