The Department of Business Management closes its centenary year out with a rich post-graduate harvest
Author: Prof G Human
Published: 11/12/2024
?In 2024, The Department of Business celebrated its centenary with the theme “Generations of Business Influence”. Throughout the year, various festive and celebratory activities took place. These include hosting a Not-For-Profit Management Symposium and the Southern African Institute of Business Scientists annual conference in Stellenbosch. The department's history is also documented in a book by Prof Suzette Viviers and Mrs Sabrina Matthee. In addition, on 11 December, the department graduated three PhD students (see photo) and six masters students, of which four were awarded cum laude.
fltr: Prof Gina Gorgens (supervisor), Dr Annalien de Vries (graduate), Prof Pierre Erasmus (supervisor), Dr Anika Berning-Van Zyl (graduate), Prof Gert Human (supervisor and department chair); Dr Stefanie Kühn (supervisor) and Dr Nina Laubscher (graduate).
Success at graduation is testimony to the dedication of students and staff in the department. Business Management covers various focal areas, including Financial Management, Investment Management, Financial Planning, Marketing Management, Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Strategic Management. The diverse research interests of the department are demonstrated in the topics of the PhD’s that graduated this year. Dr Berning-van Zyl explored the relationship between contingency factors and management control practices in non-profit organisations (NPOs), specifically focusing on the role of controls in managerial performance and the facilitation of organisational change under conditions of uncertainty. Dr De Vries’ study focuses on the South African stock market to explore how investor sentiment influences the cost of equity for JSE-listed securities. The study highlights the need for incorporating sentiment into asset pricing models and investment strategies, offering valuable insights for investors and stakeholders. The study by Nina Laubscher shows that a firm’s big data analytics capability is insufficient to enhance its organisational resilience capacity. Instead, the empirical evidence suggests that a firm’s big data analytics capability is more likely to improve organisational resilience if the firm is digitally mature and has a data-driven culture.
These topics are not only diverse but also speak to real-world problems and how multi-disciplinary approaches can benefit knowledge creation. The department remains committed to a research-intensive approach to support the needs of an evolving society.
