The effectiveness of business incubators in enhancing growth, survival and performance of small, medium and micro enterprises in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa
- Authors: Sarakunze, Annie.
- Date: 2014-11
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship , Economic development -- South Africa , Small business
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26786 , vital:66005
- Description: In both developed and developing countries, the growth of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise sector is considered an important factor in boosting the economic well-being of a country. The governments of many countries play a basic role in creating policies and programmes which support the growth of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises. One of the initiatives used by the governments to nurture small businesses is business incubation.This study investigated the effectiveness of business incubators in enhancing growth, survival and performance of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in selected areas of the Eastern Cape Province. The objectives of this study were to assess the impact of business incubation on the performance of SMMEs, determine the impact of business incubation on the growth of the SMME, to assess the impact of business incubation on the survival of the SMMEs and to investigate whether SMMEs are satisfied with the role of business incubators in their areas.This study employed a stratified simple random sampling technique. The population was first divided into six homogeneous strata and then simple random sampling was then employed. The self-administered questionnaires were then distributed into each and every stratum randomly. Simple random sampling was used because it enabled each and every member in the strata to have an equal chance of being selected. Owners, managers and employees were used as respondents in this study and a total sample of 200 SMMEs answered the questionnaire. The study followed a quantitative research design as it involved variables such as growth, firm performance and survival which have measures that involves the use of figures such as sales, number of employees and total value of assets. The data was analysed by Anova, Pearson Chi-Square and T-test statistical methods in order to arrive at findings and conclusions. Based on the findings from this survey it was found that business incubators are effective in enhancing growth, survival and performance of SMMEs. Although other researchers found that there are no significant variations in growth, survival and performance of incubated and non-incubated businesses, this study however recognizes the importance of business incubation to SMMEs. This study concurs with most findings by many researchers of business incubation and thus recommends vigorous business incubation awareness to the SMMEs and networking. , Thesis (MBm) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce , 2014
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014-11
- Authors: Sarakunze, Annie.
- Date: 2014-11
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship , Economic development -- South Africa , Small business
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/26786 , vital:66005
- Description: In both developed and developing countries, the growth of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise sector is considered an important factor in boosting the economic well-being of a country. The governments of many countries play a basic role in creating policies and programmes which support the growth of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises. One of the initiatives used by the governments to nurture small businesses is business incubation.This study investigated the effectiveness of business incubators in enhancing growth, survival and performance of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in selected areas of the Eastern Cape Province. The objectives of this study were to assess the impact of business incubation on the performance of SMMEs, determine the impact of business incubation on the growth of the SMME, to assess the impact of business incubation on the survival of the SMMEs and to investigate whether SMMEs are satisfied with the role of business incubators in their areas.This study employed a stratified simple random sampling technique. The population was first divided into six homogeneous strata and then simple random sampling was then employed. The self-administered questionnaires were then distributed into each and every stratum randomly. Simple random sampling was used because it enabled each and every member in the strata to have an equal chance of being selected. Owners, managers and employees were used as respondents in this study and a total sample of 200 SMMEs answered the questionnaire. The study followed a quantitative research design as it involved variables such as growth, firm performance and survival which have measures that involves the use of figures such as sales, number of employees and total value of assets. The data was analysed by Anova, Pearson Chi-Square and T-test statistical methods in order to arrive at findings and conclusions. Based on the findings from this survey it was found that business incubators are effective in enhancing growth, survival and performance of SMMEs. Although other researchers found that there are no significant variations in growth, survival and performance of incubated and non-incubated businesses, this study however recognizes the importance of business incubation to SMMEs. This study concurs with most findings by many researchers of business incubation and thus recommends vigorous business incubation awareness to the SMMEs and networking. , Thesis (MBm) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce , 2014
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014-11
Development finance in small and medium enterprises in Matjhabeng Municipality
- Babalola, Oluwanifesimi Omolade
- Authors: Babalola, Oluwanifesimi Omolade
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Business enterprises -- South Africa -- Finance , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9187 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020215
- Description: It has been generally accepted within the developed and developing countries of the world that SMES contributes significantly to employment creation as the world population increases and that it also contributes to the economic growth of the areas they are situated in. Finance is the blood (life) of any business, for a business to be successful it needs steady successful access to funds and post financial support which leads to actualization of ideas, leads to investment and expansion, improves access to market amongst others. This is why the impact of development finance can never be over emphasized. The aims of the study are: To understand the extent to which small and medium businesses are supported through the availability of financial assistance in Matjabeng Municipality. To establish the survival rates of businesses that has been funded and or supported and whether they are or not sustainable. In achieving the aims and objectives of the research, the researcher looked at development funds both from the supply side and the demand side. The supply side which involved semi structured interviews with consultants of government parastatals (the FDC and DETEA) who are involved in financing Small Medium Enterprises in Matjhabeng municipality. The demand side involved administering of questionnaires to Entrepreneurs in the municipality who are registered with the Local Economic Department (LED), which led to the acceptance of the hypothesis of the research that development finance actually helps in the growth of small medium enterprises but in conjunction with post financial support such as bookkeeping, accounting, monitoring and evaluation. The researcher also discovered some findings amongst others which includes: The most effective ways entrepreneurs heard about funding in the municipality are through the media and word of mouth. Most of the entrepreneurs that received some type of funding are startups. More entrepreneurs that had access to funds also got some post financial business support. Financial assistance to entrepreneurs yielded improvements after respondents received financial assistance, the range of goods offered was improved and more jobs were created, entrepreneurs were able to obtain better business premises either by renting or buying and entrepreneurs had access to better equipment. Some of the recommendations of this study includes; The municipal government should help small and medium enterprises in the municipality by linking them to new markets. Effective monitoring and evaluation systems should be put in place by development funders and non-financial support services. Entrepreneurial skills development should be provided by the public and private agencies by organizing workshops for aspiring entrepreneurs in order to expose them to business opportunities that are sustainable and viable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Babalola, Oluwanifesimi Omolade
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Business enterprises -- South Africa -- Finance , Economic development -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9187 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020215
- Description: It has been generally accepted within the developed and developing countries of the world that SMES contributes significantly to employment creation as the world population increases and that it also contributes to the economic growth of the areas they are situated in. Finance is the blood (life) of any business, for a business to be successful it needs steady successful access to funds and post financial support which leads to actualization of ideas, leads to investment and expansion, improves access to market amongst others. This is why the impact of development finance can never be over emphasized. The aims of the study are: To understand the extent to which small and medium businesses are supported through the availability of financial assistance in Matjabeng Municipality. To establish the survival rates of businesses that has been funded and or supported and whether they are or not sustainable. In achieving the aims and objectives of the research, the researcher looked at development funds both from the supply side and the demand side. The supply side which involved semi structured interviews with consultants of government parastatals (the FDC and DETEA) who are involved in financing Small Medium Enterprises in Matjhabeng municipality. The demand side involved administering of questionnaires to Entrepreneurs in the municipality who are registered with the Local Economic Department (LED), which led to the acceptance of the hypothesis of the research that development finance actually helps in the growth of small medium enterprises but in conjunction with post financial support such as bookkeeping, accounting, monitoring and evaluation. The researcher also discovered some findings amongst others which includes: The most effective ways entrepreneurs heard about funding in the municipality are through the media and word of mouth. Most of the entrepreneurs that received some type of funding are startups. More entrepreneurs that had access to funds also got some post financial business support. Financial assistance to entrepreneurs yielded improvements after respondents received financial assistance, the range of goods offered was improved and more jobs were created, entrepreneurs were able to obtain better business premises either by renting or buying and entrepreneurs had access to better equipment. Some of the recommendations of this study includes; The municipal government should help small and medium enterprises in the municipality by linking them to new markets. Effective monitoring and evaluation systems should be put in place by development funders and non-financial support services. Entrepreneurial skills development should be provided by the public and private agencies by organizing workshops for aspiring entrepreneurs in order to expose them to business opportunities that are sustainable and viable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Establishing perceptions of an entrepreneur using word associations
