South African Market Research Articles

WHY SHOULD THE STATE INTERVENE IN THE LABOUR MARKET: THE CASE OF SOUTH AFRICA

Labour remains at the centre of political, social, and economic discourse in South Africa. Two broad perspectives dominate the political discourse as to why the state should intervene in the labour market. The first is the laissez-faire, free-market model,and the second, known as ‘social justice’ –a concept generallyused to justify government intervention and the distribution of resources –is a perspective that stresses the need for social justice in the workplace in a variety of ways. This article explores which of these views will best protect workers –referred to in the context of the inadequacy of the contract as a mechanism to regulate the employment relationship –in an ever-changing South African labour market characterised by poverty, unemployment, inequality, the growth of the informal economy, an inflow of migrants, the digitalisation of the economy, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The author concludes by supporting the view that upholds social justice in the workplace.

Central bank policy rate announcements and high-frequency intra-day benchmark stock returns reaction dynamics: Evidence from South Africa

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the chronological impact of South African Reserve Bank (SARB) repo rate announcements on the Financial Times Stock Exchange/Johannesburg Securities Exchange (FTSE/JSE) All Share Index (ALSI) returns and returns volatility. Covering the period 2012–2021, the study employs the ‘event study’ approach, a risk augmented generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH-in-mean) model, and high-frequency intra-day 1-minute stock quotes during narrow windows to avert (or minimise) data contamination problems – endogeneity bias and coinciding effects of other exogenous variables on the stock market around the repo rate announcement time. In line with a priori expectations, there is an inverse relationship between stock returns and repo rate surprises (or unexpected repo rate changes). And consistent with findings in developed economies, our econometric results show that the reaction of the South African (SA) stock market to repo rate surprises is swift, indicating a high degree of ‘mechanical efficiency’ in respect to central bank policy rate surprises. But the delayed returns volatility response mirrors that of findings in the scant empirical literature on emerging markets. Evidence of both time-varying risk-return and time-varying degree of ‘informational efficiency’ is consistent with the adaptive market hypothesis (AMH).

Tracking the Performance of Listed Shares: A Comparison Between JSE Single- and Dual-listed Shares

The measurement of a stocks return over a time period is analysed for several reasons. The most obvious and most important one is to inform investors’ expectations regarding future earnings potential. Therefore, the study made a comparison using the financial performance of single-listed shares versus dual-listed shares that trade primarily on the South African stock market (JSE). The time-period for the comparison of financial performance of single- and dual-listed shares was from 2005 to 2020 to confirm or refute the general perception surrounding superior returns of dual-listed companies as opposed to single-listed companies. Utilising financial ratios can be imperative when making informed judgments about investment portfolios. Seven of the most important financial ratios were used to measure the performance of company shares within nine specified industry sectors in South Africa. These included the earnings per share ratio (EPS), price-earnings ratio (P/E), market to book value ratio (M/B), current ratio (CR), debt to equity ratio (DER), and the return on equity ratio (ROE). The nine identified industries included the transport, consumer staples, printing, pharmaceutical, mining and manufacturing, technology, luxury goods and services, financial services, and real estate industries. The results indicate that the dual-listed companies do indeed outperform single-listed companies on the JSE for the majority of the financial ratios over the specified period. This study contributes to portfolio management by informing equity allocation in the short-term and long-term.

The Responsiveness of Liquid Fuel Price towards COVID-19 and Exchange Rate Fluctuations

The petrol price plays an important role in all types of business and economic activities, especially in South Africa. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the volatility of the exchange rate are some of the current challenges in the South African economy and these factors might have significant implications on domestic petrol fuel prices. In the last two years, the petrol price has experienced a drastic increase in the South African commodity market. The current study investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and exchange rate fluctuations on petrol prices in South Africa for the period between March 2020 and June 2022. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model was employed to establish the long-run and short-run relationship between COVID-19 new infections, exchange rate and petrol price in South Africa. The result revealed that both exchange rate and COVID-19 infections negatively influence the petrol price in the long run. However, in the short-run exchange rate has a positive impact on petrol price while the latter is negatively affected by increases in COVID-19 new cases of infection. To maintain a steady state of petrol prices and reduce the impact of petrol price fluctuations, the study recommends the implementation of monetary policies that strengthen the domestic currency accompanied by social awareness programmes on COVID-19 management.

