Abstract Whenever people think of FDI flows, the traditional assumption is that the investment flows from MNCs in the developed economies to either other developed economies and/or to the developing world. Now, a new trend has emerged owing to the process of globalisation. That is, FDI from the emerging and developing economies such as China, India, South Africa and Brazil is flowing to both developed and developing economies. There is more flexibility of movement of capital and knowledge which does not conform to hitherto held assumptions that FDI flows in a particular pattern to particular locations, that is, largely from the developed economies to the developing economies. This new trend needs to be captured both empirically and conceptually. One work we have been doing is exploring the new phenomenon of R&D related FDI flow into the emerging economies such as India, China and Brazil (Baskaran and Muchie, 2008). It is interesting that knowledge that is assumed often to be retained in the home parent company (usually in a developed country) is now open to movement to the to other parts of the world where there is a very strong pool of concentration of talent and skills such as India and China. Similarly, companies from the developing world now appear to be looking for strategic presence in other countries - both developed and developing economies. We explore the factors driving this outward flow of FDI from developing economies and the shape and nature of this flow. Further more, the research will examine the implications of this trend -- whether the FDI itself is changing because of this new trend and in what way this is taking place in reality. For this, we employ case studies of companies with external involvement from selected economies -- China, India and South Africa.

This study examined the impact of in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in developing economies. ‘Institutional Advancement ‘is defined as the degree to which a host country's institutional environment matches the standards well-established in developed market economies. The World Governance Indicators developed by the World Bank were used as a measure to determine Institutional Advancement. The developing and developed economies were compared to determine whether Institutional Advancement had the same effect in attracting FDI in different economies. An additional variable, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was introduced to investigate whether the state of the economy in each of the economy types also impacted on inward FDI. Data was collected from 2000 to 2009, however the analysis was done from 2002 due to the absence of a report on the World Governance Indicators in 2001. The results show that the World Governance Indicators did not present significant evidence that they impacted in attracting FDI in developing economies. GDP appeared to be a better predictor of FDI inflows than the World Governance Indicators in developing economies. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Around forty percent of the world´s population, mostly inhabitants of countries with developing economies, rely on the traditional usage of biomass for energy purposes. The major negative consequences are environmental and health effects. Additionally, the most remarkable social consequence is rural poverty which is directly linked to lack of access to electricity. This places the questions related to biomass utilization for energy production at the core of global welfare. The present work was performed as a part of a larger research project funded by Formas and which involves Swedish and Kenyan partners. The aim of this study was to gather basic knowledge about the characteristics of relevant biomass from sub-Saharan Africa, more specifically from Kenya. Eight different types of biomass, including agroforestry trees, agricultural residues, and water hyacinth, were evaluated according to fuel characteristics and thermochemical properties. Ultimate and proximate analyses of the collected biomass were carried out, in addition to heating values analyses. Moreover, the biomass was pelletized and a thermogravimetric analysis was performed in a single pellet reactor.  Finally, the composition of the residual ashes was determined. The results show that there was a large variation in the fuel characteristics and thermochemical behaviour of the studied agricultural residues and water hyacinth biomass types, whereas agroforestry trees had rather similar properties and thermochemical behaviour when combusted at the same temperature. In addition, results from the ash composition analyses showed large differences among the studied biomass types, which can be used to better predict and solve problems related to the combustion of these biomass types.

There is a strong perception that large infrastructure projects (LIPs) implemented in developing economies fail to meet their original estimations and specifications more than those implemented in developed economies. This situation results in weak infrastructural development in developing economies, which, has been associated with the poor industrial development in these countries. A literature review confirms that LIPs implemented in Nigeria failed to meet their original estimations and specifications more frequently than LIP implemented in countries such as UK or USA. The root causes identified in the review were mostly related to lack of project governance. Thus, a study of six LIP cases implemented in Nigeria was carried out. Data was generated from 30 senior management staff; 5 from each LIP; using interviews and questionnaires and a weak positivist philosophy was used in analysing this data. The analysis focused on identifying three factors; the adherence level to PGPs; the adherence to Project Management (PM) common practices; and impact of external factors on LIPs. The analysis shows that in projects with strong governance there was a tendency to use more project management tools and techniques and they performed better in meeting the original estimations of time, cost and performance against specification. The analysis also indicates that political, economic, socio-cultural and technological (PEST) factors have adverse effect on adherence to PGPs in Nigeria. This indicates that adhering to PGPs can help in improving the outcome of LIPs implemented in Nigeria, if PEST factors are controlled.

