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This study presents a quantitative analysis of the strategic role of job embeddedness on turnover intention among nurses in selected healthcare centres in urban Accra, Ghana. Focusing on both on-the-job and off-the-job embeddedness, the study aims to develop a predictive model as a complement to evidence-based policies on human resources to help improve the existing retention of nurses in the healthcare sector. A sample of 276 nurses was randomly selected to participate in the study. Structured questionnaires were administered through digital formats to enable selected respondents to provide data for analyses. The authors employed descriptive statistics in SPSS Version 28 to analyse the data, while Structural Equation Modelling with SmartPLS 3.0 was used to assess the relationships among the variables. By adopting an ecosystem and strategic perspective, this paper considers the role of on-the-job embeddedness as a vital stability mechanism in healthcare systems. Conversely, off-the-job embeddedness emerged as a comparatively weaker influence. The results underscore the need to improve organisational embeddedness as a strategic approach to curtail turnover and enhance healthcare service within healthcare facilities in Ghana.

Concerns about nurse attrition are mounting. Despite this, limited empirical evidence exists on how different dimensions of burnout and institutional support interact in this context. This study investigates how burnout influences nurses’ turnover intention (TI) in urban Ghana and examines whether institutional support mitigates this relationship. A cross-sectional survey design was employed to collect data from 245 nurses across five Christian-based hospitals. Primary data is analysed and aided by the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) in addition to conducting direct evaluation to assess the moderating influences. The findings revealed that emotional exhaustion has a significant impact on TI, whereas depersonalisation has no direct effect. Institutional support also significantly reduces TI. In addition, emotional support strongly moderates the link between emotional exhaustion and TI, while access to resources partially moderates the effect of depersonalisation. The study shows that the negative effects of burnout on TI can be reduced through strong institutional support systems. The outcomes reinforce the applicability of Job Demands-Resources and Social Exchange theories and recommend more investment in both tangible resources and emotional support mechanisms to enhance nurse retention in high-demand urban healthcare ecosystems.

This study focuses on procurement processes as one of the most critical issues facing the South African local government domain today. Our main argument in this paper is that effective and efficient procurement processes are stifled by corruption emanating from political patronage which continues to menace the public sector. The trickle-down effect of this is poor service rendering in local government and the disjuncture between the services rendered and the citizens’ priorities. The principal-agent theory was used as an analytical lens of the study. The study adopted a qualitative literature review to unearth the scourge of tenderpreneurship and explore its effects on service delivery in the Eastern Cape province. Findings revealed that, despite the enactment of relevant statutory instruments and institutional structures to enhance procurement practices within local government, politics-administration dichotomy continues to negatively affect the processes. Corruption in the procurement processes has manifested itself through bribery, fraud and kickbacks and these have proven to be counterproductive in terms of service delivery. Findings have also demonstrated that the rendering of services such as water and sanitation, infrastructure and electricity remain elusive in many local municipalities in the provinces owing to the poor quality of work provided by inexperienced contractors linked to the political elite. In this regard, the study recommends the strengthening of internal financial controls within municipalities and establishing clear work procedures and oversight mechanisms between the politicians and the street bureaucrats.

Cultural practice Gonyalelwa lapa’ occurs when a family chooses to marry a woman, regardless of whether she has children or not, with the intention of her bearing children for their deceased son. Nevertheless, young individuals who are raised within the context of ‘Gonyalelwa lapa’ encounter certain difficulties. This manuscript asserts that, despite these challenges, there are also favorable perspectives regarding this cultural practice. The research endeavor aimed to examine and elucidate the reflections of young individuals who were raised within the framework of ‘Gonyalelwa lapa’. For this purpose, qualitative research methods were employed, specifically adopting a phenomenological approach within an exploratory, descriptive, and contextual framework. Data was gathered from a sample of twenty-three young individuals (including both males and females) utilizing purposive and snowball sampling techniques and subsequently subjected to thematic data analysis. The investigation exposed that growing up in ‘Gonyalelwa lapa’ has had an impact on the youth in diverse manners. These encounters entail mistreatment, insufficient monetary assistance resulting in starvation, gender-based prejudice, especially directed towards females who are not biologically related to their mothers' "marital family", and sensing exclusion and inhospitality within these kinships. Transdisciplinary contribution: This study contributes to the understanding of the effects of ‘Gonyalelwa lapa’ cultural practice on young people from a variety of disciplines such as cultural dimensions, psychological and socio-legal. The findings call for the need for multidisciplinary interventions and policy makers to mitigate the negative consequences of ‘Gonyalelwa lapa’ cultural practice on young people who are raised within this context.

