scholarly journals Determinants of cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the freight and logistics industry of South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantelle De Villiers ◽  
Henri Bezuidenhout ◽  
Sonja Grater ◽  
Ewert P.J. Kleynhans
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Mergers And Acquisitions ◽  
South African ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Logistics Industry ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
African Context

Orientation: The article reports on applied and practical research that focuses on the understanding of the motivation and actions of Multinational Enterprises in Africa as far as mergers and acquisitions (MAs) are concerned.Research purpose: This study examines developments in the freight and logistics industry through MAs in South Africa.Motivation for the study: It is necessary to gain a better understanding of MAs from a firm-level perspective in the South African context. Little research exists on the dynamics of MAs, and even less relating to the logistics industry that plays such a large role in trade in the region. This research adds substantial and significant original work to the scarce body of meaningful literature on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa.Research design, approach and method: This study used a case study approach employing structured interviews. The population was freight and logistics companies that were involved in MA activities in South Africa. Quantitative data and other information from various databases, published MA data and financial statements were analysed to obtain background views of the companies’ where after, three companies were eventually selected. Direct unstructured interviews were then conducted with the main decision makers and a qualitative thematic analysis of the companies’ responses. Related themes and patterns were identified through the frequency of occurrence, similarities, differences and general patterns observed. This method yielded the most insight into the processes and company dynamics involved.Main findings: International MAs in the freight and logistics industry provide companies with international scale and effectively link to international markets. Companies benefit from expanded market opportunities across national borders, which generate substantial revenues, geographical growth and business expansion. It renders synergy and additional competitive advantage.Practical/managerial implications: Theoretical and practical aspects of FDI, such as motives for market entry, ownership, location and entry barriers within the context of multinational enterprises, globally, were investigated. Little data exist on the freight and logistics industry in Africa and also on MAs, which presented limitations. Companies are inexperienced and need to involve more expertise in MA processes. The results also found that South African companies need to expand their cultural intelligence and negotiation skills, especially within a diverse cultural realm, before entering into MA deals with foreign companies.Contribution/value-add: Services are determinants of trade volumes and offer distributional effects and patterns of economic growth, development and FDI inflows. Little research exists on the dynamics of MAs in the freight and logistics industry, especially within the African context. This study also makes some contribution in that regard.

scholarly journals The transition to general management in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Mallaby ◽  
Gavin Price ◽  
Karl Hofmeyr
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
General Manager ◽  
General Management ◽  
General Managers ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Effective Development ◽  
The Right

Orientation: Understanding the nature and challenges of making the transition from a functional role to a general management role in South African organisations.Research purpose: The objective of this study was to gain insight into the obstacles that affect the transition from functional to general management and identify steps that may be taken to overcome these challenges.Motivation for the study: One of the most difficult crossroads for a manager is making the shift from being a functional specialist to becoming a general manager. New competencies and behaviours are required, as well as a more strategic mind set. If the transition is not made successfully, the manager and the organisation suffer.Research design, approach and method: A qualitative design was used consisting of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, with 19 senior business leaders who had successfully made the transition. The interviews were used to gather insights into the challenges they faced during their transitions, and how these were overcome.Main findings: To make the transition successfully, functional managers need to gain relevant experience to prepare them for the broader scope of a general management role. They need to develop appropriate skills, attitudes and personal characteristics. Mentoring is an effective development process. Newly appointed general managers need to learn to let go of control while maintaining ownership, build relationships and strike the right balance between strategic thinking and execution. There are unique aspects of being a general manager in South Africa, such as dealing with Black Economic Empowerment and challenges of race and identity, given the country’s history.Practical and managerial implications: Specific interventions are suggested which are directed at both aspiring general managers and organisations seeking to assist middle managers to make the transition to general managers.Contribution: This study contributes to knowledge concerning the skills and attributes required by potential general managers, and the practical steps to be taken by South African organisations to facilitate the development of general managers. 

scholarly journals The impact of social media on recruitment: Are you LinkedIn?