Using Formative Evaluation Research in the Development of Electronic Media Programmes

TELEVISION producers have specific demands when asked about the types of insight they would like to gain from media research. In this paper an overview of the literature on "pilot programme testing" is given, and the technique of formative evaluation research on educational television is discussed. The latter technique was adapted for programme research on entertainment program ming in South Africa to address the specific needs of television and radio producers. Using three different methodologies, including measur ing audience reaction second by second, and "focus group" discussions, valuable insight In audience response have been gained. The results of this research suggest immediate practical implementation thereof, bringing the media researcher and media practitioner closer together. Dr D.P. van Vuuren is Head: Broadcasting Research at the SABC and Dr J.J. de Beer is Head: Media Effects Research of the Institute for Communication Research of the HSRC. The article was presented at the ninth Conference of the South African Marketing Research Association, Vanderbijlpark, November 1987.

Penthouse, Hustler & Playboy in South Africa’s neoliberal nineties

ABSTRACT The nineties saw the lifting of sanctions in South Africa which implied an influx of brands that needed appropriate spaces to advertise their wares. For this reason, and the virtual end of censorship, this was the ideal context for international men’s magazines to enter the South African market. Hustler, Penthouse and Playboy all started South African editions as the country transitioned into democracy, manifestly contributing to a globalising of the local, sexual imaginary. The origin story of each publication is told here as a documentation of the “Americanisation” of sex in nineties South Africa, meaning, the way sexual representation was standardised via print capitalism and a postfeminist ethos. The article investigates the ways in which these publications engaged with psycho-affective discourses of progress in order to further and normalise a nationalism caught between the dream of decolonisation and the reality of globalisation.

Enzensberger’s Illusions

Enzensberger’s Illusions

The attitude of Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban retailers toward direct mail as a communication medium

It has been said that there are three things that are going to drive the world's economicfuture. Firstly, computers; secondly, communications; and thirdly, direct marketing.There are countries that have reached the stage where direct marketing-oriented retailershave driven out the conventional retailer. The lack of South African retailers' use ofdirect marketing and their hesitant attitudes towards direct marketing communicationmedia, such as direct mail, is cause for concern. This exploratory study investigatesretailers' attitudes towards direct mail in an attempt to gain some insight into retailers'views of this marketing communication medium. The results indicate that retailers'attitudes towards direct mail differ with regard to factors such as the retailers' use ofthe medium, their age and their perceptions of consumer acceptance of direct mail.The study further identifies a need to communicate the advantages of direct mail toSouth African retailers.

Tackles and sidesteps

Since the introduction of the first tabloid to the South African market in 2001, and seeminglyincreasing with each subsequent entrant into this burgeoning market, debates about their role,the reasons for their success, their potential, and their ethics (or the lack thereof) have been ragingin the popular press. This debate seems to suggest, among other things, that the questions raisedby the introduction of tabloids are of primary concern to producers and consumers of the mediaitself – in other words, that tabloids need to be dealt with within the domain of the popular pressitself. In this paper I argue that while these debates are seemingly set on evaluating the tabloidmedia, they also reveal – and perhaps even more so – the dominant normative assumptions andprofessional ideologies in the mainstream media. In debating and rejecting the journalistic excessesof the tabloids, these debates served as a form of paradigm repair to restore the image of anoccupation in trouble. The question to be investigated by looking at these debates is whether thewidespread criticism of tabloids should be seen as part of journalistic ritual, namely the routineapplication of ethical guidelines and the performance of professional standards, or whether thesedebates went deeper to provide a structural critique of the South African media.

A framework for the labour market integration of female accompanying spouses in South Africa

Orientation: The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda highlights that migration is key to inclusive growth and economic development. For economic development to be realised, the full integration of skilled migrants into the labour market is essential.Research purpose: This research aimed at exploring the labour market experiences and self-initiated strategies of accompanying spouses, also referred to as tied migrants, in their attempt to achieve labour market integration (LMI) in South Africa.Motivation for the study: Skilled migration of tied migrants remains understudied in the Global South context. Thus, this study sought to fill this gap.Research approach/design and method: The study used a qualitative research approach to interrogate the experiences of accompanying spouses in South Africa. Thirteen one-on-one interviews were conducted, each lasting for 1.5 h on average. Thematic analysis was applied to the data.Main findings: Self-initiated strategies that reflect agency and a pushback on governing technologies by accompanying spouses can facilitate integration into the South African labour market. However, these strategies do not guarantee full LMI. The broad exclusionary context, premised on ethnicised rationalities that characterise the South African labour market, makes full LMI difficult to achieve, particularly in the absence of support for integration.Practical/managerial implications: This study makes practical contributions by making policy recommendations which consider the global agenda for women, especially concerning gender equality and empowerment.Contribution/value-add: Skilled migration in the global south remains significantly under-researched and there is evidence of significant gaps in literature particularly pertaining to migration by skilled women migrants. This research contributes to bridging this gap.

