A wealth of studies indicates that good corporate governance has a positive impact on company performance. However, it is not always understood how this positive relationship is achieved. In firms where shareholders and management are misaligned and agency costs are high, cash and cash equivalents can be used in ways that lead to poor company performance and to the destruction of shareholder value. In addition to this problem, very few studies on corporate governance focus on emerging markets: “most studies of corporate governance focus on one or a few wealthy economies” (La Porta, Lopez-De-Silanes, Shleifer & Vishny, 1998, p.1117). Therefore, the focus of this study was to address these two main issues. The author of this report set out to understand the impact of corporate governance on corporate cash holdings by focusing on emerging markets. This was first done by reviewing the extensive literature on agency theory, firm-level corporate governance, cash holdings and the three hypotheses for reasons why firms hold cash. Firm-level corporate governance, corporate cash holdings and total assets data was collected for 620 firms in 17 emerging market economies using Thomson Reuters DataStream for the period 2009 to 2012. The data was then used to determine whether firm-level corporate governance, board characteristics, shareholder rights and vision and strategy are associated with corporate cash holdings. The study found that for the selected sample, firm-level corporate governance is negatively correlated to corporate cash holdings in emerging markets. This implies that the flexibility hypothesis is the dominant reason why firms hold cash in emerging markets. Emerging market firms tend to hoard cash because it provides the flexibility for these firms to take advantage of profitable opportunities as they present themselves. This outcome is contrary to the results obtained in prior studies done on firms in developed economies: these firms tend to spend cash quickly on acquisitions and capital projects (spending hypothesis) or they keep cash to avoid under-investing in case they cannot access external credit lines.(shareholder power hypothesis). / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / pagibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Adults enrolled in basic education exhibit poor academic performance, often reading at elementary and middle-school levels. The current study investigated the similarities and differences of reading skills and eye movement behavior between a sample of low-skilled adult readers and first grade students matched on word reading skill. T-tests for matched pairs found no significant differences on language comprehension, reading comprehension, or eye movement variables. Regression analyses revealed that language comprehension made greater contributions to reading comprehension for adults (verses children) in the simple view of reading model. Processing time (gaze duration) was found to account for unique variance in both passage reading comprehension and sentence comprehension efficiency after controlling for word reading and language skills for adults. For children, processing time was only a significant predictor for sentence comprehension efficiency. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Teacher Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester 2015. / June 3, 2015. / Adult Basic Education, Component Skills, Eye Movements, Fluency, Reading Comprehension / Includes bibliographical references. / Young-Suk Kim, Professor Directing Dissertation; Carla Wood, University Representative; Barbara Foorman, Committee Member; Jeannie Wanzek, Committee Member.

LibQUAL+TM is a web-administered library service quality assessment protocol that has been used around the world in hundreds of different types of libraries. Data have been collected from almost 500,000 library users. The protocol has been used in several language variations. The purpose of the present study is to characterize the stability of LibQUAL+TM score norms across both time and various user cohorts. Library staff may place more confidence in benchmarking conclusions if the stability of the score norms can be demonstrated.

Governments around the globe were actively implementing e-government initiatives in the past two decades. However, the majority of e-government initiatives fail in achieving their objectives before, during or after implementation. This study is addressing the problem, e-government initiatives are still more failure than success. Literature indicates differing models that analyse various stages, stakeholders and factors influencing e-government implementation in the public sector. Yet, these models do not explore in particular the important roles and responsibilities of internal stakeholders and influencing factors during different phases of the implementation cycle of the e-government initiative. There is a need for a framework that guides the e-government initiative implementation internally. To achieve the aim of this research, this study should empirically investigate "managing e-government initiative implementation." Consequently, this thesis results in research that contributes towards successful e-government initiative implementation based on empirical data derived from three case studies. The practical parts of the research are three case studies on e-government initiative implementation, which are analysed using an interpretive and qualitative research approach. Besides document analysis and observation, interview was the main method to collect empirical data for this study. For an accurate result, only managers and above level are selected and interviewed. The study examines the proposed framework in three government organizations in the State of Kuwait by using a qualitative, interpretive, multiple case study research strategy. As a result, this thesis is proposing a framework that can be used to enhance the implementation process of e-government initiative throughout the different phases of the implementation cycle, and contributes to the body of knowledge by extending the literature. The stakeholders, factors and implementation phases are mapped together to ease understanding the implementation process of e-government initiative implementation across the public organizations. The study concludes by identifying internal stakeholders, factors, and providing a holistic framework for e-government initiative implementation. The findings of this research are useful for internal stakeholders in the field, as it enables them to gain a better understanding of their own roles and responsibilities. Moreover, researchers in similar fields may find this work useful as a way to approach the study of e-government initiative implementation.

Throughout the world professional associations in librarianship place considerable emphasis on the professional credentialing of their members. This normally means that educational and training courses of study offering a first professional qualification take up much of this activity. Since this first professional qualification does not normally require emphasis on the research process, but rather in obtaining the required skills and knowledge in order to practice librarianship, it is little wonder that the role of research in the pro-fession has not always been openly encouraged by its associations. Nevertheless, there is evidence that some associations are realizing that research and the research process needs to be better recognized, particularly as library professionals are increasingly undertaking higher level qualifications which include a research com-ponent. Yet if a research qualification is not always necessary for recognition as a professional librarian, the question needs to be asked: why should librarians bother to undertake the rigours of study to achieve it? The paper will discuss the importance or otherwise of research and its processes in the profession of librarianship and consider the role of the professional association in recognizing, enabling and promoting a research cul-ture amongst qualified professionals. The paper will particularly address the Australian context.

ICT is a key driver of employment, growth, and innovation in various economic sectors (Schröder, des IfM Bonn, Wirtschaftsbeobachtung, & im Mittelstand, 2011). It therefore becomes important to understand the factors which impact on the adoption of ICT in order to facilitate adoption and bridge the digital divide between developed and developing markets in the interest of impacting inequality. A factor often overlooked in the literature is the impact competition policies have on the adoption of ICT. The broad research objective was to determine the impact, if any, of competition enhancing and competition restricting/protecting policies on the level of ICT adoption in various economies, thus providing governments and ICT organisations with the necessary understanding of the dynamics involved. The research objective required examining the relationship (using regression analysis) between the level of competition policies and the rate of ICT adoption. The literature review found that there is a theoretical link between the level and type of competition policies and the rate of ICT adoption. The statistical analysis found no relationship between these two variables indicating that competition policies does not have any impact on the rate of ICT adoption or that the influence of competition policy is rendered insignificant when compared to other forces influencing ICT adoption. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

The research project explored the value of the personified celebrity endorser to brand endorsement and the effect on the original brand and the personified celebrity endorser. Endorsement has proven to be an effective marketing tool to increase purchase intent and positively influence consumer attitudes towards a brand and, as a result the use of endorsers, particularly celebrities, has grown. However the use of celebrities does have its challenges as aligning the celebrities brand with ones’ own brand can be a risk. Overcoming these challenges usually results in brands using personified endorsers, characters designed to personify the brand, designed to reflect, and share features of, the brand’s personality through endorsement. These characters require large amounts of investment in time and finance, which later are often terminated after a period resulting in sunk costs and loss of the characters’ equity. This loss of equity in turn leads to these personified endorsers losing credibility in the market and subsequently losing economic value when made redundant, particularly if they have celebrity status. While many studies have been done on personified endorsers, few have focused on human personified endorsers. Thus, to understand the potential impact of the personified celebrity endorser’s credibility on consumers and other brands, a quantitative study was undertaken that looked at the source credibility of an original brand (Hansa Pilsener) and a personified celebrity endorser (The Vuyo character). The source credibility was measured across three attributes: attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise. These attributes were measured pre and post respondents being shown fictional stories involving Vuyo endorsing other brands or products. The main finding of the research was that the personified celebrity endorser has his/her own credibility that is separate from the original brand and if the personified celebrity endorser promotes another brand or product, the original brand’s credibility remains unharmed. This suggests that the personified celebrity endorser’s value can be extended to other brands in order to gain further economic value / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