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Koch ◽  
Charlene Gerber ◽  
Jeremias J. De Klerk
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Media ◽  
South African ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Recruitment Process ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Social Media Tools ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Impact

Orientation: With many organisations vying for the same talent, it is important to ensure that the correct methods are utilised in identifying and attracting the best talent to an organisation.Research purpose: This research investigates the impact of social media on the recruitment process in South Africa.Motivation for the study: As the competition for qualified talent increases, organisations need to understand where to focus their resources to attract the best talent possible. The use of social media is growing daily and its use in the recruitment process seems to have grown exponentially.Research design, approach and method: The sample comprised 12 recruiters, spanning a wide range of industries in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and a thematic analysis was utilised to identify themes and subthemes.Main findings: Despite still utilising some traditional methods of recruiting, South African recruiters follow their international counterparts, with LinkedIn being central to their respective recruitment processes. The use of Twitter and Facebook for recruitment was found to be substantially lower in South Africa than elsewhere. Without following a focused approach, the volume of work that emanates from using social media may overwhelm a recruiter.Practical and managerial implications: Recruiters cannot execute effective recruitment without applying social media tools such as LinkedIn. However, training in the optimal use of social media is essential.Contribution: This study indicates that LinkedIn has a major impact on recruitment in South Africa, but that social media is not a panacea for recruitment issues.

scholarly journals Constructing racial hierarchies of skill – Experiencing affirmative action in a South African organisation: A qualitative review

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanya Reuben ◽  
Shaida Bobat
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
South African ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Orientation: Apartheid in South Africa constructed racial, economic, social and political segregation, the consequences of which are still experienced today. Government has made concerted efforts to ‘deracialise’ South Africa, most notably through affirmative action (AA) measures.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore employees’ social constructions of AA in a South African organisation.Motivation for the study: Research in this field focuses mostly on attitudinal perspectives of AA with an emphasis on traditional approaches. Subjective, contextualised approaches to AA have received little attention. Thus, this study aimed to critically engage with the embodied nature of prejudice, particularly in reference to how we understand and experience AA.Research approach, design and method: This study aimed to explore AA from a social constructionist orientation, using semi-structured interviews. More specifically, this study used Potter and Wetherell’s discursive psychology.Main findings: The findings illustrate how participants engage in discursive devices that continue to rationalise a racial order of competence. Ultimately, AA is a controversial subject that traverses many segments of life for all South Africans.Practical/managerial implications: The findings contribute to the discipline of industrial psychology, particularly with regard to policies around preferential treatment, and can add value to the ways in which organisational policy documents are conceptualised. The findings also suggest the importance of developing an inclusive, non-discriminatory organisational culture.Contribution/value-add: This approach adds to the existing body of knowledge around the embodied nature of prejudice. The study’s methodology highlights the value of studying context in meaning-making and implied inferences that underlie talk.

scholarly journals Teleworking in South Africa: Employee benefits and challenges

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Baard ◽  
Adèle Thomas
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Virtual Work ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Employee Perceptions ◽  
Employee Benefits ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
African Context ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Virtual working arrangements present possible benefits to organisations and their employees. However, in South Africa, few organisations have implemented teleworking as a specific form of virtual work. The benefits and challenges to teleworkers are therefore largely unknown.Research purpose: The present study aimed to identify employee perceptions of personal benefits and challenges of teleworking.Motivation for the study: The study sought to contribute insights for South African business practice in this under-researched field.Research design, approach and method: This exploratory study collected primary data through the distribution of an electronic questionnaire to 94 employees at three South African organisations, with a 67% response rate. The survey included both closed and open-ended questions that were analysed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques.Main findings: Most of the internationally identified benefits of teleworking were supported by participants, such as improved productivity, increased job satisfaction and organisational loyalty, decreased stress and improved work-life balance. Challenges identified included an increase in working hours and the lack of availability of training opportunities.Practical/managerial implications: The possible employee benefits and challenges of teleworking may assist organisations in devising teleworking practices and procedures that leverage benefits and address challenges inherent in this form of work practice.Contribution/value add: The study aims to supplement the dearth of knowledge about teleworking, specifically in the South African context, to assist organisations practically in their development of this form of virtual work arrangement for the benefit of organisations and their employees.

