Electronic Theses and Dissertations (PhDs)

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Browsing Electronic Theses and Dissertations (PhDs) by SDG "SDG-9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure"

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    Competitiveness of South African ICT companies
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Christopher, Anton; Horne, Renee
    A key issue facing the South African economy is the competitiveness of the ICT industry. With the growth of ICT multinationals in South Africa, the competitiveness of the local ICT industry is under scrutiny. A grounded theory-based qualitative methodology was deployed by interviewing participants drawn from the South African ICT industry and ICT multinationals in the country. Participants have experience of more than 20 years in ICT industry and worked at executive or senior management level. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews until theoretical saturation was reached. Data analysis was carried out using ATLAS.ti software. The study indicated that the South African ICT industry is only competitive within the South African ICT service sector, while not being globally competitive in the ICT manufacturing and ICT software development sectors. The study also found that ICT multinationals are competitive because of their strategically valuable resources (SVRs). These resources are both internal and external. External strategically valuable resources (SVRs) are their respective government policies and funding. Internal resources include cost-effectiveness, work ethics and innovation. Some of these resources are country-specific, while others are firm-specific. The study also showed that historically, the South African ICT industry was competitive and possessed strategically valuable resources (SVRs). It was also found that the South African ICT industry still possesses some strategically valuable resources (SVRs), these being mainly in the ICT service sector. Finally, the study also determined a framework of strategically valuable resources (SVRs) that can make the South African ICT industry competitive again. This research makes a significant theoretical contribution by enhancing resource- based theory, doing so by extending the theory – specifically an enhanced resource-based view – to a country and a heterogeneous ICT industry. This research also contributed a theoretical framework to the existing literature on resource-based theory. An empirical contribution is reached by firmly establishing the link between the competitiveness of ICT multinationals and their strategically valuable resources x (SVRs). A methodological contribution is gained by employing grounded theory-based qualitative methodology to research the ICT industry. Finally, the study provides practical recommendations to government policymakers and other stakeholders
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    Essays on industrialisation, innovation, and sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Akorsu, Patrick Kwashie; Tweneboah, George
    Sustainable development has attracted discourses from academics and policymakers for some time now. The United Nations has instituted seventeen (17) goals to promote sustainable development, and these goals have been decomposed into 169 sub-goals to be achieved under the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. The goals are essentially grouped into economic, ecological, and social goals. Following this, the African Union (AU) has embraced the SDGs by motivating member countries to come up with programmes that are directly related to the goals. However, whereas a lot of discussions have occurred, much of the talk has been oblivious to empirical data analysis. The AU has realised the importance of industrialisation in spearheading the bridging of the poverty gap in Africa. Industrialisation is seen as the panacea for job creation, prosperity, and wealth creation. Industrialisation induces innovation by introducing new equipment, new production techniques, increasing capacities and spreading improvements across sectors of the economy. However, since the 1990s when the policymakers started talking about industrialisation, not much has been achieved on that score. Common to industrialisation and economic development is financial development. The level of financial development can stimulate positive or negative externalities on sustainable development. The drive towards the promotion of sustainable development in Africa by the African Union and other parastatal bodies, especially the UN, motivated this thesis to examine the convoluted connections between financial development, technological innovation, industrialisation, and sustainable development in Africa in three related studies. The first study analysed the complementary role of financial development in the relationship between industrialisation and sustainable economic development in Africa. The system dynamic Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) technique was employed with a dataset covering 2010-2019 for 48 African countries. Under this analysis, this thesis found that Industrialisation, Innovation, and Sustainable Development in Africa © Patrick Kwashie Akorsu, 2023 industrialisation is a significant positive driver of economic development. The role of financial development in the economic development agenda among African economies was also emphasised by the results. The outcome of the moderation analysis suggested that the level of financial development significantly complements industrialisation towards improving economic growth. Thus, a more developed financial sector is potent in building an industrial economy which facilitates value addition in the manufacturing sector. The second empirical analysis examined the interactive role of technological innovation in the relationship between financial development and sustainable development in Africa after controlling for the influence of ICT infrastructure, trade openness, inflation, and population size. The results indicated significant effects of financial development on sustainable development as well as significant relationships between technological innovation and sustainable development. In terms of social sustainability, the findings suggested that financial development tends to reduce social sustainability among African economies such that increasing the quantum of broad money and increasing the amount of domestic credit to the private sector either by households or by banks would not necessarily improve the level of social development in Africa. Concerning economic sustainability, the findings divulged a positive relationship between financial development and the economic dimension of sustainable development (i.e., economic sustainability), suggesting that African countries could leverage financial development, particularly by encouraging the supply of credit to the private sector either by households or banks to enable industries to improve their operations. As regards ecological/environmental sustainability, findings from this empirical analysis indicated mixed relationships between financial development and ecological sustainability. Thus, depending on the proxy, financial development either increases or decreases energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in