- Authors: Goliath, Jasmine Estonia
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Businesspeople -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9321 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020785
- Description: Entrepreneurship as a source of economic growth and competitiveness as well as job creation and the advancement of social interests is well documented. Despite these important contributions to the economies of countries, a shortage of entrepreneurial activity exists across borders and specifically in developing countries such as South Africa. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception and image of an entrepreneur in the eyes of various stakeholders. The reasoning behind this was that if the image of an entrepreneur could be determined, one could establish whether the image positively or negatively influences entrepreneurial intentions as well as potential future entrepreneurial activity. More specifically, the primary objective was to identify the perception and image that potential entrepreneurs (students) and existing entrepreneurs (small business owners) have of an entrepreneur. In the body of knowledge or general literature on entrepreneurship, the most commonly discussed topics are the nature and importance of entrepreneurship, the attributes (personality traits, characteristics and skills) associated with an entrepreneur, various push and pull factors, various rewards and drawbacks of such a career and the challenges entrepreneurs face. It is these aspects of entrepreneurship that stakeholders will most likely have been exposed to, and that most possibly have influenced their perception and image of an entrepreneur. The aforementioned aspects provided an overview of the theoretical body of knowledge on which the perception and image of an entrepreneur is based. The present study adopted a qualitative research paradigm with a phenomenological approach to achieve the research objectives of the study. Within this context, the study made use of a qualitative method for data collection and a quantitative method for data analysis. As such, a mixed methods approach was adopted. More specifically, a qualitative dominant mixed research method was implemented. A continuous word association test, which is a projective technique, was adopted as the qualitative means of data collection. This test involved asking participants to recall the words that come to mind when presented with the word “entrepreneur”. This method was selected because of its ability to reveal both affective and cognitive associations with the concept “entrepreneur”. A quantitative summative (manifest) content analysis was used as the quantitative research method for analysing the data. The continuous word association test was conducted among three sample groups, namely students prior to commencing, and students after completing a module in entrepreneurship, and small business owners. Student and small business owner participants were asked to write down as many words or phrases as possible that came to mind when they thought of the word “entrepreneur”, which was the stimulus word, within a ten-minute period. These responses were then collated and coded by developing a coding framework based on brand image and entrepreneurship literature. In studies on brand image, the components of image are considered to be tristructured in nature, consisting of cognitive (what the individual knows), affective (how the individual feels) and holistic (overall symbolism, combination of affective and cognitive) evaluations. The words generated by the participants in this study were broadly coded according to these categories and further subcategorised by searching for themes within the broad categories, which was facilitated and guided by an in-depth investigation of the entrepreneurship literature. The findings of this study show that the words generated by all three groups of participants were mostly of a cognitive nature, followed by words of a general or affective nature. As such, the vast majority of words generated by all three groups related to what the participants knew about an entrepreneur (cognitive) versus how they felt about one (affective), and were grounded in the management or entrepreneurship literature. When comparing the top ten words most frequently associated with the term “entrepreneur” by the three groups of participants, the attribute risk-taker was the most frequently recalled word among all three groups. Students prior to undertaking the entrepreneurship module associated an entrepreneur with being creative and a risk-taker, having a business enterprise and being involved in the selling of goods and services. Students after completing the module in entrepreneurship associated an entrepreneur with being profit-orientated, a risk-taker, innovative and original, and being opportunistic. Small business owners, on the other hand, associated an entrepreneur with being a risk-taker, innovative and original, goal- and achievement-orientated and profit-orientated. The findings show that all groups of participants associated an entrepreneur principally with certain attributes rather than with learned skills and competencies, and that all groups had a more positive than negative image of an entrepreneur. It was also found that exposure to entrepreneurship literature has an influence on the perception and image that students have of an entrepreneur. Because the words recalled by students after completing the entrepreneurship module were more in line with those recalled by small business owners, than with those recalled by students before starting the module, it can be suggested that entrepreneurship literature contributes to a more realistic image of an entrepreneur among students. This study has contributed to the field of entrepreneurship research by adopting a qualitative dominant research paradigm in conjunction with quantitative research methods to explore the complexity of the term “entrepreneur”. Furthermore, this study has been able to establish how individuals feel about entrepreneurship, in terms of being either positive or negative, by adding an affective aspect to the cognitive aspect of entrepreneurial decision-making. By conducting a continuous word association test among students prior to beginning and after completing a module in entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial knowledge of students before being exposed to entrepreneurship literature was established, and subsequently the effectiveness of the entrepreneurship module determined. It is hoped that the findings of this study have added value to the entrepreneurship body of knowledge and can be used in future studies as a tool to address the problem of low entrepreneurial intention and activity among South Africans. Furthermore, it is hoped that by creating a positive image of an entrepreneur, entrepreneurship as a desirable career choice can be promoted and an entrepreneurial culture developed within communities and broader society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Goliath, Jasmine Estonia
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Entrepreneurship -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Businesspeople -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:9321 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020785
- Description: Entrepreneurship as a source of economic growth and competitiveness as well as job creation and the advancement of social interests is well documented. Despite these important contributions to the economies of countries, a shortage of entrepreneurial activity exists across borders and specifically in developing countries such as South Africa. The purpose of this study was to determine the perception and image of an entrepreneur in the eyes of various stakeholders. The reasoning behind this was that if the image of an entrepreneur could be determined, one could establish whether the image positively or negatively influences entrepreneurial intentions as well as potential future entrepreneurial activity. More specifically, the primary objective was to identify the perception and image that potential entrepreneurs (students) and existing entrepreneurs (small business owners) have of an entrepreneur. In the body of knowledge or general literature on entrepreneurship, the most commonly discussed topics are the nature and importance of entrepreneurship, the attributes (personality traits, characteristics and skills) associated with an entrepreneur, various push and pull factors, various rewards and drawbacks of such a career and the challenges entrepreneurs face. It is these aspects of entrepreneurship that stakeholders will most likely have been exposed to, and that most possibly have influenced their perception and image of an entrepreneur. The aforementioned aspects provided an overview of the theoretical body of knowledge on which the perception and image of an entrepreneur is based. The present study adopted a qualitative research paradigm with a phenomenological approach to achieve the research objectives of the study. Within this context, the study made use of a qualitative method for data collection and a quantitative method for data analysis. As such, a mixed methods approach was adopted. More specifically, a qualitative dominant mixed research method was implemented. A continuous word association test, which is a projective technique, was adopted as the qualitative means of data collection. This test involved asking participants to recall the words that come to mind when presented with the word “entrepreneur”. This method was selected because of its ability to reveal both affective and cognitive associations with the concept “entrepreneur”. A quantitative summative (manifest) content analysis was used as the quantitative research method for analysing the data. The continuous word association test was conducted among three sample groups, namely students prior to commencing, and students after completing a module in entrepreneurship, and small business owners. Student and small business owner participants were asked to write down as many words or phrases as possible that came to mind when they thought of the word “entrepreneur”, which was the stimulus word, within a ten-minute period. These responses were then collated and coded by developing a coding framework based on brand image and entrepreneurship literature. In studies on brand image, the components of image are considered to be tristructured in nature, consisting of cognitive (what the individual knows), affective (how the individual feels) and holistic (overall symbolism, combination of affective and cognitive) evaluations. The words generated by the participants in this study were broadly coded according to these categories and further subcategorised by searching for themes within the broad categories, which was facilitated and guided by an in-depth investigation of the entrepreneurship literature. The findings of this study show that the words generated by all three groups of participants were mostly of a cognitive nature, followed by words of a general or affective nature. As such, the vast majority of words generated by all three groups related to what the participants knew about an entrepreneur (cognitive) versus how they felt about one (affective), and were grounded in the management or entrepreneurship literature. When comparing the top ten words most frequently associated with the term “entrepreneur” by the three groups of participants, the attribute risk-taker was the most frequently recalled word among all three groups. Students prior to undertaking the entrepreneurship module associated an entrepreneur with being creative and a risk-taker, having a business enterprise and being involved in the selling of goods and services. Students after completing the module in entrepreneurship associated an entrepreneur with being profit-orientated, a risk-taker, innovative and original, and being opportunistic. Small business owners, on the other hand, associated an entrepreneur with being a risk-taker, innovative and original, goal- and achievement-orientated and profit-orientated. The findings show that all groups of participants associated an entrepreneur principally with certain attributes rather than with learned skills and competencies, and that all groups had a more positive than negative image of an