Measuring perceived black economic empowerment in the South African wine industry

The aim of this study is to develop a scale to measure perceived black economic empowerment (BEE) as reported by beneficiaries themselves. Two scale development procedures were carried out on randomly selected samples of 213 and 322 previously disadvantaged individual respondents within 14 and 11wine business that cover the larger part of the wine industry chain. The results led to a 'feeling' self-report scale (5-dimensions) and an ‘evolution’ self-report scale (6-dimensions). The emerged dimensions are: Business ownership and control (BOC), Access to finance (ATF), Employment and Human Resources Management (EMP) [internal and external], Social capital/enabling environment (SOC) and Lobbying power and collective action (LOB). First measurement results indicate that respondents feel less empowered with respect to BOC and ATF as compared to EMP, SOC and LOB. There appears to be no gender or age differences, but there are geographical differences. The latter is mostly per farm, that is, a lot of variation in BEE is observed at the firm level. The scale can be used at the firm and industry level as a diagnostic tool to monitor BEE progress as a complementary and not a substitutive framework to the wine industry scorecard as an objective measure of BEE. Future research should focus on the gap between the two definitions and assessment tools in order to comprehensively capture BEE in its entirety. The scale can also be adapted to fit the context, for example, its use in the agricultural sector at large.Agribusiness,

Good governance and social responsibility in the South African wine industry

The paper reviews the institutional structure or strategic framework, the Wine Industry Transformation Charter and Scorecard, adopted on 31 July 2007, through which good governance and social responsibility programmes are fostered, implemented and monitored in the South African wine industry. In other words, the paper outlines how the wine industry seeks to foster social change through integrated socioeconomic support structures, as based on the Wine Industry Plan (WIP). The wine charter and scorecard components are a representation of good governance in the industry, whereas the social capital development approach is the focus of social responsibility programmes in the wine industry. The seven components of the wine transformation charter are: (i) ownership, (ii) management/control, (iii) employment equity, (iv) skills development, (v) enterprise development, (vi) preferential procurement, and (vii) rural development, land reform and poverty alleviation. Five areas that constitute the programmes of social responsibility are: (i) the responsible alcohol use, (ii) rural development and poverty alleviation, (iii) security of tenure, (iv) land, and (v) sectoral determination. The implications for the agri-food sector and conclusions are provided

Measuring perceived black economic empowerment in the South African wine industry

The aim of this study is to develop a scale to measure perceived black economic empowerment (BEE) as reported by beneficiaries themselves. Two scale development procedures were carried out on randomly selected samples of 213 and 322 previously disadvantaged individual respondents within 14 and 11wine business that cover the larger part of the wine industry chain. The results led to a 'feeling' self-report scale (5-dimensions) and an evolution self-report scale (6-dimensions). The emerged dimensions are: Business ownership and control (BOC), Access to finance (ATF), Employment and Human Resources Management (EMP) [internal and external], Social capital/enabling environment (SOC) and Lobbying power and collective action (LOB). First measurement results indicate that respondents feel less empowered with respect to BOC and ATF as compared to EMP, SOC and LOB. There appears to be no gender or age differences, but there are geographical differences. The latter is mostly per farm, that is, a lot of variation in BEE is observed at the firm level. The scale can be used at the firm and industry level as a diagnostic tool to monitor BEE progress as a complementary and not a substitutive framework to the wine industry scorecard as an objective measure of BEE. Future research should focus on the gap between the two definitions and assessment tools in order to comprehensively capture BEE in its entirety. The scale can also be adapted to fit the context, for example, its use in the agricultural sector at large

Good governance and social responsibility in the South African wine industry

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Strategies to promote and manage competitiveness and equity in South African agriculture: the South African wine industry

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Are we there yet? Exploring empowerment at the microscale in the South African wine industry

Empowerment is a standard but ambiguous element of development rhetoric and so, through the socially complex and contested terrain of South Africa, this paper explores its potential to contribute to inclusive development. Investigating micro-level engagements with the national strategy of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) in the South African wine industry highlights the limitations, but also potential, of this single domain approach. However, latent paternalism, entrenched interests and a ‘dislocated blackness’ maintain a complex racial politics that shapes both power relations and the opportunities for transformation within the industry. Nonetheless, while B-BBEE may not, in reality, be broad-based its manifestations are contributing to challenging racist structures and normalising changing attitudes. This paper concludes that, to be transformative, empowerment needs to be re-embedded within South Africa as a multi-scalar, multi-dimensional dialogue and, despite the continuation of structural constraints, positions the local as a critical scale at which to initiate broader social change