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Education is considered an important pillar of economic development and a vital factor for nation building in post-1994 South Africa. Higher education (HE) is offered by government-subsidized universities and colleges, while there has been an increase in the number of private higher education institutions (PHEIs), which offer more expensive, unsubsidized tertiary education. While all state bodies and public entities are required to apply the provisions of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act, this is not (yet) seemingly a requirement for PHEIs. This study used an adapted version of the “5 Star” research methodology to explore the potential financial impact and influence of the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) black economic empowerment (BEE) policy on PHEIs. The research shows that the BEE policy has the potential to financially impact and influence most of the components of the total quality service (TQS) framework for PHEIs in terms of preferential procurement from suppliers, company ownership, appointment of executive, middle and junior managers, employment of academic and administrative staff, and throughput of black student graduates. Management at PHEIs should be alerted to the fact that it is probably not merely a matter of IF, but rather WHEN the policy will start impacting on the financial stability and viability of PHEIs as BEE compliance becomes mandatory.

This study investigates the extent to which South African listed corporations voluntarily disclose information on black economic empowerment (BEE) in their annual and sustainability reports using a sample of 75 listed corporations from 2003 to 2009. BEE is a form of socio-economic affirmative action championed by the African National Congress (ANC)-led government to address historical imbalances in business participation and ownership in South Africa. We find that block ownership and institutional ownership are negatively associated with the extent of BEE disclosures, whereas government ownership, board diversity (age, education, ethnicity, nationality and occupation), board size and non-executive directors are positively related to the extent of BEE disclosures. By contrast, dual board leadership structure and gender diversity are not significantly associated with BEE disclosures. Our results are robust when controlling for firm-level characteristics, fixedeffects and alternative disclosure proxies. Our results are largely consistent with the predictions of agency, legitimacy, resource dependence and stakeholder theories.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore how the South African government has used accounting technologies to manage the pervasive issue of racial inequality.Design/methodology/approachPremised on Foucault’s notion of governmentality, we conducted a qualitative case study. Publicly available archival data are used to determine the extent to which accounting techniques have helped to shape policy responses to racial inequality.FindingsWe show that accounting techniques and calculations give visibility to the problems of government and help design a programme to solve racial inequality. The lived experiences and impacts of racism in the workplace have been problematised, turned into statistics, and used to rationalise the need for ongoing government intervention in solving the problem. These processes underpin the development of the scorecard system, which measures the contributions firms have made towards minimising racial inequalities.Originality/valueThis study augments the existing body of Foucauldian literature by illustrating how power dynamics can be counteracted. We show that in governmental processes, accounting can exhibit a dual role, and these roles are not always subordinate to the analysis of political realities. The case of B-BBEE reveals the unintended consequences of utilising accounting to control the conduct of individuals or groups.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on secondary equity offerings (SEOs) by examining the impact of the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy on secondary equity offering (SEO) pricing dynamics of South African Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).Design/methodology/approachWith a sample of 152 SEOs of South African REITs from 2010 to 2020, ordinary least squares (OLS) models, fixed effect models, parametric and non-parametric tests were applied to test for the impact of BEE on the underpricing of SEOs.FindingsSignificant underpricing is discovered in highly compliant (BEE) REITs; in other words, SEOs pricing of BEE compliant REITs are more underpriced compared to non-compliant BEE REITs. With this, BEE compliant REITs and more so, highly compliant BEE REITs in particular leave more money on the table.Practical implicationsThe government is therefore aware of the impact policy interventions play when REITs raise financing through SEOS. With these, highly compliant BEE REITs will need to be more strategic when making BEE compliance decisions as this is shown in our study to impact the underpricing of SEOs.Originality/valueThis is the first study to investigate SEO underpricing for the BEE policy using the South African REITs context.

OrientationWithin the South African context, fairness perceptions of employment equity and affirmative action programmes are discussed at length. However, the perspectives of employees from various backgrounds on the fairness of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) are limited. Further to this, no psychometrically sound instruments could be identified, which can assist to assess the fairness perceptions people hold of BBBEE.Research purposeThe aim of this study was to develop and validate an appropriate measurement of fairness perceptions of BBBEE within the South African context.Motivation for the studyMinimal research effectively advances our understanding of what actual fairness perceptions people hold of BBEEE.Research approach/design and methodTo satisfy the aim of the study, an exploratory sequential mixed-method design was undertaken. This involved the use of semi-structured interviews, followed by a quantitative research design.Main findingsThe exploratory factor analysis revealed that a four-factor solution comprising 31 items was both valid and reliable.Practical/managerial implicationsThe instrument can advance the understanding about the ways in which individuals in the workplace perceive BBBEE. In addition, it can assist to determine whether the programme is indeed effective and enables organisations to better manage those perceptions.Contribution/value-addThe development of a valid and reliable measure can be used by both employers and researchers for the purposes of gaining insight into the influence of BBBEE on behaviour in the South African workplace.

