Factors driving the location investment decision of South African MNEs: Senior executives’ perceptions

As trade barriers fell, South African enterprises faced new competition in their previously protected home market. With established markets becoming saturated, multinational enterprises (MNEs) steered towards emerging markets abroad. Geographically, South Africa is an intrinsic part of Africa, and psychic distance, defined as consisting of, inter alia, differences in language, culture and business practices, can disturb the flow of business between an enterprise and the world. Physical proximity to countries makes it easier for enterprises to understand the culture and business practices, and reduces the uncertainty and risk of the new market. Perceived distance into Africa and elsewhere is also influenced by the specific consumer attributes and behaviours. Enterprises perform best in foreign markets where consumer behaviour is most receptive to a company’s goods and services. The study empirically investigated perceptions of psychic distance and foreign consumer factors in FDI decision making by senior executives of South African MNEs. The findings suggest that psychic distance is relatively unimportant and foreign consumer factors relatively important in FDI decision makin

A South African study comparing the effectiveness of computer-based learning materials and face-to-face teaching

This paper compares the effectiveness of in-house developed computer-based learning (CBL) materials with face-to-face teaching. Two groups of higher education students were randomly assigned to complete tutorial work in one highly structured topic of introductory accounting using either CBL materials (treatment group) or face-to-face teaching (control group). The effectiveness of both approaches was measured according to the students’ performance in a class test, in relation to their prior accounting knowledge and gender. The results showed that the students with no prior accounting knowledge who completed the CBL materials achieved a significantly higher test mark than the face-to-face teaching group. However, there was no significant difference in the marks of the students with prior accounting knowledge, and there was no difference on the basis of gender. The results of this South African study correspond to results in existing literature in other countries, and contribute to the overall knowledge of the effectiveness of CBL materials with respect to prior accounting knowledge and gender.Accounting education, Computer-based learning (CBL), Face-to-face teaching, Gender, Prior accounting experience, Student performance