The financing behaviour of firms and financial crisis

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 1159-1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Danso ◽  
Samuel Adomako
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Capital Structure ◽  
South African ◽  
The South ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
2008 Financial Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Capital Structure

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the capital structure literature by examining the determinants of capital structure from the context of South Africa and to provide evidence of the effects of the 2007/2008 global financial crisis on firm-level determinants of debt-equity choice. Design/methodology/approach – This paper begins by embarking on an extensive review of literature on extant empirical research on capital structure. The panel econometric technique is further adopted to examine firm-level determinants of capital structure and also the impact of 2007/2008 financial crisis. Findings – The findings of the paper suggest that theories of capital structure underpinning debt-equity choice of firms in developed economies are also applicable in the South African context. The authors also find a strong evidence of the effects of the financial crisis on the capital structure of firms in South Africa. Practical implications – This paper serves as springboard on which further research can be grounded and also highlights the interaction between the South African economy and the global economy. Originality/value – The paper provides a fresh evidence on the determinants of capital structure from the Sub-Saharan African context and to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper that examines the effects of the 2007/2008 financial crisis on capital structure of firms in South Africa.

scholarly journals The establishment and early history of the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP), 1977–1991

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huma Van Rensburg ◽  
Johan S. Basson ◽  
Nasima M.H. Carrim
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Field Research ◽  
The South ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Hr Management ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
History Of ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Human resource (HR) management is recognised as a profession worldwide, especially in countries that are forerunners in the field. Research purpose: The main purpose of this study is to record the historical development of HR management as a profession. This study will provide a platform for evaluating the professional standing of HR management in South Africa.Motivation for the study: The motivation for the study is to record the historical development of HR management in South Africa because this is long overdue.Research design, approach and method: The researchers achieved triangulation by examining archived documents they obtained from the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP) and semi-structured interviews with five founding members of the SABPP who were involved during the whole period of the study. The founding members also verified the researchers’ interpretations of the information they obtained from the documents and the interviews. The researchers used content analysis and coding to analyse the data they obtained from the archived documents and the semi-structured interviews.Main findings: The history of HR management in South Africa shows that it meets the four founding pillars of professionalism.Practical/managerial implications: The study also gives HR professionals confidence because HR management is achieving recognition as a profession.Contribution/value-add: The main contribution of the study is that it has recorded the history of HR management as a profession in South Africa properly for the first time.

scholarly journals A temperature reading of COVID-19 pandemic employee agility and resilience in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristy Leask ◽  
Shaun Ruggunan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Temperature Reading ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
African Context ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Employee agility and resilience are central to the flourishing of employee and organisational life. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic amplified stressors and added new challenges for employees in South Africa. The study reported here provides a temperature reading of the agility and resilience of South African employees in the context of the pandemic.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to engage in a temperature reading of South African employees’ agility and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the need to understand how South African employees fare in terms of their agility and resilience levels in the context of profound social and economic disruptive events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used employing quantitative methodologies. A total of 185 permanently employed respondents from South Africa were conveniently sampled. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.Main findings: Whilst respondents reported high resilience and agility capacity, the findings also suggest that respondents’ gender, age, upskilling intentions, size of employer, organisational communication and individual renewal strategies influence their resilience and agility behaviours.Practical/managerial implications: The study prompts a discussion on how practitioners can better serve the wellness agenda of organisational life during sustained periods of organisational stress.Contribution/value-add: This study extends the theoretical and practical debate on employee agility and resilience in South African context.

scholarly journals A Content Analysis of Social Media Posts among Recreational Cyclists: A Gender Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 10(4) (10(4)) ◽  
pp. 1275-1282
Author(s):  
Eunjung Kim ◽  
Kijung Choi ◽  
James Lappeman ◽  
Jari Salo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
South African ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sport Tourism ◽  
Family Friendly ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Media

