The article investigated the impact and threshold of government debt on economic growth in 15 SADC as well as 15 ECOWAS countries from 1970 to 2017. The system Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) panel data model was utilised. The study found that on average, a 1% increase in government debt share to GDP results in an average decline in economic growth of 0.162% and 0.121% in SADC as well as ECOWAS respectively. However, the government’s debt share to GDP threshold above 60% reflects higher economic growth for ECOWAS, while threshold of 30% exhibit higher economic growth for SADC. Any government debt share to GDP thresholds outside these ranges is associated with lower economic growth. It is recommended that countries in both regional groupings keep their government debt threshold of 60% or below as stipulated in the Protocol on Finance and Investment to minimise the burden of government debt on economic growth.

Considerable analysis has been made of the causal relationship between military expenditure and economic growth in literature. However, the causality relationship in relation to industrialisation is yet to be investigated. This is the gap this study seeks to fill. With a balanced panel of 35 African countries spanning 1990 to 2015, this study investigates the causal relationship between military expenditure, industrialisation, and economic growth. We employed Panel Vector Error Correction Model (PVECM) causality test. The findings suggest a long-run equilibrium relationship among our variables from the panel cointegration test. At both continental and regional economic levels, the PVECM causality test suggests that industrialisation and growth causes military expenditure in the short-run and long-run. This implies that African governments fund military expenditure/activities largely by taxing production. Therefore, our results suggest that military spending can be used to achieve industrialisation and economic growth aimed at both the continental level and in regional economic Africa communities

We estimate the extent to which research and development (R&D) stock embodied in imports from China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan correlates with total factor productivity (TFP) growth of South Africa’s 22 3-digit manufacturing industries between 2002 and 2014. Using the system GMM technique, we find a positive and significant impact of Asian R&D spillovers particularly from China, Korea and Singapore on TFP growth which is in the 0.02 – 0.08% range reported in previous studies. We find this effect to increase with institutional quality and human capital accumulation. Despite the positive effect of Asian R&D spillovers however, we find domestic R&D stock to have a relatively larger effect on TFP implying that, at best, Asian innovation needs to be considered as a complement rather than a substitute for domestic R&D.

Value relevance of accounting information is a well-researched market-based accounting research which calls for more empirical evidence into perception of information users at the stock market. This study examined perception of the Nigerian stockbrokers regarding value relevance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)-based accounting information. Data used were drawn from 121 purposively selected stockbrokers at the Nigerian Stock Exchange using Likert scale survey questionnaire and based on exploratory paradigm. Relative importance index measure showed that earnings, net assets and cash flows from investment ranked first separately as critical variables while operating income, book value of equity and net cash flows at the year-end ranked least accounting data for each statement respectively. One way contingency Chi-square test revealed that sampled stockbrokers perceive IFRS disclosure demands present accounting information better than Nigerian Statement of Accounting Standards (SASs). Further tests using the stockbrokers’ perception on value relevance of IFRS-based income statement, financial position and cash flows statements accounting information showed that all tested accounting data were statistically value relevant. The results imply that accounting disclosure demands/standards drive value relevance more under IFRS regime than under Nigerian SAS. Thus, beyond earnings and book value, according to Ohlson price model, value relevance of other accounting data should be explored while other users’ perceptions should be investigated and compared in future studies.

Expatriate literature acknowledge the importance of a host country’s support in expatriate adjustment and assignment success, but only a few studies have addressed how the support receive from host country nationals may influence expatriate adjustment and overall success, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Using a survey data of expatriates on assignments, this study examines expatriates’ perceptions of support from local employees and their impact on their adjustment and overall success. The results reveal that a host country’s support has a significantly positive effect, not only on expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment, but also on their overall success. Expatriates perceive host country nationals’ support as vital to enhancing their adjustment to host subsidiaries and successful assignment in general. The study recommends that multinational companies doing business in Africa must learn to incorporate host country practices and cultural value systems in the management of host subsidiaries rather than strictly adhering to the management style of their home countries.

