BBBEE ownerships issues in Cape Peninsula-based advertising agencies: a multiple case study approach

Abstract

The advancement of transformation has been a protracted and complex process, but the South African (SA) government has made some degree of progress with the gazetting of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) legislation over the past decade. The SA advertising industry received criticism for its sluggish transformation progress, which led to allegations of racism in the early 2000s. Consequently, the main purpose of this study is to examine the benefits and challenges emanating from the Cape Peninsula-based advertising agencies' efforts to attain the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Codes of Good Practice (Codes) scorecard and Marketing, Advertising and Communication (MAC) transformation charter ownership targets. The multiple case study approach was applied and a semi-structured interview guide was used to extract a wealth of data from the Cape Peninsula advertising industry. The results revealed numerous problems and benefits as a consequence of the agencies deliberate attempts to achieve the targets.