WIReDSpace

Welcome to WIReDSpace (Wits Institutional Repository on DSpace)

For queries relating to content and technical issues, please contact IR specialists via this email address : openscholarship.library@wits.ac.za,
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Communities in WIReDSpace

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 19

Recent Submissions

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Empowering Financially Vulnerable Consumers through Digital Marketing: Enhancing Access to Inclusive Banking Services
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Ngobeni, Beryl; Quaye, Emmanuel
Financially vulnerable consumers in South Africa face barriers to accessing inclusive banking services, limiting their financial participation. This study explores how digital marketing can bridge this gap by enhancing engagement and promoting financial literacy. Using a qualitative research approach, nine semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted with consumers and banking professionals in Johannesburg and Limpopo, South Africa. The Financial Capability Framework was applied to assess financial knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours. Findings show that personalized, culturally relevant digital marketing campaigns improve engagement, while multi-channel strategies, such as social media, mobile banking, and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), enhance accessibility. However, challenges like fraud, low digital literacy, and high data costs persist. Financial education through digital campaigns and community outreach builds trust, while zero-rated services and AI-driven personalization improve access for low-income consumers. The study proposes a Digital Financial Inclusion Framework (DFIF) to guide banks in developing inclusive, trust-driven strategies. By addressing barriers and leveraging digital tools, banks can foster a more equitable financial ecosystem. This research offers actionable insights for policymakers, financial institutions, and digital marketers to advance financial inclusion in South Africa. It also presents tiered implementation strategies for banks and explores future applications of emerging technologies.
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Exploring informal street traders’ perceptions of digital banking in the City of Johannesburg Municipality
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Ngcongo, Loyiso Christopher; Magida, Ayanda
This study explored informal street traders’ perceptions of digital banking in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Municipality, with a focus on the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and associated perceptual theories, including self-perception, dissonance, beliefs and influence, and harmonisation theories. The research examines how informal traders perceive digital banking, their knowledge and attitudes toward its adoption, and the factors that shape their understanding of digital banking services. Specifically, the study investigates the DOI constructs such as awareness, persuasion, decision, implementation, and continuation, and their influence on the adoption of digital banking among informal traders. Additionally, the research explores how DOI characteristics— relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability also influence informal street traders' perceptions and adoption of digital banking services. The study also considers how self-perception, dissonance, beliefs, and influence theories provide insight into the emotional and cognitive factors that drive or hinder adoption. Using a quantitative methodology, surveys were distributed to informal street traders within the CoJ key areas (Johannesburg CBD, SOWETO (Jabulani Mall), Randburg Taxi Rank, Midrand Taxi Rank, Lenasia, Sandton Taxi Rank, and Alexandra) with close-ended questions to collect measurable data. The findings revealed that all hypotheses were accepted, except for the third hypothesis, indicating a generally positive correlation between the DOI adoption process and traders' beliefs, self-perceptions, and harmonisation of digital banking. However, the adoption process was found to have a negative impact on dissonance factors. This research contributes to understanding the role of DOI and perceptual theories in digital banking adoption and suggests avenues for future studies in the context of informal traders in urban environments inundated with informal street traders.
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The Business Performance of small-scale tomato farmers in the Thulamela Local municipality
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Nesamvuni, Philelo; Msimango-Galawe, Jabulile
This study investigates the determinants of business performance among small-scale tomato farmers in Thulamela Local Municipality, South Africa, focusing on three critical factors: access to capital, technology adoption and labour productivity. Small-scale farming plays a vital role in South Africa's rural economy, contributing to food security and employment. However, these farmers face significant challenges, including limited financial resources, low adoption of modern technologies and labour inefficiencies, which hinder their business performance and sustainability. The study aims to identify strategies to enhance the business performance of smallholder tomato farmers by examining the impact of these key determinants. Using a quantitative research approach, data were collected through structured surveys from a stratified random sample of 100 small-scale tomato farmers in Thulamela. The data were analysed using SAS software's exploratory factor analysis (EFA), reliability testing, correlation analysis and regression modelling. The findings reveal that technology adoption (β = 0.495, p < 0.001) is the strongest predictor of business performance, followed by access to capital (β = 0.361, p < 0.001) and labour productivity (β = 0.293, p = 0.001). These results align with the Resource-Based View (RBV), Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) and Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF), highlighting the importance of financial, technological and human resources in enhancing smallholder business performance. The study’s key recommendations include expanding microfinance programmes, subsidising agricultural technology and strengthening workforce training initiatives. In conclusion, this study underscores the interconnectedness of financial, technological and human capital in driving smallholder business performance. By addressing these determinants, small-scale tomato farmers can achieve greater productivity, profitability and resilience, contributing to broader economic development and food security in South Africa.
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Exploring the role of AI to improve Analytics within Telco organisations
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Narandas, Avish; Sony, Michael
The rapid rise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), driven by AI, IoT, and robotics, is transforming industries globally. In South Africa’s telecommunications (SA telcos) sector, the data explosion from mobile usage, network monitoring, and IoT applications present both opportunities and challenges. Despite being one of the fastest-growing ICT sub-sectors, the SA telco industry has struggled with customer sentiment, consistently ranking lower than banking, insurance, and retail in recent years. AI and Business Analytics (BA) can enable real-time, automated insights, but South African telcos face challenges like fragmented systems and complex data management. Notably, 87 percent of big data and AI projects never reach implementation, emphasising the need for strategic AI adoption. This study examines AI’s role in enhancing analytics within SA telcos, focusing on adoption factors, benefits, and challenges. Using the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework, a qualitative, inductive approach was employed, gathering insights from 15 key stakeholders across three major SA telcos. Findings reveal that strategic roles influence AI initiatives, operational roles bridge adoption gaps, and technical roles drive implementation, also suggesting that organisations should consider their unique environment, challenges, and objectives when implementing AI to maximise its benefits. By synthesising literature and industry insights, this research aims to minimise the gaps in existing knowledge and provides actionable recommendations. The findings offer valuable guidance for telco executives, policymakers, and scholars navigating AI adoption in SA’s evolving digital economy.
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Adoption of online grocery shopping by urban consumers in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Naidoo, Shivani; Beder, Laurence
The adoption of online grocery shopping among urban consumers in South Africa remains limited, despite the global trend toward e-commerce. This study addresses the research problem which highlights the slow uptake of online grocery shopping, by investigating the factors that influence urban consumer behavioural intention through the lens of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework. Key constructs such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value, and habit were analysed for their impact on behavioural intention and actual usage behaviour. Additionally, age, gender and experience were included as moderators in this study. Using a quantitative research methodology, a structured survey was distributed to 199 urban consumers in South Africa, of which the sample consisted of both users and non-users of online grocery platforms. Data was analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) to evaluate the relationships between the UTAUT2 constructs and consumer behaviour. The average research results for all respondents indicate that while constructs like performance expectancy and habit positively influence urban consumer behavioural intention, factors such as social influence, facilitating conditions, price value, and hedonic motivation are more significant for non-users. Additionally, behavioural intention did not significantly predict actual usage behaviour across all groups. Thus, the study concludes that it provides a valuable starting point for understanding the factors that influence urban consumer behavioural intention to use online grocery shopping in South Africa. It also highlights that while UTAUT2 iii provides valuable insights, its constructs require contextual adaptation to address South Africa’s unique challenges. The study also recommends targeted strategies and actionable solutions for retailers and platforms to improve and accelerate online grocery adoption.