Factors that Influence FinTech Adoption in South Africa: A Study of Consumer Behaviour towards Branchless Mobile Banking

The widespread use of mobile phones and growth in internet penetration has created a unique opportunity to increase access to financial services. Financial Technology (FinTech) companies and mobile banking (m-banking) empower customers to use digital platforms to utilise financial services without the physical access requirements of traditional banking. This has led to the rise of FinTech firms that are disrupting traditional industry standards by servicing consumers through a range of digital channels and mobile devices. A new completely branchless bank, Bank Zero, is set to launch in South Africa in 2020 to exploit these opportunities. This consumer behavioural study focuses on analysing FinTech adoption in the South African market. An adapted mixed-method approach was used to identify the enabling and inhibiting factors that motivate consumers to adopt or reject m-banking. Qualitative research was initially conducted via in-depth interviews with 7 respondents. The most salient factors identified in the literature review were tested, and the results were used to develop a quantitative, online questionnaire. A convenience sample of 217 valid responses was collected, and the data was analysed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The EFA identified 6 influencing factors: four enabling and two inhibiting factors. The enabling factors that positively influenced FinTech adoption were: Utility, Socio-Economic Influencers, Mobile Device Trust and Youth. The two inhibiting factors were: Perceived Risks and Associated Costs. Interestingly, 74% of the 217 respondents indicated that they would join a completely branchless bank, using only their mobile phones and the internet to access banking services, showing a high propensity to branchless, m-banking. Finally, the Enhancement Criteria Model based on insights gained from the research findings, is proposed. This model provides recommendation criteria for existing and new FinTech providers who are looking to improve their business models. JEL Codes: D18, G40 Keywords: FinTech, mobile banking, m-banking, branchless banking, consumer behaviour, South Africa

English

Dietary supplements, particularly nutraceuticals, are an expanding sector on the South African market, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, regulatory authorities do not regulate nutraceuticals and concern arose regarding safety, quality and efficacy of the product reaching the end-user. The aim of the study was to evaluate the pharmaceutical quality, specifically the physical and the in-vitro release properties of two commonly marketed L-lysine products in South Africa. An experimental design was used. Two L-lysine products, a tablet and a capsule, available on the South African market were evaluated for pharmaceutical quality. Tests performed were: Weight variation test, dimensions test, friability test, hardness test, assay, and drug release studies. The quality of products was compared to official USP standards. Tablets were of consistent diameter, length and thickness. Not more than 2 tablets had weights outside the 5% deviation range for each sample. Tablets had an average friability of 17.56%, although their hardness was greater than the acceptable range. All tablets disintegrated within the 15 min. Two out of three samples had amount of lysine below the acceptable range. Tablets sampled released just about 70% of the contained L-lysine by 45 min. Capsules had inconsistent powder weight and contained an amount of L-lysine less than the label claim. Capsules disintegrated within 4 min and released just over 75% of drug by 45 min. There seems to be inconsistences in the characteristics of L-lysine products and their quality cannot be guaranteed. More investigations on other marketed L-lysine products are suggested, to further advice on the necessity of a relook of their quality assurance procedures and labelling. Key words: Nutraceuticals, pharmaceutical quality, L-lysine.

