Explore publications.

Business Model Innovation (BMI) has been widely recognised by management scholars as a significant approach to analyse complex organisational issues and address challenges in volatile business contexts.  Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating in highly turbulent business environments struggle to be viable. Hence, the need to adopt appropriate business models to ensure resilient and viability. This study sought to examine the influence of BMIs on the ability of SMEs in developing nations to withstand and recover from challenges posed by unstable business environments. This study uses a quantitative approach, with a cross-sectional survey to collect empirical evidence from 327 SMEs selected through quota sampling.  Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method, results of the study reveal that BMI has a positive impact on the resilience of SMEs. The findings demonstrated that implementing innovative modifications in the business model, namely value creation, value capture, and value proposition positively influence the resilience of SMEs. The study concludes that implementing innovative business models contributes to the development of resilience among SMEs in emerging economies. This paper is relevant to SMEs operating in developing economies as well as those in volatile business environments.

The study employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds model to test for cointegration and the Toda and Yamamoto and Dolado and Lütkepohl (TYDL) model to examine the direction of causality between exports and economic growth for Botswana covering the period 1980 to 2021. Exports statistically positively affect economic growth both in the short-run and long-run and trade openness is detrimental to economic growth both in the short-run and long-run. Economic growth promotes exports both in the short-run and long-run. Economic growth granger causes exports and indirectly influences exports through trade openness and consumer price index. Furthermore, there exists bidirectional causality between economic growth and the consumer price index. The findings underscore the importance of maintaining a healthy and stable macroeconomic environment in Botswana. In addition, a well-rounded approach that considers both export-oriented industrialization and import substitution strategies remains essential for a robust economic growth trajectory.

Over the years, there have been huge variations in the growth performances of the economies in SSA. Whilst these disparities can be attributed to a wide range of factors, it is generally understood that differences in their economic structures explain the capacity for generating growth and absorbing shocks during a recession. This study contributes to literature by examining the impact of institutional quality and financial development on economic growth in low- and middle-income countries. Data was obtained from the World Bank and covered the period from 1975 to 2020. The study employed an ARDL model to establish both short and long run dynamics in the two sub samples. The study confirmed both short and long run causality from financial and institutional quality to growth. Institutional quality enhances growth in both low- and middle-income countries in the long run. Whilst the direction of the impact is the same, the magnitude of the impact of institutional quality is different within the two categories. Institutional quality plays a more significant role in low-income countries compared to middle income economies. The study brings out potential financial fragility and systemic risks in financial institutions among countries in SSA. Policies that enhance the quality, consistency, and uniformity of legal reasoning in judicial decisions are ideal. Reducing the risk profile for investments may enhance the flow of credit to the private sector by financial institutions.

This study investigates the effectiveness of Presidential Directives in comparison to the traditional policy process in Botswana. More precisely, the study determines whether the use of Presidential Directives is a more efficient and effective means of achieving policy outputs, as compared to the traditional policy process. To achieve this, the study conducted a comprehensive analysis of policies and Presidential Directives in Botswana, examining the processes through which they were formulated, implemented, and evaluated. The methodological approach adopted includes an intrepretivist research paradigm as well as a qualitative research approach for both data collection and analysis. Results reveals that Presidential directives achieve outputs faster and more effectively than the traditional policy process, Presidential Directives may have some advantages in terms of speed and flexibility, but they are not necessarily more effective than the traditional policy process in achieving their planned outcomes, policy process, which involves stakeholder consultation, evidence-based decision-making and comprehensive analysis of the policy context, is a more reliable and effective means of policy-making in the long term. However, the study also found that there are some areas where Presidential Directives may be more appropriate, such as in emergency situations or when quick decisions are required. Overall, this research provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of different approaches to policy-making in Botswana, and its findings have important implications for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in the field of public policy. The study recommends transparency and accountability; stakeholder engagement; evidence-based policy-making and comprehensive policy evaluation.

This study examines the short-run and long-run relationships between exports and economic growth in the Sothern Africa Customs Union (SACU), as well as the corresponding threshold level. The study used panel data covering the period 1980 to 2021 and employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds to test for co-integration relationships, and the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) to determine the respective threshold level.  Exports positively support economic growth both in the short-run and in the long-run in SACU. There is long-run bidirectional causality between exports and economic growth. The minimum threshold for exports is 59%. That is, exports only start contributing significantly to economic growth when they are above 59% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). SACU should put in place economic policies and regulations that are skewed towards the improvement of the competitiveness of its local products on the global market and also strategically consider export-oriented industrialization strategies. Efforts should also be channeled towards the implementation of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements and harnessing the synergic benefits through the adoption of deliberate value chain mechanisms and initiatives.

The objective of this study is to examine the effects of remote work arrangements implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic on the equilibrium between work and personal life among employees in Botswana. The case of the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) will be utilized as a specific context for analysis. The study utilized a descriptive qualitative research approach, including in-depth interviews with a sample of 18 employees from BURS who were engaged in remote work throughout the COVID-19 lockdown period. These interviews were done in order to collect relevant data for the study. An alternative sampling method, namely non-probability sampling, was employed to pick a sample size of 18 employees from the BURS organization. The collected data was subsequently subjected to thematic analysis for the purpose of analysis. The findings of the research indicate that employees reported numerous advantages, including increased sleep duration and enhanced concentration. They also highlighted the benefits of having flexibility and autonomy in a home environment, free from the distractions typically encountered in open-office settings. However, the study also identified certain challenges, such as disruptions caused by family members and feelings of isolation. The study suggests that further research should be conducted to examine the effects of remote work in Botswana. This research would provide valuable insights for policymakers in navigating the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.

During the initial years of the 1990s, there was an expectation that the practice of working from home (WFH) would become a customary mode of work, offering advantages to organizations in terms of job performance and employee contentment. The concept of working from home (WFH) has gained significant traction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily because to its potential to ensure the continuity of organizations under certain circumstances. The primary objective of this study is to examine the effects of remote work arrangements implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic on the various dimensions of employee well-being in Botswana. Specifically, the case of the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) will be utilized as a focal point for analysis. The study utilized a descriptive qualitative research approach, including in-depth interviews to collect data from a sample of 18 employees of BURS who were engaged in remote work during the COVID-19 lockdown. The researchers employed a non-probability sampling technique and conducted a theme analysis to analyze the data. The findings of the research suggest that working from home (WFH) offers several advantages, including the ability to sleep for extended periods and enhanced concentration. Additionally, the flexibility and autonomy provided by working from home allow individuals to avoid distractions commonly encountered in open-office environments. However, the study also highlights certain challenges associated with WFH, such as disruptions caused by family members and feelings of isolation. The study suggests the need for further research to be conducted on the effects of remote employment in Botswana. This research would provide valuable insights for policymakers in navigating the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath.

This study examines the relationship between government expenditure on health and economic growth in Botswana. It seeks to test the existence of cointegration and specification of the deterministic components with special reference to the Pantula Principle. This helps to overcome the shortfall of the method by Johansen, which may lead to spurious results by omitting the presence of deterministic components in the analysis. The cointegration approach is used and tested using three methods by Engle and Granger (1987) or EG, a procedure suggested by Johansen (1988) and error correction model (ECM) approach proposed by Granger(1988) and short-run analysis is made using the pairwise granger causality tests. Findings show that the correct model specification for testing long-run relationships consists of one cointegrating vector with a constant which is the most restrictive hypothesis according to the Pantula principle. Using the Johansen approach, total health expenditure and recurring health expenditure have a cointegration relationship with growth while development health expenditure and growth are not cointegrated. The ECM and the approach by EG confirm a weak and/or no cointegration between the variables. Growth has no effect on government expenditure on health in the short run, but a cointegration relationship suggests that it may marginally contribute to an increase in health expenditure over the long term. The study clarifies the correct model to test for cointegration and specification for the deterministic component. It confirms the existence of a healthcare expenditure-led growth hypothesis. This requires Botswana to design a policy that targets specific parts of recurrent and development health expenditure to support human capital development and influence future growth.

Digital transformation destination is much easier when a clear vision is communicated up and down the organization. This study seeks to explore the effect of visioning on digital transformation in the insurance industry. The study used a positivist research philosophy and a quantitative research approach. The research used primary data, which was collected using a questionnaire. Data analysis was done using regression analysis, descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests. Normality and reliability were tested using the Shapiro-Wilk test and Cronbach’s alpha, respectively. The study findings revealed that visioning significantly influences digital transformation (t=1.129, p=0.000<0.05). Visioning is the art of modeling an organization's culture and is the critical variable towards digital transformation. The study recommends the regulator, the Insurance and Pension Commission, might need to enforce digital transformation within the insurance space. Visioning is critical in the insurance sector’s digital transformation process.

The study focused on the effectiveness of using (SMS) customer service platforms to meet customer satisfaction at Edgars stores Ltd in Zimbabwe. The main objective of the research was to measure the effectiveness of SMS customer service platforms on customer satisfaction. A causal research design was employed, and a simple random sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents. Questionnaires were used to gather data from a sample size of 357 consisting of 342 customers and 15 Edgars’ stores Ltd staff members. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 to determine the strength of the relationship and the moderating effect. The research findings from the hypothesis tests explored a significant and positive relationship between SMS customer service platforms and customer satisfaction. The study recommended the company use SMS customer service platforms for other promotional activities like sending bonus vouchers, news releases and advertisements. This will encourage more customers to shop hence improving market share. The SMS customer service platforms can also give after-sales services, personalized information, and birthday wishes. All these will increase customer satisfaction.

The present study attempts to assess the effect of resource allocation on digital transformation in the Zimbabwean Life insurance industry. The study used a positivist research philosophy and a quantitative research approach. Data was collected using an email survey questionnaire from employees and management of four big Life insurance companies in Zimbabwe. The study findings revealed that resource allocation positively influenced digital transformation in the Zimbabwean Life insurance industry. The study recommends that managers in the Life insurance industry hire technologically proficient people to ensure digital transformation success and hire digital transformation consultants to help them with their digitalization process. Life insurance companies are urged to develop a digital transformation strategy. Future researchers are urged to look at other factors which affect digital transformation.

The unprecedented rate of urbanization across the world has led to increased demand for good, affordable housing. This research was conducted to ascertain the reasons and challenges of urbanization on housing shortages in Gaborone, Botswana. The focal point of this study was to assess the impact of urbanization on the demand of housing in Gaborone, Botswana. Thereafter the study recommended astute strategies desirable to curb the problem of urbanization and scarcity of accommodation in Gaborone. This research used a descriptive research design and distributed questionnaires to Gaborone residents during data collection. The researchers used stratified and clustered sampling methods. The study results indicated the need for better educational facilities and employment opportunities as the major causes of urbanization in Gaborone. Shortage of housing, high rentals and escalating land prices were also identified as some of the major challenges of urbanization in Gaborone. The study recommended that the government to introduce rent control measures to restrict rising prices, the private sector should be encouraged to further participate in the provision of accommodation for different income groups to be sold or leased at subsidized rates. The study also recommended the government to buy plenty of land and real estate, to reduce speculative behaviour of land barons.

This paper explores the inter-connectedness of remittances and financial development and how their associated covariates such as savings, investment, money supply and economic growth are impacted by this relationship. The study employs a panel vector autoregression (P-VAR) estimation technique, and the generalized methods of moments (GMM) are applied after removing fixed effects and lagged regressors are used as instruments to have consistent estimators. The main findings of the study demonstrate that (i) remittances and financial development have a feedback interrelationship, and some interlinkages are identified amongst their covariates, (ii) economic growth has a dual connection with financial development and that (iii) savings, investment, and broad money supply influence both financial development and remittances. These findings contribute to current discussions in the literature as they support the importance of deepening financial markets in SSA, and attracting more remittances. The significant role played by the diaspora in improving domestic financial depth is confirmed. Progression in SSA economic growth helps to stimulate those in the diaspora to repatriate most of their earnings back home.

The main aim of this study was to empirically assess the main microeconomic factors that affect a bank's performance. The objectives were to ascertain if there is a relationship between the performance variables with the microeconomic variables, determine those that are significant and their impact on the performance of banks in Zimbabwe. An econometric model was built from balanced panel data and the Arellano-Bond estimation procedure was employed. The empirical analysis was carried out on a sample of 17 banks that were operational in the years 2010 to 2017 in Zimbabwe. Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE) and Net Interest Margin (NIM) were used as the performance indicators in the analysis. The results indicate the main microeconomic factors to be those attributed to growth, credit risk, capitalisation, managerial efficiency, liquidity and diversification in the Zimbabwean financial institutions. Performance in these institutions is generally good as measured by positive persistent profits, that is, ROA, ROE and NIM. These returns reflect the extent to which these institutions are resilient to the economic crisis.