entrepreneur. It was also found that exposure to entrepreneurship literature has an influence on the perception and image that students have of an entrepreneur. Because the words recalled by students after completing the entrepreneurship module were more in line with those recalled by small business owners, than with those recalled by students before starting the module, it can be suggested that entrepreneurship literature contributes to a more realistic image of an entrepreneur among students. This study has contributed to the field of entrepreneurship research by adopting a qualitative dominant research paradigm in conjunction with quantitative research methods to explore the complexity of the term “entrepreneur”. Furthermore, this study has been able to establish how individuals feel about entrepreneurship, in terms of being either positive or negative, by adding an affective aspect to the cognitive aspect of entrepreneurial decision-making. By conducting a continuous word association test among students prior to beginning and after completing a module in entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial knowledge of students before being exposed to entrepreneurship literature was established, and subsequently the effectiveness of the entrepreneurship module determined. It is hoped that the findings of this study have added value to the entrepreneurship body of knowledge and can be used in future studies as a tool to address the problem of low entrepreneurial intention and activity among South Africans. Furthermore, it is hoped that by creating a positive image of an entrepreneur, entrepreneurship as a desirable career choice can be promoted and an entrepreneurial culture developed within communities and broader society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
The effect of real exchange rate volatility on export performance: evidence from South Africa (2000-2011)
- Authors: Chamunorwa, Wilson
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Monetary policy -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11499 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1018600 , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates -- South Africa
- Description: The effect of real exchange rate volatility on export performance: evidence from South Africa (2000-2011) This study sought to investigate the relationship between exchange rate volatility and export performance in South Africa. The main objective of the study was to examine the impact of exchange rate volatility on export performance in South Africa. This relationship was examined using GARCH methods. Exports were regressed against real effective exchange rate, trade openness and capacity utilisation. The research aimed to establish whether exchange rate volatility impacts negatively on export performance in the manner suggested by the econometric model. The result obtained showed that exchange rate volatility had a significantly negative effect on South African exports in the period 2000-2011.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Chamunorwa, Wilson
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Monetary policy -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11499 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1018600 , Monetary policy -- South Africa , Economic development -- South Africa , Foreign exchange rates -- South Africa
- Description: The effect of real exchange rate volatility on export performance: evidence from South Africa (2000-2011) This study sought to investigate the relationship between exchange rate volatility and export performance in South Africa. The main objective of the study was to examine the impact of exchange rate volatility on export performance in South Africa. This relationship was examined using GARCH methods. Exports were regressed against real effective exchange rate, trade openness and capacity utilisation. The research aimed to establish whether exchange rate volatility impacts negatively on export performance in the manner suggested by the econometric model. The result obtained showed that exchange rate volatility had a significantly negative effect on South African exports in the period 2000-2011.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
The impact of financial development on private investment in south Africa
- Authors: Mukuya, Prisca R
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Gross domestic product -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11488 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1018210 , Economic development -- South Africa , Gross domestic product -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- South Africa
- Description: Empirical evidence and theoretical propositions suggest that financial development is strongly correlated to private investment because financial development positively affects investments by affecting capital accumulation, altering savings rate or by channelizing savings to various capital producing technologies. This study empirically investigated the impact of financial development on private investment in South Africa using quarterly data for the period 1994/01 to 2011/04. This study assess whether the theoretical and empirical propositions can be supported in South Africa. Cointegration tests using the Johansen approach (1988) were conducted to examine if there is a stable relationship in the level of private investment and financial development in South Africa. As a proxy for financial sector development, credit to private sector as per cent of GDP and stock market development were employed. Other variables that affect investment such as real interest rates and real GDP were also included in the model. Results of the study indicate that stock market development and real GDP have a positive relationship with private investment. Bank credit to the private sector however showed a negative relationship with private investment. A negative relationship was also noted for the relationship between private investment and real interest rates.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mukuya, Prisca R
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Economic development -- South Africa , Gross domestic product -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , M Com
