This research evaluates the impact of job satisfaction on the share price of companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Current HRM theory stipulates that job satisfaction can improve retention and employee motivation leading to accrued benefits for the shareholder (Edmans, 2011). In addition over the last few years, studies have shown the JSE to be inefficient as it does not react rapidly by setting its share price when provided with new qualitative news. This research was conducted as a longitudinal study of the relationship between job satisfaction and shareholder returns. This was done through a quantitative approach using a combination of an event based and style research methodology. The results of this research confirms HRM theory that positive benefits accrued from investing in job satisfaction outweigh the cost. This is shown via a 4.1% pa return over an equal weighted index in the period 2008-2014. In addition the JSE was also shown to be inefficient, as the companies listed on the top employers were still obtaining abnormal returns 59 days after the announcement. The findings of this study thus provide valuable information to traders on the JSE on the returns of listed companies that invest in job satisfaction. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Various equity investment styles have been developed and documented extensively in recent history – these styles have, in certain cases, outperformed the broader market. Muller and Ward (2013) have done extensive research into the efficiency of various equity styles on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), and made a meaningful contribution to the topic in the South Africa arena by using a sophisticated style engine and good quality data to prove the effectiveness of certain styles in outperforming the JSE All Share Index. This research builds on Muller and Ward’s methodology by combining the style-based investment approach with the concept of portfolio insurance, using synthetic replication of a put option over the style-based portfolio to provide protection. We found that the application of synthetic portfolio insurance is effective in lessening the effect of market downturns, and that optimising the desired level and time period of protection can lead to outperformance of the unprotected style-based portfolio as the implied cost of the synthetic option is negated by the avoidance of large downturns in the market. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Organisations need to foster continuous innovation in order to effectively compete in today’s global marketplace. Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) can be seen as an effective strategy in ensuring organisation performance and sustained competitiveness. It is common understanding that top management guide and shape strategy however very little understanding exists on the role that middle managers play in its execution. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences/similarities in middle management perceptions of the internal CE environment within four South African industry sectors. A further aim was to identify the effect of biographical variables within the middle management level on the perception of CE. The eight-factor 34-item solution for the Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (van Wyk & Adonisi, 2011) was used to collect data from 172 respondents. This study identified significant differences and similarities in middle manager perceptions on CE within the four industries. It becomes evident that understanding the economic sector constraints on organisational culture plays a crucial role in determining organisational CE environment. It was also discovered that biographic variables such as age, tenure and gender play no signifficant role in determining middle manager perceptions of CE. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

The South African government introduced the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) as an intervention to resolve economic imbalances. In furthering inclusivity in the previously exclusive sectors, like Mining, the BEE legislations and Mining Charter were introduced to benefit the HDSA. The study addressed a significant gap in BEE research, which is important within the South African context, as the country currently reviews progress after the initial 20 years of democratic dispensation. The research examined the share price performance of mining stocks listed on the JSE by tracking their share price performance after announcements relating to black empowerment transactions. The objectives of the research were to, first, determine whether announcements of BEE transactions lead to better shareholder wealth creation in the South African mining sector, second, to determine the impact of these announcements on Old and BEE mining companies that were listed on the JSE post- 1994, third, to determine whether the early BEE announcements made before the release of the Mining Charter in September 2010 had a greater positive impact on the Cumulative Abnormal Returns (CARs) of Mining companies compared to those made after the amendment to legislation. The research employed an event study methodology to analyse a sample of 26 mining companies that made a total of 241 qualifying announcements from January 2000 to November 2014. The results of the study showed negative impact on the CARs of the mining companies. It was noted that the old mining companies that existed before 1994 had better average abnormal return than the BEE companies. Further, the results showed that the Average Abnormal Returns (AARs) of the BEE announcements made prior to the Mining Charter had greater AARs than those made after the implementation. In sum, the BEE announcements had largely a negative impact on share performance of the mining companies. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Household savings performance has been of great interest to researchers as a result of its close association with supporting an environment conducive to investment and economic growth. South African savings rates have been declining with household savings showing a significant deterioration over the past two decades. Policymakers are primarily occupied with investigating methods to encourage savings and control consumption levels. However there remains some ambiguity regarding the variables that impact household savings behaviour. Higher domestic savings can assist with improving South Africa’s GDP growth rate, which has not realised the expected targets in recent years. The Vector Error Correction Model approach was applied to determine the long-run impact of certain variables on the household savings rate and household debt ratio. The study employed annual time series data over the 20-year period 1994 to 2013. Variables that were studied in relation to the household savings rate included youth dependency, elderly dependency, financial liberalisation and financial deepening. The impacts of financial liberalisation and financial deepening were also examined against the household debt ratio. Findings revealed that household savings are negatively impacted by youth dependency. Results for elderly dependency and financial deepening had weak explanatory power on household savings. Financial deepening was found to significantly increase household debt levels whilst the results concerning financial liberalisation were inconclusive for both the household debt and household savings variables. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

