State-owned enterprises: Developing and validating a model of employee retention

PurposeWithin the context of public sector accountability, the purpose of this paper is to examine South African state-owned enterprises (SOEs) auditing practices and how they have contributed to mitigating prevalent corporate governance issues in South African SOEs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper utilised a thematic content analysis of archival documents relating to South African SOEs. Firstly, to assess the extent to which the auditing dimension of the corporate governance codes, applicable to South African SOEs, conforms with best practices. Secondly, to determine the extent to which the audit practices of all the 21 South African SOEs listed in Schedule 2 of the Public Finance Management Act, have implemented the identified best audit practices.FindingsThe findings suggest that South African SOEs appear to have adopted and implemented best audit practices to enhance the quality of their accountability in relation to their corporate governance practices, as contained in their applicable corporate governance frameworks. However, despite the high levels of conformance, the observation that most South African SOEs continue to fail and require government bailouts, appears to suggest that auditing has no bearing on poor SOE performance, and that other corporate governance factors may be at play.Practical implicationsThe discussion and findings in this paper suggest that the auditing practices of South African SOEs are adequate. However, that SOEs in South Africa continue to be loss-making may imply that this has contributed little to mitigating their corporate governance problems. Thus, policymakers and standard setters, including the Institute of Directors South Africa and relevant oversight bodies should pay attention to better developing means by which to curtail fruitless and wasteful expenditures by South African SOEs through improved corporate governance practices.Social implicationsMost SOEs’ mission statements encourage SOEs to be socially responsible and utilise taxpayers’ monies efficiently and effectively without engaging in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. This study is conceived in this light.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, while acknowledging previous studies, this paper is the first to explore this topic in the context of SOEs and in the context of Africa.

Research aims: This paper undertakes a cross-country comparative analysis of corporate governance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in South Africa and Singapore, two countries using two different models for organising SOEs, with specific reference to agreement with the themes identified in the World Bank’s Framework for good Corporate Governance practices for SOEs. The aim of this paper is to identify differences and similarities in practice and to document how the states have fared using different models.Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper deploys a pragmatic mixed methods approach conducted in two phases, to understand the practices utilised by South African and Singaporean SOEs. The data emerging from these two phases, were compared to the Framework for good Corporate Governance practices for SOEs issued by the World Bank.Research findings: Findings suggest although South African SOEs have good corporate governance practices in place, Singaporean SOEs are better organised and governed compared with South African SOEsTheoretical contribution/Originality: This paper contributes to the scholarly discourse on SOEs in by expanding the discourse on public sector entrepreneurship and opening up new debates and research areas corporate governance of SOEs.

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have significant opportunities to enhance operational efficiency, decision-making, and service delivery through artificial intelligence (AI). However, several barriers hinder widespread AI adoption in these organizations. This article measures the impact of AI adoption on performance indicators like production output and customer satisfaction in State-Owned Enterprises. It analyses financial sustainability, resource management, and efficiency metrics while identifying key barriers such as high implementation costs, lack of technical expertise, and resistance to change. The barriers to AI adoption in the SOEs are studied quantitatively. Data was gathered from 240 carefully chosen SOE personnel in South Africa (SA) using a survey approach, which had a 93.28% response rate. The population of this study comprised employees of South African SOEs. The focus of the article is on examining the perspectives of individuals in SOEs in SA regarding AI implementation. Further complicating AI integration are data security and privacy concerns, as well as legal and compliance issues. A lack of strategic vision and financial limitations are also major obstacles to advancement. Developing successful plans to encourage AI adoption in SOEs, which will eventually spur innovation and enhance public sector performance, requires an understanding of these obstacles. The article concludes that despite significant barriers to AI adoption in South African SOEs—such as lack of senior management support, inadequate infrastructure, resistance to change, data quality issues, and a shortage of skilled staff—there are clear opportunities for improvement. This is one of the articles that focuses on identifying barriers of adopting AI in South African SOEs and it lays a foundation for future research on AI in SOEs.

Background: State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in South Africa face a serious challenge of knowledge loss caused largely by resignations, the ageing workforce and a lack of knowledge management (KM) practices. Objective: This article explores KM practices in the South African SOEs to mitigate the risks inherent in tacit knowledge loss. Methods: The study adopted a mixed methods research strategy using an exploratory sequential design to identify KM practices and their effectiveness in addressing the issue of tacit knowledge loss. The qualitative data was collected through the interviews and document analysis of 2018 annual reports in nine SOEs across five market sectors. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 585 respondents, with a 25% response rate (145) for quantitative data in three SOEs. Results: The results revealed that the majority of the SOEs lacked KM practices in their structures. The lack of KM practices implies that the SOEs are lagging behind in knowledge protective capacities to mitigate the risks inherent in the organisational tacit knowledge loss. With many South African SOEs, facing all these sorts of knowledge loss risks and a lack of KM practices to mitigate them, achieving the objectives of a developmental state remains a far-fetched idea. Conclusion: The absence of KM practices negatively affected knowledge transfer and retention in most of the SOEs. A lack of KM practices will negatively affect their performance and their sustainability to deliver on their developmental mandate. Investment in KM practices will assist SOEs to mitigate the risks associated with loss of organisational tacit knowledge.

PurposeThis paper aims to establish the extent to which South African state-owned entities (SOEs), where integrated reporting is a quasi-mandatory reporting requirement, have incorporated the principles of the international integrated reporting framework. These identified South African SOE reporting practices are compared with the ‘integrated reporting’ related disclosures of SOEs in selected countries, where integrated reporting remains voluntary.Design/methodology/approachThis paper deploys a qualitative research approach, to thematically analyse the content of publicly available annual or integrated reports of South Africa SOEs, as the primary country of analysis, with those of their counterparts in five purposively selected countries. The relative scores for the SOEs of each country is calculated using a disclosure index derived from the international integrated reporting framework principles.FindingsThe paper found that despite being a quasi-mandatory reporting requirement, not all South African SOEs complied with all the international integrated reporting framework principles. Accepting the assertion that integrated reporting enhances organisational transparency and accountability, the accountability disclosure practices of South African SOEs appear more comprehensive than their counterparts in other countries.Originality/valueExtant research into integrated reporting has primarily focussed on the profit-seeking private sector, with limited research into its applicability in the public sector. This paper attempts to address this paucity by examining aspects of integrated reporting by South African SOEs, which are then compared to accountability reporting practices in other countries.

The debate on state institutions in the economic development of developing countries has been ongoing for the past three decades. In the 1980s, the debate was dominated by the importance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and transitioned to the privatisation of SOEs in the early1990s. The debate re-emerged in 2010 due to the increasing influence of Chinese SOEs in the global economy. While the corporatisation of SOEs led to financial results being the core measure of good governance and performance, balancing financial performance with societal socio-economic impact is necessary for developing nations as SOEs are established to stimulate social and economic development. This article uses secondary data to explore the social and economic impact of two South African SOEs—the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)—to contribute to the ongoing debate on the importance of state institutions on the development of developing countries. The article demonstrates the criticalness of the IDC in stimulating the country’s industrial development capacity and structural transformation, whereas the DBSA provides infrastructure investment to enable structural transformation through an enabling development ecosystem. While contributing to the merits of the state and development, failures and areas of interventions are also discussed.

