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This study aimed to examine the influence of team management approaches, specifically team structuring, leadership, motivation, and communication, on the performance of tea processing projects in Rwanda. The study is grounded in Belbin’s Team Role Theory and the Iron Triangle Model and adopted descriptive and correlational research designs. The target population included 185 respondents, comprising factory staff, supervisors, team leaders, and officials from NAEB, MINAGRI, and the Rwanda Tea Growers Cooperative. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and interviews. A pilot test was conducted with 19 respondents to determine the instrument's ability to produce consistent results over time. Validity and Reliability testing of the research instrument yielded 0.78 and a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.79 from pilot results, confirming the instrument's validity and reliability respectively. Data analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics, including Pearson correlation and regression, using SPSS version 28 at a 0.05 significance level. 

Macroeconomics plays an important role in influencing firm value and performance. This study aims to analyze the effect of inflation, exchange rates, interest rates, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on firm value, with firm performance as a mediating variable. Firm performance in this study is proxied by liquidity, which is measured using the Current Ratio (CR), representing one specific dimension of firm performance rather than its overall performance, while firm value is proxied by the Price Earning Ratio. The study was conducted on infrastructure sector companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the 2019–2023 period, using a purposive sampling method. Data analysis was carried out through classical assumption tests, multiple linear regression, and mediation analysis using the Sobel test. The results showed that inflation, interest rates, and GDP had a significant effect on Current Ratio, but exchange rates did not. Meanwhile, inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates had a significant effect on firm value, but GDP did not. The mediation test showed that Current Ratio only significantly mediated the effect of inflation on firm value. These findings indicate the importance of liquidity management and strategies in dealing with macroeconomic risks. Further research is recommended to examine other mediating variables and different industrial sectors.       

Effective management of human, material, and financial resources is crucial for delivering housing construction projects successfully. In Musanze District, Rwanda, many housing projects have faced delays and cost overruns, largely due to weaknesses in planning, coordination, and resource use. Using the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Systems Theory as guiding frameworks, this study assessed how resource management strategies impact the performance of housing construction projects. A descriptive survey design with correlational analysis was used. The study targeted 152 stakeholders, including district infrastructure officers, project managers, site engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, foremen, skilled workers, and material suppliers. A stratified random sample of 110 participants was drawn, and a 10% pilot test (n = 11) was conducted to ensure the questionnaire’s clarity. Reliability analysis using Cronbach’s Alpha produced a value of 0.826, indicating strong internal consistency. Content validity was confirmed with a CVI of 0.87. Data were analyzed in SPSS 25 using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression at a 5% significance level. Findings indicated that overall project delivery performance was high (composite mean = 4.38). Key delivery indicators such as quality (mean = 4.74), scope achievement (4.56), and stakeholder satisfaction (4.35) were strong, while timely completion recorded the lowest performance (mean = 4.02). Material Resource Management (MRM) exhibited a strong, positive, and statistically significant correlation with project delivery (r = 0.510, p = 0.000), making it the most influential individual strategy.

Seed potato farming projects are essential for increasing agricultural productivity, strengthening food security, and supporting rural livelihoods in Rwanda. However, their performance is often affected by internal organizational culture challenges such as weak communication, limited accountability, unresolved conflicts, and low employee motivation. This study examined the influence of key organizational culture aspects—communication, accountability, conflict resolution, and employee motivation—on the performance of seed potato farming projects in Rwanda. The study was guided by Organizational Culture Theory and Systems Theory and employed both descriptive and correlational research designs. The target population consisted of 420 individuals, including project managers, agronomy staff, field operations personnel, administrative staff, and smallholder farmers involved in the RAB potato seed multiplication project. A sample of 230 respondents was selected using appropriate sampling techniques. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and document review. A pilot test involving 23 respondents was conducted to assess the consistency of the research instruments. The obtained results show a Cronbach’s Alpha value of 0.78, confirming reliability, and a CVI of 0.82, which exceeds the acceptable threshold for validity, meaning the research instruments were both dependable and appropriate for accurately measuring the study variables. Only items with a Content Validity Index (CVI) of at least 0.70 were retained. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis with SPSS version 28 at a significance level of 0.05.      