Polygamous marriages are a formally recognised family form within customary law in South Africa and specific cultural communities. However, little attention has been paid to the consequences of living in a polygamous family as a child. A study exploring the effects of Polygamous marriages on Youth Behaviour was conducted in the Ha-Makuya village, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study used a qualitative research approach to investigate the issue. The study used an exploratory research design to explore the topic. Participants were selected through a purposive sampling of six young people aged between 18 to 35 years from polygamous families in the Ha-Makuya village. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then processed using thematic analysis. The results obtained showed that children in polygamous families face the difficulties associated with sibling rivalry, complex family dynamics, and stereotyping. However, they are adaptive and have developed coping mechanisms to counter these effects. The participants also said they needed more involvement from their fathers and the support of community-based programs. Beyond its sociocultural focus, the study offers insights into human capital development and community resilience in rural ecosystems, dimensions that influence long-term economic participation and youth empowerment. These findings are relevant for policymakers, educators, and social entrepreneurs designing youth-centred interventions in culturally diverse communities. The study recommends culturally sensitive programs, including school-based counselling and community partnerships, to strengthen youth well-being and contribute to sustainable local development.

This present study aims to expand the general understanding of bullying behaviour and to advance knowledge about bullying among pupils in public schools. Bullying is a global issue that can significantly impact learners’ educational and personal development. This paper analysed the complex and multi-faceted phenomenon of bullying, its prevalence, and its effect on learners in five public schools in Gauteng and Northwest provinces, South Africa. A quantitative approach was applied using questionnaires to a sample of 169 secondary public-school learners. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS Version 23, employing ANOVA tests, Pearson correlations, and Chi-square tests, as well as descriptive statistics. The results show that, like males, a considerable proportion of female learners (varying from 70.7% to 90.2%) reported never engaging in bullying behaviour at school. This study's findings show that bullying happens in schools. For example, a small percentage of females engage in bullying behaviour at varied frequencies: infrequently (5.4-20.7%), twice to three times a month (0-5.4%), weekly (0-2.8%), and daily (1.1-8.7%). Despite the low frequency of bullying, 2.2% of female learners report experiencing physical bullying, such as kicking and hitting on a weekly or daily basis. These results highlight the contextual and cultural specificity of bullying. Authors encourage further research to better understand this nuanced and complex phenomenon, focusing not only on victims but also on bystanders. Addressing bullying requires a comprehensive approach to promoting a healthy learning environment for all learners.

Sustainable development aims to create a societal framework in which economic advancement transpires without undermining environmental integrity. Despite advancements in developed countries, an estimated 1.3 billion individuals worldwide continue to experience a lack of access to electricity, significantly impeding their socio-economic development. This study examined the potential strategies for Thulamela Local Municipality to augment its initiatives related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, with a particular emphasis on the empowerment of small businesses to address energy requirements and advance sustainable development objectives. Therefore, the mixed-methods approach was employed, distributing 42 questionnaires to small enterprises at Tshilamba Rural Township and conducting semi-structured interviews with 5 key officials from the Thulamela Local Municipality. A comprehensive review of relevant literature was also conducted to guide the research process before fieldwork. The findings of this study elucidated several barriers to energy access, which included an unreliable power supply, elevated electricity costs, insufficient infrastructure, and the substantial investment necessary for the implementation of sustainable energy solutions. The literature has further underscored the inadequacies in energy production and supply infrastructure, which constrain the operational efficiency of small businesses. The results clearly indicate that although these businesses are robust and profit-generating, they do not have the necessary infrastructure and assistance to implement sustainable energy solutions. Thus, it recommended establishment of collaborations with renewable energy suppliers to provide cost-effective solar options or different energy sources ideal for small-scale businesses.

Financial institutions predict the probability of default when making lending decisions using conventional credit risk scoring models. However, in emerging economies, the underbanked, widows, small and medium enterprises owners and youth are not able to access traditional forms of collateral or identification required by financial institutions due to lack of data for them to get access to loans. Financial institutions cannot obtain much of the information required about an applicant and they use alternative data sources such as public data or social media to deal with the problems of information asymmetry, adverse selection and moral hazard. To eliminate such problems, credit risk assessment models must be built on the foundation of artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches in an effort to perform an accurate credit risk analysis, to properly assess the behaviour of the customers and subsequently perform a thorough verification of the potential of the applicant to repay the loan thereby allowing less privileged people to access credit. However, big data sourced from the internet and public data sources is characterized by huge volume, variety, veracity, the curse of dimensionality, class imbalance, concept drift and non-linearity among others. These challenges affect the generalization performance of credit risk assessment models used by most financial institutions. This paper proposes an efficient and effective credit risk assessment model capable of learning incrementally based on machine learning algorithm called Adaptive Heterogeneous Dynamic Ensemble Selection (AHDES) that uses big data from alternative sources for financial for the underbanked. The algorithm is agile and adaptive to unexpected world events, changes in customer behaviour and cognitively counter bias likely to be introduced by information asymmetry. Experimental results on four large credit datasets and five evaluation metrics show that our proposed algorithm performs better than other selected benchmark models allowing the underbanked and less privileged to access loans to stimulate economic growth.

There is a dramatic increase in substance use in South Africa, with nyaope use on the rise despite its illegalization in 2014. Nyaope is widely used by young people and people living in poverty in mostly black communities or townships of South Africa. It has severe withdrawal symptoms, and it is very addictive. The treatment for the withdrawal symptoms and the rehabilitation of Nyaope users has significant challenges. The study explored the understanding of social workers about nyaope substance and services provided to nyaope users. The study employed the qualitative research approach. A sample of 19 social workers providing services to Nyaope users at the Department of Social Development, Waterberg District, in Limpopo Province was chosen. The study applied interviews guided by a semi-structured interview schedule and used exploratory research design. Purposive sampling was used to select the samples for the study, and data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The study established that social workers have a better understanding of nyaope substance and provide effective programs aimed at rehabilitating the users. It further established that some of the ingredients used in nyaope include antiretroviral drugs, which are meant for other illnesses. Ecological systems theory was used to provide a foundation and background to the study.

This article examines the influence of mentorship on women entrepreneurs in Cape Town, South Africa. The study assesses the extent to which mentorship contributes to personal empowerment, entrepreneurial performance, and innovation, while accounting for the effects of systemic barriers and the policy environment. A qualitative research design was employed, incorporating a systematic literature review guided by the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework to synthesize existing evidence. The review followed an iterative screening process, identifying three peer-reviewed studies that explicitly address mentorship in relation to women entrepreneurs within the African context. The findings from the literature indicate that women entrepreneurs across Africa face persistent structural constraints, including social-cultural norms, limited access to skills development, weak support systems, financial exclusion, and inadequate policy frameworks.  To complement the literature, primary data were collected from ten young female entrepreneurs in Cape Town who participated in a mentorship programme at RLabs. The empirical finding reinforce the significance of mentorship as a critical enabler of entrepreneurial growth, particularly in enhancing self-efficacy, business capabilities, and innovative practices. The study concludes that mentorship functions as a context-dependent and multifaceted mechanism that bridges personal empowerment and entrepreneurial outcomes. However, its effectiveness is contingent on the alignment of mentorship programmes with the specific social-economic realities of women entrepreneurs. The article recommends the design and implementation of targeted, context-sensitive mentorship interventions supported by enabling policy frameworks. While women's entrepreneurship is increasingly recognised as a catalyst for economic development in Africa, persistent systemic constraints continue to impede their full potential. This study contributes to literature by advancing a nuanced understanding of mentorship as both an individual and structural lever for entrepreneurial success within emerging economies. 

This study investigates the manifestation of administrative sabotage within the South African policing domain, challenging traditional criminological discourses that isolate corrupt officials as individual bad actors. By adopting a critical victimology lens, the research explores how institutional bad barrels weaponise bureaucratic procedures to facilitate systemic infiltration and silence internal dissent. The analysis incorporates contemporary evidence from the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry (2025–2026) and Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee reports including testimonies regarding the political disbanding of specialised task teams and the physical coercion of forensic analysts to demonstrate how knowledge sabotage and procedural exhaustion function as structural instruments of victimisation. The findings indicate that the intrusion of political interests into the high echelons of crime intelligence has effectively paralysed institutional neutrality, creating an environment where administrative infrastructure is used to obstruct rather than facilitate justice. The study concludes that existing reactive legal protections, such as the Protected Disclosures Act, are insufficient to counter these proactive structural assaults. Consequently, the paper recommends the establishment of a centralised, independent oversight body with the authority to interdict retaliatory administrative acts in real-time and the mandatory decoupling of policing functions from political interference

Children living in urban informal settlements are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards associated with polluted river water or degraded river stream systems. Regrettably, many communities are often not aware of the dangers degraded river systems pose both on environment and public health of the citizens living in their vicinity. Hence, this study assessed community perceptions of children’s vulnerability to environmental hazards in Umlazi Township, KwaZulu-Natal, and integrated these perceptions with targeted environmental exposure measurements. A household questionnaire (n = 190) was administered to adult residents to examine perceived stream conditions, health and safety risks, children’s exposure pathways, water governance, and community environmental awareness. Composite indices were developed to quantify children’s vulnerability, environmental hazard perception, knowledge and awareness, and governance barriers, and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. To contextualize perceived risks, surface water samples were analyzed for select pharmaceutical, biological and chemical contaminants, such as Escherichia coli, total coliforms, phosphate, and nitrate. The pharmaceutical ecological risk was assessed using cumulative risk quotient and toxic unit approaches, while microbial and nutrient contamination were evaluated using guideline-based risk classifications. Results indicated that poor perceived stream condition, proximity to streams, governance barriers, and negative community attitudes were significantly associated with higher perceived vulnerability of children towards health risks. Environmental analyses confirmed elevated microbial contamination, nutrient enrichment, and high pharmaceutical mixture toxicity, supporting community concerns regarding unsafe stream environments. The convergence of social perceptions and environmental exposure evidence highlights compounded ecological and public health risks for children in the Umlazi Township and underscores the need for integrated interventions addressing wastewater management, sanitation, and child-focused urban planning.

Three decades after the advent of democracy in South Africa, and with only five years remaining towards 2030 of attaining sustainable development, youth unemployment remains alarmingly high. The national unemployment rate currently stands at approximately 34%, with youth unemployment exceeding 60%. This persists despite the United Nations’ Agenda 2030, which outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at eradicating poverty, fostering development, and stimulating inclusive economic growth. Specifically, SDG 8 seeks to “promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all”. Yet South Africa continues to grapple with entrenched unemployment, particularly among its youth, aggravating related social and economic challenges such as poverty, inequality, and crime. Achieving SDG 8 appears increasingly elusive for developing economies like South Africa, where political, social and economic realities often misalign with global development aspirations. This paper critically examines the embedded intricacies towards achieving SDG 8, focusing on the structural drivers of youth unemployment in South Africa. Guided by the Broken Window Theory, the study employs a qualitative, desktop-based research approach with systematic data analysis. Findings reveal that weak policy implementation, especially of pro-poor policies, remains a critical barrier, compounded by stagnant economic growth, high poverty rates, limited state capacity, corruption, policy uncertainty, and overreliance on the private sector for job creation. The paper concludes with recommendations for strengthening policy execution, expanding government capacity, and creating pathways for meaningful youth participation in the economy to realise the aspirations of SDG 8.

This study investigated the factors influencing consumer repurchase intentions of beauty and haircare products on e-commerce platforms in South Africa. With the growing trend of online shopping, understanding the determinants of repurchase intention became essential for businesses looking to retain customers. The purpose of the study was to explore how various factors such as brand trust, security risk perception, ease of use, customer readiness, and loyalty impact consumer repurchase behaviour. A quantitative research design was employed, using an online questionnaire to collect data from 164 respondents who had previously purchased beauty and haircare products on an online shopping site for cosmetics in South Africa. The study utilised multiple regression analysis to assess the relationships among the identified factors and their influence on repurchase intentions. The findings revealed that brand trust, ease of use, and customer loyalty were significant positive predictors of repurchase intentions, while security risk perception had a negative impact. Readiness did not show a significant relationship with repurchase intentions. Based on these results, the study recommends that e-commerce businesses in the beauty sector focus on building trust, enhancing user-friendly interfaces, and fostering customer loyalty programs to encourage repeat purchases.  

A collage of environmental challenges in South Africa have stimulated the growing interest for greener practices. Notwithstanding the generic antecedents of green practices in the existing literature, little is known if water and energy consumption matter to investors who are going green. Thus, we seek to investigate if water and energy consumption influences investors’ green practices in South Africa. We adopt a positivist stance and employ a quantitative research approach to achieve the set objective. We draw archival data from companies that constitute the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index given their environmental impact. We generate a short panel data set of 19 FTSE/JSE RII companies with a six-year period resulting in 114 observations to statistically conduct the analysis. Given stationarity of all endogenous variables at I(1), we adopt first differenced econometric models namely Panel Vector Autoregression Model (PVAR) for Random Effects Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression and Random Effects Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) to generate more robust results generalisable to the entire population. We find a statistically significant negative effect of water and energy consumption on investor share ownership. Thus, we posit that corporate water and energy consumption may not be the primary antecedents of investors’ sustainability practices in South Africa. This paper agitates for future research studies to pursue the same enquiry using sustainability variables other than water and energy consumption.

This paper aims to examine the effects of public sector procurement practices on public sector service delivery in Ghana’s technical universities, while also assessing the influence of institutional leadership and stakeholder pressure as mediating mechanisms within this relationship. In this paper, it is also aimed to evaluate how internal governance conditions shape the effectiveness of procurement reforms in higher education institutions. The study employed the positivist research paradigm, a quantitative research approach and an explanatory research design, using structural equation modelling (SEM) to validate the measurement model and test the structural relationships. Primary data were collected from 235 staff across selected technical universities through a simple random sampling technique using a structured questionnaire. The main findings demonstrate that: (i) procurement practices do not have a significant direct effect on service delivery, indicating that technical interventions alone are insufficient to drive performance improvements; (ii) institutional leadership exerts a strong and positive influence on service delivery, highlighting the importance of strategic direction, governance competence and managerial oversight in shaping public sector outcomes; and finally, (iii) stakeholder pressure substantially enhances service delivery and serves as a critical channel through which procurement practices exert their influence. The results further reveal that both institutional leadership and stakeholder pressure significantly mediate the relationship between procurement practices and service delivery, suggesting that procurement reforms achieve their intended outcomes only when supported by robust institutional environments. These findings provide practical insights for policymakers and higher education managers, emphasising the need for governance-focused interventions alongside procurement reforms to achieve sustainable improvements in service delivery within Ghana’s technical universities.

This study aims to assess the public sector procurement practices implemented in technical universities in Ghana and to examine their influence on public sector service delivery within these institutions. Guided by a positivist philosophy, the study employed a quantitative research approach and an explanatory research design to test the hypothesised relationship between procurement practices and service delivery outcomes. The study employed the positivist research paradigm, a quantitative research approach, an explanatory research design and structural equation modelling (SEM) to validate the measurement model and test the structural relationships. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires administered to 235 employees across management, procurement, finance, stores and audit departments in three technical universities, Takoradi, Cape Coast and Sunyani through the help of simple random sampling technique. Using SmartPLS and structural equation modelling, the study evaluated the reliability and validity of the measurement model, assessed model fit and estimated the structural relationships between variables. The main findings demonstrate that (i) public sector procurement practices are implemented at a moderate level across the technical universities, with higher performance in supplier evaluation, contract negotiation and payment processing, (ii) procurement practices did not significantly influence service delivery, despite a positive but statistically insignificant path coefficient, indicating that procurement alone may not be a strong driver of service delivery outcomes within the higher education context, and (iii) the factors affecting service delivery in technical universities may be broader and more complex, potentially involving governance structures, resource availability, institutional capacity and administrative efficiency. These results contribute new empirical evidence to the procurement literature by highlighting sector-specific dynamics in higher education and suggest the need for more integrated institutional reforms, enhanced procurement monitoring and further research exploring mediating and moderating variables that may influence service delivery performance in Ghana’s technical universities.

