Browsing by Author "Smit, E. van der M."

Now showing 1 - 14 of 14
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    Corporate health and wellness and the financial bottom line
    (Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins for American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2016) Conradie, Christina Susanna; Smit, E. van der M.; Malan, Daniel Pieter
    Objective: The research objective was to test the hypothesis that corporate health and wellness contributed positively to South African companies’ financial results. Methods: The past share market performance of eligible healthy companies, based on Discovery’s Healthy Company Index, was tracked under three investment scenarios and compared with the market performance on the basis of the JSE FTSE All Share Index. Results: The evidence supports the hypothesis that a culture of health and wellness provides a financial advantage, in so far as the portfolio of healthy companies consistently outperformed the market over the selected simulations. Conclusions: Given the limitations of the investigation, namely small sample size, the brevity of the period of investigation, and the reliance on accessibility sampling, the research provides the first and preliminary evidence supportive of the direct financial benefits of companies’ wellness programs.
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    Creation and appropriation of socio-environmental value in coopetition
    (Elsevier, 2016) Volschenk, Jako; Ungerer, Marius; Smit, E. van der M.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Although much has been written about value in coopetition initiatives, the dynamics of value creation and appropriation remain poorly articulated. This paper explores the types of value and the dynamics of value creation and appropriation when competitors cooperate. The research provides some suggestions towards semantic clarity and introduces new dimensions to the existing value creation and appropriation literature. We also present the Coopetition Value Matrix (CVM), an expanded typology that aids in the understanding of value dynamics in coopetition. Constructing the CVM required the incorporation of stakeholder theory and the concept of socio-environmental value, two aspects that are under-explored in coopetition research. We applied the CVM to a case of environmental coopetition in the South African wine industry, which provided us with empirical illustrations of the dynamic interaction of different types of value.
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    The determinants of global box office performance in the film industry revisited
    (AOSIS, 2013) Pangarker, N. A.; Smit, E. van der M.
    The film industry is a significant player in the global economy. It calls for significant up-front investments with the result that analysts, studios and investors alike are interested in predicting box office success as part of financial risk management. This study utilises global box office revenue in assessing the effects of eight explanatory variables, identified from previous studies, in the explanation of revenue. Nearly three decades after the seminal study the extension of the original methodology to global rather than USA data, still confirms production cost, releases by major studios, award nominations and sequels to successful films as the key drivers of global box office revenue. The evidence further suggests that in the modern global context, the film genre, the release date around holidays and positive critical reviews play a less significant role than in the original investigation.
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    Determinants of the quality of internet investor relations – a study of companies listed on the JSE#
    (AOSIS, 2017) Nel, G. F.; Smit, E. van der M.; Brummer, L. M.
    Investor relations is the field of management that is concerned with the relationships between companies and investors, and as such involves a wide variety of information types, for example mandatory, voluntary, financial, non-financial, qualitative and quantitative. While South Africa has recently been ranked number one for the strength of its auditing and reporting standards for the seventh consecutive year (IRBA, 2016), investor relations as a wider and voluntary concept, is largely un-researched in South Africa. The purpose of the study was to establish the determinants of Internet investor relations (IIR). The quality of IIR was measured for a sample of 85 JSE-listed companies using a measurement instrument that consists of 346 attributes. From the literature, as discussed in the literature review, 15 company characteristics were identified that could explain IIR quality. Stepwise regression model-building was used to develop a regression model that best explains IIR quality. Company size, leverage, being audited by a big four audit company, JSE industry membership, free float and dual listing status were found statistically significant independent variables, explaining 68.76% of the variation in the dependent variable, IIR. Contributions to the body of knowledge, study limitations and the need for further research are discussed in the conclusion.
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    Die waarde van opnamedata in ekonometriese modelle met spesifieke verwysing na die opiniatiewe data van die Buro vir Ekonomiese Ondersoek
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1982) Smit, E. van der M.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of . Dept. of .
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    Exploiting deterministic maintenance opportunity windows created by conservative engineering design rules that result in free time locked into large high-speed coupled production lines with finite buffers
    (Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2016) Durandt, C.; Smit, E. van der M.; Du Preez, N. D.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Conservative engineering design rules for large serial coupled production processes result in machines having locked-in free time (also called ‘critical downtime’ or ‘maintenance opportunity windows’), which cause idle time if not used. Operators are not able to assess a large production process holistically, and so may not be aware that they form the current bottleneck – or that they have free time available due to interruptions elsewhere. A real-time method is developed to accurately calculate and display free time in location and magnitude, and efficiency improvements are demonstrated in large-scale production runs.
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    In terms uncluttered
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch Business School, 2007-08) Smit, E. van der M.
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    Institutional proxy voting in South Africa : process, outcomes and impact
    (AOSIS, 2015-12-31) Viviers, S.; Smit, E. van der M.
    This study investigated the nature of institutional shareholder activism in South Africa with a particular focus on proxy voting as a public form of shareholder discontent. A total of 24 510 votes cast by 17 local investment management companies in 2013 were analysed. Interviews were also conducted with selected investment managers to gain more insight into the proxy voting process at their companies. Based on this data, it was concluded that investment managers preferred to engage with investee companies in private and viewed proxy voting as the last link in the shareholder activism chain. As a result, only 6.6 per cent of all votes were ‘against’ resolutions tabled by 347 JSE-listed companies in 2013. Resolutions regarding shareholders’ endorsement of companies’ remuneration policies; the election and re-election of directors, particularly those serving on audit committees; and the issuance of ordinary shares elicited the most opposition. Companies that were excluded from the JSE’s Socially Responsible Investment Index in 2013 attracted significantly more opposition than their counterparts who were included in the index when seeking shareholder approval on the election and re-election of directors and the placing of shares under the control of directors. The same applied to companies that had low environmental, social and governance disclosure scores in 2013 as regards the issuance of shares. It is recommended, amongst others, that shareholder activism in South Africa be promoted by enhancing investor education and effecting some regulatory changes.