The prolonged challenges and dire consequences of poor sanitation, especially in developing economies, call for the exploration of new sustainable technologies. These need to be: capable of effectively treating human faecal wastes without any health or environmental impacts; scalable to address rapid increases in population and urbanization; capable of meeting environmental regulations and standards for faecal management; and competitive with existing strategies. Further and importantly, despite its noxiousness and pathogenic load, the chemical composition of human biowaste (HBW) indicates that it may be considered to be a potentially valuable, nutrient-rich renewable resource, rather than a problematic waste product. This doctoral study therefore investigated microwave hydrothermal carbonization (M-HTC) as a sanitation technology for processing HBW - to convert it into a safe, pathogen-free material, while also recovering inherent value and providing an economic base to sustain the technology. To this end, the products of M-HTC treatment of sewage sludge, human faecal sludge, synthetic faecal simulant and human faeces were characterized with a suite of techniques and tests to demonstrate pathogenic deactivation, and the intrinsic value of the resultant solid char and liquor.

This study examines Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices of selected local large firms in both Kenya and Tanzania by exploring communication, organisation and activity dimensions of these firms. The study focuses on these two East African countries because there is a well established stock exchange with a large number of firms capable of engaging in social issues in this region. Moreover, compared to other regions in Africa, there has been little research on CSR practices in this part of Africa. In addition, the existing literature on CSR in Africa reveals more studies on Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) with little emphasis on large indigenous firms operating in the southern hemisphere, particularly in the East African region. Accordingly, this study explores the CSR practices of indigenous large firms in Kenya and Tanzania. Specifically, it examines whether these firms engage socially, and in the same way. To answer the research questions a survey research approach using standardised public data (i.e. newspapers and business annual reports for the period 2010-2012) was employed. In particular, content analysis of newspapers and annual reports was carried out to investigate the characteristics of CSR practice of these local firms. The study concludes that local firms in both Kenya and Tanzania are faced with the same obligations in meeting society’s needs, even though social engagement is different between the firms. This research identified well organised firms with established CSR (i.e. proactive firms); less well organised firms in which CSR is not established (i.e. reactive firms); and lastly firms that engage less often and are not organised internally (i.e. episodic). Overall, research findings in this study imply a shift of focus from sole stakeholders to multiple stakeholder engagements in business conduct.

Magister Commercii - MCom / This study examines the influence of trade openness on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in emerging market economies. The study focuses on a sample of 15 emerging market economies during 1992-2006. The econometric framework utilised in the study consist of panel data analysis, although the pooled OLS model is first estimated in order to give the reader a sense of what to expect in the main results. Using alternative estimation techniques, the study shows that, indeed, trade openness carries with it the potential of harnessing more FDI into emerging market economies but this need to be complemented by appropriate macroeconomic and sectoral policies. Notably, as the results of the study suggest, foreign investors generally consider the host country's market size, its labour market practices with respect to the real wage, and the current and expected rates of inflation, in order to invest in the country. The results from the study suggests that, given identical trade openness strategies, emerging market economies that have larger market sizes are likely to be more successful in attracting FDI than those with smaller market sizes. The evidence also suggests that, given identical trade openness strategies, emerging market economies that have lower real wages and lower price inflation are likely to be more successful in attracting FDI than those with high real wages and high or variable price inflation. Finally, the findings of this study do not provide strong evidence in support of the fact that infrastructural development, property rights and external debt matter in attracting FDI into emerging markets. The policy implications of this study for South Africa, which is currently contesting for FDI with the fast growing and relatively larger economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (otherwise referred to as, BRICs), is that urgent attention needs to be given to the rising prices and wages provoked by increasingly strong unions, and weak anti-trust regulations in the country, in spite of a fairly successful inflation targeting framework adopted a decade ago.

