The main objective of this study was to explain top management perceptions of industry and firm effects on firm performance through the mediation of competitive advantage in financial service firms operating in a regulated industry in a developing Ethiopian economy. The resource-based and industry-based views, constituting the two main schools of thought explaining performance variations among firms, were used as theoretical foundation of this study. Porter’s five-forces framework was used during this process. The researcher employed a post-positivist paradigm using a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 27 financial service firms (15 banks and 12 insurance firms) that had functioned for three and more years were selected for the study. The unit of analysis was ‘firms’, while respondents were top level managers with a total target population of less than 300. A census survey rather than a sample survey was undertaken. A total of 287 survey questionnaires were distributed (banks 180 and insurance industry 107), of which 215 were collected from 26 firms (15 banks and 11 insurance firms). Of the questionnaires 206 were properly completed leading to a valid response rate of 71%. These were used for the data analysis. A variance-based PLS-SEM approach, which is relevant to evaluate the predictive effects of the industry and firm factors on firm performance, was used to explain the hypothesized model using SmartPLS 2.00 software as well as the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program. The assessment of the hypothesized model indicated that the R2 result on firm performance variance due to the combined industry effects and firm effects was 39%, indicating a moderately significant predictive accuracy of the model. The relative direct effect size (f2) of the industry on firm performance was 3%, while firm had a direct effect size of 2%, which was small. The combined indirect relative predictive accuracy of industry and firm effect sizes on firm performance through competitive advantage was high at 27%. This was driven by the relative substantial predictive power of firm effect on competitive advantage (f2 = 65%). Furthermore, the predictive capability (Q2) assessment result of the model indicated that both industry and firm effects had a 23% relevant predictive power on firm performance. The direct relative measure of the predictive relevance (q2) value of industry effect (q2 = 0.02) on firm performance was relatively higher than that of the firm effect (q2 = 0.01). Competitive advantage had a relative predictive power of 0.12, which was driven by the direct relative predictive capability of firm effect (q2 = 0.25) on competitive advantage. The overall assessment results of the structural model revealed that the model had satisfactory statistical power to predict the hypothetical research model. The hypothesis that industry effects had an influence on the performance of financial service firms was not supported. The result indicated that industry effects had a positive and non-significant relationship with firm performance, which points to competitiveness in the financial services industry. These results were achieved against the tenets of Porter’s five-forces framework. The hypothesis that firm effects had a positive predictive effect on firm performance was also not supported, indicating that resources and capabilities do not directly lead to improved firm performance. The direct effect of competitive advantage on firm performance was supported. The mediating effect of competitive advantage between industry effects and firm performance was not significant, while the mediation of competitive advantage between firm effects and firm performance was highly significant. The findings of this study revealed that firm effects were relevant through the mediation of competitive advantage in explaining performance variances among financial service firms, operating in a strictly regulated industry. The relative predictive power of firm effect on competitive advantage was high. Firm resources, particularly intangible resources and dynamic capabilities, are the key predictors of firm performance indirectly through the mediation of competitive advantage. Such an advantage may not last long given the excessive supervision and regulations that exist and the fact that firms are being dictated to by the government to comply with its strategic direction as opposed to pursuing their own firm specific strategies. Such practice could encourage competing financial firms to converge and pursue similar types of strategies and encourage imitations to gain short term competitive advantage and superior performance. This finding contradicts the fundamental premise of the resource-based view and firm heterogeneity even though it tentatively supports the argument made by Foss and Knudsen (2003) who argue that heterogeneity is not a necessary condition to gain competitive advantage and superior firm performance. Financial service firms should not only develop and manage their resources and capabilities, but they should also monitor the changes in the industry. This finding highlights the fact that firms can create competitive advantage and enjoy superior performance in a closed and regulated industry. The findings of this research make a significant contribution to the existing debate on the resource-based and industry-based views in explaining the causes of firms’ performance variations specifically in a regulated environment. / Business Management / D.B.L.

