Human capital of financial planners and value creation in South African financial planning businesses
- Authors: Palframan, Jaqueline birgitta
- Date: 2022-04
- Subjects: Human capital -- South Africa , Corporations--Finance
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/58123 , vital:58582
- Description: Improved healthcare enables people to live longer and thus spend more time in retirement than ever before. In addition, South Africans have a low propensity to save and invest, resulting in the danger of them living longer than their finances permit. The financial planning industry is also experiencing the technological automation of many transactional services, which could make the “traditional” role of financial planners redundant. Furthermore, financial planning businesses are prone to failure, especially during the start-up phase. As such, appropriate business management strategies, especially those relating to human capital, are critical to facilitate the effective development of financial planning businesses and which will enable financial planners to better engage with existing and new clients, resulting in creating more value creation for their financial planning businesses and benefitting the South African economy at large. It is a well-known fact that people who engage with a financial planner report better outcomes in terms of financial and general well-being than those who approach financial planning with a “do-it-yourself” mindset, which further emphasises why the longevity of financial planning businesses in South Africa is important. To date, however, limited academic research has been conducted on the influence of financial planners’ human capital on value creation in their financial planning businesses. Furthermore, although research in the financial planning field is growing, previous research has mostly focused on areas pertaining to financial advice, the financial planning process and products used in financial planning, rather than on the creation of profitable businesses or on how to create value within these businesses. Against this background, the primary objective of this study is to investigate the influence of selected Human capitals of financial planners on value creation in South African financial planning businesses. More specifically, the study investigates the influence of the independent variables of Social capital (measured individually in terms of its sub-categories, Relational social capital, Network social capital and Cognitive social capital), Entrepreneurial capital and Psychological capital on the dependent variables (Perceived financial value creation and Perceived non-financial value creation). v Based on the primary objective and research questions of the study, as well as the assumptions of the researcher, this study was positioned in the positivistic research paradigm and a deductive approach to theory development was adopted. The purpose of the study was explanatory, and a mono-method, quantitative methodological approach was selected. A survey strategy using a cross-sectional approach was undertaken and a measuring instrument in the form of an online questionnaire was developed to gather the data required. After undertaking a pilot study, the electronic link to the covering letter and online questionnaire was sent to potential respondents identified through the convenience and snowball sampling techniques. The data collection yielded 360 usable responses from South African financial planners on which to undertake the statistical analysis. Data analysis ensued to investigate the hypothesised relationships between the independent and dependent variables. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on each of the factors that made up the measurement models. These CFAs were compared to the various goodness-of-fit indices and then validity and reliability assessments of the factors were conducted to confirm the suitability of the measuring instrument. Thereafter, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, average variance extracted (AVE) estimates and squared correlations between the constructs were reported. The hypothesised model was confirmed based on these analyses. Descriptive statistics and correlation results on the dependent and independent variables were then reported. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used as the statistical technique to test the significance of the hypothesised direct and moderating relationships. The results confirmed a direct, significant relationship between all the independent variables, namely, Social capital (measured individually in terms of its sub-categories, Relational social capital, Network social capital and Cognitive social capital), Entrepreneurial capital and Psychological capital, and the dependent variables (Perceived financial value creation and Perceived non-financial value creation). Regarding the hypothesised moderating influence of Social capital on the relationships between the independent variables Entrepreneurial capital and Psychological capital, and the dependent variables, it was found that only Relational social capital and Network social capital moderated the relationship between Psychological capital and Perceived financial value creation. vi This study has contributed to the body of knowledge of financial planning in general, as well as how the human capital of financial planners influences both financial and non-financial value creation in financial planning businesses. Practical recommendations were made that could enhance financial planners’ value creation in financial planning businesses, which, in turn, would influence the sustainability of these important businesses. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Business and Economic science, 2022
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- Date Issued: 2022-04
Understanding the learning that occurs through up-skilling opportunities and practices in the marine sector of South Africa
- Authors: Bell, Caroline Margaret
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Biodiversity conservation -- South Africa , Human capital -- South Africa , Marine sciences -- Employees -- South Africa -- Training of , Biodiversity Human Capital Development Strategy (South Africa)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/93966 , vital:30977
