The South African government recognises the need for export growth to contribute towards economic growth and articulates this in different national policy documents. It is evident that the Western Cape Province also recognises the need for export growth, as the province is facing various economic and socio-economic challenges. Therefore, aligning policies to focus on export promotion which supports the labour intensive sectors within the province by uplifting employment and eradicate poverty. The aim of this study is to determine specifically export market diversification opportunities for the Western Cape Province. The main objective is to determine the Western Cape’s world-wide market diversification opportunities with the highest export potential. The literature underlines the importance of export growth and the benefits of export diversification. It can also be concluded that countries operating in the extensive margin are more likely to generate high economic growth and development opportunities. By implementing export diversification strategies, higher employment levels and output growth can be achieved on a provincial and national level. A three-step methodological process to determine the export market diversification opportunities for the Western Cape Province is used. Firstly, the products in which the Western Cape Province has a revealed export specialisation are determined by using the revealed trade advantage (RTA); secondly, the geographical concentration of the Western Cape’s exports of these products is determined by means of the Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI); and lastly, the export market opportunities for the Western Cape Province’s export-orientated products that are geographically concentrated are determined by using the decision support model (DSM). The results of the study identified 188 geographically concentrated export products for the Western Cape and 2 866 realistic product-country level export diversification opportunities. It is recommended that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Western Cape trade promotion organisation, WESGRO, in collaboration with the relevant export councils and industry associations, use the results of this study to focus their export promotion and diversification strategies on the identified product-country combinations. / MCom, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The South African government recognises the need for export growth to contribute towards economic growth and articulates this in different national policy documents. It is evident that the Western Cape Province also recognises the need for export growth, as the province is facing various economic and socio-economic challenges. Therefore, aligning policies to focus on export promotion which supports the labour intensive sectors within the province by uplifting employment and eradicate poverty. The aim of this study is to determine specifically export market diversification opportunities for the Western Cape Province. The main objective is to determine the Western Cape’s world-wide market diversification opportunities with the highest export potential. The literature underlines the importance of export growth and the benefits of export diversification. It can also be concluded that countries operating in the extensive margin are more likely to generate high economic growth and development opportunities. By implementing export diversification strategies, higher employment levels and output growth can be achieved on a provincial and national level. A three-step methodological process to determine the export market diversification opportunities for the Western Cape Province is used. Firstly, the products in which the Western Cape Province has a revealed export specialisation are determined by using the revealed trade advantage (RTA); secondly, the geographical concentration of the Western Cape’s exports of these products is determined by means of the Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI); and lastly, the export market opportunities for the Western Cape Province’s export-orientated products that are geographically concentrated are determined by using the decision support model (DSM). The results of the study identified 188 geographically concentrated export products for the Western Cape and 2 866 realistic product-country level export diversification opportunities. It is recommended that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Western Cape trade promotion organisation, WESGRO, in collaboration with the relevant export councils and industry associations, use the results of this study to focus their export promotion and diversification strategies on the identified product-country combinations. / MCom, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Firm competitiveness is no longer an industry-specific or regional phenomenon, but it has evolved to have global impacts. The increase in intensity of regional and international competition, ineffectiveness of regional development policies and models has led to the focus on regional economic development. In particular, a focus on industrial cluster promotion, both in developed and developing countries has proliferated owing to their increased success as a sustainable source of economic growth and development. Industrial clusters are a geographically proximate group of inter-connected companies and associated institutions in a particular field, linked by commonalities and complementarities. In addition to industrial cluster formation, firms can also maintain competitiveness through internationalisation. Internationalisation ensures that firms are able to serve many markets from existing manufacturing bases without having to establish production plants in other markets. It reduces the over dependence on domestic markets and business risks associated with dependence on one market. This study identified industrial clusters for the North West Province (NWP) of South Africa using the Structural Path Analysis (SPA) method, as a strategy