A study of the relationship between market share and profitability in listed South African retail companies

Abstract

The relationship between market share and profitability has been the subject of academic research for so many years, yet it remains a generalisation which has been over-extended and accepted without acknowledgement of all its attributes. This research intended to contribute to the literature by aiding further understanding of the relationship between profitability and market share. Specifically, the aim of this research was to determine whether there is a relationship between market share and profitability within South African retail companies. The research aimed to establish if there was a strong relationship between market share (represented by the percentage that companies own in a market) and profitability (represented by return on asset, return on equity and return on capital employed). In addition, the study wanted to understand if companies that grow market share by acquiring other companies are ranked higher than companies that grow organically. The quantitative study was conducted through the utilisation of hypotheses testing as a research mechanism. The key population considered for this research was listed organisations operating in a retail sectors that are or were listed on the Main Board of the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) during the 5 year period from 2004 to 2008. The sample size consisted of 8 companies. The research was conducted using secondary data. The key results of the research show that there is no relationship between market share and profitability. However, the results of this research can not be generalised due to small sample size.