- Description: South Africa is characterised by cultural and biological diversity which constitute a unique context in which to conduct educational research, such as this doctoral study looking at human capital development in the marine biodiversity context. The drive for transformation in the country is also a major factor to consider when researching any sector of the economy, in this case, the biodiversity sector. The biodiversity sector includes organisations involved in biodiversity conservation, research and management. Previous research in the sector has found a clear need for well-thought out workplace skills plans within conservation and research organisations. The national Biodiversity Human Capital Development Strategy that was produced in 2010 by the South African National Biodiversity Institute outlines how all the organisations involved in the biodiversity sector of South Africa need to participate in strengthening the sector through a range of human capital development strategies. This includes extending the existing human capacity of managers and scientists who are already in the workplace, i.e. up-skilling. In particular, ‘scarce’ skills, as identified by the national Environmental Sector Skills Plan need further attention and development. The scarce skills relevant to this study are: protected area managers; ecosystem managers and post-graduate researchers, hence the focus on managers and scientists in this research. The marine sector falls within the biodiversity sector and it faces multiple conservation challenges which are complex and it is therefore essential to have skilled and capable managers and scientists in place. By investigating the up-skilling opportunities and practices available to these marine professionals, the goal is to understand if and how learning takes place in the marine sector of South Africa. The main research question of this study is: How do up-skilling opportunities and practices enable learning in, through and for the workplace, by marine professionals? In addition, three sub-questions provide finer details and introduce the central concepts of the research: I. What up-skilling opportunities and professional practices exist in or for, marine research and conservation organisations and how are they constituted and enacted via practice-based sayings, doings and relatings? II. How do the individuals learn and exercise their agency within the socio-material realities of the marine scientific and management context, through making use of up-skilling opportunities that are both formal (e.g. course based) and informal? III. How do generative mechanisms shape the constitution and enactment of up-skilling opportunities and practices, and the learning and agency of marine professionals (scientists and managers)? The theoretical work of this study consisted of, first, considering sensitising concepts which included: defining skill and knowledge; considering what an up-skilling opportunity might look like; workplace learning (both formal and informal learning); professional practices, lifelong learning or adult education, and agency in the workplace. Critical realism was then employed as the meta-theory that underlabours this research, while the substantive theories used for analysis purposes were socio-materialism and practice theory. Of course, critical realism is a socio-material theory itself, and Bhaskar’s four-planar social being or Social Cube was used to interpret and synthesise the findings in the data chapters. The methodological framework of this study explores the implications of critical realism for research design and analysis and includes a contextual profiling phase, semi-structured interviews, analysis of documents and peer-reviewed papers, as well as observations. There are nine case studies that form the focus of this research and in total 18 research participants were involved. Data analysis included abduction and retroduction as the primary modes of inference and the main analytical tool was the framework of practice architectures where I took the ‘sayings’, ‘doings’ and ‘relatings’ as themes. Further themes were developed from the other relevant theories used in this study; hence socio-materialism, learning, agency, and formal and informal opportunities, were also used as themes when coding the data. Issues around validity, ethics and reflexivity are key elements of the research design and were carefully considered throughout the research process. The principal data chapters are structured in such a way that each sub-question is considered and ultimately the findings are presented in the form of generative mechanisms which included: the politics of social transformation and knowledge as a driving force of up-skilling; the influence of individual disposition and passion or will; the importance of the socio-material realities and realistic expectations; and how relationality is critical for the marine sector. Agency was a cross-cutting theme in all the discussions around learning, practices and the role of the material, and was highly influential on the mechanisms that have been described in this study. The experiences, events and mechanisms that were uncovered in this research provide insight into the forms of learning as these relate to up-skilling that occur in the marine sector, as well as the complex relationships between formal and informal learning. The professional practices that occur in the everyday working lives of the marine professionals were shown to be an integral part of the learning process, while formal, certified opportunities are important for strengthening the field and building conservation competence in the country. By uncovering the deeper structures and mechanisms that have power and causal efficacy when it comes to up-skilling opportunities, learning and professional practices, this study has contributed to the field of environmental education as it shows how up-skilling processes operate in complex formations that involve formal and informal learning processes in workplaces. The study also offers a more nuanced view of the relational objects in this field, such as up-skilling and workplace learning, via the inclusion of a socio-material analysis. Through a theoretical and methodological framework that focused on the material using the tools of practice theory and Bhaskar’s depth ontology and four-planar social being (to synthesise and interpret the findings from a critical realist perspective), this research highlights the unique context of up-skilling opportunities and practices in the marine sector and reveals the crucial role of agency in workplace practices. This leads to a better understanding of the up-skilling opportunities and practices of marine professionals in South Africa, which ultimately contributes towards improved human capital development in the biodiversity and environmental sectors. Through offering more complex insights into the forms of learning and up-skilling, as well as a distinct methodological contribution, this research has broader relevance for workplace learning research.
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- Date Issued: 2019