Public procurement is a key instrument in the post-apartheid South African government’s broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE), a legislative and policy framework aimed at reversing the country’s legacy of injustice and inequality through pursuing a range of socio-economic objectives that favour the majority black population. This paper employs a theoretical and derived logic model to analyse the design and implementation of BBBEE by means of literature and document review as well as key stakeholder interviews. It seeks to answer two key research questions: (1) has BBBEE achieved its intended outcomes? and (2) what lessons can be drawn from the South African experience for sustainable public procurement? The study finds a significant knowledge gap that precludes definitive conclusions on the impact of BBBEE, largely due to the limited rigorous evidence, particularly evaluations, on whether BBBEE is achieving the desired outcomes. Instead, the paper’s key contribution is the development of a derived logic model that clearly outlines how BBBEE is intended to work and is used to provide insight into how BBBEE has performed against aspects of its intended outcomes. The paper finds that the intervention’s effectiveness has largely been undermined by various challenges and demonstrates that it remains unclear whether BBBEE’s observed achievements have translated into targeted impact of meaningful participation of all black people in the economy. Considering the scale of BBBEE and its implementation for over 16 years, the paper concludes that the limited evidence on how it is performing against its key objectives is both a design and implementation shortcoming.

Orientation: Large banking institutions in South Africa remain complex organisations facing a myriad of challenges as they navigate the Fifth Industrial Revolution (5IR) and strive to remain relevant. A significant challenge relates to how these organisations can utilise Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) to create diverse and inclusive teams for organisational success and sustainability.Research purpose: To explore the experiences and sense-making processes of senior leaders tasked with the implementation of affirmative action as part of a B-BBEE strategy as they navigate this responsibility within a South African bank.Motivation for the study: To shine on the complex experiences of senior leaders tasked with implementing affirmative action within a B-BBEE strategy in a large financial institution.Research approach/design and method: A qualitative interpretivist case study was applied to explore senior leaders’ negotiation of their perceptions and experiences of leading the implementation of B-BBEE in a large bank. Ten semi-structured interviews were utilised as the main data generation tool.Main findings: Study reveals how senior leaders hold strong convictions about the value of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This included the continued necessity for legislation such as B-BBEE given South Africa’s racial history and existing personal biases that impact workplace diversity and inclusion. The study further reveals that senior leaders believe that B-BBEE is poorly implemented and attribute this to the tension leaders experience between diversity and performance, a lack of organisational policies and practices required to hold leaders accountable for B-BBEE implementation and leaders who lack the skills and expertise required to successfully create diverse and inclusive work environments.Practical/managerial implications: Positive contributions to diversity and inclusion policies and practices, leadership development and transformation of the banking organisations in South Africa and the industry at large.Contribution/value-add: Banking institutions as large market players can play a significant role in leading workplace transformation through improved implementation of diversity and inclusion legislation and principles within B-BBEE.

This article analyses how crony capitalism emerges as a solution to maintaining investment in platinum mining. Using a case study of platinum, the analytic narrative exploits the quasi-experimental design provided by the nationalisation of mineral rights to evaluate the relationship between mining investment and crony capitalism. Does the policy have the effects intended? This article argues that the answer is no because of the cronyism between mining capital and politically connected black elites. The institutionalisation of cronyism, coupled with low economic growth and shrinking market-based black economic empowerment opportunities, bolstered and legitimised capture of the state. The system of cronyism produced limited investment and limited black productive capital. Poor mining communities and mine workers have suffered from this cronyism, but have recently organised their power to control the operating environment, or the 'social licence' to operate.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, has demonstrated to the world the volatile and fragile nature of global supply chains. Hence, this study is based on research gaps that propose new sustainable business-to-business (B2B) procurement/supplier models that consider different factors across industries and uses the triple bottom line (TBL) framework as the theoretical underpinning. The study used a quantitative methodological approach and convenience sampling to survey 445 organizations in a B2B procurement context in South Africa. The data were analyzed via structural equation modeling. The inquiry revealed that service quality was important to determine access to personnel and environmental sustainability, which had a favorable influence on personal relationships and gifts and, in turn, positively influenced relationships with salespeople and management. Culture, employment equity, and affirmative action positively affected Black Economic Empowerment status which had a favorable influence on the preference of suppliers’ salespeople. Several other positive associations were revealed, which resulted in a unique theoretical supplier preference contribution to the TBL framework. The study also provides organizations with a number of practical benefits stemming from the associations between the new sustainable B2B procurement/supplier constructs that are important as value-added business activities in an African developing economic context.

BackgroundSouth Africa has made considerable progress in terms of economic development since the dawn of democracy in 1994. However, the pace and distribution of that progress have not been equitably reflected across all demographics, especially between black and white people. With a decline of manufacturing, the ‘developmental state’ has featured as a strong theme to try and reignite industrialisation in the country. Under this framework, one of the policies driven by the South African government is the Black Industrialist Programme, which aims to increase the manufacturing output while empowering black people.AimTo investigate the appropriateness of the Black Industrialist Programme as a policy to advance the developmental state framework in South Africa.SettingExperience in East Asia regarding developmental states led countries like South Africa to believe that they can also implement such policies to enable the country to industrialise.MethodsThe study employed qualitative research methods using open-ended interviews for primary data and documents collected from various sources for secondary data. The study’s qualitative description of the findings derives from the themes that emerged from the research and which employed open-ended questions and research techniques in line with such research techniques.ResultsFindings show that the Black Industrialist Programme policy will have an impact, as its funding model is a significant shift from past practices by assisting aspiring industrialists through grants and preferential procurement measures. However, the study argues that the shift from focusing on general industrialisation to narrowing it to black industrialisation brings with it new constraints in advancing a developmental state.ConclusionsThe research concludes that the programme will contribute to the developmental state concept’s progress but will be limited in praxis because the state does not possess a holistic overarching economic developmental plan.ContributionThe study contributes to the analytical discourse of developmental states by offering context-specific analysis of industrialisation paths for societies addressing racial and economic inequality.