The Link between Venture Capital Supply Factors and Economic Development in South Africa

The purpose of this paper is to provide a new theoretical model for the factors that influence the supply of venture capital investment in South Africa. Based on extant literature, the study puts forward a tentative framework to explain the link between venture capital supply factors and economic development. To this point, the paper has established that there is a link between venture capital supply and economic development and the link is mediated by formal job creation in the MSME sector. The framework depicted in Figure 4 shows three key determinants of venture capital supply including the MSME density, the extent to which industrialisation has taken place and the share of natural resource contribution to GDP. While the utility of the framework is limited without empirical evidence, the study draws attention to the need of the South African economy to find mechanisms of increasing formal job creation in the small and medium enterprise sector while simultaneously focusing on increasing the rate of industrialising the economy. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n9p1

Theorizing and institutionalizing operation Sukuma Sakhe: a case study of integrated service delivery

The authority of South Africa is in the midst of a profound economic crisis precipitated by high levels of unemployment and inequality, marked by political shifts unprecedented in scope subsequent to the 2016 local government elections. The recent election outcomes reveal disturbances in the social, political and economic systems of the country. These disturbances have been precipitated by low economic growth trajectory and poor investment in service delivery infrastructure. The central thesis of this paper is that in addressing the triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment, a symptomatic approach of addressing social ills and service delivery will not work. This paper draws from institutional theory as a sense-making mechanism to produce a scientific approach to integrated service delivery. Using the tenets of the critical reflecting methodological approach, institutional theory is deconstructed to provide an understanding of how to operationalize integrated service delivery across functions in a scientific fashion. Keywords: service delivery, institutional theory, poverty, inequality and unemployment. JEL Classification: L8, J64, J71, I3

Africa Meets America: The Impact of Collectivism and Individualism on Attitude towards Shopping

The adoption of marketing strategy does not occur in cultural vacuums. Instead, marketing strategies unfold within social contexts that encode values, beliefs, and patterns of behavior. The increasingly inter-dependent global economy results in the acculturation of tensions between global and local consumer cultures. This dynamism however offers new opportunities for international firms to redefine and reevaluate their glocal (global/local) marketing strategies. Relying on Triandis cultural dimensions, this research contributes to international marketing literature by answering two key research questions, namely, what are the differences between African (Ghanaian) and American consumers’ cultural characteristics? and how do the cultural differences explain attitude towards shopping behavior? The results of the study demonstrate, contrary to the literature, that Ghanaians, unlike Americans, exhibit a fusion of collectivism and individualism. Further, while both individualism and collectivism cultural traits positively and significantly impact attitude towards shopping, the extent to which culture impacts attitude towards shopping is higher in the American consumer sample than in the Ghanaian consumer sample. The authors discuss implications for international marketing practice

Mapping the interplay between open distance learning and internationalisation principles

Open distance learning is viewed as a system of learning that blends student support, curriculum and instruction design, flexibility of learning provision, removal of barriers to access, credit of prior learning, and other academic activities such as programme delivery and assessment for the purpose of meeting the diverse needs of students. Internationalisation, on the other hand, is viewed as a process that blends intercultural international dimensions into different academic activities, such as teaching, learning, and research, into the purpose and functions of higher education. The common feature in the narratives that define open distance learning and internationalisation is the blending of university services to achieve specific outcomes. This blending feature has instigated an inquiry into identifying the interplay between the two concepts in as far as how the concepts are defined and what their goals and rationale are in the context of higher education institutions. While there are a breadth and variety of interpretations of the two concepts, there are differences and common features. The purpose of such an analysis is to open a new window through which institutions of higher learning can be viewed

Retaining Generation X Academics in Higher Education Institutions

There is a great need to attract and retain younger generations of faculty to ensure long-term sustainability of higher education institutions. The research reported here provides empirical evidence that Generation X academics in higher education institutions are likely to quit as a result of both lower job satisfaction and reduced organisational commitment. The data also showed that performance or research productivity is not a predictor of job satisfaction. Implications of these findings and avenues for further research are discussed