Chris William Callaghan

Gender differences in locus of control and student performance in the South African context of accounting studies

Purpose - – This paper aims to test the theory that predicts differences in locus of control (LOC) by gender and the relationships between LOC and the performance of accounting students in a large South African university. Design/methodology/approach - – Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the applicability of Spector’s (1988) LOC scales as a first-order construct in this context. An exploratory factor analysis was then performed to provide a more fine-grained analysis of subordinate constructs. Three component categories were found to emerge from a test of this widely used LOC questionnaire. These component categories were classified as beliefs about the effectiveness of agency, beliefs about chance and beliefs about networks in the contribution to the attainment of outcomes in working contexts. Findings - – Further tests revealed that female accounting students demonstrate higher LOC in all the three categories. Females were therefore found to have significantly higher levels of both LOC and student performance; yet, the majority of tested items were not significant in their associations, and total LOC was not found to be associated with higher performance for female or male students. Certain individual items were, however, found to be associated with performance for male students. It is concluded that despite the predictions of seminal theory that predicts convergence around gender, or more egalitarian outcomes in high-skilled contexts over time, accounting student performance in this context might currently be dominated by females. This reflects a current general dominance of females in higher educational attainment and in employment numbers in educational contexts. Research limitations/implications - – Limitations of the study include: first, the use of a single university; second, a sample of only first-year accounting students. It is not known whether these findings generalise beyond accounting students with similar university environments. This research is also not causal in nature. The statistical testing used in this study cannot indicate causality. Originality/value - – It is recommended that further research investigate the more fine-grained dimensions of LOC that can contribute to accounting student performance and that further qualitative or causal research is performed to “surface” the causal mechanisms that underlie these findings. The value of this research is in the fact that it tests theory that predicts differences in LOC and the relationships between LOC and performance in an important formative context of accounting.

Resource scarcity and information technology: Issues and trends among first-year accounting students

Technology is never enough; there will always be the demand for more to manage the present and to gear up for the future. Consequently, engaging in a deliberate search for knowledge is critical to higher education. Institutions encourage the study of the learning environment and ensure that the appropriate management strategies are in place to educate students. In a changing academic environment computer facilities at universities are one of the key drivers. The main aim of this paper was to investigate the use of computer facilities among first-year accounting students. Data was collected over a period of three years (2010, 2011 and 2012). The results of the study revealed the demographics of Accounting I students and their academic performance, use of computer facilities, knowledge of different software packages and other valuable information regarding computer facilities. The study concludes that the use of and exposure to computer facilities influence the academic performance of first-year accounting students. Key Words Accounting students, academic performance, computer facilities, information technology, resource scarcity, university

Job Satisfaction and Job Performance: The Case of Research Productivity

Abstract In order to meet social needs, and address societal challenges, the University is dependent upon the research productivity of its staff. Satisfaction contributes to the retention of, as well as the job performance of, academic staff. However, knowledge of the relationships between job satisfaction and research productivity is absent from the literature in the South African context. An exploratory cross sectional quantitative research design is applied to a sample of 225 respondents of academics from a large regional South African university. Correlation, partial correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis are used to test seminal theory that predicts relationships between job satisfaction and research productivity as a dimension of job performance. Findings indicate that academics that produce more internationally accredited journals are relatively more job-dissatisfied. Junior academics, particularly those without doctoral degrees, are found to be more job-satisfied. It is argued that remuneration and retention systems need to address this discrepancy. Self-efficacy and an internal locus of control were found to be predictors of job satisfaction in this context. Recommendations are made on the basis of the findings.

Board composition, board size and financial performance of Johannesburg stock exchange companies

On the basis of agency theory and resource dependence theory, as well as other corporate governance literature, it is predicted that board composition measured as the ratio of non-executive to executive board members and the number of directors on a firm’s board can be positively related to firm performance. This study seeks to test the predictions of this body of theory and to investigate the form of the empirical relationships among these effects. In so doing, this study tests theory that relates these variables in the context of a developing country, using data from South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange, over a seven-year period, 2006–2012.