- Identifier: vital:11488 , http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1018210 , Economic development -- South Africa , Gross domestic product -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- South Africa
- Description: Empirical evidence and theoretical propositions suggest that financial development is strongly correlated to private investment because financial development positively affects investments by affecting capital accumulation, altering savings rate or by channelizing savings to various capital producing technologies. This study empirically investigated the impact of financial development on private investment in South Africa using quarterly data for the period 1994/01 to 2011/04. This study assess whether the theoretical and empirical propositions can be supported in South Africa. Cointegration tests using the Johansen approach (1988) were conducted to examine if there is a stable relationship in the level of private investment and financial development in South Africa. As a proxy for financial sector development, credit to private sector as per cent of GDP and stock market development were employed. Other variables that affect investment such as real interest rates and real GDP were also included in the model. Results of the study indicate that stock market development and real GDP have a positive relationship with private investment. Bank credit to the private sector however showed a negative relationship with private investment. A negative relationship was also noted for the relationship between private investment and real interest rates.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Why has South Africa been relatively unsuccessful at attracting inward foreign direct investment since 1994?
- Authors: Fulton, Mark Hugh John
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Investments, Foreign -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- Africa, Southern , Investments, Foreign -- Chile , Investments, Foreign -- Botswana , Economic development -- South Africa , Economic development -- Developing countries , Political corruption -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic policy -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1097 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013056
- Description: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows into South Africa have been very low for several decades, and this research examines the reason(s) why this has been the case since 1994. There is a common belief amongst economists that there is a positive relationship between the amount of FDI received and economic growth, thus the desire to attract greater FDI inflows. A literature review was conducted to establish the determinants of FDI globally and then data were collected and assessed to test which causes are most important. The performance of developing nations in attracting FDI was first compared with that of the developed nations. Thereafter, a regional breakdown of FDI flows was presented, with a particular focus on the Southern African region. FDI inflows to South Africa since 1994 were compared against the identified determinants of FDI, as well as with FDI inflows into two other major mining economies, Chile and Botswana. The friendliness of the government towards business was identified as a significant determinant of FDI inflows and the importance of this factor in explaining FDI inflows into environment in South Africa was looked at in more depth. It was found that many investors perceive the South African government as hostile towards business and as corrupt and/or inefficient. The empirical results show that this negative perception helps explain the FDI inflows attracted by South Africa since 1994. Therefore, increased friendliness to business by the government should increase future inward FDI flows into South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Fulton, Mark Hugh John
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Investments, Foreign -- South Africa , Investments, Foreign -- Africa, Southern , Investments, Foreign -- Chile , Investments, Foreign -- Botswana , Economic development -- South Africa , Economic development -- Developing countries , Political corruption -- Economic aspects -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic policy -- 1994-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:1097 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013056
- Description: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows into South Africa have been very low for several decades, and this research examines the reason(s) why this has been the case since 1994. There is a common belief amongst economists that there is a positive relationship between the amount of FDI received and economic growth, thus the desire to attract greater FDI inflows. A literature review was conducted to establish the determinants of FDI globally and then data were collected and assessed to test which causes are most important. The performance of developing nations in attracting FDI was first compared with that of the developed nations. Thereafter, a regional breakdown of FDI flows was presented, with a particular focus on the Southern African region. FDI inflows to South Africa since 1994 were compared against the identified determinants of FDI, as well as with FDI inflows into two other major mining economies, Chile and Botswana. The friendliness of the government towards business was identified as a significant determinant of FDI inflows and the importance of this factor in explaining FDI inflows into environment in South Africa was looked at in more depth. It was found that many investors perceive the South African government as hostile towards business and as corrupt and/or inefficient. The empirical results show that this negative perception helps explain the FDI inflows attracted by South Africa since 1994. Therefore, increased friendliness to business by the government should increase future inward FDI flows into South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
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