The phenomenon of social enterprises is growing in South Africa; as a result there is a need to study management of these organisations in an effort to enhance their sustainability. The concept of social enterprise is still undefined in South Africa, and this lack of clarity is resulting in the inappropriate use and classification of non-profit organisations as social enterprises amid the growing trend of converting traditional non-government organisations into self-sustainable entities. The purpose of this study is to identify and explore factors which may improve the management and the sustainability of social enterprises as hybrid organisations. A quantitative research study was conducted to assess the relationship between these factors. Founders and managers of social enterprises participated in the study by completing an online survey. This study indentified that the following factors have an influence on the sustainability of social enterprises: (i) access to funding; (ii) pursuit of dual missions; and (iii) competitiveness. The results of this study showed that the factors are correlated and thus have an impact on the sustainability of social enterprises as hybrid organisations. To this effect a model was developed to guide managers of hybrid social enterprises on sustainable management of their organisations. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lmgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

The digital world along with new communication devices and platforms is changing consumer patterns. The growing role of the digital environment in consumer behaviour provides companies with exploding volumes of data and new methods to interact with customers. Not only does this transformation revolutionise consumer markets, but it also induces major changes in industrial marketing practice. Although multichannel marketing is being increasingly used by organisations as a result of its revenue and cost benefits, its implementation is complicated by the diversity of channels in a digital environment. This descriptive study seeks to understand what are the major challenges faced by organisations in the implementation of multichannel marketing in a digital environment. It also try to identify whether these South African organisations have developed plans or solutions to address these challenges. Data was collected using a web survey, it targeted business leaders and specialist in a variation of industries across South Africa. This survey was done to assess the relevance of each challenge for the organisations and the implications of digitisation on a company’s marketing activities. The results reveal that “online targeting”, adjusting “organisational capabilities” and “business models” are the biggest improvement opportunities for companies. These findings show an immediate need towards are the integration of channels with real-time analytics and the ability to act on those insights. Management need to invest in integrated channels’ architecture through the deployment of systems required to deliver ideal customer experiences while empowering the organisation’s employees. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

This study investigates the relationship between levels of social identity complexity and tolerance. Social identity complexity refers to the nature of the subjective representation of multiple group identities and is postulated to be made up of two underlying sub-constructs, namely overlap complexity and similarity complexity. Tolerance is assumed to be constructed of dimensions including ethnic/religious tolerance, sexual tolerance, social deviance, cultural pluralism and affirmative action principles. In addition, gender and age groups are assumed to be potential moderators of the underlying relationships between the various construct measures. The study used Blue Bulls supporters as the sample to be investigated. A quantitative study of 102 Blue Bulls supporters was conducted using a combination of an online survey and personal interviews at the Blue Bulls stadium. The data determined the social identity complexity levels of these supporters and their various tolerance levels. The results were then analysed using descriptive statistics and various other statistical analysis to determine differences and relationships between the social identity measures and tolerance constructs. The results showed the average Blue Bulls supporter to own average social identity complexity levels and were more tolerant towards out-groups than previous literature had proposed for sports fans. Age showed certain trends in relation to social identity complexity and tolerance levels. However, age and gender made no significant differences to the measures and constructs. Understanding that a sports supporter is more than just an individual who supports a team on one social identity level but possesses multiple social identities is important to understand for many stakeholders within the sports business. Decisions around marketing campaigns, the management of the fan base online and in the stadium and how to get supporters to be more loyal revolves around this understanding of supporters being a sports fan on one dimension, but either a mother or a lawyer on another. The way that these supporters manage their perceptions of out-group members may influence how a brand manages its advertising campaigns or communicates with its fan base. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted