4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    Competition, Systemic Risk and Financial Inclusion: Assessing the Adequacy of South Africa’s Merger Control Framework for Navigating Policy Frictions Arising in the FinTech Industry
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Stathoulis, Maria Olga
    An adequacy assessment is conducted through outlining a proposed FinTech competition policy that serves as a yardstick in relation to which the merger control framework is evaluated. The adequacy assessment is informed by whether the merger control framework, in theory, facilitates the implementation of the proposed policy principles that are calculated to aid competition authorities to balance competition, systemic risk, and data protection concerns in a manner that optimises financial inclusion. This research report proposes that the balancing exercise built into the merger control framework, the substantial public-interest grounds that factor in industry-specific policies, and the socio-economic framework within which the public-interest provisions should be considered, will enable the competition authorities to navigate policy frictions arising in the FinTech industry. However, the Minister of Finance’s power to exclude bank mergers from the purview of the merger control framework and the Prudential Authority’s stability-orientated primary objectives, have the potential to undermine competition in the banking sector. Competence and resource constraints aside, regulatory authorities can only be as effective as their mandate is appropriate. To create an appropriate regulatory architecture and optimal jurisdiction allocation, reform permutations that redefine the relationship between the Banks Act 94 of 1990 and the Competition Act 89 of 1998 are suggested. Merger control is as much of a transaction-specific analysis as it is context specific. Therefore, a FinTech-traditional financial market inquiry is recommended to enable the competition authorities and, more broadly, the Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group members, to understand the current state, and trajectory, of the FinTech industry
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    Factors limiting karoo shrub populations in the Nama-Karoo
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Hebbelmann, Lisa; O’Connor, Tim; Witkowski, Ed
    The Nama-Karoo Biome occupies the central and western region of South Africa. Nama-Karoo shrublands are dominated by karoo dwarf shrubs and in the wetter eastern regions annual and perennial grasses are interspersed among shrubs. Rainfall and grazing are the main drivers of vegetation change in the Nama-Karoo. Stocking rate, season of grazing and animal type are important influences on vegetation community composition, and rainfall determines shrub growth and the abundance of grass. More recently, fire has been identified as a driver of vegetation change. Understanding vegetation change is important for land managers in the Nama-Karoo as changes in karoo shrub communities have implications for forage availability. This thesis is focused on understanding how grazing, fire, grass-shrub competition, and soil moisture and temperature affect the composition, structure, growth and phenology of karoo shrubs in the Eastern Upper Karoo. Livestock type and stocking rate vary greatly over the greater Nama-Karoo area. Plant composition data from the Afrikaner-Hereford grazing trial at Grootfontein show that grazing has a strong legacy effect on Karoo rangelands and grazing-induced compositional and structural changes are clear many years after grazing has ceased. Different sheep breeds affect karoo shrub communities in different ways. There was a severe negative effect of heavy stocking with dorper sheep on karoo shrub communities and their structure; the impacts of merino sheep were significant but less severe. Effects of animal type and stocking rate were not consistent across the sites but appear to be dependent on edaphic factors. Soil physical properties appear to play an important part in determining the long term effects of grazing on karoo shrub communities. Fire is a novel disturbance in the Karoo. Nine sites which had experienced fire for the first time in history were studied for the effect of fire on the composition and structure of their shrub communities. The immediate effect of fire on karoo shrub communities was severe and the legacy effect of fire was significant. The nature of recovery after a fire depended on the abundance of fire-intolerant obligate reseeder shrubs that are killed by fire compared to the abundance of fire-tolerant resprouting shrubs. Rainfall and grazing management were important determinants of shrub recovery after a fire. As rainfall increases, grass biomass is predicted to increase, and this may result in fire becoming a more frequent occurrence in the Nama-Karoo. During periods of high rainfall, the biomass of grass in the Nama-Karoo increased at the expense of shrub cover. The effect of grass-shrub competition on shrub growth and phenology is not adequately explained by existing hypotheses of niche separation and succession. A field experiment which examined the growth and phenology of karoo shrubs in the presence of grass (unclipped control) and the absence of grass (grass removed by clipping) did not provide evidence of a competitive effect from grass on shrub growth or phenology. It did, however, provide valuable insight into how shrub growth and phenology are influenced by soil moisture and temperature. Rainfall in the Nama-Karoo is sporadic and a karoo shrub’s ability to utilise soil moisture will determine its ability to grow and successfully recruit. Shrub growth, with or without grasses in the vicinity, was strongly correlated with rainfall, but this was modified by temperature. Similarly, soil moisture and temperature were important for stem growth and phenology. Flowering occurred in response to soil moisture all year round but seeding occurred mainly during summer. Patterns of growth and phenology can be used by land managers to optimise shrub production while allowing phenological processes to take place. The findings of this study provide further insight into how grazing, fire, competition, soil moisture and temperature influence shrub populations and their structure, and these are discussed in the context of an existing state-and-transition model for the Eastern Upper Karoo. The importance of animal type and stocking rate, and how they vary across Nama-Karoo landscapes, is highlighted. The legacy of both grazing and fire reveal that the transitions between the alternate states of Nama-Karoo shrublands are not easily reversed in a management timeframe. It may take decades for a community changed by grazing or fire, acting independently or in conjunction, to return to their former state even under benign management. These findings along with a description of how soil moisture and temperature influence shrub growth and phenology have been used to make ecologically sound recommendations for the management of Nama-Karoo rangelands. Future research is needed to improve our understanding of how edaphic factors limit and influence karoo shrub populations across a variety of karoo landscapes, how repeat fires might change karoo vegetation, and whether temperature and the presence of pollinators influences shrub seed set. An assessment of the economic implications of vegetation change in the Nama-karoo is warranted so that management recommendations can be made with both ecology and economy in mind.