Development and gender: Longitudinal entrepreneurial gender effects of the inner-city Johannesburg street-trading context

An empirical investigation was undertaken into entrepreneurial gender effects within the inner-city street-trading context of Johannesburg, a large South African city. A cross-sectional non-parametric quantitative research design was applied in each of three consecutive years, 2008, 2009 and 2010, and a longitudinal investigation was enabled. Differences in earnings, rental stand operation, and the effects of specific and general human capital by gender were tested using non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis methods. Further testing of the non-parametric associations of each factor by gender was undertaken using non-parametric Spearman rho and Kendall tau measures. Male traders are found to earn more. However, a return on specific and general human capital is found for female traders. Security threats in this context might have a disproportionate effect on female street traders, and most specifically on female street traders of foreign origin.

Parental style and gendered student performance in the South African context of accounting studies

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate the potentially gendered influence of experienced parental authority style on individual accounting students’ academic performance at a large South African university. Data were collected from first-year accountancy students and 953 usable responses were analysed using structural equation modelling. Tests of path invariance were also used to test the moderating influence of gender on the relationships between exposure to parenting style and student performance. Exposure to an authoritarian parental style was found to be negatively associated with student performance. Gender was found to moderate the relationship between exposure to authoritative parenting style and student performance. Experience of an authoritarian parental style was found to be associated with a host of variables representing socio-economic disadvantage. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that the influence of legacy parental style effects may be persistent for individuals who enter university for accountancy studies.

Research versus Teaching Satisfaction and Research Productivity

Abstract In this study, an exploratory quantitative cross-sectional research design is applied in a study of a large South African university to test theory that relates research productivity to different dimensions of satisfaction, or dissatisfaction. Findings suggest that individuals who derive their primary job satisfaction from teaching are less research productive than individuals that derive their primary job satisfaction from research. Differences between types of satisfaction and their relationships with research productivity are explored further. Recommendations are provided on the basis of the findings.

Individual Values and Economic Performance of Inner-City Street Traders

Abstract Informal economic outcomes are a function of the match, or fit, between enterprise behaviour and the economic context in which informal traders work. This research investigates the extent to which Schwartz’s individual values endowments are related to the financial performance and continuance satisfaction of informal street traders in the inner-city context of a large South African city. Tests of association, partial correlation analysis and factor analysis are applied. Street traders with higher levels of Power values and Hedonism values are found to earn more. Traders with higher levels of Stimulation values and Security values are found to be less satisfied with continuing in street trading. Time spent in the sector is found to be associated with lower levels of Conformity values. On the basis of these findings it is argued that street trader populations are not homogenous in terms of individual motivational values endowments.

Informal Development and Involuntary Employment

Abstract A fundamental differentiation of the informal sector, and the inner city street trader sector, from the corresponding formal sector might be taken to exist on the basis of the inherently involuntary nature of much informal employment. Using data from a street trader upliftment research project undertaken in 2008, 2009 and 2010, Pearson parametric, Spearman nonparametric and hierarchical linear regression tests were used in a cross-sectional exploratory research design to investigate the extent to which gross earnings, different types of product provision or biographic factors contribute to continuance satisfaction. Traders who earn less, are the most vulnerable to a context of relatively involuntary work, were found to be the most dissatisfied with continuing in street trading. It is recommended that policy makers empower such traders to increase the capital intensity of their offerings, or to rather provide services in this context of both extrinsic and intrinsic scarcity.

Student acculturation in the context of "feesmustfall"

This research seeks to investigate constraints to acculturation, or cultural adaptation to the university context, applying Berry’s acculturation theory as its theoretical framework. Predictions of acculturation theory are tested using a sample of 251 first year Economics students. According to acculturation theory, acculturation orientations are determined by the interactive strength of two individual dimensions, namely (i) a desire to maintain one’s own culture, and (ii) desire to acculturate to popular culture, with combinations of these processes classified as assimilation, separation, marginalisation or integration. What is absent from the predictions of acculturation theory (which are premised on the individual level), however, is a consideration of individual-level differences which are not theoretically ascribed to cultural influences, but which derive from the individual, such as those predicted by personality theory. This study therefore uses logistic regression analysis to test theory predicting the likelihood that students fall into each of Berry’s four acculturation orientations, while also testing personality dimensions as explanatory factors. Neuroticism and age are found to be negative and significant predictors of likelihood to fall into the separation explanatory category. Female students and those older than their cohorts are found to be more likely to fall into the marginalisation category. Agreeableness is negatively associated with marginalisation. Implications of these findings are discussed, and recommendations are derived for university management in order to improve acculturation of students in this context.