Research & validation
Super-Cube® was developed and tested through a pragmatic explanatory sequential mixed-methods design—quantitative structure first, qualitative depth second—within an African FMCG business-network, and published in peer-reviewed journals.
Open summary
Full peer-reviewed articles are free to download below. The DBA thesis abstract summarises the founding study for schools, L&D, and media.
Thesis: a leadership skills development model (Super-Cube®), a case study of an African FMCG business network (Muller, C. R., December 2020, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Doctor of Business Administration; degree conferred 2021).
Leadership capacity in emerging-market business networks is constrained by complexity, skills gaps, and imported models that under-weight whole-person development. This research developed and tested a six-construct cubic model—Choices, Principles, Mental, Emotional, Physical, Spiritual—with the individual at the centre.
Mixed methods: survey (N=132) with confirmatory factor analysis (acceptable fit, CFI≈0.86; scale reliability α≈0.60–0.80) and interviews with ten directors (N=10) for thematic validation. Philosophy of mutual respect (Buber’s I–Thou) informs practice design.
Implication: leadership is substantially developable; measurement before and after deliberate practice is the product. Super-Cube® Learn operationalises that loop for kids, adolescents, and adults.
Peer-reviewed outputs (2022) appear in the South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences (SAJEMS) and the Journal of Contemporary Management (JCM)—see Journal articles below for open PDF downloads and DOI links.
The Theory-level literature map moves from classical trait/behavioural/contingency schools through relational, shared, biological/evolutionary and neuroscientific perspectives, into contemporary topics (identity, culture, globalisation, entrepreneurial leadership), skills-development debates, and higher-order frames—AQAL, I–Thou, and Ubuntu—which collectively underpin the six-dimensional model. See The Model · Theory map.
Peer-reviewed
Open PDF downloads of the 2022 SAJEMS and JCM publications that formalise Super-Cube® for African FMCG leadership development.
South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences
Muller, C. R. & Pelser, T. G. · 2022
Proposes Super-Cube® as a six-construct leadership skills development model for African FMCG business-networks, grounded in mixed-methods validation.
Journal of Contemporary Management
Muller, C. R. & Pelser, T. G. · 2022
Case-study account of applying and validating the leadership skills development model within an African FMCG business network.
Book · 2026
Leadership Is Learnable
The research in full, for a general reader: the survey of 132 people, the interviews with ten directors, each of the six faces in depth, the 12-week intervention results and how to build a programme. 312 pages, out now in paperback and Kindle.
Methodology
The research prioritised practical utility and real-world applicability—testing whether the six-construct structure fits observed leadership reality.
Pragmatic explanatory sequential design: quantitative survey first, then qualitative interviews to explain and deepen the findings.
Online survey of employees in an African FMCG business network tested structural validity and reliability across the six constructs.
Confirmatory factor analysis: CMIN/DF 2.232, CFI 0.86, RMSEA 0.097—collectively indicating acceptable structural fit.
Thematic analysis of interviews with ten directors supported all six constructs in lived leadership practice.
Philosophy · Theory · Model
Super-Cube® sits on clear philosophy, development theory, and a six-face model you can measure and train.
Grounded in Buber’s I–Thou, the African philosophy of Ubuntu, and Wilber’s AQAL integral frame—people as subjects-in-relation, never objects of control.
Illeris’s three-dimensional learning (content, incentive, interaction) plus major leadership literature strands. Genes explain only about a quarter to a third of who holds leadership roles; the rest is linked to experience, environment and learning.
Super-Cube® makes that philosophy and theory practiceable: you at the centre, six interdependent faces, pre→post measurement, and deliberate growth.
Core belief
Super-Cube® holds that leadership capacity is largely developable through deliberate practice, experience and structured intervention, not fixed by heredity: genes explain roughly 24–30% of who holds leadership roles, and about 70–76% is linked to experience, environment and learning. Development follows Illeris’s content, incentive, and interaction.
Theory map (summary)
Major schools
Trait · behavioural · contingency · charisma · follower · relational · shared · evolutionary · neuroscience
Contemporary topics
Socio-cognition · gender · power · identity · culture · globalisation · entrepreneurial leadership
Skills development
Nature–nurture · longitudinal growth · KSAs · theory–research–practice
Integral & philosophical frames
AQAL · I–Thou (Buber) · Ubuntu
Intervention results · 12-week Super-Cube® intervention
Average pre- and post-course scores from the 12-week accredited Super-Cube® leadership intervention with leaders at Imana Foods and Kerry Foods (South African and international FMCG organisations), with the gain for each face in % (source: Leadership Is Learnable, 2026, Chapter 18). These gains come from the intervention, not from the doctoral study, which tested the model’s structure. Not live programme data.
Overall growth
Across all six Super-Cube® faces
+32.2%
+26.6%
+45.1%
+29.7%
+39.5%
+27.7%
+24.6%
+32.2% overall growth across all six faces, from the 12-week accredited Super-Cube® leadership intervention with leaders at Imana Foods and Kerry Foods (South African and international FMCG): average pre- and post-course scores. Source: Leadership Is Learnable (2026), Chapter 18. Highest gains: Principles +45.1% and Emotional +39.5%. Not live programme data.
Structural validation
Confirmatory factor analysis on survey data from 132 employees assessed overall fit of the Super-Cube® structure.
2.232
CMIN/DF
Within common SEM thresholds
0.86
CFI
Comparative Fit Index
0.097
RMSEA
Root mean square error of approx.
0.60–0.80
Cronbach’s α
Internal consistency across constructs
Fit indices collectively suggest acceptable model fit based on established thresholds in structural equation modelling. Reliability coefficients indicate adequate to good internal consistency for the study sample.
Qualitative findings
Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 10 key decision-makers (Nov 2018–Feb 2019) were analysed using inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke).
Mental (31%) and Emotional (29%) together accounted for roughly 60% of construct-related qualitative content—underscoring cognitive and relational demands in practice. Principles (18%), Spiritual (12%), Choices (9%), and Physical (1%) also appeared as meaningful themes.
Participants expressed unanimous support for multilevel leadership development—from individual to organisational and network levels—with recommendations for inclusive approaches that can extend to suppliers and customers for a broader ripple effect.
Limitations
The model was developed and tested within a single-case study of one African FMCG business-network. Findings are context-specific and should not be over-generalised without further testing.
Wider industry replication—across organisations, regions, and sectors facing comparable challenges—is recommended to assess robustness and refine the six constructs for broader continental and emerging-market use.
Significance
Super-Cube® is one of the first leadership development frameworks built and tested inside an African FMCG business network—bridging Western-dominant theory and local organisational reality.
By emphasising human-centric constructs and the developable nature of leadership (genes explain roughly 24–30% of who holds leadership roles; about 70–76% is linked to experience, environment and learning), it offers a credible, context-sensitive alternative for organisations building capacity at scale.
Primary sources
Doctoral thesis plus peer-reviewed journal articles. Download open PDFs or follow DOI links; more work is on ResearchGate.
A leadership skills development model (Super-Cube®): a case study of an African FMCG business network
Craig Ross Muller · DBA thesis · University of KwaZulu-Natal · December 2020
A proposed leadership skills development model for African FMCG business-networks: Super-Cube®
Muller, C. R. & Pelser, T. G. · South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences · 2022
The leadership skills development model, tested in an African fast-moving consumer goods business network
Muller, C. R. & Pelser, T. G. · Journal of Contemporary Management · 2022
ResearchGate
View full profile & publications
Peer-reviewed Super-Cube® papers and related research by Craig Muller are listed on ResearchGate.
Public summaries of the model are also available via scholarly repositories and reference encyclopaedias such as Grokipedia.
Next step
Free baseline on this device—or book a school/company pilot with facilitator calendar, consented roster, and verify certificates.
