GIBS – A World-Class Research Institution (GIBS Research)

In every Acumen edition, we highlight some of the research that makes GIBS a leading African business school. As an institution, GIBS is focused on finding answers to African business challenges and, therefore, is contributing meaningfully to the body of research that African academics and business leaders can consult when navigating continent-specific challenges.
In this edition we highlight:

BOOK CHAPTER

The Lingering Effect of Slavery and Colonial History on International Business

Albert Wöcke & Helena Barnard 

In their chapter for the book, The New Frontiers of International Business, Albert Wöcke and Helena Barnard examine the role Africa’s history of slavery and colonialism has played on the Africa Rising narrative. In the chapter, they suggest that these two aspects of African history are important but understudied explanations for how international businesses run their operations on the continent. They also suggest ongoing research into the subject.

Wöcke and Barnard offer four opportunities for further study:

1. The interplay of historical, colonial and emerging institutions and the resulting complex institutional environment.
2. Indigenisation policies and the introduction of new policies, required as Africa recovers from the damage caused by colonialism.
3. The two key relationships – with poor communities and the political and economic elite – that multinational enterprises have with Africans.
4. The macro and micro consequences of Africa’s remittances and its relationship with international aid.

The authors believe this research is important for Africa, and other parts of the world that were subject to colonialism. They also argue that more in-depth research will help promote understanding of the consequences of China’s modern colonisation of Africa.

Reference: Wöcke, A., & Barnard, H. (2022). The Lingering Effect of Slavery and Colonial History on International Business: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa. In The New Frontiers of International Business (pp. 73-94). Springer, Cham.

ACADEMIC ARTICLES

1. International Network Formation, Home Market Institutional Support and Post-entry Performance of International New Ventures

Francis Donbesuur, Nadia Zahoor & Nathaniel Boso

This article looks at businesses entering foreign markets, especially into those operating in weak institutional environments. The research looks at both causation and effectuation decision-making approaches (the causation approach adopts strategies in order to achieve a predetermined end goal and the effectuation approach adopts strategies with no defined end goal in place). Where previous scholars have proposed that effectuation and causation strategies are opposite decision-making approaches, this research finds that both effectuation and causation decision-making processes, in international network formation, can improve post-entry performance.

There are three key practical findings in the paper:

1. When determining a strategy for internationalisation, decision-makers must choose one strategy or the other, as using a combination of both is too costly for new ventures to accommodate.
2. However, owner-managers from markets with weak institutional support can benefit from a complementary approach, which takes the flexibility of effectual logic and combines it with the more cautious causal approach to maximise post-entry performance.
3. When considering an internationalisation strategy, entrepreneurs from home markets with weak institutional support need international support services from policy-makers for international network formation.

Reference: Donbesuur, F., Zahoor, N., & Boso, N. (2022). International network formation, home market institutional support and post-entry performance of international new ventures. International Business Review, 31(3), 101968.

2. Trust Building in Mobile Money and its Outcomes

Christian Osakwe, Terence Okeke & Michael Kwarteng 

Mobile money – the use of mobile phones for performing a range of financial transactions, including merchant/bill payments, savings, and peer-to-peer transfers – is considered key for expanding access to financial services in developing nations. However, the adoption rate for mobile money remains low, predominantly due to trust issues.

In their research, the authors found a number of practical applications around building trust among users:  

1. Regulatory guidelines and technology safeguards contribute to trust. Clear guidelines and explanations around security safeguards must therefore be provided.
2. Mobile money operators (MMOs) must invest in building good reputations, found to positively build trust with consumers. Excellent customer service, including complaint handling, fairness, and service are essential.
3. Increased consumer awareness as well as the benefits of the technology must be conveyed. This requires effective marketing across all channels.
4. MMOs should also ensure their services are reliable by keeping their promises and acting to keep customers informed in the case of systems failures.
5. Women are more likely to use the technology than men. As such, MMOs should target women.

Reference: Osakwe, C. N., Okeke, T. C., & Kwarteng, M. A. (2021). Trust building in mobile money and its outcomes. European Business Review, 34(2), 244-262

3. The Brand Personality of a Football Manager: The Case of Arsène Wenger

Adele Berndt

As a business, sport contributes an estimated $620 billion to the global economy. The English Premier League (EPL) was worth in excess of $5 billion in 2018-2019. Successful businesses are successful brands, and club managers like Arsène Wenger form a critical part of a club’s branding strategy. This paper explores the brand personality of an EPL football manager, using Arsène Wenger as a case study.

It studies the importance of the person when carrying out a specific role and suggests three focus areas for managers’ branding:

1. Managers must be aware of their brand persona, which must be managed by a range of choices contributing to a positive brand perception. Managers can be trained and supported when building a successful brand.
2. A sports manager’s persona impacts the club’s branding strategy. A good brand can be used to strengthen the club’s identity.
3. Coherence between the brand persona of the manger and that of the club is key. Clubs should, ideally, employ managers whose personae are consistent with the club’s brand identity to avoid brand conflict, which will be disadvantageous to both parties.