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    Strategies of South African companies competing with multinationals in local markets
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Nkwanyana, Astrid; Quaye, Emmanuel
    As emerging markets are becoming more enticing to multinationals, the highly competitive leisure footwear industry is also seeing new upcoming local companies in South Africa face competition from these established multinationals. In addition, customers are influenced by various aspects of the markets. Therefore, it is vital to investigate customers’ attitudes and perceptions towards the marketing strategies used by these local and global companies. Using a qualitative research design through one-on-one interviews, the study interviewed ten respondents that are sports shoe customers ranging from fitness enthusiasts and operational staff in the fitness industry to a hip hop fan. Respondents were required to be users of leisure footwear to have in-depth knowledge of their preferred brands. Secondary data was also collected from various company websites and online publications, as well as academic journals. The research results provide insights into the strategies used by local and global footwear brands in South Africa, such as product innovation, brand image, local awareness, network access and collaboration. Findings show that product innovation influences customers to buy sneakers as most believe comfort is important in their fitness journey. Customers’ attitude towards brand image is positive as they believe in the brand, which motivates them to buy the sneakers. Importantly, 70% of the customers are influenced to buy sneakers by icons they look up to, and most respondents can access the brands they want to buy. Whilst most respondents felt global companies were not locally aware, this did not influence their buying
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    Algorithmic pricing and its implications on competition law and policy in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Fowler, Ashly
    The upsurge in the use of technology has proliferated the use of pricing algorithms which have become essential to e-commerce. Although South Africa had been privy to this shift prior to 2020, the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this shift. While the use of pricing algorithms in Competition law is accompanied by many pro-competitive benefits, it is also accompanied by various anti-competitive effects which include algorithmic-based collusion. Despite the fact that this topic has been addressed within the context of competition law in other jurisdictions, it has yet to be addressed from the viewpoint of the South African Competition Act 58 of 1998. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to establish whether the Competition Act and South African competition policy at large, is robust enough to withstand the effects of digitalisation, particularly from the perspective of section 4 of the Competition Act which regulates relationships between competitors. In carrying out this analysis, this paper defines pricing algorithms and outlines their pro-competitive and anti-competitive effects.Thereafter, through the prism of four scenarios where pricing algorithms facilitate collusion, as posited by Ezrachi and Stucke in their seminal work on Virtual Competition, this paper establishes the robustness of the Competition Act by applying the scenarios to the Acts. Ultimately, this paper concludes that the current Competition Act (as amended) is in fact robust enough to tackle situations where algorithmic-based collusion arises. Where it is not, this paper argues that it is, at present, unnecessary for the relevant authorities to amend the current law or introduce any new laws
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    Enhancing access to pharmaceuticals by regulating the anticompetitive effects of patents in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022-12) Yako, Loyiso Tandwefika Aduma
    The South African regulatory framework does not adequately address the interface between intellectual property (IP) and competition law thus rendering patents vulnerable to anti-competitive abuse and missing a critical opportunity to facilitate greater access to pharmaceuticals. This paper dissects policy and regulatory inadequacies from three perspectives. Firstly, by highlighting the slow pace in addressing necessary reform. Particularly in the context of global convergence in IP regulation and policy for nations that are party to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Secondly, the disuse of existing regulatory tools and policy instruments. Thirdly, the paper considers the fragmentation and disconnect between the broad set of IP regulators. There is scope to develop fields of work and guiding principles related to the interaction between competition law and intellectual property laws in South Africa to facilitate greater access to pharmaceuticals. To give true meaning to South Africa’s intention to move towards universal healthcare, a collaborative working model between all healthcare, competition and IP regulators to ensure regulatory reform that is fit for purpose and quality universal access to healthcare is required
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    Switching intentions of mobile prepaid telecommunication customers in South Africa
    (2021) Khoza, Lionel
    The South African prepaid mobile telecommunications market has become increasingly competitive, with the late entrants to the market viz. Cell C and Telkom Mobile resorting to price as a weapon to differentiate themselves. This has led to the incumbents i.e. Vodacom and MTN to (reluctantly) join in the price war thereby triggering a dynamic competitive landscape that is characterised by high levels of churn. The incumbents’ appetite to join the price war is suspicious, it suggests that these service providers are not conscious to the comprehensive factors behind the mobile prepaid customers’ desire to switch between competitors, they seem to perceive price as the only trigger. A self-administered quantitative study comprising of both online and offline surveys was conducted to understand the underlying factors and variables behind the mobile prepaid customers’ switching intension in South Africa. The study employed the PPM (Push-Pull-Mooring) framework, which Bansal et al. (2005) demonstrated its pragmatism, empirical validity and its applicability as a research framework to understand consumer switching intensions and behaviour. The results of the study indicates that perceived poor customer satisfaction and high prices are push factors that have a significant contribution to the mobile network prepaid switching intension. Perceived good competitor reputation and attractive alternatives were found to be salient pull factors of the customer switching intension whilst, switching costs as a mooring effect were not significant to deter customers from switching to an alternative service provider. Managers need to consider developing hybrid plans (between prepaid/postpaid) that supports the average spend per user revealed in this study. Moreover, they need to fully understand the prepaid customer purchase decision journey to tighten the marketing mix of their propositions. Offering low perceived pricing should not be at an expense of their network investment. Relationship building initiatives such as loyalty programs should be developed to build loyalty and deter customers from switching