Journal of Management & Business

Analyzing the impact of organizational factors on Corporate Social Responsibility in Small Businesses in response to HIV/ AIDS: Evidence from South Africa

2024-04-08T13:00:04+00:00

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is susceptible to various organizational factors. This study investigated how gender, business structure, employee size, and turnover impact SMEs’ CSR in a developing economy in response to HIV/AIDS. The aim is to explore how organizational factors function as determining agents and impact CSR in SMEs. We conducted a quantitative survey with a 7-point Likert-type questionnaire, gathering data from 170 SME owners and owner-managers. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, One-way ANOVA, and independent sample t-tests. The results indicate that gender did not significantly impact CSR entrepreneurs’ CSR attitudes and behaviours. Business structure played a crucial role in shaping CSR activities, notably concerning HIV/AIDS initiatives for employees, the community, and customers. Employee size significantly affected employee and customer-oriented HIV/ AIDS CSR activities but not community-oriented ones. Turnover significantly influenced employee and customer-oriented CSR activities but did not significantly impact community-oriented CSR activities. These findings add to emerging discourse about how organizational factors affect small business social responsibility practices.

Understanding How Recruitment Practices Shape Municipal Performance: A Perspective From South Africa

2025-06-18T22:33:57+00:00

Municipal staff are often compared to the engine of a car, which is essential for its operation. Similarly, a municipality relies on its staff to function effectively and deliver services efficiently. This analogy indicates the critical importance of recruiting the right staff, as municipal staff play a central role in ensuring the efficient and effective delivery of services in South Africa. Prior studies have shown that many municipalities in the country suffer from irregular recruitment practices. This has led to the appointment of individuals who may not have the qualifications, skills, and experience necessary to play their role effectively. However, how this affects municipal performance has not been sufficiently addressed. The novelty of this study lies in its focused qualitative exploration of the direct and systemic effects of irregular recruitment practices on municipal performance, an area that has received limited attention in existing literature. To address this gap, the paper employed a qualitative approach and utilised secondary data sources. The paper found that irregular recruitment in South African municipalities leads to high staff turnover, low morale, poor service delivery, and reduced public trust. Low performance results from unqualified individuals filling roles ineffectively. The Person-Environment Fit Theory (PEFT) supports these findings, indicating the critical role of aligning individual skills and values with the work environment. Politically influenced or non-merit-based hiring misaligns skills with organizational needs, harming performance. The paper advocates for merit-based recruitment, aligning with the National Development Plan’s goal of a professional public service. To address these issues, the paper recommends that municipalities adopt merit-based recruitment practices, curtail political involvement, and improve human resource training and recruitment technologies. These measures will improve municipal performance, stability, and governance.

Quality Management and Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration: theory and trends in scientific research

2024-08-12T16:37:24+00:00

Currently, States and their institutions face important modernization challenges due to growing competition, the demand for quality goods and services, and the need to improve productivity and institutional competitiveness. Raising awareness among decision makers about the importance of implementing quality management systems and Artificial Intelligence to improve their processes is essential, because by their nature, these institutions need to adapt to the growing demands for efficiency, transparency and responsiveness and face challenges such as resistance to change, excessive bureaucracy and corruption, which hinder continuous improvement and the satisfaction of citizen needs, as well as the complexity of contemporary problems that require greater interaction between citizens and the State. The main objective of this article is to generate a theoretical framework on Public Administration, Quality Management and Artificial Intelligence applied to this Science, based on the scientific study of these topics, and identifying relevant topics, main authors, notable publications, countries with greater academic production, predominant keywords and methodologies used. A quantitative approach was used, applying scientometric analysis, systematic literature review, phenomenology and hermeneutic analysis, to databases and high-impact scientific articles from the Web of Science (WOS), Scopus and Google Scholar platforms. This research facilitates the understanding of the topic and can serve as input for future research in the search to improve Public Administration. In the results, discussions and conclusions, the need to adopt disruptive and innovative ontological and epistemological approaches is revealed that allow us to better address the challenges and trends of this discipline and lines are proposed aimed at strengthening it in order to satisfy the demands of society.

Evaluating Student Satisfaction with DTEF’s E-Platform for Financing Applications in Botswana Using the RATER Model

2025-10-28T14:44:04+00:00

The Department of Tertiary Education Financing (DTEF), a partially government-owned parastatal in Botswana, provides funding for tertiary students via its e-service platform, which facilitates direct interaction with applicants and students. Launched as part of the government’s vision to establish a knowledge-based economy by 2036, the platform’s rollout was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic’s push for digital transformation in public services. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the DTEF e-service platform in enhancing student satisfaction. Employing a positivist philosophy and a quantitative research design, data were collected through structured questionnaires from 225 first-year students at BA ISAGO University, Gaborone Campus. Statistical analyses, including central tendency measures, regression, and correlation, were performed using SPSS Version 21. Results indicated a weak positive correlation between assurance, reliability, and tangibles and student satisfaction, while responsiveness and empathy demonstrated a stronger positive impact. The study recommends that DTEF prioritize improvements in assurance, reliability, and tangibles to elevate overall satisfaction. It concludes that continuous enhancement across all service quality dimensions is essential and encourages further research to pinpoint specific areas for platform development.