PurposeThe overall objective of the study was to track, over a two‐year period, the reported incidences of corporate governance transgressions at five strategic South African state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).Design/methodology/approachTransgressions for each SOE were documented against the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development's framework of best practice in governance for SOEs by reviewing annual reports and newspaper article citations over a two‐year period.FindingsWhile political intervention in the operational running of each SOE is apparent, government appears not to have fulfilled its oversight role of ensuring the sound governance of SOEs according to best practices. While the SOEs appear to comply with external governance demands, compliance to internal, self‐regulated governance appears to be lacking.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of annual reports and media reports to document governance practices are open to subjectivity. The broader extrapolation of findings based on five SOEs must be undertaken with caution.Practical implicationsThe present study alerts government to potential areas of corporate governance practices at South African SOEs that warrant attention. As South Africa has recently joined the BRICS bloc of developing countries, the findings from the present study could afford a starting point for future comparative study among this group of countries, which appears to evidence similar challenges with regard to governance within their SOEs.Originality/valueThe present study begins to elevate the debate on corporate governance at South African SOEs from public rhetoric to a deeper understanding of the nature of the major problems that warrant attention. Although limited in scope, the study contributes to the scarce academic literature on public sector corporate governance in Africa in general, and in the South African SOE sector in particular.

This study investigated the relations among authentic leadership, psychological capital, job satisfaction and intention to leave within state-owned enterprises in Namibia. Participants were a convenience sample of 452 employees (females = 49.6%, mean age = 37.36, SD = 8.57) state-owned enterprises in Namibia. They completed the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Job Satisfaction Questionnaire and Turnover Intention Scale. Structural equation modelling was utilised to investigate the relations among authentic leadership, psychological capital, job satisfaction and intention to leave. The findings indicated that authentic leadership was positively associated with psychological capital (i.e. experiences of hope, optimism, self-efficacy and resilience) and job satisfaction. Authentic leadership affected job satisfaction indirectly via psychological capital. Psychological capital had a medium to large indirect effect on employees' intentions to leave. The findings suggest that authentic leadership and psychological capital explain job satisfaction and retention of employees in state-owned enterprises.

State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in South Africa are thought to be vulnerable to debt burdens, underinvestment, depreciation of assets, weak corporate governance and systems, and are characterised by massive corruption which render SOEs effectively unprofitable, inefficient and ineffective as development facilitator tool in the economy. This article used literature review, document analysis and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) to investigate the role of party and state politics in the affairs of SOEs in post-apartheid South Africa. Mainstream politics have effect on the affairs of SOEs. Transformation of SOEs should begin by regularising mainstream politics and its influence in SOEs environment.

Employee retention remains a critical challenge for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), necessitating a deeper understanding of the factors that influence employees' decisions to stay within an organization. This study examines the impact of work-life balance, compensation, and job satisfaction on employee retention, with job satisfaction analyzed as a mediating variable. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from SOE employees and analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression modeling, and mediation analysis. The findings indicate that all three factors significantly contribute to employee retention, with job satisfaction emerging as the strongest predictor. Furthermore, job satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between work-life balance, compensation, and retention, highlighting its central role in workforce stability. These results suggest that organizations should prioritize initiatives aimed at enhancing job satisfaction through career growth opportunities, recognition programs, and supportive work environments. Additionally, fostering a healthy work-life balance and offering competitive compensation packages are essential strategies for improving employee retention. The study provides valuable insights for HR practitioners and policymakers in SOEs to develop effective retention strategies. Future research should explore additional variables, such as leadership styles and organizational culture, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of employee retention dynamics.

Background: State-owned enterprises (SOEs) play an important role in the economies of many developed and developing countries. However, most SOEs fail to provide efficient or effective public service delivery. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate how SOEs in Gauteng province in South Africa can enhance supply chain effectiveness (SCE).Objectives: In the study, the relationships are investigated between total quality management (TQM), competitive advantage (CA), innovation (IN), SCE in the selected South African SOEs in Gauteng province.Method: A quantitative design was adopted in which a survey questionnaire was administered to 863 supply chain practitioners working in SOEs in South Africa Gauteng province. Data were analysed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 27.0) and SMART PLS (version 3.0).Results: The results of the study showed that knowledge management and CA predict the establishment of SCE in SOEs in the Gauteng province. However, IN was not supported but is of significance towards achieving SCE in SOEs in the Gauteng province.Conclusion: The adoption of CA by SOEs over industry competitors is essential toward success.Contribution: The results of this study will contribute to the improvement of South Africa’s economy by enabling SOEs to establish a competitive edge in their respective industries.