This study examined the effect of entertainment benefits on the confirmation of application-based loyalty programmes among retail consumers in township markets. A positivist philosophy and mono-quantitative design were adopted. Using a survey, data were collected from 516 Black consumers aged 18-65 years who used at least one retail application-based loyalty programme. Respondents were selected through simple random sampling, and validated measurement scales were adapted to the study context. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised relationship, with education, gender, age and income included as control variables. The findings indicate that entertainment benefits have a statistically significant, positive but modest effect on confirmation, while none of the control variables are statistically significant. From a theoretical perspective, a business ecosystem lens conceptualises entertainment benefits as engagement mechanisms within digital interaction platforms embedded in township retail ecosystems. These mechanisms shape post-adoption evaluation in resource-constrained environments. The study contributes to the literature by isolating entertainment benefits as a hedonic determinant of confirmation, thereby extending prior research that has predominantly focused on utilitarian drivers. It also provides a focused re-examination of an existing doctoral thesis relationship between entertainment benefits and confirmation, offering a more granular understanding of hedonic value in post-adoption evaluation. Practically, the findings highlight the importance of integrating entertainment-driven features into application-based loyalty programme design to strengthen retailer-consumer engagement and enhance confirmation in emerging-market digital retail environments.

This article explores accountability and strategies to improve water service delivery in South African local municipalities, focusing on Bushbuckridge Local Municipality. Public officials often struggle to implement effective measures to ensure adequate water provision. Accountability in water delivery remains weak, with municipalities widely underperforming due to unqualified personnel, lack of technical expertise, corruption, and limited financial resources. These factors hinder municipalities’ ability to uphold Section 27 of the 1996 Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to clean water. Using a qualitative approach, the study reviews scholarly literature, government reports, and policy documents to assess performance and challenges. Findings reveal that mismanagement of municipal funds and employment of unqualified technical staff are key causes of poor water service delivery. The study also highlights that increasing water boreholes could reduce waterborne diseases and lower living costs for local residents. However, successful investment in borehole infrastructure requires parallel efforts to develop managerial and financial skills among community members and leaders of community-based organisations (CBOs). Strengthening collaboration between municipalities, CBOs, and communities is vital to enhance participation, promote accountability, and achieve sustainable water service delivery in Bushbuckridge and other South African municipalities.

Globally, small businesses are recognized as key contributors to employment creation and economic development, particularly within local and regional economies. In South Africa, Small to Medium-sized Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) play an important role in inclusive growth; however, their performance is often constrained by limited education levels and business skills among owners and managers. A quantitative research approach was employed, drawing on survey data collected from a random sample of 332 SMTE owners and managers operating within the province in order to understand the factors that contribute towards business performance. The findings underscore that the education levels and business-related competencies are significantly associated with improved business performance. Conversely, the findings demonstrate that deficiencies in managerial and operational skills negatively affect enterprise efficiency and growth potential. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of targeted skills development and education initiatives for SMTE owners and managers and underscores the role of government and support agencies in strengthening training programmes to enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the tourism sector. Overall, the study makes a significant contribution to the under researched area of tourism entrepreneurship by demonstrating the critical role of human capital in strengthening SMTE performance within a developing economy context. The findings of the study lay a solid foundation for future interventions to enhance business performance within the small business sector. Moreover, this study provides a foundation for further research and longitudinal studies in the area of small business performance.