Building strong brands with positive equity in a highly competitive traditional herbal medicine market is crucial as it provides sustainable edge over competition. However, the concept of brand equity is relatively new to the traditional herbal medicine market because there is relative scarcity of empirical research to uncover its significance in this industry. The aim of this paper is to examine customer-based brand equity in the traditional medicine market in Kumasi. The study was guided by Aaker`s four-dimensional brand equity model and consequently, four hypotheses were proposed and tested by using structural equation modelling. The study utilized a sample of 348 customers in the traditional medicine market in Kumasi, Ghana. The results of the study confirmed the proposed four-dimensional brand equity model in the traditional medicine industry in Kumasi. The research therefore recommends that traditional medicine companies should develop brand awareness, association, loyalty and perceived quality to enhance brand equity to gain competitive distinctiveness in the market.

This study investigates the outcomes of product quality of leafy vegetables in Gauteng province in South Africa from the customer perspective. The outcomes are customer loyalty, word-of-mouth and repeat purchase. Data were collected by employing purposive sampling technique by means of self-administered questionnaires in Gauteng province, in the Central Business District of Johannesburg. Data across a sample of three hundred and sixty-seven (367) respondents were analysed by means of a structural equation modelling technique using the partial least squares (PLS) approach. The results show that customer loyalty, word-of-mouth and repeat purchase are outcomes of product quality in the South African leaf vegetable market. The findings provide valuable insights for academics and lays a foundation for further study in this field. Recommendations are provided at the end for some marketing strategies for managerial decision makers in the area of leaf vegetable marketing.

The development of the internet and information technologies has had an effect on contemporary societies in general and customer and financial services in particular. The introduction of e-commerce has ushered in a watershed in global markets. This study sought to explore the barriers that prohibit complete implementation of e-commerce by tourism SME service providers in Pretoria. This includes examining the staff’s attitudes to e-commerce and the level of e-commerce usage by the SMEs. The Publicise Interact and Transform (PIT)’s model of the adoption of Information and Communications Technology by SMEs was found useful as the study sought to investigate the adoption of e-commerce by SMEs. The study adopted a qualitative approach and collected data usingwith face-to-face interviews having been employed as data collection procedure. The data collected were grouped into thematic categories and then analysed. Analysis involved the examination of data under each theme for recurring relationships and correlations. The findings revealed that high costs, lack of funds and limited technical know-how are some of the barriers to the adoption of e-commerce by the tourism SME service providers in Pretoria. However, the study found that when barriers can be overcome, the benefits are substantial, hence not insurmountable. It concluded that Therefore, empirical work is required to investigate the extent to which tourism SMEs in Pretoria are adapting to the challenges posed by e-commerce.

The South African cellular phone market has reached saturation in terms of subscriber numbers, which currently far exceed the number of inhabitants of the country. The industry players consist of four network operators, as well as a plethora of mobile virtual network operators that have entered the market in recent times. However, the market is still dominated by the two initial network operators that pioneered the advent of mobile communications in the early nineties and new entrants struggle to attract significant market share to change this oligopoly. It is thus interesting to note that no research exists that has investigated the phenomenon of consumer choice of mobile services providers in this market. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that affect consumer choice regarding mobile services providers in the City of Tshwane in order to understand what influences this phenomenon in the South African mobile communications market. Four factors were identified in this regard, namely, brand image, service quality, network quality and call rates. An online survey was conducted with 400 respondents to gather consumer views on the influence of these factors on their choice of mobile services provider. Excel 2010 was used to generate certain descriptive statistics from the data gathered. While the findings show that all the aforementioned factors have a profound effect on consumer choice of mobile services provider, call rate and service quality have the most influence. The implication of these findings is that having deep knowledge and understanding of the service factors that are considered important by customers will assist companies in determining branding and pricing strategies that are congruent with public affordability and the prevailing economic climate

The Gariep Arts Festival is hosted annually in Kimberley, South Africa, a city best known for its diamond mining. Festivals contribute and add financial, cultural and social value. In 2018, this festival was discontinued. Annually, the festival attracted approximately 45, 000 visitors and generated 600 temporary and six permanent jobs. It accommodated 187 stallholders and supported almost 300 performing artists. Thousands of children, elderly and disabled people visited for free. Visitors to the 2016 festival formed part of the population. Convenience sampling was used to complete 449 questionnaires. Results indicate that respondents also visited major shopping centres and the Big Hole. The stalls netted the largest single portion of the income. The out-of-town attendees spent significantly more at restaurants. The further afield festivalgoers represented a significant economic boost to the area, an which is also evident fact when the total expenditure was evaluated. This festival will be missed by the community at large.