Despite the general demise of the phenomenon of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Europe since the 1970s, SOEs remained central to state economic planning in African markets after independence. Weak performance of African SOEs since the 1960s, mitigated reforms and some privatisation. The opening up of markets in Africa and states’ alignment to the market economic model, contributed to a different approach to the managing and operation of SOEs. The UNCTAD list of top non-financial conglomerates in the developing world includes two African SOEs. The lack of capital, access to modern technology and professional managerial skills (human capabilities), hampered the development of national economies in Africa. The state has re-entered the market in a different role as facilitator of private enterprise, but also as entrepreneur in strategic industries. Global resurgence of SOEs in the 21st century witnessed a new generation global SOEs, also in some African cases. This paper will assess the development of the «new generation» SOEs in Africa since the last decade of the 20th century using the case study of Sonatrach in Algeria.

Whilst some literature is of the view that; it is nearly impossible to cultivate good corporate governance culture in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), others believe that new strategies of implementing corporate governance systems together with political will can deliver SOEs out of their efficiency doldrums. This paper presents a scientific analysis of the contentious view on the possibility of creating efficient governance mechanisms in SOEs, explores the effective cost for governance failures in SOEs in Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ethiopia. The paper makes conclusions and recommendation that the determinant factor to the success of SOEs in African countries is underpinned on the response of central government to the challenges of SOEs. Structural reforms, good governance, clear objectives and efficiency requires governments to take a decisive position. As a lasting remedial action, knowing which entities and when to offload them through privatisation, is an option in addressing the governance challenges in African SOEs. For strategic SOEs, the paper recommends that governments should consider listing them on public stock exchanges.

<abstract> <p>In addition to integrated reporting, which was arguably first introduced by the third King Report on Governance for South Africa (King Ⅲ), King Ⅲ also formally introduced the combined assurance model as a further governance innovation, aimed at enhancing the quality of organisational reporting. Although the combined assurance model is primarily an internal enterprise risk management innovation, designed to incorporate, integrate and optimise all assurance services and functions, it simultaneously enhances the credibility of organisational reporting. Taken as a whole, the combined assurance model enables an effective control environment, supports the integrity of information used for internal decision-making by management, the governing body and its committees; while supporting the integrity of the organisation's external reports. Organisations adopting King Ⅳ, including state-owned enterprises (SOEs), are expected to explain how the provisions of the combined assurance model have been implemented. Explaining conformance, introduces an element of innovation into organisational reporting as envisaged by King Ⅳ, by providing stakeholders with assurance about the veracity of the disclosures contained in the internal and external reports of organisations. This exploratory paper analyses the extent to which South African SOEs have conformed to seven key combined assurance indicators. The disclosures contained in the publicly available annual/integrated reports of South African SOEs, listed in Schedule 2 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), were thematically analysed to fulfil the objective of the study. We found that although the combined assurance related disclosures suggest high levels of adoption by some SOEs, the majority have not provided sufficient information to explain how they have applied combined assurance, if at all. Although their reports appear to provide internal management with some level of assurance about the extent to which risks have been managed, these reports may not necessarily provide external users with confidence that all material risks have been effectively mitigated, within the organisation's risk appetite. This paper discuses implications for policy and practice and concludes by providing avenues for further research.</p> </abstract>

The study is done to analyse impact of human resources management practices on job performance and job satisfaction of employees in State-owned enterprises in Hanoi. The impact of human resources management on job performance and job satisfaction analysis through 321 questionnaires surveyed by employees working in State-owned enterprises. By applying the exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, the study aims to evaluate the impact of human resources management practices on job performance, job satisfaction, and the relationship between job performance and job satisfaction. The research results showed that that there is a positive relationship between human resources management practices and job performance, job satisfaction of employees working at the State-owned enterprises. In addition, the analysis results also pointed out that job performance has a positive impact on job satisfaction of employees. The result of the study suggested some important implications for State-owned enterprises to increase job performance and job satisfaction of employees of employees working at the State-owned enterprises in Hanoi in the future.