Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1990.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1984. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-204).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (S.J.D.)--University of Michigan, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 426-439).

Diss.--Zürich. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. iv-vi).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-112) Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The use of consumer credit background checks in employee selection has been increasing and, in recent years, has been the topic of heated debate. Supporters and opponents contest the benefits and consequences of the use of credit background checks for personnel selection, with arguments on both sides predominantly based on anecdotal evidence; empirical research is missing from the debate. The lack of research to support these arguments is concerning due to the historical, evidence-based, relationship between employee selection and organizational justice. Job applicants pursue employment to fulfill economic and socio-economic needs and expect fair processes and outcomes. Imbalances in the input-to-output ratio have been suggested to result in behavioral outcomes intent to restore balance. Two experimental studies examined justice-related consequences of the use of ECCs in personnel selection. Study 1 examined potential applicants' perceptions of organizational justice as well as their engagement in both pro-social (organizational citizenship behaviors-OCB) and anti-social (counterproductive workplace behavior-CWB) behavior as a result of failing a job selection hurdle on the basis of a poor ECC outcome (in comparison to a standard personnel selection criteria- job qualifications and work experience). A sample of adults (N = 171) was recruited from Amazon MTurk to ostensibly pilot test an online employee selection battery. They were randomly assigned to either pass both the ECC and Job Qualifications/Experience tests or to fail one or the other (thus being dropped from further consideration). Applicants denied employment based on their consumer credit experienced significantly lower distributive and procedural justice. They were also more likely than those denied employment on the basis of qualifications and experience and those passing both assessments to engage in a CWB. There were no effects on OCB. The effect of failing on the basis of ECC on CWB engagement was mediated by justice perceptions. Study 2 examined how applicants with weak credit, in comparison to applicants with weak qualifications/experience are perceived by raters. Study 2 also examined the potential for disparate treatment against minority applicants on the basis of ECCs - an issue of distributive justice. A similar sample of (N = 155) working adults recruited from Amazon MTurk were asked to make personnel selection judgments of applicants who varied by type of Applicant Credential (weak consumer credit history but strong job qualifications and experience; or weak job qualifications and experience but strong consumer credit history) and race (White/Black). Type of Applicant Credential significantly affected employability ratings such that those with weak qualifications and experience but strong credit were rated as less employable than those with strong qualifications/experience but weak credit. Also, applicants with weak credit (but strong qualifications/experience) were perceived as more likely to exhibit behavioral indicators of fraud than applicants with weak qualifications/experience (but strong credit). Race of the applicant did not moderate these effects. These studies provide evidence of both individual, and organizational, level outcomes associated with the use of ECCs as well as potential retaliatory behavior (CWB) directed at the organization from applicants denied employment based on credit. However, the findings also suggest that ECCs are not prone to race discrimination effects. The findings fill a necessary gap in the research literature by providing empirical evidence directly related to the use of consumer credit in selection.

Policymakers and scholars universally accept and recognise the influence of small, macro, and medium enterprises (SMMEs) on stimulating economic growth and job creation. South Africa in particular, has the challenge of a high unemployment rate, particularly among the youth, coupled with high inequality levels and stagnant economic growth over the recent years. These challenges have made the role of SMMEs even more important in South Africa. Despite the known importance of the influence of SMEs on the economy and the government initiatives to grow SMEs, SMEs continue to face challenges of access to finance and high failure rates in their start-up phases. Against this background, this study examined the key reasons SMMEs struggle to gain access to banking finance with the aim of understanding the root causes of those reasons. This study aimed to provide solutions to addressing the root causes of SMMEs inaccessibility to finance to narrowing the finance gap in this segment. The study employed the parallel convergent mixed methods approach that combined both qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection and analysis. Convenient sampling was used to identify the SMMEs for quantitative research. The empirical evidence was collected using survey data. The survey was distributed among the SMMEs sampled. For qualitative research, purposeful sampling was used to identify the research participants. Four bank managers working specifically with SME finance were selected and approached for the research. Qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The study found that most SMMEs struggle to get access to finance with the majority citing a poor credit record as the main reason for being declined for credit. Most SMMEs are deterred from applying for banking finance and find the processes long and complicated. The study also found that the root cause of SMMEs low access to banking finance is a lack of education and understanding of bank processes and factors influencing their creditworthiness. These include poor governance by SMMEs and lack of proper bookkeeping. It is recommended that SMMEs upskill themselves with financial literacy and basic business management skills. Banks should find innovative ways of assessing creditworthiness for SMMEs and should consider other data sources. A collaboration between banks, government agents, and DFIs is advised.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2015. / Standard survival analysis methods model lifetime data where cohorts are tracked from the point of origin, until the occurrence of an event. If more than one event occurs, a special model is chosen to handle competing risks. Moreover, if the events are defined such that most subjects are not susceptible to the event(s) of interest, standard survival methods may not be appropriate. This project is an application of survival analysis in a consumer credit context. The data used in this study was obtained from a major South African financial institution covering a five year observation period from April 2009 to March 2014. The aim of the project was to follow up on cohorts from the point where vehicle finance loans originated to either default or early settlement events and compare survival and logistic modeling methodologies. As evidenced by the empirical Kaplain Meier survival curve, the data typically had long term survivors with heavy censoring as at March 2014. Cause specific Cox regression models were fitted and an adjustment was made for each model, to accommodate a proportion p of long term survivors. The corresponding Cumulative Incidence Curves were calculated per model, to determine probabilities at a fixed horizon of 48 months. Given the complexity of the consumer credit lifetime data at hand, we investigated how logistic regression methods would compare. Logistic regression models were fitted per event type. The models were assessed for goodness of fit. Their ability to differentiate risk were determined using the model Gini Statistics. Model assessment results were satisfactory. Methodologies were compared for each event type using Receiver Operating Characteristic curves and area under the curves. The Results show that survival methods perform better than logistic regression methods when modelling lifetime data in the presence of competing risks and long term survivors.