The Recruitment and Retention of Critical Healthcare Professionals: Focus at Polokwane Provincial Hospital

2024-06-21T15:35:20+00:00

Internationally, there is a demand to enhance the recruitment, training, development, and retention of health professionals in developing nations. In South Africa, this demand is demonstrated by the National Development Plan (NDP): Vision for 2030 which acknowledges the significance of recruitment, development, and retention of talented health professionals. Access to public health care is a fundamental right as stipulated in Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Therefore, public health is one of the services that ought to be provided to society, the government is mandated to provide access to healthcare facilities to those who cannot afford to get private health. This implies that the South African public health system must acquire and retain skilled, capable, and competent health professionals to make certain that the government provides public health as part of its service delivery mandate. This study utilized a mixed approach to explore the difficulties that the hospital experiences in acquiring scarce skilled health professionals and socioeconomic factors affecting health professionals. The study identified notable obstacles in recruiting and retaining skilled health professionals in the hospital, even with attempts to fill open roles. These challenges, intensified by inadequate working conditions, leadership problems, and socio-economic factors, impede the hospital’s capacity to deliver sufficient healthcare services to the community. The findings underscore the need for a strategic approach to improve recruitment and retention, ensuring the hospital can meet the health needs of the population.

Economic complexity and the Circular Economy: Impacts, challenges and paths to circularity

2025-07-08T19:28:26+00:00

This research aims to understand the relationship between economic complexity and the circular economy in different scenarios through a comprehensive literature review. The results emphasize the crucial role of economic complexity in sustainable development and the effectiveness of the circular economy. Studies indicate the importance of policies and strategies to promote the transition to more circular practices, considering the diversity of national contexts and encouraging innovation and collaboration between sectors. The analysis reveals that countries with higher economic complexity tend to have more robust frameworks for implementing circular economy principles. This includes advanced technological capabilities, diversified industrial bases, and strong institutional support. By examining various case studies, the research highlights successful examples of circular economy initiatives driven by economic complexity. These initiatives often result in increased resource efficiency, reduced environmental impact, and enhanced economic resilience. Moreover, the findings suggest that fostering economic complexity can accelerate the adoption of circular economy practices. This requires targeted policy interventions, investment in education and research, and the promotion of public-private partnerships. Encouraging a culture of continuous learning and adaptation is also essential to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by the circular economy. Overall, the study underscores the interconnectedness of economic complexity and circular economy as pivotal elements in achieving sustainable development goals.

Toward a Better Understanding of Physicians’ New Drug Prescribing: Behavior, Attitudinal Response or Decision-making?

2025-02-24T13:01:55+00:00

The significance of prescribing new drugs is widely recognized in marketing literature. However, the varied definitions and conceptual approaches to this concept make it ambiguous and hinder its comprehension. The different ways in which new drug prescription is conceptualized, stemming from its overlapping nature (behavior, attitude, and decision-making), obscure the complexities of new drug prescriptions, making it difficult to understand the concept fully. This paper aims to build upon the theoretical basis of the concept of new drug prescription by defining it and exploring its different conceptualizations. To achieve this, a comprehensive review of existing literature on new drug prescriptions is carried out. Three primary conceptualizations are identified in literature, and a more comprehensive conceptualization of the concept is proposed. Additionally, the key characteristics and the most relevant measurement of this concept are clearly outlined.

Employee Motivation and Healthcare Quality in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic: A South African Public Health Sector Perspective

2025-01-23T13:07:50+00:00

Motivating employees is key to the effectiveness and quality of healthcare services, particularly in the public health sector of South Africa. Despite its significant contribution to national health achievements, this sector frequently encounters obstacles that impede the provision of high-quality health services. This article made use of a qualitative method and used secondary data to explore the key elements that affect employee motivation, examine its impact on healthcare service quality, and identify strategies to boost motivation. The findings show that healthcare providers who lack motivation often face burnout, diminished morale, and disengagement, leading to inefficiencies and inadequate patient care. To tackle these issues, the article recommended enhancing the work environment, offering increased remuneration, establishing opportunities for career advancement, improving leadership approaches, and promoting the well-being of employees. Putting these strategies into practice is vital for cultivating a motivated workforce capable of delivering high-quality healthcare and achieving the broader objectives of equitable and sustainable healthcare in South Africa.

Link Between Social Network Behavior and Leadership Styles Among Members: A Transformational Leadership Approach

2025-06-25T18:52:26+00:00

This study examines the relationship between social network behavior and the development of leadership capacities among university students, using Social Network Analysis (SNA) as the primary methodological tool. A total of 156 questionnaires were administered to 13 fourth-year students in the Business Administration and Enterprise Development program, measuring 10 leadership dimensions (based on the Bass and Avolio model) through 12 instruments. A contextualized learning approach was adopted (leader/group/context). Pajek and Gephi software were used for descriptive network analysis, identifying leadership styles (Transformational, Transactional, and Laissez-faire) both independently and simultaneously. Pearson correlations were calculated, and the QAP test was applied for statistical analysis. Key findings indicate that leadership within social networks is dynamic and influenced by interactions. Effective leadership styles (e.g., Transformational) can shape network structures. A high correlation was found between idealized influence (attributed and observed) and a notable relationship between intellectual stimulation and inspirational motivation. This study contributes to the understanding of transformational leadership in higher education, particularly in classroom settings, and offers insights for the development of university leaders in a globalized economy.