This study focuses on foreign direct investment ("FDI") and its importance to the economy of South Africa. Recognising that FDI, notwithstanding the type, can contribute to economic growth and development, most countries including South Africa are constantly working to attract it, and hence its demand has become highly competitive. However, FDI does not go without some negative effects, such as conflicts between host and investor country, and the creation of damaging competition to local firms. These negative effects could be minimised if policies and strategies for the promotion and attraction of FDI is part of, and integrated into, general economic development and economic reform policies, and not seen in isolation. Although South Africa has implemented strategies to attract more FDI, a refinement of some of these policies is needed if the country is to be successful in this regard. / Economics / M. Comm. (Economics)

The prediction of a company's financial health is of critical importance to a variety of stakeholders ranging from auditors, creditors, customers, employees, financial institutions and investors through to management. There has been considerable research in this field, ranging from the univariate dichotomous approach of Beaver (1966) to the multivariate multi-state approaches of Lau (1987) and Ward (1994). All of the South African studies namely, Strebel and Andrews (1977), Daya (1977), De La Rey (1981), Clarke et al (1991) and Court et al (1999), and even, Lukhwareni's (2005) four separate models, were dichotomous in nature providing either a "Healthy" or a "Failed" state; or a "Winner" or "Loser" as in the latter case. Notwithstanding, all of these models would be classified as first stage, initial screening models. This study has focused on following a two stage approach to identifying (first stage) and analysing (second stage) the States of Health in a company. It has not adopted the rigid "Healthy" or "Failed" dichotomous methodology. For the first stage, three-state models were developed classifying a company as Healthy, Intermittent or Distressed. Both three year and five year Profit after Tax (PAT) averages for Real Earnings Growth (REG) calculations were used to determine the superior definition for the Intermittent state; with the latter coming out as superior. Models were developed for the current year (Yn), one (Yn-1), two (Yn-2) and three years (Yn-3) forward using a Test sample of twenty companies and their predictive accuracy determined by using a Holdout sample of twenty-two companies and all their data points or years of information. The statistical methods employed were a Naïve model using the simple Shareholder Value Added (SVA) ratio, CHAID and MDA, with the latter providing very disappointing results - for the Yn year (five year average), the Test sample results were 100%, 95% and 95%, respectively; with the Holdout sample results being 81.3%, 83.8% and 52.5%, respectively. The Yn-1 to Yn-3 models produced very good results for the Test sample but somewhat disappointing Holdout sample results. The best two Yn models namely, the Naïve and the CHAID models, were modified so as to enable a comparison with the notable, dichotomous De La Rey (1981) model. As such, three different approaches were adopted and in all cases, both the modified Naïve (100%, 81.3%, 100%) and the modified CHAID (100%, 85.9%, 98%) produced superior results to the De La Rey model (84.8%, 62.6%, 75.3%). For the second stage, a Financial Risk Analysis Model (FRAM) using ratios in the categories of Growth, Performance Analysis, Investment Analysis and Financial Status were used to provide underlying information or clues, independent of the first stage model, so as to enable the stakeholder to establish a more meaningful picture of the company. This would pave the way for the appropriate strategy and course of action to be followed, to take the company to the next level; whether it be taking the company out of a Distressed State (D) or further improving on its Healthy status (H). / Business Management / D. BL.

This study examined the motivation of entrepreneurs in starting a business. More specifically, it aimed to identify whether entrepreneurs have common motives for starting their own business, and to determine whether men and women have different reasons for becoming entrepreneurs. The empirical study was conducted on a sample of 101 entrepreneurs. A motivation scale and open-ended questions were used to measure motivation. The results indicated that men and women have various reasons for starting a business, and are primarily motivated by the need for independence, need for material incentives and the need for achievement. The need to contribute to the community was not an important motive. Comparatively, male entrepreneurs were more motivated by the need to give family security and to make a difference in the business, and female entrepreneurs were motivated more by the need to keep learning and the need for more money to survive. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Owing to the fact that entrepreneurship is widely considered to be a mechanism for reducing unemployment, the purpose of the study was to assess whether final-year Commerce students in the predominantly rural provinces, the Eastern Cape Province and the Limpopo Province, have the intention to start their own businesses.The study draws heavily from entrepreneurial intent models and focuses on the relationship between three key variables, namely, exposure to entrepreneurship education, awareness of entrepreneurial support and social capital to establish whether they are related to the intention of final-year Commerce studentsto start their own businesses. The literature review concentrated on entrepreneurial intent and entrepreneurial intent models; government entrepreneurial support initiatives in South Africa and in other countries and their role in the development of entrepreneurial intent, emergence of new ventures and the growth of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs); entrepreneurship education and its role in enhancing entrepreneurial self-efficacy, entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial intent;the influence of social capital on entrepreneurial intent and the different stages on the new venture life-cycle; and concludes with the link between entrepreneurship and the establishment of SMMEs. A survey was conducted among National Diploma (ND): Internal Auditing, Cost and Management Accounting and Financial information systems students (IAUD, CMA and FIS) (who had six months exposure to entrepreneurship education), ND: Entrepreneurship/Small Business Management (E/SBM) (who had three years exposure to entrepreneurship education) and ND: Management (without exposure to entrepreneurship education). The respondents for the study comprised 355 final year students of which 276 were from Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape Province and 79 were from Tshwane University of Technology (Polokwane Campus) in the LimpopoProvince.Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric statistics. The findings reveal that the majority of the respondents had the intention to start a business in the future.The entrepreneurial intent of the ND: E/SBM students was v stronger than the entrepreneurial intent of the ND: IAUD, CMA and FIS students and ND: Management students. Some significant relationships were found between entrepreneurial intent and the key variables of the study. / Business Management / D.Com. (Business Management)