Recreational cyclists are pertinent but rarely studied leisure and tourism segment. Recreational cycling has traditionally been considered as a ‘masculine stereotyped’ sport. The purpose of the research is to better understand a gendered consumer view of recreational cycling and to possibly promote recreational cycling to women and men in countries like South Africa with keen interests of recreational cycling in the form of sport tourism. This research employs a content analysis of social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as a research method. Specifically, the gendered nature of recreational cycling is focused upon. In total, 2,504 posts from 1,598 unique authors from South Africa are analysed. As a result, this research shows that in the South African context male cyclists tend to like to attend the specialised event and race for their health and fitness while female cyclists seem to find more enjoyable and family-friendly (children focused) cycling. The results also confirm the paradox that women are generally presented in more family oriented roles, while men are typically shown as more independent in the media. Managerial implications and future research are also presented.

Teaching Research Psychology in South Africa: reflections by programme coordinators

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-80
Author(s):  
Angelo Fynn ◽  
Hugo Denton van der Walt
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
African Context ◽  
Training Research

This article explores the experiences of Master’s programme coordinators in Research Psychology with the purpose of gaining an understanding of the planning and implementation of programmes that are directed at training Research Psychology students. The practical significance of the study was to investigate the course curricula of Research Psychology programmes within the South African context to grasp an understanding of the course structure and the challenges that accompany curriculum development. This article aims to elaborate on underlying tensions and considerations that programme coordinators encounter in structuring and implementing training for Master’s programmes that lead to registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. Six of the eight programmes that lead to registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa were included in this study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The reflections by the programme coordinators showed a shared pedagogical philosophy of active learning in which students are expected to take ownership of their learning and to participate actively in shaping and constructing the learning process. Reflections on the Research Psychology programmes revealed seven broad content areas concerned with the development of curricula in Research Psychology, namely applied research, ethics, foundational concepts and skills, language and report writing, and project management and micro-skills development within qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. Programme coordinators also expressed the tensions inherent in attempts to establish neutral ground between the demands of the discipline and the demands of the employers.

scholarly journals Conceptualising the professional identity of industrial or organisational psychologists within the South African context

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Llewellyn E. Van Zyl ◽  
Elzabe Nel ◽  
Marius W. Stander ◽  
Sebastiaan Rothmann
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Professional Identity ◽  
South African ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Study Data ◽  
South African Context ◽  
The South ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
African Context

Orientation: Lack in congruence amongst industrial and organisational psychologists (IOPs) as to the conceptualisation of its profession poses a significant risk as to the relevance, longevity and professional identity of the profession within the South African context.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the professional identity of IOPs within the South African context. Specifically, the aim of this study was four-fold: (1) to develop a contemporary definition for IOP, (2) to investigate IOP roles, (3) to determine how the profession should be labelled and (4) to differentiate IOP from human resource management (HRM) from IOPs’ perspectives within South Africa.Motivation for the study: IOPs do not enjoy the same benefits in stature or status as other professions such as medicine, finances and engineering in the world of work. IOPs need to justify its relevance within organisational contexts as a globally shared understanding of ‘what it is’, ‘what it does’ and ‘what makes it different from other professions’, which is non-existent. In order to enhance its perceived relevance, clarity as to IOPs professional identity is needed.Research design, approach and method: A post-positivistic qualitative content analytic and descriptive research design was employed in this study. Data from practising industrial and organisational psychology (IOP) within South Africa (N = 151) were gathered through an electronic web-based survey and were analysed through thematic content analysis.Main findings: The results indicate that IOP in South Africa seeks to optimise the potential of individuals, groups, organisations and the community by implementing scientific processes to support both individual and organisational wellness and sustainability. ‘Work Psychology’ was considered a more fitting professional designation or label than industrial and/or organisational psychology. The industrial psychologist’s major roles related to the well-being and development of employees. A clear distinction between a more dynamic, pro-active approach of IOP compared to a more transactional approach of HRM was also evident. IOP within South Africa appears to have a community development function.Practical/managerial implications: The longevity, relevance and impact of IOP as a profession requires alignment amongst practitioners as to shared common professional identity.Contribution/value-add: This study provides a contemporary understanding of the roles, functions, labels and unique value proposition of industrial and organisational psychology within the South African context.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document