The changing world of business: a South African strategic management perspective

Citation

Petzer, D., De Meyer, C. and Svensson, G. (2012), "The changing world of business: a South African strategic management perspective", European Business Review, Vol. 24 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.2012.05424eaa.001

The changing world of business: a South African strategic management perspective

Article Type: Guest editorial From: European Business Review, Volume 24, Issue 5

This special issue focus on major events in recent years changing the world we live in. On the political front, young people in Africa brought about regime changes through popular uprisings. On the environmental front, large parts of the world experienced natural disasters in one form or another. In the regulatory environment, financial institutions are much more exposed to scrutiny and regulation than ever before and in the social cultural environment the voices of disenfranchised groupings, whether it is based upon religion, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation, sounds loud and clear throughout the world – they cannot be ignored anymore. These events bring about changes of how people perceive and interact with the world around them and how businesses operate, not only now but also in the long term.

This special issue consists of a selection of contributions as follows.

The first article entitled “Networking as key factor in artpreneurial success” co-authored by Saskia de Klerk of University of New South Wales in Australia and Melville Saayman of North-West University in South Africa. The article investigates the current level of networking skills and to determine the perceptions of entrepreneurs of their current networking relationships.

The second article entitled “Antecedents of strategic corporate entrepreneurship” and is authored by Margarietha Johanna De Villiers-Scheepers of University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. This article shows how the antecedents to strategic corporate entrepreneurship influence the entrepreneurial intensity of emerging economy firms in South Africa.

The third article entitled “Working with the complexities of transformational change in a society in transition: a South African perspective”. It is co-authored by Megan Seneque as Independent Development Specialist in Australia and Christopher Bond of University of Roehamption Business School in UK.

The fourth article entitled “Strategic renewal and the change of capabilities in utility firms”. It is authored by Hagen Worch of Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology in Switzerland, Mundia Kabinga and Anton Eberhard of University of Cape Town in South Africa and Bernhard Truffer of University of Bern in Switzerland. This article analyzes how strategic renewal affects the reconfiguration of capabilities. In the context of organizational change in a large utility firm, the authors examine the evolution of the capability structure, and explain the emergence and persistence of capability gaps.

The fifth article entitled “Analytical dimensions of knowledge transfer to the subsidiaries”. It is authored by José Duarte Moleiro Martins of University Institute of Lisbon, in Portugal. The article provides insights for multinational corporations (MNCs) that intend to transfer knowledge to their subsidiaries situated in Mozambique. The local operating conditions particular to that country are influenced by three analytic dimensions.

The last article entitled “Effects of rule of law on firm performance in South Africa”. It is co-authored by Banjo Roxas and Doren Chadee of Deakin University in Australia and Ronel Erwee of University of Southern Queensland in Australia. South Africa has undertaken significant institutional reforms since the change in its political regime in 1994. During the same period, the country has also experienced rapid economic growth. Although it is widely accepted that institutional reform generally has positive impacts on firm competitiveness and economic growth, the extent to which institutional reforms have been of benefit to businesses is not well understood. This article focuses specifically on the rule of law and assesses the extent to which the rule of law affects business performance.

We wish that you – the reader of European Business Review – will find the six contributions of this special issue of great intellectual interest and stimulation. We also hope that both scholars and practitioners will find them valuable.

Welcome to the thought-provoking and challenging world of European Business Review!

Yours sincerely,

Daniel Petzer, Christine De Meyer, Göran SvenssonGuest Editors