School of Economics and Finance

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    Tracing the historical structure of economic growth in South Africa and identifying policies for inclusive growth and redistribution
    (2024-07-08) Kenneth Creamer
    South African Economic Growth, Redistribution
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    A cross-country analysis investigating the impact of the 2008-09 Financial Crisis on the conduct of monetary policy
    (2021) Creamer, Kenneth; Lamperelli, Daniela
    Taylor Rule analysis is utilised to enable an analysis of how the 2008 Financial Crisis impacted on the conduct of monetary policy across various countries. Structural Break Analysis and Markov Switching (MS) Regressions are used in order to identify breaks and changes in the conduct of monetary policy as result of the Crisis. The study finds evidence of Crisis-related changes in monetary policy conduct in South Africa, as well as in the US, the UK, the Euro Area (the ECB), Colombia, Peru and South Korea. On the other hand, the results for Brazil, Mexico and Israel do not show conclusive differences in monetary policy conduct in the pre-Crisis and post-Crisis periods. Along with South Africa, there are only two other countries, namely Brazil and Mexico, whose smoothing parameters are larger in the post-Crisis period. Four out of the ten countries place a lower weight on inflation post-Crisis. Six central banks reduce their weighting on the output gap after the Crisis.
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    An investigation into the factors influencing the purchase intentions of smart wearable technology by students
    (International Association of Online Engineering, 2019) Nkonko, E.K.; Chiliya, N.; Chuchu, T.; Ndoro, T.
    The purpose of this study was to examine the factors which influence the purchase intentions of Smart wearable technology by students in South Africa. The researchers, guided by literature developed a conceptual framework with five constructs, namely, product quality, design, price, consumer attitudes and purchase intentions. The study followed a quantitative research design. Data was collected from 416 registered students at a selected higher education institution in South Africa who were older than 18 years. Data analysis techniques comprised of structural equation modelling which focused on confirmatory factory analysis to confirm conceptual relations and causal relations between the factors. SPSS 23 and AMOS 23 software were used to perform the data analysis. The results revealed that product quality and product design had a significant positive effect on purchase intentions. Price and attitudes were found to be mediating the effect of product quality and product design on purchase intentions. The paper contributes to existing literature on the purchase intentions of Smart wearable technology. Furthermore, it provides technology organisations with adequate insight into the factors which influence the purchase of Smart wearable technology. © 2019 International Association of Online Engineering.
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    Supply chain partnership, supply chain collaboration and supply chain integration as the antecedents of supply chain performance
    (AOSIS, 2019-02-26) Mofokeng, T.M.; Chinomona, R.
    Background: It is understood that improving performance has become an important objective of supply chains. As such, strategies have been adopted as an effort towards increasing performance. Amongst these strategies, partnership, collaboration and integration have been identified. A mutual advantage of these approaches is that they facilitate cohesion between parties where knowledge and resources are pooled together and shared with the purpose of achieving optimum results. However, it is observed that the extent to which partnership, collaboration and integration affect supply chain performance collectively is a research void. Objectives: This study intended to examine the influence of partnership, collaboration and integration on supply chain performance, particularly within the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. The theory of relational view was adopted to support the study’s conceptual model. Method: The study used SmartPLS to analyse the data. Results: Three hypotheses were empirically substantiated using a sample of 271 SMEs situated in Gauteng. Conclusion: The findings revealed that the research constructs partnership, collaboration and integration influence supply chain performance in a positive way. Implications of the study are further provided. © 2019. The Authors.
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    A review of South Africa’s National Research Foundation’s ratings methodology from a social science perspective
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2018) Callaghan, C
    One of South Africa's National Research Foundation's (NRF) activities is to award ratings to academics who apply according to predefined categories. Explicitly or not, these ratings are part of submissions academics make for promotions and for employment in South African universities. As such, methodological assessment of the validity of this system is important. This paper seeks to conceptually evaluate certain characteristics of this system against certain general principles of reliability and validity. On the basis of the results of this evaluation, it is argued that assumptions that the NRF rating system is always valid or reliable as a differentiator of individual academics cannot be made unconditionally. Using Management Science as an example of a social science field that draws from multidisciplinary theoretical and methodological frameworks, this paper identifies certain validity issues associated with the current NRF rating system, and makes recommendations for improvements. Significance: •Certain validity issues are highlighted and arguments are made to improve the methodology used by the NRF to rate researchers. •Issues related to multidisciplinarity and mode two knowledge production are considered. •Technological advances that have made it possible for scientific measurement of research productivity and impact are discussed. •Problems with subjective methodologies are identified, together with their ethical consequences. © 2018 The Author(s).