This paper focuses on a classic policy trade-off by unraveling the role of financial deregulation in driving financial stability and exploring how the role of regulatory quality can affect this relationship. To this end, this study uses a balanced panel dataset of 73 countries across a period of ten years starting from 2014. The empirical specification utilizes a two-step System GMM approach, accounting for both endogeneity, unobserved heterogeneity issues, and persistence in financial stability. Specifically, financial stability is measured by non-performing loans (NPLs), which represent the level of risk exposure of national banking sectors. The findings reveal that financial freedom leads to higher level of financial instability, proving theoretical predictions of the excessive risk-taking behavior of lending institutions encouraged with financial deregulation. Furthermore, the interaction term between financial freedom and regulatory quality is statistically significant, suggesting that financial deregulation can be compensated by the quality of regulatory environment. The role of the GDP per capita variable used for stabilizing the findings is significant as it represents the resilience of more developed economies. The implications of the results are complex. In a more institutional context, this finding suggests that financial stability is not a direct function of financial freedom but is conditional on institutional capability. Hence, high regulatory quality can mitigate the instability caused by financial freedom, thereby enabling a balanced approach.

Using a large sample of bond rating downgrades of US firms announced by the three largest rating agencies during 1997-2023, I find that cumulative abnormal stock returns (CAR) spanning the day of and day following downgrade announcements are significantly and negatively related to annual report readability, indicating that downgrades are more informative among firms with more readable annual reports. My baseline regression results indicate that a one standard deviation improvement in annual report readability corresponds to a reduction in the announcement CAR of approximately forty-three basis points, which is economically meaningful given that it constitutes roughly 27% of the sample average announcement CAR of -1.62%. Furthermore, additional analysis reveals that the informativeness enhancing effect that better annual report readability has on rating downgrades is stronger among firms that should be more difficult to monitor and evaluate, including lower rated firms, firms with high stock return volatility, and younger firms. Overall, the results strongly support the hypothesis that well-written annual reports facilitate more timely and informative bond rating downgrades, especially among more informationally problematic firms.

This study investigated the effect of project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices on the performance of the Capacity Development for ICT in Education (CADIE) project in Gicumbi District, Rwanda. The study specifically attempted to examine the effect of M&E planning, M&E tools, M&E digitization, and M&E budget on performance of the CADIE project in Gicumbi District, Rwanda. It was guided by the Technology Acceptance Theory, Results-Based Management (RBM) Theory, and Capacity Development Theory. A descriptive research design combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed. The target population consisted of 268 stakeholders, Using Yamane’s formula, a sample of 160 respondents was drawn using stratified and simple random sampling techniques to ensure fair representation. Data was collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and documentary reviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 through descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Descriptive statistics revealed that respondents generally agreed that M&E practices positively influenced project performance. The regression model showed R = 0.809 and R² = 0.655, indicating that 65.5% of the variation in project performance was explained by M&E planning, M&E tools, M&E digitalization, and M&E budgeting. The study concluded that effective monitoring and evaluation practices were vital for the successful performance of ICT-based education projects. A structured M&E plan provided clear direction, digitalization improved real-time monitoring and reporting, and proper budgeting ensured accountability and efficient resource utilization.

Long memory suggests that past returns can influence future returns over extended periods, indicating potential predictability. The aim of this study was to empirically examines the interplay between long memory effects, downside risk, and stock returns across five major international equity markets (S&P 500, FTSE 100, Nikkei 225, DAX, and ASX) from 2000 to 2022. An ARFIMA model which quantify fractional differencing was used in conjunction with a correlation matrix, regression and Granger causality test to investigate the interplay. The findings revealed a significant long memory across all markets, with Nikkei 225 exhibiting the strongest persistence, attributed to Japan’s prolonged economic stagnation. Counterintuitively, lagged downside risk positively predicts returns, aligning with behavioural theories of investor overreaction to tail events. Bidirectional causality between risk and returns underscores reflexive market dynamics. The study bridges a critical gap by integrating long memory into downside risk models, demonstrating that persistent volatility amplifies tail risk premiums. The findings of this study suggest that financial market regulators need to seriously considers adaptive regulatory tools due to the dual long memory in returns and downside risk necessitates. To the author´s knowledge, this study is the first to bridge a critical gap in the literature by systematically integrating long memory effects with downside risk metrics so as to provide a more robust framework for understanding risk-return dynamics, as it accounts for the persistent nature of volatility and tail risk, which traditional short-memory models often overlook.

