African Journal of
Business Management

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Bus. Manage.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1993-8233
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJBM
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 4187

Table of Content: 8 August, 2012; 6(31)

August 2012

Relationship between board characteristics and firm performance: Evidence from Tehran stock market

The major purpose of this paper was to identify and analyze the board size, board composition and firm performance for firms listed at Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) from 2004 to 2009. We used multiple regressions to examine the board characteristics and firm performance. Board characteristic variables includes board size, board composition for testing the hypotheses, required data, information collected from the annual...

Author(s): Seyed Alireza Mousavi, Fatemeh Taghados and Mahnoosh Ghaedi

August 2012

Earnings management behavior of the initial public offering (IPO) firms during pre-IPO, IPO and post-IPO years: Evidence from the Casablanca Stock Exchange

This paper examines the pattern of earnings management around the initial public offering (IPO) year in Morocco during the period between 2001 and 2007. Our results show that earnings management reaches its maximum level during the year of an IPO followed by earnings management during the pre-IPO years and the post-IPO years. We argue that the need for achieving the reputation as a profitable firm induces management to...

Author(s): Omar Farooq and Meryem Benali

August 2012

Relation between effective organizational and managerial obstacles and incentives on administrative-financial corruption in government organizations in Iran

The aim of this research was to define the relationship between effective organization and managerial obstacles and incentives on administrative-financial corruption in government organizations in Iran. Correlation method along with metrical approach was applied in this research. Reliability of the verified questionnaire was confirmed according to the primary study with Cronbach alpha 0.9794 and validity of the...

Author(s): Hossein Azimi, Mehdi Ajalli, Sayed Rahim Safavi Mirmahalleh and Abdolhossein Rezvani

August 2012

Intergroup conflict within a South African mining company

The uncertainty that accompanies organizational change heightens prospects for intra-organizational conflict. Notwithstanding this, the knowledge base on the sources (or causes) of organizational conflict is underdeveloped – largely as a result of a low incidence of empirical research, and in particular in South Africa. The current study explored the perceived sources of intergroup conflict in a South African...

Author(s): Havenga Werner, Visagie Jan, Linde Herman and Gobind Jenni

August 2012

A framework for assessing the riskiness of construction of a structural experiment project under Sino-African laboratory environment

Every construction project, whether small size (laboratory construction experiments) or big size (real scale) project, needs a structured management framework. An experimental construction project in a laboratory can present as much risks as a real scale construction project. And as bases for theory, laboratory experiments should be carried with a careful management structure to insure the correctness of the results;...

Author(s): Arnaud R. Agnantounkpatin and Lian Ying Zhang

August 2012

Buyer-supplier relationships in the Brazilian automotive industry

New forms of relationship and transaction between companies participating in the same supply chain have been applied to improve competitive conditions in the chain. The auto industry is a striking example of an industry in which the relationships between companies have been deeply renewed, motivated mainly by the influence of automakers in the primary suppliers, which in turn work with their own suppliers; forming a...

Author(s): Rosangela Maria Vanalle and José Antonio Arantes Salles

August 2012

The “outsourcing” and management consulting in a dimensional systemic model

In an era of particularly intense competition, the consulting services are becoming an increasingly important source of aid for strategic making and an important way to increase efficiency and quality in the various business activities. Many managers consider the consulting services as an influential and powerful tool for organizational change, bringing new life to the organization. The purpose of this article is...

Author(s): Nélson Santos Antonio and Renato Lopes da Costa

August 2012

Programme design dimensions explored for a professional occupational safety and health management qualification for Africa

Workplace injuries and illnesses cost companies huge amounts in wasteful and often preventable expenses. Hazards can be eliminated and controlled through proper education in production and operations management (POM) and occupational, safety and health (OSH), yet no South African higher education institution provide this need. The complexity and multi-disciplinary nature of the OSH profession is fundamental to the...

Author(s): R. J. Steenkamp

August 2012

Estimated state of health and stress among truck drivers with regard to participating in recreational sport activities

This study aimed at determining the frequency of truck drivers’ participation in recreational sport activities, and to find out whether there is a relationship between their own estimated state of health and stress with regard to participating in recreational sport activities. The study included 102 participants, professional truck drivers, of whom 92 (90%) were men and 10 (10%) women. The obtained data were...

Author(s): Maja Meško, Mateja Videmšek, Jože Štihec, Tomaž Šinigoj, Lea Šuc, Damir Karpljuk and Jasna Lavrenčič

August 2012

Utilisation of adequate internal controls in fast food small medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) operating in Cape Metropole

According to popular literature, South African small medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), roughly contribute towards 50% of the South African gross domestic product and an estimated 60% of the total employment of the Country. In essence, these business entities are considered as the ‘heart’ to the South African economy, but unfortunately the...

Author(s): Helené de Jongh, Waseem Martin, Andre van der Merwe, Justin Redenlinghuis,Cindy Kleinbooi, Dylan Morris, Alliston Fortuin and Juan-Pierré Bruwer

August 2012

Minimizing the risks of innovation in bottled water design: An application of conjoint analysis and focus group

The rapid development of current markets justifies brands’ need to constantly and innovatively modify their products in order to meet the needs and preferences of increasingly demanding consumers. Advertising companies’ main objective for attaining leadership in their respective areas is to adjust these changes to suit consumers’ preferences and necessities. In this context, a well-known company that...

Author(s): Sérgio Dominique-Ferreira, Antonio Rial Boubeta and Jesús Varela Mallou

August 2012

A multi-stage approach to enterprise resource planning system selection

The increasing importance of integrated software systems for organizations has made the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system one of the main priorities of managers. One of the most important and albeit most challenging phases of enterprise resource planning system implementation is the one in which managers have to select a suitable software system that meets the needs and requirements of the...

Author(s): Hamid Reza Feili, Mohammad Mirkazemi Mood, Hossein Rahmany Youshanlouei and Nima Sarabi

August 2012

South African tour operators’ access to current consumer information

The purpose of this study was to investigate the consumer-related information to which tour operators in South Africa have access. Data were obtained using a self-administered computer-aided questionnaire. This questionnaire was forwarded to 1 000 tour operators, viewed by 360 tour operators, and a response rate of 42.45% was achieved. The results indicate that 68.4% strongly agree that their information systems are...

Author(s): M. Potgieter, J. W de Jager and C. H van Heerden

August 2012

Organizational diagnosis on the basis of customer’s aspects: Case study of an Iranian company

The present research is for identifying, analyzing, and interpreting the solution of making the performance of an Iranian company in relation with the customer in two frameworks of qualitative and quantitative aspects. In the quantitative part not only the basis of marketing mix at management is used for testing six hypothesis about customer’s opinions performance results of the company and using questionnaire...

Author(s): Vahid Reza Mirabi and Jalal Haghighat Monfared

August 2012

Digital divide and inequality among digital natives: A South African perspective

This article explored the extent of digital divide and inequality among digital natives in Gauteng, South Africa. More explicitly, social and economic forms of digital divide and inequality were investigated. The article presents innovative research in South Africa that builds on past international research on digital divide. Whereas previous research on digital divide mainly uses a one-dimensional focus on Internet...

Author(s): D. H. Tustin, M. Goetz and A. Heydenrych Basson

August 2012

Global warming mitigation promotes corporate entrepreneurship within Woolworths’ supply chain

This study demonstrates how Woolworths, a South African retail chain promotes corporate entrepreneurship within its supply chain as it implements sustainable marketing strategies. A qualitative case study approach, restricted to a single retail chain, was used and the data analysed was derived from their public documents. A content analysis using a thematic approach that incorporated product life cycle model variables...

Author(s): M A. O. Dos Santos