Battery Energy Storage for Photovoltaic Application in South Africa: A Review

Despite the significant slowdown of economic activity in South Africa by virtue of the COVID-19 outbreak, load shedding or scheduled power outages remained at a high level. The trend of rising load-shedding hours has persisted throughout most of the year 2022. Operational issues within the South African power utility inflamed the unpredictable nature of generation capacity, resulting in unscheduled outages at several generating units, mostly due to multiple breakdowns. To forestall substantial spikes in energy costs, an increasing number of enterprises and homeowners have started to gradually adopt renewable energy technologies to sustain their operational demand. Therefore, there is an increase in the exploration and investment of battery energy storage systems (BESS) to exploit South Africa’s high solar photovoltaic (PV) energy and help alleviate production losses related to load-shedding-induced downtime. As a result, the current work presents a comprehensive and consequential review conducted on the BESS specifically for solar PV application and in the South African context. The research investigations carried out on BESS for PV application are crucially examined, drawing attention to their capacities, shortcomings, constraints, and prospects for advancement. This investigation probed several areas of interest where the BESS-PV scheme is adopted, viz., choice of battery technology, mitigating miscellaneous power quality problems, optimal power system control, peak load shaving, South African BESS market and status of some Real BESS-PV projects. The techno-economic case scenario has been proposed in the current research and results yield that lithium-ion batteries are more viable than Lead–acid batteries.

Factors influencing blockchain adoption in the South African clearing and settlement industry

Background: The adoption of and improvements in new technology in the South African capital market historically led to increased trade capacity and liquidity, which may be linked to the growth in market size.Aim: In this study the aim is to investigate factors that will influence the adoption of blockchain technology in the South African clearing and settlement industry.Methods: In this study semi-structured interviews to collect data among stakeholders in the clearing and settlement cycle/process of securities in the South African capital market are employed. Participants were identified through a combination of purposive, snowball sampling and targeted sampling using social media. Data were analysed using thematic data analysis with the aid of Atlas.ti software.Setting: The South African capital market, with specific focus on the clearing and settlement of equity.Results: This study identifies People, Organisation, Technology, Industry and Country (POTIC) as factors important in influencing blockchain technology adoption in South Africa. The study expands and contributes to traditional frameworks for adopting blockchain technology in the South African clearing and settlement industry by adding five factors: trust, load shedding, unemployment/layoffs, current infrastructure, useful life and educational campaigns.Conclusion: The POTIC framework will be beneficial to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and Shares Transactions Totally Electronic (STRATE) when considering the adoption of blockchain technology for the integration of trade, execution and post-trade services to reduce the settlement cycle. In addition, when regulators need to formulate new regulations they will benefit from considering the POTIC framework.

Dialogic communication management theory and engagement with investors

Considering the recent corporate scandals faced by the South African capital market, stakeholders are understandably more sceptical about the accuracy and transparency of information being communicated to them. An integral stakeholder group which forms part of the success of an organisation is its investors. Since investors have increasing demands and specific information needs, it is essential that organisations communicate relevant and useful information by means of investor relations. However, despite its importance, academic research in the field of investor relations, specifically in terms of communication, is lacking and does not correlate with the importance of the function in corporate practice. The aim of this study was to critically evaluate the current IR practices of JSE listed organisations; to determine whether these aforementioned organisations participate in dialogic engagement with investors. This was done by investigating investor relations theory within the broader context of dialogic theory. The research design employed in this study was an interpretive multiple case study qualitative inquiry. The findings are the culmination and outcome of a synthesis of an in-depth literature review, a content analysis of communicative products- and semi-structured interviews with the investor relations officers of the case organisations.

Testing volatility and relationship among BRICS stock market returns.

BRICS economies are important in recent times because the economic growth rates will be higher than the growth rates of G-6 economies in the near future. But the year 2020 has smashed up this tendency due to volatile stock markets of BRICS economies. A detailed examination of the BRICS stock market to determine volatility and relationships since the crisis of 2020 is hardly available in the available research. With this in mind, an attempt has been made to track the stock market's volatility and relationship among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) stock market return based on the daily for the period from November 18, 2019 to May 7, 2021. This study deals with the statistical test of GARCH family model and ARDL model. GARCH model shows that the stock market of Russia and India are volatile. The EGARCH model demonstrates that leverage effect exists only in the Indian stock market. ARDL test validates a long-run relationship of the stock market of Russia with China and of the Indian stock market with South Africa. ARDL test also shows a short-run relationship running from the Brazil stock market to the other select stock market, from the Indian stock market to the stock markets of Brazil and South Africa, and from the South African stock market to the Indian stock market. So it can finally be said that investors under the BRICS stock markets should design adequate measures to protect their investments by executing appropriate hedging plan.