The main objective of this study was to explain top management perceptions of industry and firm effects on firm performance through the mediation of competitive advantage in financial service firms operating in a regulated industry in a developing Ethiopian economy. The resource-based and industry-based views, constituting the two main schools of thought explaining performance variations among firms, were used as theoretical foundation of this study. Porter’s five-forces framework was used during this process. The researcher employed a post-positivist paradigm using a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 27 financial service firms (15 banks and 12 insurance firms) that had functioned for three and more years were selected for the study. The unit of analysis was ‘firms’, while respondents were top level managers with a total target population of less than 300. A census survey rather than a sample survey was undertaken. A total of 287 survey questionnaires were distributed (banks 180 and insurance industry 107), of which 215 were collected from 26 firms (15 banks and 11 insurance firms). Of the questionnaires 206 were properly completed leading to a valid response rate of 71%. These were used for the data analysis. A variance-based PLS-SEM approach, which is relevant to evaluate the predictive effects of the industry and firm factors on firm performance, was used to explain the hypothesized model using SmartPLS 2.00 software as well as the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program. The assessment of the hypothesized model indicated that the R2 result on firm performance variance due to the combined industry effects and firm effects was 39%, indicating a moderately significant predictive accuracy of the model. The relative direct effect size (f2) of the industry on firm performance was 3%, while firm had a direct effect size of 2%, which was small. The combined indirect relative predictive accuracy of industry and firm effect sizes on firm performance through competitive advantage was high at 27%. This was driven by the relative substantial predictive power of firm effect on competitive advantage (f2 = 65%). Furthermore, the predictive capability (Q2) assessment result of the model indicated that both industry and firm effects had a 23% relevant predictive power on firm performance. The direct relative measure of the predictive relevance (q2) value of industry effect (q2 = 0.02) on firm performance was relatively higher than that of the firm effect (q2 = 0.01). Competitive advantage had a relative predictive power of 0.12, which was driven by the direct relative predictive capability of firm effect (q2 = 0.25) on competitive advantage. The overall assessment results of the structural model revealed that the model had satisfactory statistical power to predict the hypothetical research model. The hypothesis that industry effects had an influence on the performance of financial service firms was not supported. The result indicated that industry effects had a positive and non-significant relationship with firm performance, which points to competitiveness in the financial services industry. These results were achieved against the tenets of Porter’s five-forces framework. The hypothesis that firm effects had a positive predictive effect on firm performance was also not supported, indicating that resources and capabilities do not directly lead to improved firm performance. The direct effect of competitive advantage on firm performance was supported. The mediating effect of competitive advantage between industry effects and firm performance was not significant, while the mediation of competitive advantage between firm effects and firm performance was highly significant. The findings of this study revealed that firm effects were relevant through the mediation of competitive advantage in explaining performance variances among financial service firms, operating in a strictly regulated industry. The relative predictive power of firm effect on competitive advantage was high. Firm resources, particularly intangible resources and dynamic capabilities, are the key predictors of firm performance indirectly through the mediation of competitive advantage. Such an advantage may not last long given the excessive supervision and regulations that exist and the fact that firms are being dictated to by the government to comply with its strategic direction as opposed to pursuing their own firm specific strategies. Such practice could encourage competing financial firms to converge and pursue similar types of strategies and encourage imitations to gain short term competitive advantage and superior performance. This finding contradicts the fundamental premise of the resource-based view and firm heterogeneity even though it tentatively supports the argument made by Foss and Knudsen (2003) who argue that heterogeneity is not a necessary condition to gain competitive advantage and superior firm performance. Financial service firms should not only develop and manage their resources and capabilities, but they should also monitor the changes in the industry. This finding highlights the fact that firms can create competitive advantage and enjoy superior performance in a closed and regulated industry. The findings of this research make a significant contribution to the existing debate on the resource-based and industry-based views in explaining the causes of firms’ performance variations specifically in a regulated environment. / Business Management / D.B.L.

In many industries, service is the critical determinant of success or failure. Service failure is almost inevitable, and this has the potential for the organisation to lose its customer. However, if implemented successfully, Service Recovery can rectify the breakdown in service, and turn angry, frustrated customers into loyal ones. Service Recovery is vital for profitability, especially for companies operating in the services market, like First National Bank (FNB). Unfortunately, few service firms know how satisfied customers are with their Service Recovery efforts, and FNB is no exception. This study attempted to rectify the situation, to ensure that the bank does not fail its customers a second time. The major focus of the study is to assess client satisfaction with Service Recovery (SR) from FNB. By using the RECOVSAT instrument (developed by Boshoff in 1999), the study aims to establish how effective FNB was in terms of the six dimensions of SR, namely communication, empowerment, feedback, atonement, explanation, and tangibles. The relationship between each of the dimensions and customer satisfaction, as well as between customer satisfaction and loyalty, was measured, and a hypothesis for each relationship rejected or accepted. The empirical results show that, from 702 complainants, a RECOVSAT score of 68% was computed, which could be regarded as only satisfactory. The dimensions of communication, explanation, atonement, and empowerment, had the strongest positive correlation with customer satisfaction, while feedback and tangibles, although positively correlated, were not statistically significant, and thus not as important as the first four dimensions. FNB performed best on tangibles (81%), then communication (75%), explanation (70%), atonement (68%), empowerment (62%), and lastly feedback (51%). The study reinforced the view that customer satisfaction is positively related to loyalty. Other findings were that, administration and errors were the most frequent complaints, followed by pricing, fees, and interest, while time delays/waiting were the third most numerous. Over 54% of complainants had been with the bank for over 10 years, which could be a problem if the customers had left the bank, as the profitability of a customer generally increases with time. Age and gender did not appear to be factors that influenced behaviour of complainants. In terms of the managerial implications, it is recommended that FNB implement a Customer-Complaint-Handling (CCH) system that is both national and inter-group. The bank should also focus on empowering employees, improving communication skills, explaining to customers why the problem occurred, apologising, and offering some atonement. By adopting the recommendations, FNB should improve their service recovery, and as a consequence, their customer satisfaction and loyalty, and profitability should also increase.

No description available.

The purpose of this project is to design, build, and implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for a bank. CRM BANKING is an online application that caters to strengthening and stabilizing customer relationships in a bank.

This study examined the nexus between bank performance and regulatory requirements in South Africa. The panel regression approach was used, which applied panel data from 12 banks that were registered in terms of the Bank Act 94 of 1990 over the period 2009 to 2019. A quantitative research approach was used to investigate the nexus between bank performance, bank regulations, bank-specific factors and some macroeconomic factors. A regression analysis was conducted on four bank performance ratios using pooled ordinary least square regression, fixed effects, random effects and generalised methods moments. The two-step generalised system methods of moments approach was preferred over the other methods because it eliminated the problem of endogeneity. The results showed that capital adequacy and size have both a positive and negative significant effect on bank performance, while interest rates, non-performing loans, liquidity coverage ratios and net stable funding ratios had a negative and significant effect on bank performance. The study concluded that South African banks could enhance their performance by tightening their credit risk assessment framework to be more prudent in their lending practices in order to improve the lending quality of their loan books. It is recommended that banks keep their capital levels at a minimum to avoid excessive risk-taking, and that they by embark on efficient revenue enhancement activities such as increasing retained earnings. Banks must further look at their clients on an overall basis, not just a transactional basis, as this will improve their non-interest revenue income by introducing innovative products. Lastly, the banks must lower their liquidity risk exposure by collectively managing their capital adequacy ratio, size of the bank, interest rates, non-performing loans, liquidity coverage ratio and net stable funding ratio. The South African Reserve Bank should tighten regulatory requirements by improving its supervision and oversight functions; banks must to adhere to lending practices and foster a healthy and adequately capitalised balance sheet. Lastly, the SARB must align its macroeconomic forecast for lending rates with regulatory requirements to ensure that economic performance is a catalyst for bank performance. This study contributes to the empirical research repository on the nexus of bank performance and regulatory requirements. More importantly, it identifies the significant factors that affect South African bank performance, by identifying the deficiencies in South Africa’s regulatory requirements, which will provide the South African Reserve Bank with insight into ways of enhancing its regulatory requirements to improve the performance, management practices and sound capital adequacy of the banking sector. / Finance, Risk Management and Banking / M.. Com. (Business Management (Finance)

