Integrating sustainability into strategic decision making in the South African automotive sector
- Authors: Makaudi, Tuelo Ivan
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: Strategic planning Environmental aspects , Social responsibility of business South Africa , Sustainability , Automobile industry and trade South Africa , Economic profit
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/461874 , vital:76247
- Description: Sustainability has become a major topic for businesses, policy makers, government, and researchers. With the growing awareness of climate change, environmental and social problems, attention has turned to how businesses impact the environment, society, and economy. Sustainability, therefore, requires the integration of environmental and social issues into strategic decision making. Many organizations consider sustainability as an important issue for the business. However, some companies are struggling to combine business success and the success of other stakeholders, particularly those representing the interests of the environment and society. The purpose of this case study is to explore how sustainability is integrated into strategic decision making within some companies in the South African automotive industry. This study followed a qualitative approach, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten senior managers in the automotive sector in South Africa. The study used an inductive thematic analysis approach to analyse the data, and five main themes were generated: (1) Business profitability, (2) Organization culture, (3) Rationality, (4) Compliance, and (5) Corporate social responsibility (CSR). The findings of the study indicated that strategic decisions made considered business profitability first and foremost above environment and society. There is evidence that businesses engage in some sustainability activities, but this was related to the business objective to be profitable and to meet compliance requirements. The findings of the study also indicated that a rational decision-making approach was used predominantly, compared to intuitive and political approaches. This was due to the cautious approach of maintaining profit-making as a primary business objective. In terms of recommendations, this study recommends that automotive companies in South Africa integrate sustainability considerations into organizational/or business strategy to enable the industry to create shared value for the environment, society and economy. Integrating sustainability into business strategy will align business practices with sustainability goals and therefore allowing the automotive industry to have a positive impact in the society and environment which in turn will lead to improved financial performance. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2024
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- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
An exploratory study of King IV™: The effect of Principle Four and its practices in achieving good performance by selected JSE-listed companies
- Authors: Rohlandt, John
- Date: 2022-10-14
- Subjects: Corporate governance South Africa , Organizational performance , value creation , Business planning , Social responsibility of business South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/403047 , vital:69917
- Description: The research conducted for the dissertation entitled “An exploratory study of King IVTM: The effect of principle four and its practices in achieving good performance by selected JSE-listed companies”, aimed to determine whether principle four, namely the creation of value, and the application by an organisation of the recommended practices as set out in King IVTM, contribute to the achievement of good performance. The research outlined the background to the research by describing the history of the development of corporate governance internationally and in South Africa, dating back to 1932 and culminating with the King IV™ report. It described the problem statement, defined the aims and objectives of the study, and demonstrated that the significance of the study lies in its exploration of the relationship between the King IV™ practices and good performance. The research also provided a review of the related literature, describing the theoretical background for the research, which includes the conceptual framework and propositions of the research. The research was situated in the post-positivist paradigm, the methodology was qualitative, and the method adopted was a theory-based evaluation, based on a deductive thematic analysis with pattern matching. From a detailed reading of the integrated reports and the King IVTM compliance registers of the fifteen selected listed companies for the years 2017 to 2019, hits and misses in relation to the six capitals and the eight associated practices were recorded. From this, the resulting descriptive statistics were calculated and set out in the form of tables, and a regression analysis was used to support the findings. The research revealed, based on the descriptive statistics data that there is a moderate relationship between good performance and the application of the eight practices set out in King IVTM, that contribute to the achievement of good performance. It was, therefore, concluded that the adoption of corporate governance principles and practices has an effect on performance, although it may not be significant. It is also concluded that the application of the practices in terms of principle four as set out in King IVTM is achieving its intended outcome - the creation of value. The research also concluded that good performance constitutes more than just a company performing financially and that all companies need to comply with the requirements of King IVTM, as the Code is designed to guide organisations in achieving good corporate governance. Governance principles and practices should be adopted in a way that does not unduly constrain them and is appropriate to a company’s particular circumstances. Complying with corporate governance principles and implementing the recommended practices might not guarantee positive outcomes (good performance), but it will guide the board of directors in the pursuit of ethical and effective leadership, and that of sustainable development in order to meet the needs of all stakeholders. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10-14