to enhance firm competitiveness. It contributes to the methods to identify industrial clusters by applying the Power of Pull (PoP) method to prioritise the number of clusters for the NWP. The ten identified industrial clusters and their respective PoP rankings were (i) communication; (ii) real estate; (iii) grain mill, bakery and animal feed products; (iv) building and other construction; (v) basic metal products; (vi) other food products; (vii) agriculture; (viii) non-metallic mineral products; (ix) trade; and (x) dairy products. This study identified the most important centres, in terms of the most contributions to output, employment and profit at the local municipal level across all the ten identified clusters. These centres were Madibeng, Rustenburg, City of Matlosana, Mafikeng and Ditsobotla. This indicates that efforts to stimulate cluster formation in this sector should be focused in these regions. This study also determined whether any association exists between the identified industrial clusters‟ products and services and the realistic export opportunities according to the DSM for products and the DSM for services. Four of the six product clusters were found to have REOs according to the DSM for products, namely grain mill, bakery and animal feeds products, agriculture, non-metallic mineral products and the basic metal products clusters. In terms of services, only two service clusters, namely communication and building and other construction services clusters, were found to have with REOs according to the DSM for services. This study further demonstrated the effects of industrial cluster formation on the regional economy, using social accounting matrix (SAM) multipliers. SAM multiplier analysis was used to demonstrate the output, employment, employment income and gross domestic product (GDP) supported by cluster formation for the NWP. The supported activity for the agriculture and trade clusters was less than the actual activity. The following clusters‟ supported activity was greater than the actual activity; communication; real estate; grain mill, bakery and animal feed products; building and other construction; basic metal products; other food products; non-metallic mineral products; and dairy products. The identified industrial clusters‟ REOs were explored further to provide more details on the products or services identified as having REOs. In addition, the countries to which the identified REOs (products and services) can be exported were discussed. In terms of product clusters identified to have REOs, the export potential values, cell classifications and market accessibility index scores were discussed. In terms of the service clusters identified as having REOs, countries, market access, market openness, import demand and cell classifications were discussed. / PhD (International Trade), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Firm competitiveness is no longer an industry-specific or regional phenomenon, but it has evolved to have global impacts. The increase in intensity of regional and international competition, ineffectiveness of regional development policies and models has led to the focus on regional economic development. In particular, a focus on industrial cluster promotion, both in developed and developing countries has proliferated owing to their increased success as a sustainable source of economic growth and development. Industrial clusters are a geographically proximate group of inter-connected companies and associated institutions in a particular field, linked by commonalities and complementarities. In addition to industrial cluster formation, firms can also maintain competitiveness through internationalisation. Internationalisation ensures that firms are able to serve many markets from existing manufacturing bases without having to establish production plants in other markets. It reduces the over dependence on domestic markets and business risks associated with dependence on one market. This study identified industrial clusters for the North West Province (NWP) of South Africa using the Structural Path Analysis (SPA) method, as a strategy to enhance firm competitiveness. It contributes to the methods to identify industrial clusters by applying the Power of Pull (PoP) method to prioritise the number of clusters for the NWP. The ten identified industrial clusters and their respective PoP rankings were (i) communication; (ii) real estate; (iii) grain mill, bakery and animal feed products; (iv) building and other construction; (v) basic metal products; (vi) other food products; (vii) agriculture; (viii) non-metallic mineral products; (ix) trade; and (x) dairy products. This study identified the most important centres, in terms of the most contributions to output, employment and profit at the local municipal level across all the ten identified clusters. These centres were Madibeng, Rustenburg, City of Matlosana, Mafikeng and Ditsobotla. This indicates that efforts to stimulate cluster formation in this sector should be focused in these regions. This study also determined whether any association exists between the identified industrial clusters‟ products and services and the realistic export opportunities according to the DSM for products and the DSM for services. Four of the six product clusters were found to have REOs according to the DSM for products, namely grain mill, bakery and animal feeds products, agriculture, non-metallic mineral products and the basic metal products clusters. In terms of services, only two service clusters, namely communication and building and other construction services clusters, were found to have with REOs according to the DSM for services. This study further demonstrated the effects of industrial cluster formation on the regional economy, using social accounting matrix (SAM) multipliers. SAM multiplier analysis was used to demonstrate the output, employment, employment income and gross domestic product (GDP) supported by cluster formation for the NWP. The supported activity for the agriculture and trade