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In this editorial the Guest Editor attempts to link the idea of sustainable development in Africa to the different contributions that have been made by papers written on varied business disciplines.

The papers in this special issue represent “best papers” that were selected during the 3rd International Business Conference (IBC) held in Zanzibar, Tanzania in 2009, addressing the theme of business challenges and sustainable solution, under the overarching conference theme of sustainable futures. The papers cover a wide range of business challenges and remedies in an interdisciplinary manner via a range of sub‐disciplines ranging from human resources management and entrepreneurship training to HIV/AIDS in the workplace and gender buying patterns of German tourists.

Presenting the notion of sustainable development as a means of confronting business challenges is an interdisciplinary undertaking, in which business disciplines and business methods logically play a role. Although these papers address important business challenges that are pertinent to the development of Africa, they only implicitly and indirectly talk to sustainability philosophies or approaches. In essence, they address issues that have interesting implications for sustainable development and futures thinking and strategies albeit industry‐sector or firm levels.

The discussion in this special issue focuses on the implications of the contributions to the generic field of sustainable development. The main aim is to encourage academics to begin engaging with a kind of futures thinking, with particular focus on the main issues of sustainable development, whilst bearing in mind the principal aims of the millennium development goals for Africa.

The onset of Internet marketing is revolutionising marketing practice. Although growth in sales of goods and services online has been dramatic, very little research has addressed the factors that lead to the delivery of superior service and the creation of effective marketing relationships. This paper explores and defines two related constructs – service quality and relationship quality – to ascertain whether consumers can meaningfully distinguish between the constructs. The research uses focus groups and an online survey to address this issue. The paper finds that, although service quality and relationship quality are distinct constructs, they overlap in the area of personal interaction and problem solving. The key drivers for the delivery of superior service and the creation of an effective relationship are reliability and trust emanating from service quality and relationship quality respectively.

The purpose of this research is to address the important question of how to attract and retain a fragmented and ecologically diverse youth segment in a rapidly changing retail banking sector such as Malaysia.

The study utilises a combination of theoretical frameworks, and quantitative techniques to ascertain the most important motivational goals for Malaysian youth when making e‐channels choices.

This study generates empirical evidence which supports the general theory that prominent cultural values such as those that stress integrity of the referent group, self‐reliance and social identity are important influencers of the likelihood of adopting selected electronic banking channels.

Further research is needed on all retail banking e‐channels apart from those currently most readily accessible in Malaysia. Similarly, researchers may consider other demographic segments for purposes of generating more robust theoretical frameworks.

Service innovation characteristics as well as prominent cultural values that stress, self‐reliance, integrity of the reference group and social identity and compliance may have significant implications for marketing practice even where diverse youth segments are concerned.

This study is the first that seeks to ascertain the importance of prominent individual cultural values as predictors of consumer choice in the context of e‐banking services in Malaysia. Therefore, this study thus sets an important benchmark for further research in the area.

In this study of usage of a retail banking service innovation, users and non‐users of automated teller machines (ATMs) are profiled in terms of demographic and perceptual variables. The main purpose of the study was to discriminate users from non‐users, using the demographic variables of respondents and their perceptions of ATM attributes in order to assess the relative importance of these predictor variables. The study which is based on a survey of 430 retail banking consumers, found that perceptual variables were far more successful as predictors of ATM service usage than respondent demographic variables.

In Australia, market‐oriented studies involving overseas students have not kept pace with the regional economic development that has freed prospective students from relying on aid money and contributed towards the commercialisation of international education. A sample of 336 Asian and Pacific Island students from a range of faculties at the University of Wollongong reported their perceptions of prejudice in the local and university communities, their attitudes towards the quality of service provided by the university, and their intentions to recommend Australia on returning home. Compared to aid‐funded students (N = 57), the self‐financing majority were more likely to discern prejudice and inferior service, but ratings on these two factors, for both groups, sharply differentiated those who later intended to recommend Australia from those who did not. Today’s business ethos suggests that techniques from managerial psychology could be applied to improve the quality of delivery of our higher educational services, thereby preventing further erosion of international social capital.

Most retail banking research has explored ATM usage entirely from the viewpoint of consumers′ demographics. Examines ATM usage patterns on the basis of consumers′ perceptions of the attributes of this innovation. Seeks to determine the association between consumer ATM usage patterns and their perceptions of ATM attributes by identifying those variables which distinguish users and non‐users. The results based on a survey of 630 retail banking consumers from two separate Australian banking institutions – a bank and a credit union – suggest that ATM users from both institutions differed quite significantly from non‐users in their perceptions of at least three ATM attributes; convenience, reliability, and suitability. Furthermore, the results indicate that most users perceive ATMs as mere cash dispensers. Successful marketing strategies must focus on the most important attributes of ATMs as well as identify different user groups and develop strategies to maximize their patronage.

This paper seeks to highlight the nature and possible effect of the South African higher education (HE) sector's human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) workplace programmes response and progress.

A discourse approach is employed within the contextualization of the role of the South African higher education institution (HEI) in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The focus of wellness is rapidly becoming part of any corporate landscape and institutions of HE are an integral part of this landscape. Significant gains have been made in the implementation of creative and innovative HIV/AIDS workplace programmes in South Africa's HEI's at the individual, group, family, and at local community level.

All HEIs are currently aligning their HIV/AIDS policies with the National HIV/AIDS sector policy framework. Further research is thus needed on HIV/AIDS where this aspect forms part of a strategic and holistic approach to employee wellness.

Mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS within the institution and the realignment of other allied institutional HIV/AIDS policies together with the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation tool with relevant indicators to gauge the level of responsiveness of institutions.

This study is the first that seeks to ascertain the level of importance of employee wellness in South Africa's HE sector. Therefore, this study sets an important benchmark for further research in the area.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the major long‐term role that hands‐on entrepreneurship training could play in poverty alleviation and job creation in one of the poorest regions of South Africa – the Eastern Free State (EFS). This is done against a background of frequently occurring violent protests against the inadequacy of the government's hand‐out poverty alleviation strategy of social grants, free houses and free social services.

The paper uses desk research and quantitative analysis of survey data collected from the Phuthaditjhaba area of Qwaqwa in the EFS.

The poverty indicators confirm the accepted view of the Free State as one of the poorest provinces in South Africa, which makes Qwaqwa, the poorest part of the Free State, a real human plight. While government hand‐out poverty alleviation measures, with their unintended consequences of violent protests and demonstrations, may only help some of the poor in the short term, training in entrepreneurship and provision of other facilities could give poor owners of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) opportunities to grow their businesses and get themselves and other out of poverty. Furthermore, as a result of a huge communication gap, MSE operators in Phuthaditjhaba, the commercial hub of Qwaqwa, do not even know of government agencies charged with the responsible of assisting small business operators in the area. Though they lack the finance and other endowments required to grow their businesses, the experience has given MSE operators some ideas about the kind of assistance that may help in this regard and even make it possible for them to provide employment for others – finance, government support, infrastructure and premises, training, etc.

As shown by the findings of a study sponsored by the Maluti‐A‐Phofung local municipality, there is potential for growth of small businesses in many areas of the EFS economy. Training of survivalist entrepreneurs and other poor persons with potential could open their eyes to opportunities around them which they could take advantage of to improve their economic situation and that of other poor persons in the area through job creation.

In addition to highlighting the shortcomings of the current poverty alleviation strategy of the South African Government, this is the first study that brings entrepreneurship training to the fore in the fight against poverty in the EFS.

This paper focuses on decision making related to the use of strategic inventory allocation in product platform design. The purpose of the paper is to present a novel approach to managing product variety by considering product and manufacturing strategy, and considering the supply chain benefits.

Discrete event simulation is used for analyzing product platform performance in terms of inventory level and throughput. Simulation parameters such as lead times and safety stock allocation are optimized by using an analytical model of strategic safety stock allocation.

The results show that strategic safety stock allocation supports product platform strategy by increasing production output, and reducing inventory level and customer order queues at a higher level of product variety.

Linking the safety stock allocation and product platform strategy facilitates simultaneous product and process design by providing the most optimum platform strategy at minimum safety stock allocation.

Strategic safety stock allocation facilitates decision making with regard to lean strategy by reducing inventory level, agile strategy by increasing the amount of product variety and outputs, and responsiveness by reducing the number of customer order queues.

The paper presents an innovative customer order decoupling point decision.