The enrolment of international students continues to intellectually, culturally, and educationally enrich universities across the globe. In South Africa, international students bring vast and valuable experiences, perspectives, and skills to the host institutions. Research shows that besides the above contribution that international students make within the higher institutions of learning in South Africa, they also make significant economic contributions to the host institutions and country through enrolment. But beyond institutionalised practices of support and inclusivity, international students endure invisible academic and social issues that are not spoken about and discussed widely. Although South Africa is one of the African countries with a high number of international students enrolled within the institutions of higher learning, in certain institutions, such students are alienated based on their being considered an ‘outsider.’ This conceptual paper draws its literature from chapter one of the PhD work-in-progress and therefore, examines the tacit challenges that international students face when undergoing independent academic and social support frameworks in university in higher education institutions. The primary aim of this paper is to stimulate scholarly dialogue on best practices and strategic approaches for enhancing the well-being and academic success of international students. Grounded in a review of existing literature, this paper contends that despite the presence of institutional policies and student support initiatives, international students continue to face significant challenges in their academic journeys. These include language barriers, experiences of xenophobia and discrimination, and the complexities of immigration laws and regulations. Furthermore, the paper contributes to the broader discourse on equitable access to higher education through the development of student-centred, culturally responsive, and inclusive support systems. In conclusion, the paper proposes an inclusive support framework for international students, structured around six key components: foundational principles, structural elements, interconnected support networks, academic and career integration, outreach and information delivery, and policy and institutional commitment.

The national development plan (NDP) clearly states that communities should take initiatives to solve their own problems. One of the socio-economic problems faced by communities in South Africa is the effects of inequality, which is largely the apartheid era is responsible for. In trying to deal with the socio-economic problem of inequality, many communities in South Africa have resorted to forming and running cooperatives in different sectors of the economy. However, these cooperatives are reported to be facing numerous challenges, and in some cases, many of them fail or close down. The challenges mentioned range from a lack of capacity to manage, poor economic performance in the country, heavy reliance on government grants and many others. Despite the challenges faced by cooperatives in South Africa, they are still believed to be a very important tool in dealing with the problem of inequality, which mostly affects rural areas where most of these cooperatives operate. To understand the potential impact of cooperatives in dealing with inequality, this paper uses a qualitative approach. Secondary sources of published information by government agencies and cooperatives themselves will be used, as well as literature published by experts in the area of study. Preliminary findings of the paper are that cooperatives in South Africa are very small in size, and the majority of them are in primary sectors of the economy. If cooperatives are to play a significant role in dealing with inequality, there is a need for them to be capacitated to grow and also participate in upper value chains of the economy.  

Immigrant-owned enterprises have become a significant part of South Africa’s informal and formal economic sectors, particularly within local municipalities. In Thulamela Local Municipality, located in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, immigrant entrepreneurs contribute significantly to local economic activities, especially in retail and the informal sector. Despite their visible presence and contributions, these entrepreneurs encounter a range of limitations that threaten the sustainability and scalability of their businesses. This study explores the key challenges hindering immigrant enterprise owners in Thulamela Local Municipality, to identify both structural and context-specific barriers. The study adopts a qualitative research approach, utilising in-depth interviews and purposive sampling to gather data from 12 participants, guided by a structured interview guide. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns and lived experiences across cases. The findings of the study reveal several persistent challenges, including limited access to formal financial institutions, complex regulations, social exclusion, and xenophobic attitudes from local communities. These challenges not only hinder business growth but also limit the long-term integration of immigrant entrepreneurs into the broader local economy. Furthermore, the insufficient institutional support and representation in local enterprise structures amplify their vulnerability and marginalisation. The study recommends the establishment of inclusive local economic growth strategies and structured support programs that recognise the unique role immigrant entrepreneurs play in local economic resilience and inclusive development in underdeveloped municipalities.

The New Public Management (NPM) has brought a trend toward the government to administer the performance of government personnel to enhance government performance and the distribution of government services. In 1998, in accordance with the White Paper on Local Government, in South Africa Performance Management (PM) was brought in to improve the performance of government employees and ensure a successful distribution of public services. PM led to the establishment of the Municipal Performance Management Systems (MPMS). However, currently, there is little information on the effectiveness of the usage of MPMS to ameliorate the delivery of municipal services. The study evaluated the fruitfulness of MPMS through exploring the perceptions of municipal employees towards MPMS, and the ability of MPMS to foster positive change in South African municipalities through lessons gained from practices. To address the questions posed by the study, a qualitative method of research was employed drawing heavily on secondary data to expand knowledge of the usability of MPMS in the local government of South Africa. Subsequently, the findings of the study show that the effectiveness of MPMS is affected by various issues such as insufficient information and knowledge concerning MPMS, lack of monitoring and evaluation, poor financial administration, lack of participation from all municipal employees, data accuracy & the reliability of performance indicators, and shortage of skills. In short, the study concluded that the usage of MPMS in South Africa is not 100% effective and could be enhanced through establishing training workshops, monitoring, and evaluation, incorporating all municipal personnel to take part in the MPMS, and offering financial and non-financial incentives to motivate employees.

Entrepreneurship education has been implemented at numerous higher education institutions to provide students with the skills and knowledge for pursuing entrepreneurship as a career.  Nevertheless, several problems confront entrepreneurship education, despite its recognised benefits among students.  This study sought to identify the obstacles in entrepreneurship education that impede student entrepreneurial development at the University of Venda.  The research employed a qualitative design to fulfil its purpose.  The targeted population consisted of University of Venda student-entrepreneurs engaged in entrepreneurship education programs and those enrolled in entrepreneurship courses.  A convenience sample method was employed to choose 10 participants, and data were gathered using semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews in alignment with the research objectives.  The gathered data was evaluated thematically utilising Atlas.ti version 8.4. The findings revealed the obstacles confronting entrepreneurship education, which include budgetary limits, insufficient funding, and unsuitable teaching techniques.  This research is one of the few that have recognised the obstacles of entrepreneurship education for students.  A mixed-method research strategy is advisable for a comprehensive comprehension of the topic.

This paper examines the role of social media in enhancing public participation within the Mossel Bay Municipality, focusing on both opportunities and challenges. While social media platforms have become important channels for communication, participation, and accountability between citizens and local government, their integration into governance processes in South Africa remains underexplored. Existing literature primarily focuses on national-level initiatives or metropolitan municipalities, leaving a gap in understanding the dynamics of social media use in smaller municipal contexts. This research addresses this gap by investigating how social media platforms can strengthen citizen engagement, participation, and accountability in a local municipality. Employing a qualitative approach, the study involved semi-structured interviews with 20 participants, including municipal officials, councillors, and ward committee members. The findings reveal that social media offers significant opportunities to engage diverse audiences, particularly youth, working adults, and urban populations often excluded from traditional participation channels. However, challenges such as digital inequality, limited interaction, and insufficient strategic planning constrain its effectiveness. The study underscores the need for Mossel Bay Municipality to move beyond one-way communication and develop a comprehensive social media strategy with clear goals, interactive mechanisms, and inclusive engagement practices. By focusing on a local municipal context, this research advances e-governance scholarship in South Africa, highlighting practical strategies for leveraging social media to enhance participatory governance and promote social inclusion.

This paper examines the financial sustainability problems encountered by the Kuyasa Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, which renovated 2,309 low-income residences with solar water heaters, compact fluorescent lighting, and insulated ceilings.  Notwithstanding its environmental and social advantages, the project encountered considerable financial deficits, especially in maintenance funding, attributed to decreasing Certified Emission Reduction (CER) values and delays in payout.  A concurrent triangulation mixed-methods approach was utilised.  Quantitative data were gathered from 370 people of Kuyasa using structured questionnaires, while qualitative insights were acquired through semi-structured interviews with 20 specialists in the energy sector.  The analysis was based on the "Integrated Participatory Sustainable Framework," which integrates systems theory, sustainability theory, community empowerment, and energy availability.  The findings indicated that the project's financial unsustainability stemmed from constraints in the revenue stream, contribution channels, loan repayment strategies, and community empowerment initiatives, culminating in a negative Net Present Value (NPV).  The paper introduces the "Sustainable Chameleon Strategy to Overcome Challenges," which figuratively utilises ten adaptive traits of the chameleon to guide context-specific, sustainable financial processes.  The study presents a replicable framework for renewable energy initiatives, proposing techniques to enhance financial viability via innovative design, stakeholder engagement, and adaptable finance mechanisms beyond the CDM.  This study presents the innovative "Sustainable Chameleon Strategy to Overcome Financial Sustainability Challenges," which provides a creative and integrative method for addressing financial sustainability issues in community-based renewable energy initiatives, particularly in low-income and developing nations.