The question as to whether companies can “do well while doing good” has been investigated by academics for over four decades. Conclusive evidence of a positive link between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) so far has however remained elusive. In building on previous research findings, this study aimed to provide a deeper understanding into the mediating and moderating factors that impact a firm’s ability to generate returns from social investment. In particular, the moderating effect of social and environmental (SEI) impact levels on CSR returns were further investigated. Following the risk-reduction and value-creating hypotheses, it was asserted that sustainable firms with high SEI would yield superior CFP as compared to their peers with lower levels of social and environmental impact. The findings revealed that sustainable firms with high levels of social and environmental impact indeed had higher CFP than their peers with medium and low social and environmental impacts levels. However, the same results were yielded for non-sustainable companies. Although the main hypothesis did not yield the expected outcomes, the study provided important insights into the role of moderating factors on the ability for firms to generate returns from CSR. Moreover, the study uncovered previously unexplored areas of CSR and thereby opened up new avenues for future research. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Shockwaves from the 2007–2010 financial crises caused a huge economic downturn and impacted countries and market centres globally. This blemished the reputation of the banks with many blaming the global financial crisis on reckless banking and lending practices. As a result, there was an increased focus on regulatory reform. The Sub-Saharan Africa regional integration is aimed at strengthening the effectiveness and credibility of economic policies, economic performance and trade improvement. Africa embarked on global integration of economic and financial systems to reduce poverty and sustain economic growth. This research examines the adaptability and responsiveness of South African banking regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa in relation to regional economic integration. An improved understanding of this relationship provides key principles and a greater understanding for regulatory bodies and banks to enhance their management of regulatory change in emerging markets. Unstructured interviews were held in this research with banks and financial and regulatory authority members in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The research results were inconclusive in terms of the adaptability and responsiveness of South African banking to the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. Bank challenges were identified in terms of regulatory development, implementation and regional integration. The lack of empirical data indicated the need for quantitative research and understanding integrational factors that could be used to measure the rate of integration and adaptability. New categories were identified which need further research to gain a comprehensive understanding on the adaptability and responsiveness of South African banking to the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

The field of stock returns and assessing stock returns utilising financial ratios has attracted substantial interest from various stakeholders. In terms of previous research, the role of financial ratios on stock returns has been based on studies in developed markets, with limited research in emerging markets. This research study provides an understanding of two specific financial ratios, namely the Return on Equity (ROE) and Dividend Payout (DPO) ratios and their impact on annual stock returns (ASR) in emerging stock markets in South Africa and Nigeria. A longitudinal analysis was performed from 2000 to 2013 for companies listed on the JSE Top 40 Index and from 2006 to 2013 for companies listed on the NSE 50 Index. The tests between the mean ROE and the mean ASR for companies listed on the JSE Top 40 Index revealed a significant positive correlation. The conclusions drawn from the relationship between the mean ROE and the mean ASR for companies listed on the NSE 50 Index and both the relationships between the mean DPO and the Mean ASR for both companies listed on the JSE top 40 Index and the NSE 50 Index was inconclusive. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Through a multiple regression analysis on a number of financial and non-financial variables with the actual share growth over a period of 36 months, it was found that no correlation or relationship exists between share growth and almost all variables commonly used as screens for purposed of identifying stocks to potentially invest in for the longer term. The four commonly selected value investing ratios explored in this study are the price-earnings ratio, dividend yield, price-to-sales ratio and book-to-sales ratio. Only two of these ratios were found to have a relationship to the growth in stock prices, albeit, very weak. If anything, this study has shown the importance of length historical data when trying to determine relationships and trends in order to determine whether a company is has investment potential.The non-financial information used consisted of the environmental, social and governance scores or ratings as evaluated by independent analysts across companies in the industry. This is a relative new measure and therefore lacks sufficient history to enable credible conclusion of its impact on the growth of a share or the return investors over the short to medium term. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / pagibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

The small business sector has been identified as a target by government to reduce South Africa’s unemployment problem. There is existing research that most companies, including small business, avoid taking on new employees to avoid, perceived, stringent labour legislation. This research investigates whether small businesses adopt alternative employment strategies to labour as a means to avoiding labour legislation. The questionnaire was distributed to over 9000 small businesses in the metal and engineering manufacturing sectors. Of the 214 responses only 194 could be used. The results of the research point to a prevailing perception by those surveyed that labour legislation is stringent in South Africa and that small businesses, in their efforts to avoid compliance, chose to employ in the temporary and labour broker employment market. Mechanisation is also an option used by small business to avoid legislation. Legislation is, however, not always the only driver when businesses decide to mechanise. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / pagibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted