The Dyke

The value of integrated reporting for corporate sustainability: A Scoping Review (2015–2025)

2025-09-19T21:06:47+00:00

Integrated Reporting (IR) has become a key global framework for explaining how organisations create, preserve, or diminish value across financial, social, environmental, and governance domains. Despite its growth, debates remain over how effectively IR advances Corporate Sustainability (CS), especially in emerging economies. This scoping review maps peer-reviewed literature from 2015 to 2025 to clarify the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological patterns shaping the field and to identify persisting knowledge gaps. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework and the PRISMA-ScR protocol, 50 articles were systematically reviewed from major academic databases. Guided by Callahan’s (2014) 6Ws, the TCCM framework, and theories of Stakeholder, Legitimacy, and Institutional behaviour, the analysis shows that while IR is promoted as a tool for transparency and sustainable value creation, its practical impact varies considerably. Evidence indicates that IR’s effectiveness depends on governance quality, regulatory enforcement, stakeholder pressure, and the maturity of integrated thinking within organisations. Studies from South Africa, Indonesia, and Malaysia reveal encouraging implementation but also highlight risks of greenwashing, symbolic compliance, and weakened credibility. Methodologically, qualitative studies dominate, limiting generalisability and causal insight. The literature stresses the need for standardised sustainability metrics, stronger regulatory coherence, preparer capacity-building, and alignment with SDGs and emerging ISSB standards. Overall, the review offers a consolidated thematic map of IR–CS scholarship and proposes a research agenda focused on institutionalisation, disclosure credibility, and strengthened stakeholder engagement.

Transformational leadership and employee performance in Zimbabwe’s Public e-Procurement Sector

2025-06-23T09:37:01+00:00

Procurement Management Units (PMUs) form the operational backbone of Zimbabwe’s public sector procurement system and play a crucial role in fostering efficiency, accountability, and value for money. In a time when the Second Republic has prioritised institutional performance to achieve the goals of Vision 2030, improving employee performance within PMUs has become essential. This study investigates the influence of transformational leadership on employee performance in Zimbabwe’s public-sector PMUs, with electronic government procurement (e-GP) as a mediating variable. A cross-sectional research design was used to target PMU professionals across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) in major provincial centres, including Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Masvingo, Mutare, and Chinhoyi. Data were collected between April and May 2025 through structured questionnaires covering demographic details and constructs on leadership style, task performance, contextual performance, and e-GP utilisation. A systematic sampling method was employed, and data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Reliability and validity were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and correlation analyses, and mediation effects were tested using bootstrapping procedures. Results show that transformational leadership has a statistically significant positive influence on employee performance and that e-GP partly mediates this relationship. The study highlights the vital role of leadership behaviour and digital transformation in shaping procurement performance outcomes in Zimbabwe’s public sector. It further integrates theoretical insights from the Path–Goal Theory, Stewardship Theory, Diffusion of Innovation Theory, Institutional Theory, and Situational Leadership Theory to explain the observed dynamics. The findings contribute to both leadership and e-governance literature by demonstrating how digital mediation enhances transformational leadership outcomes in public procurement contexts within developing economies.

The impact of shadow banking and banking regulations on commercial banks’ financial performance in Zimbabwe

2025-05-30T10:40:54+00:00

The rapid expansion of the shadow banking system has heightened scholarly and regulatory concern due to its implications for financial stability, systemic risk, and regulatory arbitrage. In developing economies such as Zimbabwe, characterised by policy volatility and institutional fragility, the rise of shadow banking presents unique challenges to the efficiency and prudential soundness of commercial banks. This study examines the impact of shadow banking and banking regulations on the financial performance of Zimbabwean commercial banks between 2009 and 2022, covering all 13 licensed institutions. Financial performance was proxied by return on assets (ROA), and a Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) panel regression model was employed to address endogeneity and serial correlation, thereby enhancing robustness of the estimates. Data were sourced from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe. Empirical findings indicate that shadow banking exerts a negative and statistically significant effect on commercial banks’ performance, reflecting how lightly regulated intermediaries erode profitability, liquidity, and systemic confidence. Conversely, banking regulations have a positive and significant influence, demonstrating that effective prudential frameworks and supervisory oversight strengthen institutional resilience. These results align with evidence from other developing economies yet diverge from advanced markets where regulatory depth mitigates instability. The study emphasise the need for regulatory harmonisation, macroprudential integration, and expanded oversight to safeguard financial stability and sustainable credit intermediation in Zimbabwe’s evolving economic landscape.

Penalties and Corporate Governance within State Owned Enterprises in Zimbabwe: A Moderation Analysis.

2025-01-07T21:33:45+00:00

This paper examines how the application of penalties influences the effectiveness of corporate governance in enhancing the performance of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Anchored in agency and stakeholder theories, the study employs moderated multiple regression analysis using data drawn from executive managers, board members, and customers across 52 SOEs. The findings show that penalties partially strengthen the relationship between adherence to governance frameworks and organisational performance, particularly in respect of internal controls and customer orientation. When penalties are introduced as a moderator in the relationship between internal controls and SOE performance, R² increases from 0.218 to 0.231, with adjusted R² rising from 0.212 to 0.222. A similar improvement occurs for customer orientation, where R² increases from 0.794 to 0.797 and adjusted R² from 0.792 to 0.794. Conversely, penalties behave more as an independent predictor than a moderator in the relationship between transparency and SOE performance. In this case, the inclusion of the interaction effect results in a marginal increase in R² from 0.387 to 0.390 and in adjusted R² from 0.382 to 0.383. In the relationships involving board oversight and operational control, penalties show no moderating effect. For board oversight, R² remains constant at 0.391 while adjusted R² decreases from 0.387 to 0.384. Likewise, for operational control, R² remains unchanged at 0.473, with adjusted R² decreasing slightly from 0.469 to 0.467. Overall, the study demonstrates that the moderating effect of penalties is uneven across governance dimensions. While penalties enhance the performance effects of some governance mechanisms, they have limited or no impact on others. These findings highlight the need for context-specific enforcement mechanisms and tailored regulatory approaches. The paper recommends strengthening legislative frameworks to incorporate enforceable, benchmark-aligned penalties that promote compliance, accountability, and improved performance in Zimbabwean SOEs.

Causes, manifestations, and healing strategies for psychiatric conditions in Zimbabwean Short Drama - Mari Kushinga by ZIYA Cultural Arts

2024-12-12T07:46:17+00:00

This paper presents a qualitative exploration of the representation of the causes, manifestations, and healing strategies of psychiatric conditions in Mari Kushinga, a contemporary Zimbabwean drama. Mental health challenges remain a pressing concern in present-day Zimbabwe, where increasing numbers of individuals exhibit symptoms of psychiatric distress. However, the underlying causes of these conditions often remain undiagnosed or are ambiguously interpreted, leading to uncertainty about appropriate therapeutic interventions. While many families turn to biomedical or postmodern methods of treatment, such as psychotropic medication, clinical counselling, and psychiatric institutionalisation, traditional explanatory models and healing systems continue to exert significant influence within communities. Drawing on Mari Kushinga (2024), a drama performed by ZIYA Cultural Arts Trust, popularly known as Vharazipi, this study interrogates how artistic performance mediates cultural understandings of mental illness. Anchored in the theoretical frameworks of postmodernism, psychiatry, and Afrocentricity, the analysis reveals that greed and the pursuit of ill-got wealth (kuromba/ukuthwala) are dramatised as principal causes of psychic disintegration. The drama further portrays traditional healing systems as central to restoring individual and communal equilibrium. The paper argues that Mari Kushinga serves not only as a mirror of contemporary Zimbabwean society but also as a critical site for negotiating the interface between indigenous epistemologies and modern psychiatric discourse.

Reimagining corporate board effectiveness: Accountability, value creation, and governance reform in Zimbabwe’s state-owned enterprises

2025-09-30T11:19:58+00:00

In an era of heightened scrutiny and complexity, understanding the dynamics of corporate board effectiveness has become central to organisational performance and governance integrity. Across both private and public sectors, boards are now positioned not only as oversight bodies but as strategic partners in value creation. In Zimbabwe, the performance of corporate boards within State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) has become emblematic of broad international efforts to strengthen accountability and counteract impunity. This paper re-examines the foundations of board effectiveness through the lenses of board health drivers, behavioural archetypes, and governance ecosystems, drawing on contemporary governance theory and emerging evidence from developing economies. Drawing on agency theory, stakeholder theory, and dynamic capabilities, the paper critiques enduring myths about board chemistry. It explores how contextual dynamics, such as political interference, institutional maturity, and leadership culture, mediate board functionality. It further argues that Zimbabwe’s reform trajectory, anchored in the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act [Chapter 10:31] (2018), demands a shift from compliance-based governance to adaptive, evidence-driven, and performance-oriented board leadership. The analysis offers a framework for cultivating agile, accountable, and value-creating boards within the SOE sector and beyond.

The predictive role of self-awareness on organisational resilience in the construction sector in Zimbabwe.

2025-07-12T08:00:57+00:00

This study examines the predictive influence of self-awareness, a core dimension of authentic leadership, on organisational resilience within Zimbabwe’s construction sector. The research was motivated by the sector’s chronic instability, high firm attrition, and operational discontinuities caused by macroeconomic volatility, supply-chain disruption, and skills shortages. Drawing upon Authentic Leadership Theory (ALT) and Organisational Resilience Theory (ORT), the study explores how self-aware leadership behaviour enhances adaptive learning, decision integrity, and recovery capacity. A cross-sectional quantitative design was employed, using data from 353 respondents drawn from a population of approximately 3,000 construction firms. Statistical analysis using structural equation modelling (SEM) established a significant positive relationship between self-awareness and organisational resilience (β =0.417, p < 0.05; R² = 0.63). Findings indicate that leaders who are self-reflective, emotionally intelligent, and behaviourally consistent enable their organisations to anticipate disruptions, manage uncertainty, and sustain continuity during crises. The study contributes to leadership and resilience scholarship by validating self-awareness as a critical behavioural antecedent of resilience in a developing-economy context. It provides actionable insights for leadership development, crisis preparedness, and organisational learning within the construction industry.