Thesis (MComm (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The term business model is relatively recent. Though it appeared for the first time in the 1950s it rose to prominence and reached the mainstream only in the 1990s. Today the term is commonly used, but there is still no single dominant definition. Many different conceptualizations of business models exist. They all have various degrees of resemblance, or difference of some degree. From those business literatures, an intellectual root of the concept has been explored, offering a working definition, and the necessity for a company to renew its business models. To deliver information, products, and services in new ways, new business models address previously unrecognized or unmet needs, and appeal to customers precisely because they improve the quality of what is available to them, or reduce the cost, or both. Leading companies have discovered that to keep up with the rate of change in the marketplace, today’s key performance factors are different than they were in the past, hence the need for new business models and their strategic innovation. This thesis explores the role of business models in leveraging demand and supply chain dynamics in business ecosystems. Radical changes in the business environment have suggested limitations of traditional business models. New business environments are characterized not only by the rapid pace of change, but also the discontinuous nature of such change. New business environments, characterized by dynamically discontinuous change, requires a re-conceptualization of new competencies, new business models that break the rules of the game in the industry. The fact that a company should constantly attempt to develop new business models in its industry if it hopes to survive, has been examined, and how those new business models can leverage demand and supply chain dynamics in business ecosystems. The theoretical findings are illustrated by relevant case studies.

Thesis (MComm (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Any brand has a specific identity that the company wants to portray to consumers in its target market – its brand identity – what the brand stands for. This is also the case for Oakley, a luxury brand competing in the sports and fashion industries. In essence the brand identity of a company is that what the brand is characterised by and what it stands for in the minds of consumers. By communicating its brand identity to consumers, a company create associations with the brand, which in turn forms the brand image that consumers have of the brand. The greater the degree to which consumers associate the brand with those characteristics that the brand in effect stands for, the greater the congruence between brand image and brand identity. The aim for a company is to realise a brand image in the minds of consumers that is similar, if not the same as the brand identity that it has identified for itself. In this study, the brand identity of Oakley is identified and the brand image that consumers have of the brand examined. The two concepts are then compared to find out to what degree the two are related and whether Oakley has in fact managed to portray their brand identity accurately (as reflected through the brand image). The relationship between price and quality for a brand represents the degree to which consumers believe the brand to be worth the money paid for it. It is widely believed that a brand with a high price is also of high quality and vice versa. This is not necessarily exclusively the case. The concept of quality and value differ from one individual to another, since it is based on the subjective perception of each individual. As mentioned earlier, associations form part of the brand image that consumers have of a brand. One of these associations might be their perception of quality of the brand, given the price of the brand. A luxury brand can charge a premium price, on the basis of various characteristics, one of which is the fact that the brand is perceived to be of high quality. Oakley is a luxury brand and charges a premium price. The study examines the quality and price of the brand by looking at the perceptions that consumers have of the brand with reference to the price/quality relationship, which represents one of the associations that contribute towards the formation of consumers’ brand image.

Thesis (MComm (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / For the last 40 years, academics advocated the use of the traditional Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) techniques but these suggestions were ignored by practitioners for a long time. The Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Present Value Payback Period (PVPP) are now some of the more widely used traditional DCF-based techniques, especially among large firms. However, academics are now criticising these techniques as they are based on rigid assumptions that ignore the management of flexibility in projects. The Real Option Valuation (ROV) is suggested as an alternative technique because it implicitly incorporates this flexibility in project valuation. With ROV, opportunities in projects are treated as real options and are therefore valued using financial option principles. Real options give the firm the opportunity to act on an investment project (invest, abandon, rescale) at a later date, when more information is available. As with the traditional DCF-based techniques in the past, few firms seem to have adopted ROV despite academics’ recommendations. This study is thus aimed at determining through a survey, whether the largest firms in South Africa, specifically those included in the JSE/FTSE Top 40 index, are using ROV. Based on the results of the survey, it is concluded that firms generally do not use ROV as only nine percent of the respondents were found to be using it. This is largely attributed to managers being unaware of the technique, and to some extent, to the technique’s complexity. On the other hand, managers were generally found to recognise the flexibility despite not using ROV, although it was not confirmed whether they quantify this flexibility.

Thesis (MComm (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Tulips are the second largest floral commodity that is traded globally. Currently Holland controls half of the 20 billion Dollar tulip bulb market, although immense pressure from European institutions may serve to change this phenomenon in the near future. Not only do increasing labour costs and stricter legislation on the usage of pesticides impair this industry, but the Dutch government also places huge pressure on its own producers to convert scarce agricultural land into residential areas. These conditions could therefore provide a possible market opportunity for farmers from other countries. Due too the fact that the price of tulip bulbs is based on the size of the flower and the length of the floral stem, floral farmers generally gain an extra 2-3 cm stem length via physically cutting it out of the tulip bulb. Therefore, floral farmers annually destroy their whole supply of tulip bulbs, resulting in a need to reacquire bulbs from bulb growers. Due to the fact that the lifespan of cut tulip flowers is generally not more than seven days, Dutch land rezoning ought to result in tulip bulb production being the production component which could truly be relocated in a global context. In this study, an economic analysis is therefore conducted to ascertain South Africa’s potential to produce tulip bulbs in order to supply the growing demand in the Netherlands. Information was gathered by performing a literature study of existing literature and by conducting structured interviews with numerous experts in their various fields of operation. Due to the fact that expertise in South Africa was very limited, a large number of interviews were scheduled with experts from Holland and Germany. The presence of strict non-disclosure contracts resulted in a situation where interviews had to be conducted with individuals who are two to three levels removed from any relevant tulip organisation. The study was conducted through first analysing the global market from a horticultural perspective and thereafter from an economic-logistical stance. It was established that tulip bulbs are very temperature sensitive and therefore have to be produced far from any tropical zones. Since Sutherland’s winter temperature is similar to that of Dutch production areas, South African tulip bulbs could be planted in Holland. The difference in seasons of production allows farmers from the Southern Hemisphere to predict the extremely fashion sensitive market in one year less. Via moving production activities between alternative hemispheres, off seasons can be utilized for production, which could result in fashions being predicted with a greater sense of accuracy. If unfashionable bulbs are produced, a loss of up to R 34 129,87 per ha can be incurred, while mid-priced bulbs and fashionable bulbs can earn respectively R80 118,09 and R 122 626,57 per ha. Projections are however based on the prices of a bear phase where the market currently pays up to 75% less for bulbs than it did three years ago. The production costs in Sutherland could be cut by R 15 750 if it is decided to mechanise production but simultaneously this action will result in an increase of R120 000 in new capital equipment required. The use of 40 feet High Cube Reefers reduces transportation costs considerably and 1 042 437 bulbs with a circumference of between 10 and 12 cm can be shipped in such an container via utilizing South African produced SN 64190 crates and four way export pallets. Market penetration remains an important consideration since a farmer’s production history is very important in the international market environment. Partnerships, production of larger bulbs, organic production and seasonal production in alternating hemispheres, remain some of the most suitable techniques for market penetration.