Stakeholder engagement in social enterprise: designing a sustainable business model for the ‘Food for Us’ mobile application
- Authors: Tantsi, Idah Thato
- Date: 2022-10
- Subjects: Business planning South Africa , Sustainability South Africa , Mobile apps South Africa , Social responsibility of business South Africa , Social entrepreneurship South Africa , Food for Us (Application software)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/317141 , vital:59904
- Description: This study aimed to develop a sustainable business model that is cognisant of the fundamental principles of social enterprises that can sustain the operation of the Food for Us mobile application that links farmers with buyers in Eastern and Western Cape, South Africa. The Food for Us mobile application lacks a supporting sustainable social business model to sustain its continued operations, hence the need to develop one. In the study, data was generated qualitatively underpinned by an interpretive paradigm, in three workshops guided by the Delphi method. A stakeholder salience model was applied to identify key stakeholders and their salience. Three key stakeholders, namely users (farmers and buyers), Experts (App developers) and the consortium were identified. The study concluded that developing a sustainable social, innovative business model requires substantive consultation with multiple stakeholders in society. Every stakeholder is important and possesses varying salience, hence stakeholder mapping is an important exercise. The study further concluded that financial sustainability and social inclusion are critical social enterprise elements to consider in the process. The undertaking to enhance financial sustainability opens an understanding on the importance of income streams, the key activities, and value propositions offered by the mobile application. The need to remain socially inclusive brings forth questioning of value propositions, accessibility, user friendliness towards stakeholder diversity and needs. The study offers a solution for the Food for Us mobile application in the form of a prototype which is ready for testing, and if desired results are achieved, this can enhance the much needed continued operations of the mobile application. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-10
The challenges and opportunities in ESG integration in investment activities for private equity firms/funds in South Africa
- Authors: Dube, Cuma Velile
- Date: 2022-04-06
- Subjects: Social responsibility of business South Africa , Investments Moral and ethical aspects South Africa , Private equity South Africa , Investments Environmental aspects South Africa , Investments Social aspects South Africa , Investments Law and legislation South Africa , United Nations Principles of Responsible Investing (UNPRI)
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/284493 , vital:56068
- Description: Responsible Investing (RI) is an investment strategy that considers not only the economic but also the environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in the investment analysis and post-investment activities. The consideration of ESG issues is aimed at generating long-term risk-adjusted financial returns and a positive social and environmental impact. This research seeks to contribute to the study of responsible investment (RI), as it relates to private equity investments, an area not well researched. This research also seeks to contribute to the academic literature on responsible institutional investment in South Africa; the opportunities it presents to optimise portfolios, as well as the means with which the challenges faced in integrating ESG factors in investment activities may be overcome. More specifically, the challenges and opportunities for the integration of ESG factors in the investment process were investigated through the experiences of a small sample of South African private equity firms. The sample of private equity firms that participated in this research are signatories of the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investing (UNPRI). Representatives of the participating firms were interviewed in line with the qualitative research design and the post-positivist paradigm of this research. The research design and paradigm are chosen to explore the experiences of practitioners in their integration of ESG issues in the investment process. This research shows that the challenges to ESG integration for the private equity firms considered have remained largely consistent over the last ten years. The challenges include industry skills and knowledge gap and the lack of reliable and comparable ESG data at the portfolio company level. The Opportunities presented, by adopting responsible investing as an investment strategy, are rooted in protecting the downside (risk management) and in finding new value creation opportunities. In summary, it was found that the participating firms continue to face significant capacity challenges in overcoming the challenges to mainstreaming ESG in investment processes. Further research may explore whether the challenges and opportunities that persist from the findings of this research are pervasive throughout the entire sector and whether innovative ways have been found to overcome the challenges have been found by private equity firms that are not signatories of the UNPRI. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-04-06