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    The link between internet investor relations and information asymmetry
    (AOSIS, 2018) Nel, George F.; Smit, E. van der M.; Brummer, Leon M.
    Background: Information asymmetry manifests when one party has more or better information than the other. Information asymmetry is said not only to increase transaction costs and decrease liquidity, but also to diminish the quality of the investment decisions taken by investors, thus weakening the overall functioning of markets. Aim and setting: A well-developed Internet investor relations (IIR) strategy, coupled with increased disclosure levels, should theoretically decrease information asymmetry levels. The majority of related studies to date used either an indirect disclosure proxy or involved an examination of the annual report, and have used data from United States or European companies. Empirical studies to date have produced mixed results. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether a relationship exists between the quality of IIR (via corporate websites) and information asymmetry. Method: This study used data from Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed companies. Multiple regression analysis was applied with information asymmetry as dependent variable and IIR as one of a set of selected explanatory variables. A self-constructed measurement instrument was used to measure IIR for a sample of 85 companies. Given the inherent difficulty with direct observation of information asymmetry, three different proxies were used to estimate information asymmetry. Results: A significant negative association was found between IIR and information asymmetry for all three information asymmetry proxies that were used: bid-ask spread, price impact, and analyst following. Conclusion: Empirical support is provided for the notion that companies may potentially benefit from a well-developed IIR strategy through reduced information asymmetry.
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    Materialism and indebtedness of low income consumers : evidence from South Africa's largest credit granting catalogue retailer
    (AOSIS, 2010) Jacobs, G.; Smit, E. van der M.
    In South Africa, studies have found changes in consumption and credit usage over time to be significant amongst low-income consumers. Yet, there has been limited empirical research on consumer behaviour in South Africa and even less on low-income consumerism. This study, which explores the relationship between materialism and indebtedness among a sample of low-income, instalment paying consumers of South Africa's largest catalogue retailer, aims to augment our understanding of these phenomena, whilst making some international comparisons. The study assesses whether (i) consumers display strong characteristics of materialism and (ii) whether materialism is a significant variable in predicting the consumers' propensity for incurring debt. It is concluded that low-income consumers are indeed highly materialistic. The study further suggests the presence of statistically significant relationships between consumers' levels of indebtedness and the demographic variables age and gender. However, materialism and monthly income are not significant in determining a consumer's level of indebtedness. While the decision to conduct the study on client data from one particular retailer, limits the extent to which the findings can be generalised to the larger South African population, the results do provide a number of important insights, which contribute to the scant body of literature on low-income consumer behaviour in the RSA.
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    'n Verhaal van verandering
    (2014-04) Smit, E. van der M.
    AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Prof Eon Smit, ’n voormalige direkteur van die USB, skryf oor die USB se 50-jarige bestaan.
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    The project mindset : a streamlined corporate culture will make matrix project management fly
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch Business School, 2007-08) Morrison, John; Brown, Chris; Smit, E. van der M.
    Setting up a project management capability in an organisation is not a trivial exercise. The decision to implement project management means a substantial investment in new software tools, changes to your accounting system and training of staff. To start with, you will probably also need to recruit some expertise, including consultants charging expensive fees. In return you will expect a positive return on this investment. However, if your organisation depends on matrix project management but lacks the corporate culture which drives it, the investment will be poor. Your organisation will simply not be prepared for the en route turbulence of projects. This was the premise for research conducted at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) to establish the link between an organisation’s culture and its ability to integrate matrix project management into its routine work. This research has come up with a structured, twelve-point checklist to gauge your corporate readiness for the journey.
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    Recommendation pattern preferences and share analysts bias on the JSE
    (Bureau for Economic Research, 2018) Lotter, R.; Smit, E. van der M.
    The trustworthiness of analysts’ reports has rightly been questioned after the financial crises of the 1990s and 2000s revealed biases in their behaviour. This study investigated the inclination of analysts to issue overly-positive recommendations, the issuance patterns preferred by individual analysts, and the differential impact of recommendations between periods of positive and negative sentiment. The recommendation issuance preferences of 901 local and international analysts, who collectively issued 30 486 recommendations for shares listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange from 1993 to 2011, were scrutinised. The investigation revealed that analysts issued their opinions using many different patterns within five possible recommendation categories, and showed signs of positive biases during all market cycles and investor sentiment periods. Surprisingly, analysts issued the same proportion of negative recommendations during periods of low business confidence and economic contraction than during phases of growth- and economic upswing. The BER Business Confidence Index outperformed the SARB’s business cycle indicator in demarcating periods where investors reacted stronger to recommendations issued by analysts. Investors are advised to study an analyst’s recommendation history in addition to current advice.
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    A story of change
    (2014-04) Smit, E. van der M.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: PROF EON SMIT was director of USB from 1996 to 2010. USB acquired EQUIS and AMBA accreditation under his directorship.