The general aim of this research is to develop a conceptual privacy governance framework (CPGF) that can be used to develop a valid and reliable information privacy governance questionnaire (IPGQ) to assess the perception of employees of how effective the organisation governs privacy. The CPGF was developed to incorporate a comprehensive set of privacy components that could assist management in governing privacy across an organisation. IPGQ statements were derived from the theory of the sub-components of CPGF, evaluated by an expert panel and pre-tested by a pilot group. A quantitative mono method research was followed using a survey questionnaire to collect data in a financial institution in South Africa. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to determine the underlying factorial structure and the Cronbach Alpha was used to establish the internal reliability of the factors. From the initial item reduction of the constructs, four factors were derived to test the privacy perception of employees. The IPGQ consisted of 49 valid and reliable questions. One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used, and three significant differences were discovered among the demographical groups for the age groups and two for the employment status groups (organisational commitment and privacy controls). The CPGF and IPGQ can aid organisations to determine if organisations are effectively governing the privacy in the organisations in order to assist them in meeting the accountability condition of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). / Computing / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

The prevalence of the money laundering crime has prompted the introduction of customer due diligence (CDD) measures. CDD measures facilitate the prevention of money laundering and promote the introduction of certain detective skills. Several international institutions champion the introduction of the detective skills in general and the performing of CDD measures in particular. These institutions acknowledge the cumbersome (administrative and financial) effects of introducing the detective skills and the performing of CDD measures. However, these institutions concedes that the aforementioned burden can be alleviated or lessened if the institutions that are responsible for performing CDD measures, i.e. Accountable Institutions (AIs), can exchange and rely on third parties’ (CDD) data. The exchange and reliance on third parties’ data must however consider the divergent threats or risks that might be associated with the data or third parties. The view regarding the exchanging and relying on third parties’ data is shared by, amongst others, the FATF and the UK. However, South Africa appears to be lagging behind in this respect. In other words, the South African FICA and FICA Regulations omit to encapsulate express and lucid provisions permitting the exchanging and relying on third parties’ data for purposes of performing CDD measures. The aforementioned omission, it is argued, creates a legal vacuum in the South African scheme of anti-money laundering. In other words, the aforesaid vacuum lives the South African AIs in a state of doubt regarding the manner and extent of exchanging and relying on third parties’ data. However, the aforesaid vacuum, this study concedes, can be rectified by introduction provisions that are line with the draft Regulation 5A and 5B that are proposed in chapter seven of this study. / Jurisprudence / LL. M.

Direct response advertising in the financial services industry in South Africa has become one of the most important tactics companies utilise to build and maintain market share. Ensuring that these advertising campaigns yield optimal return on investment numbers is the responsibility of marketing departments and their partners in the marketing and sales processes, such as the creative and media agencies, the distribution force, as well as the client service area that supports the client value proposition. The marketing executive therefore is accountable for the planning, budgeting and execution of direct response campaigns, which need to deliver sufficient results to support the company’s overall business objectives. The challenge all marketers face is the lack of a proven structured and scientific methodology to facilitate this planning, budgeting and execution process. It has always been a general view in the marketing fraternity that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to combine creative output measures, which are subjective in nature, with cost, sales and profit measures, which are objective in nature. This study aims to create a structured approach to marketing strategising and planning, by creating a marketing metrics model that enables the marketing practitioner to budget according to output needed to achieve the overarching business objectives of sales, cost management and profit. This marketing metrics model therefore unpacks the business drivers in detail, but through a marketing effort lense, to link the various factors underlying successful marketing output, to the bigger business objectives. This is done by incorporating both objective (verifiable data, such as cost per sale) and subjective variables (qualitative factors, such as creative quality) into a single model, which enables the marketing practitioner to identify areas of underperformance, which can then be managed, tweaked or discontinued in order to optimise marketing return on investment. Although many marketing metrics models and variables exist, there is a gap in the combination of objective and subjective factors in a single model, such as the proposed model, which will give the marketer a single tool to plan, analyse and manage the output in relation to pre-determined performance benchmarks. / Business Management / DCOM (Business Management)