Organisational leaders are the most vital and effective machinery that organisations possess to enhance and sustain employee engagement. As such, it is important that they fully understand the significance of the effect of leadership style on employee engagement. Against this background, this paper aims to examine the effect of transformational leadership on employee engagement. A quantitative research methodology was utilised for the data collection and analysis.  The target population for this study comprised the labour force at a specific company in South Africa. The unit of analysis was all individuals employed at the company and could be seen as individuals with an influence on the performance of the company through their level of engagement. A questionnaire with closed-ended questions was utilised to collect data after having obtained an ethical clearance certificate from an institution of higher learning in South Africa. Descriptive statistics and correlational analysis were used to analyse the data. The main finding demonstrates that transformational leadership style has a positive effect on employee engagement. The study underscores the importance of transformational leadership style in fostering employee engagement. The study contributes to the theoretical discourse on leadership by emphasising the need, in an ever-changing competitive business environment, where businesses are constantly striving to achieve a competitive edge over their competitors, for a leadership style that has a positive effect on employee engagement.

This study aimed to emphasise the growing significance of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in company sustainability conversations, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which highlighted the essential nature of OHS beyond simple awareness. Despite organisations' prior awareness of OHS principles, the pandemic's catastrophic effects underscored the imperative to comprehensively align OHS with overarching sustainability initiatives, particularly the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The advancement of global digitalisation requires safety experts to utilise management and data analytics tools, with Business Process Management (BPM) and Process Safety Management (PSM) being essential in this context. This study employs an extensive literature review to provide a conceptual framework integrating BPM and PSM aspects to advance the development of OHS students as future leaders in sustainable practices. The results support the incorporation of Sustainable Development Goals into Occupational Health and Safety courses, highlighting the necessity of providing students with Business Process Management, including data analytics, and Project Management skills to foster leadership in sustainability. This study introduces an innovative framework designed to augment students' abilities to spearhead sustainability-focused learning activities in the domain of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). Integrating SDGs, BPM, and PSM into OHS education can substantially enhance the development of a more sustainable and resilient global future. This indicates that such integration can equip students to effectively tackle difficult challenges, such as pandemics and other global disasters. This study offers novel insights by presenting a paradigm that amalgamates BPM and PSM with SDGs in OHS education, hence cultivating future leaders capable of promoting sustainable practices. Nonetheless, as a theoretical investigation, additional empirical research is required to examine particular curricular requirements in other countries and to substantiate the framework's effectiveness.

This study aims to empirically analyze the three key pillars of university financial sustainability—revenue-generating activities, good financial governance, and IT capabilities—with performance, age, and size as control variables. Using a survey method targeting private universities in Indonesia, data were collected from financial leadership representatives across 14 provinces, yielding 627 valid responses. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationships among variables. The results reveal significant positive effects of good financial governance on financial sustainability, IT capabilities on financial sustainability and revenue-generating activities on financial sustainability. Furthermore, revenue-generating activities have a strong positive impact on both good financial governance and IT capabilities. The analysis also identifies IT capability as a mediating variable between revenue-generating activities and financial sustainability, as well as between good financial governance and financial sustainability. These findings underscore the strategic role of technology-based governance in enhancing the financial resilience of higher education institutions. Accordingly, the study recommends strengthening the three pillars of financial sustainability—revenue diversification, sound governance practices, and robust IT capabilities—to ensure long-term institutional sustainability.

This study investigates the perceptions of Management Sciences students in Bloemfontein, South Africa, regarding the role of technology in facilitating entrepreneurship and its impact on business success. In the context of a rapidly evolving technological landscape, the research aims to evaluate students' knowledge, attitudes, and comprehension of how technology influences entrepreneurial endeavours. Utilising a quantitative approach, this study identifies gaps in students' understanding, assesses their readiness to embrace technological advancements, and evaluates their awareness of the strategic importance of technology in the entrepreneurial journey. Findings reveal significant insights into students' perceptions and highlight areas for improvement in educational curricula designed to enhance technological literacy among aspiring entrepreneurs. This study contributes to the development of interventions that equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate the increasingly digital entrepreneurial landscape, thereby promoting a generation of technologically proficient and entrepreneurial-minded individuals.

Financial markets are a system of complex price dynamics that are often influenced by various nonlinear factors. Traditional linear models such as Autoregressive Moving Average also known as ARMA and the GARCH model often fail to capture the inherent nonlinearities observed in financial market returns and trading volumes which poses significant problems in modelling financial time series. The aim of this study was to investigates the role of threshold nonlinearity in modelling financial market returns and trading volume. Daily share prices and trading volumes from the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indices spanning from January 2000 to December 2020 were used as the sample financial markets. The findings revealed that the threshold model improves predictive performance over traditional linear models, highlighting the importance of incorporating nonlinearity for understanding the dynamics of financial markets. A threshold autoregressive model was proposed to account for sudden shifts in market conditions and nonlinear dependencies between returns and trading volumes.