clusters was less than the actual activity. The following clusters‟ supported activity was greater than the actual activity; communication; real estate; grain mill, bakery and animal feed products; building and other construction; basic metal products; other food products; non-metallic mineral products; and dairy products. The identified industrial clusters‟ REOs were explored further to provide more details on the products or services identified as having REOs. In addition, the countries to which the identified REOs (products and services) can be exported were discussed. In terms of product clusters identified to have REOs, the export potential values, cell classifications and market accessibility index scores were discussed. In terms of the service clusters identified as having REOs, countries, market access, market openness, import demand and cell classifications were discussed. / PhD (International Trade), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The services sector has played an increasingly important role in international trade in recent years. The negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in recent years have initiated a global drive to liberalise services trade. However, this liberalisation process holds many challenges, especially for developing countries that do not have an adequate regulatory system to sufficiently support and promote these new export sectors. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in South Africa recognised a need to undertake scientific research to identify the development and export potential of key services sectors. In the period from 2005 until 2009, the services sector contributed 65% on average to the GDP of South Africa. In 2010, 79% of the labour force in South Africa was employed in the services sector. However, services only contributed 19% to total exports from South Africa in the period from 2005 until 2009 (ITC, 2010a). The largest services export sectors for South Africa over the five–year period were travel (63%), transportation (11%), and business services (9%). This indicates that South Africa?s services exports are mostly concentrated in one sector, namely travel, and this clearly indicates the need for South Africa to diversify exports of services into other sectors. Export promotion is one of the methods that governments can use in order to stimulate the export growth of a country. Given the need to increase and diversify the exports of South African services, this study aimed to investigate the literature in order to establish possible guidelines for the export promotion of services specifically. Export promotion instruments should aim to identify potential export opportunities in order to allocate scarce government resources to the active promotion of the sectors with the highest export potential. In order to aid government with this process, Cuyvers, De Pelsmacker and Roozen (1995) developed a decision support model (DSM) that could determine potential export opportunities for products in Belgium by using a scientifically–based method. This model was adapted for South African products in 2007 and further refined in 2009 and 2010 for the DTI in South Africa. In all cases, the DSM analysis was only applied to products and the services sector was never taken into consideration owing to the data differences and the nature of services. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a similar model for the services sector in South Africa that could identify the sectors and countries with the highest potential for services export diversification. The results of such a model could also be incorporated into a services sector strategy for South Africa. Such a services strategy does not currently exist for South Africa and if the results of this model were incorporated into such a strategy, it would be the first of its kind. The study reviewed the methodology of the DSM for products and found that the methodology of the first two filters could be applied to the available services data in a similar manner. However, owing to the nature of services and the limited availability of data, the third and fourth filters had to be adapted to consider these differences. Therefore, a new model was developed to incorporate the nature of services, and the new model was named the export opportunities model (EOM) for services. A new methodology was developed for the third and fourth filters in the EOM for services. A new cell structure was also constructed to categorise the results of the EOM according to the specific market characteristics, which could be used in export promotion strategies to develop specific promotion instruments for each type of market. The results of the EOM for services on a geographical basis showed that the highest export opportunities for services in South Africa were in Eastern and South–Eastern Asia, followed by the European market. The results also identified specific sectors that have high export potential for South African services. The sectors with the highest export potential are travel, transportation, construction services, communications services and other business services. These results can be incorporated into a services sector export promotion strategy for the DTI in South Africa. The study also compared the results of the DSM for products with the results of the EOM for services, in order to establish guidelines on regional export opportunities for both products and services. The study found that the highest export opportunities were in the Asian and European regions. The DTI in South Africa could use these product/country combinations and services/country combinations to develop specific export promotion instruments and strategies for each region in the world. / Thesis (Ph.D. (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This thesis identifies realistic export opportunities for South African products in the rest of the world and specifically in the rest of the African continent. The method chosen to achieve this goal is the Decision Support Model (DSM) developed by Cuyvers et al (1995) and Cuyvers (1997) that was specifically designed to assist export promotion institutions in planning and assessing their export promotion activities. This model is positioned into the international market selection literature and four main refinements to the DSM methodology are introduced to address the limitations of the model and to make it more applicable for the South African international trade conditions. The refined model is then applied to identify product–country combinations with the largest export potential for South Africa in the rest of the world and in the rest of the African continent specifically. The refinements to the DSM filtering process introduced in this study contribute to the effective use and application of the DSM results by South African exporters and more focused export promotion activities by South African export promotion organisations. The four refinements include (i) running the DSM on a HS 6–digit level, (ii) introducing a method to calculate the potential export value of each identified export opportunity in order to prioritise between the product–country combinations identified as realistic export opportunities, (iii) taking the production capacity of South Africa into consideration in order to identify export opportunities that can be pursued immediately due to the country's existing revealed comparative advantage in the production and exportation of these products and (iv) developing a market accessibility index per product–country combination from a South African point of view on a HS 6–digit level in order to make filter 3.2 (barriers to trade) of the DSM applicable for South African conditions. The results of the application of the refined DSM to identify export opportunities for South Africa in the rest of the world include the top 50 worldwide export opportunities. There are 17 countries in which the top 50 worldwide product–country combinations identified as export opportunities for South Africa are located. These include the United States, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Germany, Israel, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Singapore, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Brazil. Mineral products (coal, copper and aviation spirit); transportation products (1500 - 3000 cc automobile engines and diesel powered trucks); stone/glass (diamonds, platinum and rhodium) and metals (aluminium, iron/steel structures, nickel) are the product classifications within the top 50 worldwide product–country combinations that hold the largest worldwide export potential for South Africa. In terms of the product–country combinations with the highest export potential for South Africa in the rest of the African continent, there are 18 countries in which the top 50 product–country combinations for South Africa in the rest of the African continent are located. These include Nigeria, Namibia, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, Zambia, Tunisia, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mauritius, Tanzania, Senegal, Mozambique, Algeria, Malawi and Cote d'Ivoire. The products with the highest potential export values in the top 50 product–country combinations for South Africa in Africa include mineral products (aviation spirit, iron ore, sulphur and coal) and transportation products (1500 - 3000 cc automobile engines and diesel powered trucks weighing less than 5 tons). / Thesis (Ph.D. (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The services sector has played an increasingly important role in international trade in recent years. The negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in recent years have initiated a global drive to liberalise services trade. However, this liberalisation process holds many challenges, especially for developing countries that do not have an adequate regulatory system to sufficiently support and promote these new export sectors. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in South Africa recognised a need to undertake scientific research to identify the development and export potential of key services sectors. In the period from 2005 until 2009, the services sector contributed 65% on average to the GDP of South Africa. In 2010, 79% of the labour force in South Africa was employed in the services sector. However, services only contributed 19% to total exports from South Africa in the period from 2005 until 2009 (ITC, 2010a). The largest services export sectors for South Africa over the five–year period were travel (63%), transportation (11%), and business services (9%). This indicates that South Africa?s services exports are mostly concentrated in one sector, namely travel, and this clearly indicates the need for South Africa to diversify exports of services into other sectors. Export promotion is one of the methods that governments can use in order to stimulate the export growth of a country. Given the need to increase and diversify the exports of South African services, this study aimed to investigate the literature in order to establish possible guidelines for the export promotion of services specifically. Export promotion instruments should aim to identify potential export opportunities in order to allocate scarce government resources to the active promotion of the sectors with the highest export potential. In order to aid government with this process, Cuyvers, De Pelsmacker and Roozen (1995) developed a decision support model (DSM) that could determine potential export opportunities for products in Belgium by using a scientifically–based method. This model was adapted for South African products in 2007 and further refined in 2009 and 2010 for the DTI in South Africa. In all cases, the DSM analysis was only applied to products and the services sector was never taken into consideration owing to the data differences and the nature of services. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a similar model for the services sector in South Africa that could identify the sectors and countries with the highest potential for services export diversification. The results of such a model could also be incorporated into a services sector strategy for South Africa. Such a services strategy does not currently exist for South Africa and if the results of this model were incorporated into such a strategy, it would be the first of its kind. The study reviewed the methodology of the DSM for products and found that the methodology of the first two filters could be applied to the available services data in a similar manner. However, owing to the nature of services and the limited availability of data, the third and fourth filters had to be adapted to consider these differences. Therefore, a new model was developed to incorporate the nature of services, and the new model was named the export opportunities model (EOM) for services. A new methodology was developed for the third and fourth filters in the EOM for services. A new cell structure was also constructed to categorise the results of the EOM according to the specific market characteristics, which could be used in export promotion strategies to develop specific promotion instruments for each type of market. The results of the EOM for services on a geographical basis showed that the highest export opportunities for services in South Africa were in Eastern and South–Eastern Asia, followed by the European market. The results also identified specific sectors that have high export potential for South African services. The sectors with the highest export potential are travel, transportation, construction services, communications services and other business services. These results can be incorporated into a services sector export promotion strategy for the DTI in South Africa. The study also compared the results of the DSM for products with the results of the EOM for services, in order to establish guidelines on regional export opportunities for both products and services. The study found that the highest export opportunities were in the Asian and European regions. The DTI in South Africa could use these product/country combinations and services/country combinations to develop specific export promotion instruments and strategies for each region in the world. / Thesis (Ph.D. (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This thesis identifies realistic export opportunities for South African products in the rest of the world and specifically in the rest of the African continent. The method chosen to achieve this goal is the Decision Support Model (DSM) developed by Cuyvers et al (1995) and Cuyvers (1997) that was specifically designed to assist export promotion institutions in planning and assessing their export promotion activities. This model is positioned into the international market selection literature and four main refinements to the DSM methodology are introduced to address the limitations of the model and to make it more applicable for the South African international trade conditions. The refined model is then applied to identify product–country combinations with the largest export potential for South Africa in the rest of the world and in the rest of the African continent specifically. The refinements to the DSM filtering process introduced in this study contribute to the effective use and application of the DSM results by South African exporters and more focused export promotion activities by South African export promotion organisations. The four refinements include (i) running the DSM on a HS 6–digit level, (ii) introducing a method to calculate the potential export value of each identified export opportunity in order to prioritise between the product–country combinations identified as realistic export opportunities, (iii) taking the production capacity of South Africa into consideration in order to identify export opportunities that can be pursued immediately due to the country's existing revealed comparative advantage in the production and exportation of these products and (iv) developing a market accessibility index per product–country combination from a South African point of view on a HS 6–digit level in order to make filter 3.2 (barriers to trade) of the DSM applicable for South African conditions. The results of the application of the refined DSM to identify export opportunities for South Africa in the rest of the world include the top 50 worldwide export opportunities. There are 17 countries in which the top 50 worldwide product–country combinations identified as export opportunities for South Africa are located. These include the United States, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Germany, Israel, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Singapore, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Brazil. Mineral products (coal, copper and aviation spirit); transportation products (1500 - 3000 cc automobile engines and diesel powered trucks); stone/glass (diamonds, platinum and rhodium) and metals (aluminium, iron/steel structures, nickel) are the product classifications within the top 50 worldwide product–country combinations that hold the largest worldwide export potential for South Africa. In terms of the product–country combinations with the highest export potential for South Africa in the rest of the African continent, there are 18 countries in which the top 50 product–country combinations for South Africa in the rest of the African continent are located. These include Nigeria, Namibia, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, Zambia, Tunisia, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mauritius, Tanzania, Senegal, Mozambique, Algeria, Malawi and Cote d'Ivoire. The products with the highest potential export values in the top 50 product–country combinations for South Africa in Africa include mineral products (aviation spirit, iron ore, sulphur and coal) and transportation products (1500 - 3000 cc automobile engines and diesel powered trucks weighing less than 5 tons). / Thesis (Ph.D. (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.