Thesis (M.M. (Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2016. / Purpose The purpose of this study is to assess corporate entrepreneurship behaviour and identify elements that influence and promote corporate entrepreneurship in a South African financial services organisation. The study also defines corporate entrepreneurship and assists in gaining an understanding of corporate entrepreneurship behaviour in a context of a financial services organisation in the South African financial services sector. Data collection Online questionnaires were used to collect data. The online questionnaire was sent out to via email to employees at different hierarchal levels of a financial services organisation. The email contained a link which directed the participants to the online survey. Completed responses were sent back to a centralised system for collation with only one response per computer possible. Key findings The key findings of the study elucidate corporate entrepreneurship in a financial services organisation as not perceived as demonstrated and or used. There is a neutral sentiment towards CE which is widespread across the organisation regardless of hierarchal levels. Management support for corporate entrepreneurial activities was significantly low which goes to show that there by-in-large a low acceptance for CE. Key contribution This research contributes to the further improves the understanding of corporate entrepreneurship in financial services organisations in South Africa, and benefits. The study will additionally provide an improved understanding of the financial services industry. The outcome of this study will challenge executives in the insurance sector to consider the benefits of executing on corporate entrepreneurship intentions. To this end, the study adds value to the financial iii services sector and may potentially change how the players in this sector operate. / DH2016

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2014. / This study, illustrates how various statistical classification models can be compared and utilised to resolve cross-selling problems encountered in a financial services environment. Various statistical classification algorithms were deployed to model for the appropriate product to sell to a financial services customer under a multi-classifier setting. Four models were used, namely: multinomial logistic regression, multinomial bagging with logistic regression, multinomial random forests with decision trees and error correcting output coding. The models were compared in terms of predictive accuracy, generalisation, interpretability, ability to handle rare instances and ease of use. A weighted score for each model was obtained based on the evaluation criteria stated above and an overall model ranking thereof. In terms of the data, banked customers who only had a transactional account at the start of the observation period were used for the modelling process. Varying samples of the customers were obtained from different time points with the preceding six to twelve months information being used to derive the predictor variables and the following six months used to monitor product take-up. Error correcting output coding performed the best in terms of predictive accuracy but did not perform as well on other metrics. Overall, multinomial bagging with logistic regression proved to be the best model. All the models struggled with modelling for the rare classes. Weighted classification was deployed to improve the rare-class prediction accuracy. Classification accuracy showed significant limitation under the multi-classifier setting as it tended to be biased towards the majority class. The measure of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) as proposed by Hand and Till (2001) proved to be a powerful metric for model evaluation.

The protection of consumers of financial services has attracted a lot of debates following the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009. As a result, there have been series of reforms in a number of jurisdictions across the globe. Despite this development some countries still lag behind and Nigeria is no exception. This study examines the problems of consumer protection in Nigeria, with specific reference to the bank consumers. The aim is to consider whether the Nigeria consumer protection regime provides "sufficient protection to bank consumers and whether it should be reformed". The study also focuses on the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in consumer protection, its dispute resolution mechanism and the practical challenges. The test of sufficiency will be analysed and discussed, using 'consistency', 'efficiency' and 'accessibility' in order to illustrate the existing weaknesses in resolving consumer dispute. The approach in this study is doctrinal analysis. In all, the findings suggest that there is need, to reform the consumer protection regime in the banking sector and enforce laws which will address issues highlighted in the study to enable the users of banking services in Nigeria to obtain an appropriate level of protection through regulatory processes. This study, therefore, also provides a comparative analysis between United Kingdom and Nigeria, using current consumer protection framework in the United Kingdom in making proposals for the needed reforms in Nigeria. The study thus concludes with the recommendation that the current Nigerian consumer protection regime does not offer adequate protection; hence protecting consumers require a holistic approach which includes effective consumer protection framework, enforcement, coordination and cooperation from different stakeholders.