This study was undertaken to investigate the motivation, intention, self-efficacy, culture, business support,entrepreneurial orientation and business performance of South African and immigrant entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Gauteng province. The performance of the SMEs was investigated, and the reasons and gaps that have led to the assumed low competitive ranking and poor performance of South African entrepreneurs compared to immigrant entrepreneurs were analysed. A structured research instrument (questionnaire) was used to collect data through interviews and a self-administered survey. A total of 466 questionnaires out of 500 questionnaires that had been distributed to respondents by six fieldworkers were returned (93.2%) for analysis.A number of hypotheses were postulated to address the study aims and the collected data were analysed to answer the hypotheses. The results of the study showed a significant correlation between motivation and business performance (a motivated entrepreneur is more likely to succeed in business than an unmotivated entrepreneur) and a significant positive correlation between culture and motivation to start a business (a culture that is supportive of entrepreneurial activities, lowuncertainty avoidance, high individualism and lowpower distance relates positively to a high level of entrepreneurial self-efficacy).The results also showed a significant difference between the mean values of business performance and the education of the owner. It is suggested that the government creates a favourable climate to allow entrepreneurs to release their potential. The government can help by making complex legislation easier for start-ups and reducing the tax burden on new entrepreneurs. / Business Management / D. Comm. (Business Management)

The research problem that this study sought to address stemmed from a lack of knowledge about South African organizations and a dearth of empirical, quantitative research into organizations, organization structure and organization climate in this country. Five research hypotheses were formulated to address this problem and its attendant subpriJblems. A comprehensive review of the related literature and research was c~trried out and Organization Theory was traced to its earliest beginnings. A number of schools hased on Max Weber's bureaucratic ideal type were described and contrasted. Much attention was paid to the work of the Aston group m the United Kingdom and to their efforts to operationalize Weberian concepts and to incorporate them into a replicable body of quantitative research. Points of departure were re-examined and some new twists to Systems Theory and Structural Functionalism were considered. It was established that the demographic characteristics of both the sample and the population were similar enough for the results of this study to be generalised to the population with some degree of confidence. Much care was taken to test and validate each of the scales that comprised the questionnaire, and item analyses and factor analyses were carried out for every variable and group of variables. The measures developed in other parts of the world and by other researchers performed very well in a South African setting - as did the measures developed specifically for this study. Statistical associations and causal relationships between the various sets of variables, both at the sector level and at individual industry subgroup level, were sought by means of multiple regression analyses. Broad support was found for a 'culture-free hypothesis' that there are a number of stable relationships between organizations and their context; and these relationships will be constant in direction and strength regardless of differences in structures, or in contexts of structures between societies. Importantly, there were also a number of significant differences between this study and the findings of other studies which reflected South Africa's unique blend of developed and developing cultures and value systems. These differences provide fertile ground for future research in the field of Organization Theory. / Business Management / DBL

Text in English / The thesis is a grounded analysis that seeks to understand small, micro, and medium enterprises (SMME) in the ICT sector that are particularly driven by women entrepreneurs in the Buffalo City and Nelson Mandela metropolitan municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province. Small businesses in the ICT sector owned and driven by women are still an understudied topic in South Africa, since there is not much literature that covers the topic from either a quantitative, or a qualitative perspective. The Eastern Cape Province is not an exception to the dearth of literature that focuses on SMME women-driven entrepreneurship in the ICT sector. The research interest of this research project emphasises the gap pertaining to the unavailability of gender-disaggregated data that indicates, for example: i) The number of women-owned ICT enterprises; ii) The nature of women-driven entrepreneurial activity in the ICT sector; iii) Evidence of how competitive women-owned ICT enterprises are; iv) Sustainable job creation by these ICT enterprises; iv) Availability of women with ICT skills; and v) Women who are occupying ICT core positions. These factors strengthen the case for employing a grounded approach to explore this substantive area of investigation. The researcher has no doubt that this study is one of the first studies to examine women-driven entrepreneurship of SMMEs in the ICT sector of the Eastern Cape Province, hence the adoption of a Multi-Grounded Theory (MGT) approach. This methodology is anchored in a qualitative approach that explores this phenomenon about which little is known. A moderate constructivist and interpretive approach guided by the voices of women entrepreneurs was employed to provide a meaningful account that added depth and breadth to the description and explanation of the status quo in relation to women-driven entrepreneurship in SMMEs. Emerging data from in-depth interviews conducted with 12 SMME women entrepreneurs and two experts from the ICT industry was matched with the two theories of entrepreneurship and cyberfeminism. These theories provided a theoretical lens through which data could be analysed and interpreted. This empirical and theory driven approach assisted in grounding the substantive theory. The research objectives provided answers to the empirical research questions that sought to gain an in-depth understanding of women entrepreneurs‘ perspective about: i) Conceptualisation of entrepreneurship and ICT technology as a concept; ii) Conceptualisation of the ICT sector; iii) The perceived importance of the ICT sector as an enabler in promoting SMME women-driven entrepreneurship; iv) How SMME women entrepreneurs use ICT as a core product and service; and v) The role played by government and the private sector in promoting SMME women-driven entrepreneurship in the ICT sector of the Eastern Cape Province. The findings uncovered concerns that women entrepreneurs perceived as having an influence on women-driven entrepreneurship. The findings included the manner in which women entrepreneurs responded to these issues. The findings for example, highlighted gender sensitivity issues which were of great concern to women entrepreneurs. Gender discrimination was amongst the key issues identified that lead to women‘s marginalisation inside the ICT sector, this entailing: i) ICT underrepresentation in core ICT environments; ii) Inaccessible tender opportunities; iii) Inaccessible funding; iv) Limited ICT knowledge and skills; and v) Lack of technical support. Considering the fact that SMME women-driven entrepreneurship within the ICT sector is on the radar screen of both government and the private sector‘s developmental agenda, the gap in research and literature presented a case that the study intended to address by developing a substantive theory which could contribute toward the transformative change in SMME women-driven entrepreneurship in the ICT sector of the province. / Communication Science / D.Litt. et Phil. (Communication Science)

Many parts of the world, but South Africa specifically, are facing a water crisis, not only because of the scarcity of water, but also the quality of the water that is available. Companies are the primary users of water and can therefore have the most significant impact on saving water. It is thus imperative to determine how companies are measuring, managing, engaging with their stakeholders and disclosing water-related risks in their businesses. This study was conducted on the premise that South African companies have not as yet grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. Thirty JSE-listed companies classified as being water intensive were selected for the study. Their sustainability/integrated/annual reports for 2011 and 2013 were downloaded from the internet and analysed to determine if and how they were mitigating their water-related risks. The Ceres Aqua Gauge™ was used as the framework for this study. It was established during the analysis of the selected companies’ reports that, with the exception of food producers and food retailers, the companies had grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. One area of particular concern that was evident in all the companies was the lack of attention directed towards supply chain water management. Companies need to address water risks in their supply chain, and to also turn the water crisis from a threat into an opportunity. Investors need to engage with and put pressure on companies to improve their water management practices. / Business Management / M. Ph. Accounting Sciences (Management Accounting)

The study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of the interventions made by the Mogale City Plato mentorship programme to promote growth and sustainability of SMMEs. Though there have been interventions through the Plato mentorship programme to help develop SMMEs, there is still a high failure rate of small businesses in MCLM. The study will therefore evaluate if the Plato mentorship programme achieved its envisaged aim. A structured research instrument (questionnaire) was used to collect data through a self-administered survey. Questionnaires were distributed to the respondents by the researcher, and 100% of the questionnaires were returned for analysis. The results of the study showed that Mogale Plato mentorship programme adds value and advances small businesses and entrepreneurship. The study concluded that owners that took part in the MCLM Plato mentorship programme acknowledged that the programme was effective and increased business performance. The study showed that owners are faced with different challenges in running their businesses, which spoke volumes regarding the effectiveness of the mentorship programme. The findings also revealed that a majority of business owners benefited from the assistance received from MCLM Plato mentorship programme. The study recommends that MCLM sets up an office for mentoring individuals/groups in the municipality. This means that within MCLM, there should be a mentoring office and training twice a month that is aimed at helping business people know how to improve their businesses and manage challenges and take advantage of opportunities around them. The study also recommends that the municipality to create an incubating site for new owners/managers. The new owners/managers could share common services such as secretarial services, bookkeeping, and boardrooms / Business Management / M. Tech. (Business Administration)

Youth entrepreneurship is one of the solutions to reducing unemployment. The purpose of the study was to analyse youth entrepreneurship business performance in the Capricorn District Municipality in Limpopo Province. An entrepreneurship development model focusing on internal factors (entrepreneurial orientation) and external factors (supportive and cooperative environments), was adapted to establish whether they are related to youth business performance. The business environmental factors, such as business location, crime, and corruption were also tested as to whether they are related to youth business performance. The research used a census survey and primary data was obtained through questionnaires. The respondents for this study were 26 youth entrepreneurship business units in CDM, in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings reveal that youth businesses have shown negative performance in terms of the employment in the CDM, which results in employing fewer than five employees. / Business Management / M. Tech.