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    Business rescue practices in South Africa: An explorative view
    (AOSIS (pty) Ltd, 2018-06-20) Naidoo, T; Patel, A; Padia, N
    Given the seemingly low rate of success of the current business rescue regime (at just 13.6% as at June 2015), this study sought to identify whether the current business rescue regime in South Africa realises its intended objectives and why this meeting of objectives or failure to do so may be the case. It focuses on practical issues and the investigation is undertaken through interviews with business rescue practitioners who are the facilitators of business rescue. The findings show that there is a lack of clarity in the definition of success which may be cause for concern and that, despite its consistency with other jurisdictions, in the views of practitioners, the success rate is expected to improve. The study finds that there is a lack of prompt action when signs of financial distress are noted and a lack of funding for companies in business rescue. The experience of the practitioner has a significant impact on the success or failure of the rescue and may be one of the reasons for the current low rate of success of the regime, while the specific qualifications of the practitioner play a smaller role. The plan is imperative but there is often a lack of information and insufficient time allocated to its preparation. Consistency of Court judgements also has a bearing on success of business rescue, while consistency with provisions of other jurisdictions is not considered to be important.
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    Can progressive macroeconomic policy address growth and employment while reducing inequality in South Africa
    (2019) Padayachee, M
    This article aims to set out some progressive, mainly post-Keynesian, macroeconomic policy ideas for debate and further research in the context of macroeconomic challenges faced by South Africa today. Despite some successes, including at reducing poverty, the South African economy has been characterised by low growth, rising unemployment and increasing inequality, which together with rampant corruption and governance failures combine to threaten the very core of the country’s stability and democracy. The neo-liberal economic policies that the African National Congress–led government surprisingly adopted in 1996 in order to assuage global markets sceptical of its historical support for dirigiste economic policy, have simply not worked. Appropriate progressive macroeconomic interventions are urgently needed to head off the looming prospect of a failed state in the country which Nelson Mandela led to democracy after his release from prison in February 1990. What happens in Africa’s southern tip should still matter for progressives all around the world. The article draws on both history and theory to demonstrate the roots of such progressive heterodox economic thinking and support for a more carefully coordinated activist state-led macroeconomic policy, both in general terms and in the South African context. It shows that such approaches to growth and development – far from being populist – also have a rich history and respectable theoretical pedigree behind them and are worthy of inclusion in the South African policy debate.
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    Measuring the effect of Evaluation Capacity Building Initiatives in Africa: A review
    (African Evaluation Journal, 2017-04-26) Ms Candice, Morkel; Mr Mokgophana, Ramasobana
    The growing demand for evidence to support policy decisions, guide resource allocation and demonstrate results has elevated the need for expertise in monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Despite the mushrooming of short courses in M&E, their impact on improving the capacity to meet the demand has not been adequately and comprehensively measured or evaluated. The purpose of this article was to highlight the need for improving the measurement of evaluation capacity building (ECB) to better understand what works in building M&E capacity in Africa.
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    The impact of corporate rebranding on brand equity and firm performance
    Nana, S; Tobias, M.J; Chiliya, N
    Rebranding has become a very important strategic tool for companies wanting to succeed in this ever-competitive business world using the principles of rebranding. Companies may occasionally discover that they may have to re-position the brand because customers change preferences and new competitors enter the market. Moreover, a strong brand enhances positive evaluations of a product’s quality, maintains a high level of product awareness, and provides a consistent image or brand personality. To keep up with fierce competition, companies may seek to transform their business due to changing business directions or adding extra business units. The main purpose of this study was therefore, to investigate the influence of rebranding on brand equity and firm performance. This study was quantitative in nature. Data were collected from 372 respondents using anonymously completed questionnaires. Research scales were operationalised on the basis of previous work. Proper modifications were made in order to fit the research context and purpose. “Rebranding” measure used five-item scales; “Store Layout” used a five item scale measure; “Franchising” used three item measure, “Brand Equity”; “ Perceived Quality “, “Brand Associations and Attributes” and “Firm Performance” all used a five item scale measure while “an customer experience ” used a six item scale measure. All measurement items were measure on a five-point Likert-type scale that was anchored by 1=strongly agree to 5= strongly disagree to express degree of agreement. The seven posited hypotheses were empirically tested. The results supported three hypotheses in a significant way and rejected four hypotheses. Important to note about the study findings is the fact that rebranding has no effect on the firm’s brand equity although brand equity has an influence on the firm’s performance. Notably too, the relationship between customer experience and firm performance is robust. This finding indicates that brand equity can have a strong influence without the influence of rebranding. A major implication for this study is that rebranding is a risky operation that needs to be carefully managed.