About forty percent of the world´s population, mostly inhabitants of countries with developing economies, rely on the traditional usage of biomass for energy purposes. The major negative consequences are environmental and health effects. Additionally, the most remarkable social consequence is rural poverty which is directly linked to lack of access to electricity. This places the questions related to biomass utilization for energy production at the core of global welfare.The present work was performed as a part of a larger research project funded by Formas and which involves Swedish and Kenyan partners. The aim of this study was to gather basic knowledge about the characteristics of relevant biomass from sub-Saharan Africa, more specifically from Kenya. Eight different types of biomass, including agroforestry trees, agricultural residues and water hyacinth, were evaluated according to fuel characteristics and thermochemical properties. Ultimate and proximate analyses of the collected biomass were carried out, in addition to heating values analyses. Moreover, the biomass was pelletized and a thermogravimetric analysis was performed in a single pellet reactor. Finally, the composition of the residual ashes was determined. The results show that there was a large variation in the fuel characteristics and thermochemical behaviour of the studied agricultural residues and water hyacinth biomass types, whereas agroforestry trees had rather similar properties and thermochemical behaviour when combusted at the same temperature. In addition, results from the ash composition analyses showed large differences among the studied biomass types, which can be used to better predict and solve problems related to the combustion of these biomass types.

In many developing economies, access to and subsequent utilisation of mainstream financial services act as a barrier to financial inclusion. The merging of financial services and information technology, especially by means of mobile devices, result in consumers being able to make use of financial services at any time and place, thereby overcoming the distribution challenges and subsequent use (Gu, Lee, & Suh, 2009). This research examined the factors influencing the continued use of tech-based financial services post adoption by the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) in South Africa. The research uses the risk-benefit framework to understand usage behaviour focusing on cost, convenience, perceived ease of use and risk (security and operational) as predictor variables. The research makes use of analysed secondary data on 481 low-income individuals using the Structural equation modelling (SEM).The partial least squares structural modelling was utilised to test the hypotheses and relationship between the variables. The findings indicate that perceived benefit has a greater influence on usage than perceived risk. Even though consumers consider both benefit and risk in decision making, the expectation of potential benefits is a greater driver of usage. Convenience, cost and perceived ease of use were found to have significant impacts on usage, with the latter two having the greatest impacts. Perceived risk had a significant but weak impact on usage, with operating risk influencing usage more than security risk. The research recommends that when creating a value proposition for Fintech products, resources should be weighted more towards improving and highlighting those factors that drive the perception of benefit or value added to customers (cheaper, quicker etc.) vs. those that manage a potential risk. Customers are likely to respond positively and increase usage when there is an additional benefit to be derived.

There is a strong perception that large infrastructure projects (LIPs) implemented in developing economies fail to meet their original estimations and specifications more than those implemented in developed economies. This situation results in weak infrastructural development in developing economies, which, has been associated with the poor industrial development in these countries. A literature review confirms that LIPs implemented in Nigeria failed to meet their original estimations and specifications more frequently than LIP implemented in countries such as UK or USA. The root causes identified in the review were mostly related to lack of project governance. Thus, a study of six LIP cases implemented in Nigeria was carried out. Data was generated from 30 senior management staff; 5 from each LIP; using interviews and questionnaires and a weak positivist philosophy was used in analysing this data. The analysis focused on identifying three factors; the adherence level to PGPs; the adherence to Project Management (PM) common practices; and impact of external factors on LIPs. The analysis shows that in projects with strong governance there was a tendency to use more project management tools and techniques and they performed better in meeting the original estimations of time, cost and performance against specification. The analysis also indicates that political, economic, socio-cultural and technological (PEST) factors have adverse effect on adherence to PGPs in Nigeria. This indicates that adhering to PGPs can help in improving the outcome of LIPs implemented in Nigeria, if PEST factors are controlled.