Reference: Berndt, A. (2021). The brand persona of a football manager – the case of Arsène Wenger. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 23(1), 209-226

4. Profit-Seeking Corporate Social Responsibility in Developing Countries

Helena Barnard & Katherina Glac Pattit

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can help improve brand image, drive innovation, reduce business risk, and also indirectly, improve financial performance. In this paper, the authors explore theoretical and practical implications of stretching the concept of CSR towards being an intentionally planned profit-generating activity, essentially by using CSR as a form of research and development (R&D).

The insights gained from the research include:

1. Managers often use CSR in ways not necessarily intended, like as a form of R&D. Although CSR and R&D have similarities, there are important differences.
2. Socially orientated innovation is not done from within the firm, but rather through engagement with potential customers – beneficiary communities. However, given the vulnerability of the beneficiary communities, it is important to have safeguards in place to govern these relationships.
3. While firms use CSR initiatives to benefit customers, the research shows that the costs, even of initiatives with a strong social orientation, are borne by both the firm and the often-vulnerable individual potential beneficiaries or customers.
4. By removing experimentation and innovation from the CSR shadow, CSR initiatives as well as the effectiveness of social innovations will improve.  

The paper raises questions about how to conceptualise CSR initiatives so that they are pro-social and responsible. 

Reference: Barnard, H., & Pattit, K. G. (2022). Profit-seeking corporate social responsibility in developing countries: The risk of conflating CSR and R&D. Journal of Comparative International Management, 25(1), 61-83.

5. Impact Investment: Multiple Stakeholders’ Measurement of Financial and Social Benefits

Darren Harder & Caren Scheepers

This article explores impact investing and identifies solutions to overcome the gap between business and society. Impact investing is when investing seeks to have an impact socially, environmentally and financially, while still ensuring financial returns for the business or investor.

Key insights from the research include:

1. Interviewees were unclear who the stakeholders are in impact investing, who the business is accountable to and at what stage stakeholder engagement should occur in the development and implementation of an impact-investing initiative.
2. There is a fourth stakeholder that must be considered in the impact investing space. The first three – investor, investee and beneficiary – are widely covered in literature. However, the intermediary is a crucial roleplayer here.
3. The research also outlines three key phases within the impact-investing cycle: due diligence, measurement and management, and assessment. It discusses steps to take in each phase, and who businesses should engage with and why.
4. The research also highlights the importance of measuring social impact and of engaging with stakeholders through the project management cycle.
5. Evidence is crucial and businesses need to build an impact measurement system to showcase social impact to society and investors. This will build competitive advantage and lead to further investment.

Reference: Harder, D., & Scheepers, C. B. (2022). Impact investment: Multiple stakeholders’ measurement of financial and social benefits. Development Southern Africa, 1-22.

6. Effects of Customer Characteristics and Service Quality on Share of Wallet in Neighbourhood Shops Based on an Asymmetric Approach

Christian Osakwe 

Many scholars believe that growing customers’ share of wallet (SOW) – the amount of money customers spend regularly on a brand rather than on the competition – is a key priority for firms and brands, especially retailers. Marketing aimed at boosting SOW in existing customers is more cost-effective than investing in finding new customers. This paper aims to increase the understanding of SOW and is based on customer characteristics and the retail service quality model.

Key insights include:

1. When looking at micro enterprises, low-income large households are good conditions in which to increase SOW. The paper highlights five unique customer profiles associated with increased SOW.
2. Retailers need to consider service quality, which includes: personal interaction, reliability, policy and physical aspects of the shop. These need to be combined with customer characteristics, which include relationship duration, household size, gender and income level. These act in combination to increase or decrease customer SOW.
3. This is the first study, to the author’s knowledge, to provide evidence on the necessary conditions for increased SOW, especially in the neighbourhood shop context of a developing economy.

Reference: Osakwe, C. N. (2022). Effects of customer characteristics and service quality on share of wallet in neighbourhood shops based on an asymmetric approach. European Business Review, 34(4), 521-540

CASE STUDY

Sasol's Just Transition: Balancing Stakeholder Prespectives to Leave No One Behind 

Marianne Matthee, Anthony Wilson-Prangley & Amy Moore

Sasol is a significant player in the South African economy. Founded in 1950, Sasol is South Africa’s largest taxpayer, and according to the Positive Actions: Sasol Sustainable Development Report 2009, it contributed an estimated 4.7% to the country’s gross domestic product. However, Sasol is a major emitter of greenhouse gases, due to its reliance on coal to produce fuels and chemicals.

This case study examines Sasol’s just transition – and the resulting unemployment due to environmental protection policies – as the company looks to meet its climate change obligations without leaving any of its stakeholders behind. Sasol understands that adapting to align with the global climate change agenda is imperative, but is also aware of its critical role in local communities that face challenges including high unemployment, poverty and inequality.

Streamlining Sasol has necessitated a retrenchment drive. As the largest employer in Sasolburg and Secunda, it needs to balance its responsibility to local employees with the broader communities who benefit from the coal value chain for their livelihoods.

This award-winning case study delves into the complexities and the conversations needed to ensure Sasol navigates a just transition. (The case study won first place in the 2022 Fox International Case Writing Competition. It is currently under review to be published by Ivey.)