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Mzansi rekening, as Eerste Orde Nasionale rekening, is gesamentlik deur die “Groot 4” banke geloods, spesifiek met die oog daarop om toegang tot groter finansiële dienste te bewerkstellig in lyn met die Finansiële Dienste Handves. Hierdie navorsingsverslag ondersoek die sukses van die Mzansi rekening in terme van die verbetering van toegang tot finansiële dienste en die verwesinliking van Prahalad se visie van die Fortuin aan die onderkant van die piramide of die sogenaamde Base of the Pyramid (BoP). Die studie is gedoen deur onderhoude te voer met industrie-kenners wat nou betrokke was met die loods van die Mzansi rekening, asook deur ’n oorsig te doen van ’n verslag van die onlangse kommisie van ondersoek oor kompetisie in die bankwese in Suid Afrika. Die Mzansi rekening is inderdaad suksesvol daarin om toegang tot finansiële dienste vir alle Suid Afrikaners beskikbaar te maak, maar dit is steeds nie winsgewend vir die banke nie. Die Mzansi rekening is dus nie in lyn met Prahalad se visie van die BoP nie. Die winsgewendheid van die rekening in die toekoms hang af van die graad van aanvaarding van armes van meer doeltreffende elektroniese transaksies. Tot op datum wil dit voorkom asof Prahalad se gevoel dat die armes gevorderde tegnologie maklik aanvaar nie in die bank sektor in Suid Afrika geld nie. ’n Toenemende fokus op gebruik eerder as toegang en ’n beter belyning met Prahalad se twaalf beginsels van innovasie by die BoP mag egter wel beter wins vir die banke inhou. Selfs al sou winste nie materialiseer nie, is dit steeds voordelig vir banke wat bereid is om te eksperimenteer en te leer van die Mzansi ervaring. Die Mzansi rekening mag dalk die katalis wees vir nuwe en verbeterde produkte wat suksesvol sal wees in die BOP mark. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Mzansi account, as a First Order National Bank Account, was jointly launched by the Big 4 Banks (ABSA, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank) specifically to increase access to financial services in line with the requirements of the Financial Sector Charter (FSC). This study explores the success of the Mzansi account with regard to improving access to financial services and achieving Prahalad’s vision of a Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP). The study was conducted by interviewing industry experts who were intimately involved in the launch of the Mzansi account and reviewing the transcripts of the recent commission of enquiry into the competition of banking in South Africa. The Mzansi account has been successful in increasing financial access for all South Africans but has not proved to be profitable for the banks. The Mzansi bank account therefore does not support Prahalad’s vision that there is a fortune at the base of the pyramid. The future profitability of the account is dependent on the acceptance of the poor of more efficient electronic transacting. To date it would seem that Prahalad’s notion that the poor accept advanced technology readily does not apply within the banking sector of South Africa. An increased focus on usage as apposed to access and a better alignment to Prahalad’s twelve principles of innovation at the BoP may well bring increased profits for the banks. Even if profits don’t materialise, for those banks willing to experiment and learn from the Mzansi experience. The Mzansi account may well be a catalyst for new and/or improved products that will be successful in the BoP market.