Business owners and leaders have committed resources, time, and funding to understand and mitigate the phenomenon of employee turnover. The purpose of this study was to explore the strategies that managers used to mitigate employee turnover in the financial services industry in Nigeria. The transformational leadership model was the conceptual framework for this single case study. Semistructured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 middle-level managers who had experience and knowledge of employee turnover at an organization in the financial services industry in Nigeria. The company's policy documents and audited financial statements were also reviewed. Thematic coding was used for data analysis, and qualitative data analysis software was used to achieve accuracy in data classification and organization of the analysis. Data analysis led to the emergence of 8 themes: human resources, industry comparison and benchmarking, training, good relationship management and communication, conducive work environment, rewards and compensation, low employee turnover as a post strategy implementation benefit, and increased productivity and efficiency as a post strategy implementation benefit. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential to reduce the unemployment rate, create financial independence, and reduce the poverty level in the financial services industry in Nigeria. Leaders and business owners may use the strategies from this study to promote satisfied employees who earn a satisfactory income, find fulfillment in their jobs, and support for their families and communities.

The thesis extends previous loyalty research by comparing the performance of brands in subscription markets, specifically financial services and insurance, on a cross-category basis. Large investments are made in these industries on cross-selling initiatives with the hope of bringing about brand growth through increased loyalty. This research found very little variation between the loyalty scores for major brands in each market, suggesting that cross selling attempts are likely to play only a minor role in brand performance. / thesis (MBusiness-Research)--University of South Australia, 2005.

In recent year, there has been virtually no research into the strategic management practices of the Thai financial services sector. The aims of this research is to explore the strategic management practices of the Thai financial services sector (both banking companies and non-banking companies), and also seeks to identify whether there are differences in the strategic management practices on the basis of size, business type, and ownership respectively. The findings from this research will provide a benchmark against which further research into strategic management in Thailand can be undertaken. The Thai economic crisis (approximately 1997 to 1999) has impacted very strongly on the Thai financial services sector, as evidenced by the reduction in the number of companies and the dramatic increase in non-performing loans. It is against this background, that this research investigates the strategic management practices (including the general environments, the immediate environments, the internal environments, the corporate strategies, and the planning and planning system) of the Thai financial services companies to gain an understanding of their strategic management practices (year 2000) and the changes to their strategic management practices. This research also examined the impact of both internal environmental factors and external environmental factors on the strategic management practices of the Thai financial services companies. The process for this research was based on a through literature review, an analysis of the industry, the development of a conceptual framework (building on prion research overseas), and the development of a survey approach based on personal interviews with carefully selected respondents. This research has selected all the companies in the Thai financial services sector (13 domestic banks, 5 major government banks, 33 foreign bank�s branches, 33 finance and securities companies, and 10 credit foncier companies) who survived the economic crisis in Thailand. In total of the 99 approached to participate companies, 71 (72%) Thai financial services companies participated in the survey, consisting of 26 finance and securities companies, 18 foreign bank�s branches, 13 domestic banks, 9 credit foncier companies, and 5 major government banks. In respect to the data analysis, both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilised in this study, using both univariate and multivariate techniques. Of the 71 companies who participated in this research, 80% (N=57) had a formalised strategic planning (FSP) system, which presented 94% of large companies, 100% of medium sized companies, which was 97% of banking companies and 63% of non-banking companies. Whereas, 72% of the small companies has no formalised strategic planning (NFSP) system which was 100% of credit foncier companies and 15% of finance and securities companies. This research also shows that only 6% of foreign majority ownership companies and 32% of Thai majority ownership companies in the Thai financial services sector did not have FSP system. Of the NFSP companies, 50% would implement a FSP system over the next five years. These findings show that the Thai financial services companies have adopted a fairly traditional approach to strategic management and rely heavily on formalised strategic planning system. For these reasons, the major focus of the analysis of this research is on the FSP companies. Of the FSP companies, define their strategic management as the process of sharing the organisational structure, the company�s resources, the company�s culture and managerial style, the company�s long-term goals, the company�s mission statement, the company�s strategies, the company�s planning, and the external environmental factors to build a market position strong enough and an organisational capable enough to achieve successful performance despite unforeseeable events, potent competition, and internal problems. This research shows that there are significant differences in the organisational structure, process, and system either for size, business type, and ownership aspects. Overall, the large companies that comprised most of the domestic banking companies with Thai majority ownership and the foreign bank�s branches believe they were more likely to be strategically managed through their structures, processes and systems than the other groups of FSP companies. The findings in this thesis shows that these banking companies identified a much clearer managing of planning and planning system which including corporate plans, second level long-term plans, planning�s objectives, planning�s roles, planning�s processes, planning�s coordination issues, planning�s structures than the other group of FSP companies. In contrast, of the NFSP companies, the strategic issues and strategies emerged from the vision of the CEO, whereas did not appear to have roles, objectives, etc. for their strategic issues identification and strategy development process, anywhere as clearly as the FSP companies identified for their planning. The evidence from this research shows that the FSP companies were more likely to consider they were strategically managed than the NFSP companies. This research has identified a schematic representation of the strategic management practices of the companies with a FSP system and a NFSP system. The results of this research enables a better understanding of the strategic management practices of the Thai financial services sector. Also, prospective researchers can use data and the conceptual model generated from this research to further develop the theories of strategic management and to explore whether meaningful differences occur between strategic management practices of other Thai industries and the Thai financial services sector. This research as the first significant study of strategic management practices for the Thai financial services sector, provides an important benchmark for future research e.g. strategic management practices of the Thai financial services companies in the next five years, how the Thai financial services companies seek to recover from the major economic crisis etc. Both further research and replication of this research would enhance a meaningful understanding of strategic management practices.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Business Administration. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 246-265). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR29492

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-196). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

International financial centre (IFC) development is a hot topic in today’s global arena at the political state level and within academic circles as they can have a significant impact on national, regional and local economies. A critical review of the literature on this topic reveals that not much scholarly attention has been directed towards how IFCs develop from within, more specifically how local entrepreneurial activity contributes to the advancement and evolution of an IFC. In addition, a number of different theories such as path dependence and the concept of social networks have been used as alternative frameworks to explain the phenomena of spatial agglomeration in international financial centres (IFCs); however, these theories haven’t either been properly constructed in a geographical context, empirically applied in a convincing manner or been further investigated using different methodological frameworks. Through the lens of the entrepreneurial hedge fund (EHF) firm and by incorporating a multiple methodological approach (quantitative, descriptive and spatial analysis); this research investigates four separate empirical lines of inquiry in regard to either the firm, its proprietor or the IFC that focuses on micro characteristics, spatial characteristics, the general business arena and development mechanisms. The major empirical findings are that the EHF firm can be classified as small and large based on a number of different factors; while the proprietor is a well educated individual who was previously employed as a high level manager of a large multinational corporation and has previous career ties to the investment banking and traditional fund management sectors. EHF firms agglomerate in IFCs with the most intense clustering occurring within close proximity to the nucleus of the main financial district and other agglomeration patterns are evident. Categorically, government and regulatory factors and people factors are considered as the most important competiveness factors of an IFC. When compared as a whole with previously conducted studies, the findings were found to be statistically indifferent; however, at the individual factor level there are distinct differences. The factors that trigger entrepreneurial behavior are endogenous in nature and the top barriers encountered were customer related followed by employee recruitment and regulatory issues. Finally, human agency and social networks are an integral part of the entrepreneurial process and can be categorized into five separate groups with professional and associate considered to be the most important. This study makes three theoretical contributions on developmental aspects of IFCs. First, a spatial agglomeration model is proposed based on areal differentiation that is derived from the established and changing patterns in the human landscape and its institutions. Second, the theory of path creation is introduced along with social network interaction to account for the genesis of new financial firms at a micro level and a ‘path as processes’ model that incorporates ‘place dependence—path creation—path dependence’ as an economic process is proposed to illustrate the development of the alternative asset management sector which ultimately contributes to the advancement and evolution of an IFC in the defined study area. / published_or_final_version / Geography / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy