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Land and agrarian reforms were main promises of the ANC during its ascension to power: the objective was to redistribute 30% of the land within 5 years after the end of apartheid and, through this redistribution, restructure the agricultural sector. Nevertheless, presently, more than 10 years after the first democratic elections, only 3.1% of the land has been redistributed and the farming sector remains extremely dual. This paper argues that the implemented market‐oriented reforms, which are not complemented by regulation measures, do not represent the capacities of transformation of the racial configuration of South Africa's territory and agricultural sector.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the extent to which transaction cost theory on hybrid governance structures can explain hybrid personalities observed in the South African sugar industry.

Three governance structures used simultaneously by the same company to purchase sugar cane from small-scale growers are described in detail. One of these structures is close to a market arrangement, the other two are hybrids. The discriminating alignment hypothesis and more recent work on hybrid models are used to explain the factors driving the choice for a hybrid arrangement and determining their specific form. Factors not covered by theory are identified.

At least two areas would need to be included to explain the specific form taken by the studied governance structures: production characteristics and financial constraints of the transacting parties. Furthermore, the importance of national and local regulations in affecting organizational form by determining what is and is not possible is demonstrated.

This case study highlights limitations of current theory in fully explaining the “personality” of governance structures. Future work should not shun the finer details of governance structures and their interaction with the institutional environment.

Inclusive business models are promoted as tools for poverty alleviation and economic development. Public involvement plays an important role, however, more research is required to understand its reach and leverage its full potential.

This paper is the first to rigorously apply transaction cost theory to inclusive business models in agricultural sourcing, an area which is rapidly gaining prominence on the development agenda. It shows that a complete understanding requires going beyond current theory.

Understanding diversity amongst potential beneficiaries of land redistribution is of critical importance for both design and planning of successful land reform interventions. This study seeks to add to the existing literature on farming types, with specific emphasis on understanding diversity within a sub-group of commercially oriented or emerging smallholders.

Using a multivariate statistical analysis – principal component and cluster analyses applied to a sample of 442 commercially-oriented smallholders – five distinct clusters of emerging farmers are identified, using variables related to farmers' characteristics, income and expenditure and farm production indicators and willingness to participate in land redistribution. The five clusters are discussed in light of a predefined selection criteria that is based on the current policies and scholarly thinking.

The results suggest that there are distinct differences in farming types, and each identified cluster of farmers requires tailored support for the effective implementation of land reform. The identified homogenous sub-groups of smallholders, allows us to understand which farmers could be a better target for a successful land redistribution policy.

Most of the existing typology studies in South Africa tend to focus on general smallholders and in the Eastern Cape province; this study extends the literature by focussing on specific prime beneficiaries of land reform in three provinces. This study uses a more detailed dataset than the Statistics general and agricultural household surveys.

The paper examines the possible existence of systematic performance differences between Broad based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) affiliated and non-B-BBEE affiliated mutual fund firms in South Africa and see whether the indigenisation laws affect firm performance directly through their effects on firm behaviour.

The authors’ baseline regression is a model features that varies between the observed groups in Fama-MacBeth regressions. To address the issue of how B-BBEE laws affect mutual funds' performance, the study follows Golec (1988, p. 77) in calculating mutual fund returns and follows Carhart's (1997) four-factor regression model.

The paper's results also cannot confirm with statistical significance the expectation motivated by theory that B-BBEE laws influence firm performance negatively, thus, predicting a block for foreign investment. The authors’ much longer sample period (from 2004 to 2016) does not lead to significant other results than a prior study published only shortly after the B-BBEE laws coming into force. However, this study’s results could not confirm that these laws have effects on firm performance.

The authors chose all the 3,320 B-BBEE-affiliated mutual fund firms and 3,329 non-B-BBEE-affiliated ones in the Morningstar database that had complete data for the period 2004– 2016.

The study's results cannot confirm with statistical significance the expectation motivated by theory that B-BBEE laws influence firm performance negatively, thus, predicting a block for foreign investment.

B-BBEE laws have been topical in the South African mutual fund industry. The unit trust industry in South Africa started with the establishment of the Sage Fund in 1965 in order to cater for the normal investors' needs for an easy product that starts with low investment amounts, but offers professional assets management and wide risk diversification across an extensive shares portfolio, that can be liquidated at short notice.