COVID-19 Shock and Sectorial Index Response in South Africa: A Cross-sector Analysis

The prime objective of this study was to examine the impact of COVID-19 shock on sector returns of the South African Stock market. The study employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model estimated with a Pooled Mean Group estimator on a sample of daily stock returns of 10 Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) sectors. The results indicate a heterogeneous behaviour in sector stock return response to COVID-19 shock. The study shows that the Pandemic negatively impacted the majority of the sectors. However, some sectors were positively affected by the outbreak, while some were resilient to the shock. The pooled ARDL panel results show a negative relationship between COVID-19 and stock market returns in the short run. The study found an insignificant relationship between stock market returns and COVID-19 cases in the long run. The study also shows that sector and stock return response to different factors is time-varying. The results imply that COVID-19 shock is short-lived, the negative impact of the Pandemic is corrected in the long run. Stock market investors should thus focus on the long-run behaviour of stock returns. The results evidence the significance of diversification in different stock market sectors for investors

COVID-19 and Stock Market Volatility in South Africa: A Cross-Sector Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has created enormous economic and market uncertainty in the global economy. However, businesses and industries weren’t affected homogeneously; whilst others suffered, some blossomed. Equity markets were not spared from the detrimental effects of the pandemic. This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on stock returns’ conditional volatility in different South African stock market sectors using standard symmetrical and asymmetrical GARCH models. The MDCC-GARCH model was employed to understand the dynamics of conditional correlations between the leading indices. The results suggest that COVID-19 has increased return volatility for the majority of the sectors; however, the sectors weren’t affected in the same way. The DCC-GARCH model shows significant, high, positive correlations between the major and Small Cap indices, suggesting insignificant diversification benefits during the pandemic. The alternative exchange (ALTX) was found to have declining correlations with the main sectors, indicating an increase in diversification benefits offered by the ALTX following the pandemic shock.

Perspectives on employers’ expectations on tertiary education graduates’ employability skills in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Given that undergraduates, graduates and tertiary institutions of higher learning are uncertain Given that undergraduates, graduates, and tertiary institutions of higher learning are uncertain regarding the expectations of employers in the work organizations on the skill that graduates possess, the study presented in this paper attempts to provide some meaningful clues in that directions. The study followed a research question that interrogates what employability skills employers expect graduates to possess for an entry-level job. Designed as a descriptive study, a quantitative research approach was chosen, where the survey method of data collection was employed through a closed-ended structured questionnaire. The study targeted employers (managers) of public and private work organizations in the health and education sectors in a South African town Mthatha, from where a sample of 41 participants (representing organizations) was drawn. The study employed a stratified random sampling in selecting the participants, which ensured that the principle of selecting representatives of the target population was met. Data collected from the participants were analyzed by the use of selected descriptive tools. The analyzed data revealed that all employers expect graduates to possess all the 13 skill areas that employees require to function in the workplace. Surprisingly, the employers mostly expect least from the young graduates in terms of quantitative skills and leadership capabilities. While this finding corroborates what exists in the literature, it provides a new dimension with regard to priority skills needed by employers in the South African labor market. The study, therefore, recommends that the work organizations and higher institutions of learning should form a partnership and a close relationship so that they can assist one another in building the employability skills of graduates.

THE NATIONAL CREDIT ACT: NEW PARAMETERS FOR THE GRANTING OF CREDIT IN SOUTH AFRICA

The National Credit Act, which repeals and replaces the Credit Agreements Act and the Usury Act, has been assented to by the President on 10 March 2006. The Act is designed to prohibit certain unfair credit and credit marketing practices and to protectconsumers. A further objective is to promote responsible credit granting and use. The Act therefore prohibits reckless credit granting, regulates credit information and also provides for debt-reorganisation in cases of over-indebtedness by consumers. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the provisions of the Act and at the same time to provide an explanation of, and a commentary on the provisions discussed. In conclusion it is suggested that the Act introduces extensive changes to South African consumer credit law and that participants in the South African consumer credit market will have to review their credit practices and documentation to ensure compliance. Moreover, the Act sets out new parameters for the granting of credit as credit providers will in future have to assess a consumer’s credit worthiness before granting credit. It is pointed out that the Act has a wide field of application as it applies to a far greater number of contracts than the repealed legislation. Except for the few transactions specifically excluded from its ambit, the Act applies to all credit agreements irrespective of the type of movable goods or the amount of money involved. Consequently a large group of consumers, including the low-income consumers, will enjoy the protection of the Act. It is our submission that the Act will result in improved consumer protection, especially with regard to certain areas where protection of the consumer was lacking.We suggest that the success of the Act in practice depends on effective enforcement thereof and on consumer education. On the negative side we feel that the legislature perhaps tries to over-regulate the credit industry.