Africa. Meanwhile, the effect of technological Industrialisation, Innovation, and Sustainable Development in Africa © Patrick Kwashie Akorsu, 2023 innovation on sustainable development was positive for all dimensions of sustainability but had varied implications. This emphasised the need to analyse how sustainable development is affected by the interaction between financial development and technological innovation. The findings from the moderation effect divulged that more technological innovation lessens SDI but increases GDP growth per capita, carbon dioxide emissions, and energy consumption. The last empirical chapter revealed investigated the interactive role of technological innovation in the relationship between financial development and sustainable development in Africa. The findings from such an analysis highlighted the complementary role of technological innovation in the relationship between financial development and sustainable development in Africa. In an era of an increasing need for sustainability, these findings stressed the need to further ascertain possible convolutions between sustainable development, technological innovation, and industrialisation among African economies. The impetus for this analysis partly stemmed from the fact that industrialisation has some externalities it poses to economies. Therefore, there was a need to provide empirical evidence that helps understand the true role of industrialisation in the relationship between technological innovation and sustainable development to foster policy formulation. Upon analysing the mediating effect of industrialisation on the relationship between technological innovation and the three dimensions of sustainable development (social, economic, and ecological/environmental sustainability) in Africa, positive relationships between technological innovation and all dimensions of sustainable development, emphasise the need to analyse how sustainable development is indirectly affected by industrialisation. The findings provide evidence of a partial contribution from industrialisation toward the impact of technological innovation on sustainable development. As a result, this thesis Industrialisation, Innovation, and Sustainable Development in Africa © Patrick Kwashie Akorsu, 2023 concluded that the level of industrialisation complementarily mediates the relationship between technological innovation and sustainable development in Africa. The study recommends that economies within Africa should focus on industrialisation and financial development to achieve sustainable development. Policymakers should prioritise the development of a resilient financial sector to complement industrialisation, while promoting technological innovation to support all dimensions of sustainability. Also, a balanced approach to sustainable development should be promoted by managing the trade-offs between sustainability dimensions. Finally an effectively coordinated set of policies should be put in place to reduce negative externalities resulting from industrialisation, and policymakers should carefully select implementation policies and channels
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    The development of an artificial intelligence adoption framework for food retail marketing in South Africa.
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mpunzi, Sinenhlanhla; Saruchera, Fanny
    Industry 4.0 has taken the world by storm and impacted how we live, work, and behave. Focused on business transformation and revolution, industry 4.0 has given birth to one of the most celebrated inventions, Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has provided endless opportunities for businesses respective of industry. However, AI adoption frameworks have been limited as AI is a new phenomenon in South Africa. Previous studies in food retail marketing have identified low interest in AI adoption due to a lack of guidance. Therefore, the study aimed to develop an AI adoption framework for the food retail marketing industry in South Africa. In achieving the main objective, the study examined the influence of AI on marketing strategy outcomes, the influential determinants of AI adoption in the food retail marketing industry, and the major AI technologies adopted by retail marketers and assessed the moderating effect of competitive intensity. Guided by the Innovation Diffusion Theory, Technology-Organization-Environment framework, Institutional and Productivity Paradox theories, the study established the influential factors that determine AI adoption. Using literature, theoretical constructs were drawn on AI technologies adopted, the marketing mix components (4Ps), the competition intensity elements, and strategy outcome measures. The study adopted the quantitative research method. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires distributed to 380 respondents from food retail firms and marketing agencies with backgrounds in marketing, management, computer science, analytics, and sales. Data was analysed through SPSS version 27, where several analysis procedures were performed, such as CFA, EFA, model fitness and predictive power assessment. Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling was performed to examine the significance and ascertain relationships. The study found that systems complexity, finance, firm size, perceived AI risk, vendor participation, and external pressure influenced AI adoption in retail marketing. The research also discovered that AI technologies adopted (robots, chatbots, data analytics systems, CRM, and communication tools) improve marketing mix components by influencing the price, placement of products, R&D procedures, and sales techniques. The study found that competition intensity significantly moderates the relationship between AI adoption and marketing strategy outcome. This study further emphasizes the importance of integrating AI technology in the retail food industry, given that it enhances their marketing mix capabilities with direct positive implications on their marketing outcomes. It is evident that decision-makers need to re-strategize and pivot towards innovation integration. Therefore, the study recommends that food retail marketers adopt AI technologies as they positively influence sales, ROI, profit, and market share. Equally, food retailers must understand the adoption determinants, followed by the AI technologies that can effectively improve marketing tasks, examine how the 4Ps can be strategically tailored to suit AI integration and assess the impact through marketing strategy outcomes. The findings of this study contributed to the development of the first AI adoption framework contextualized for the food retail industry. Theoretically, the findings provide extended and new knowledge about AI adoption in food retail marketing. The empirical findings also settle debates surrounding inconclusive determinants of AI adoption. The study provides potential technologies that food retail marketers can use and ranks them according to their use and cost. The findings prove that AI integration can improve the marketing practices of food retail marketers. It gives clear solutions on how AI can be used for descriptive, diagnostic, prescriptive and predictive purposes. Future studies could focus on developing frameworks for other non- marketing functions and how AI can be regulated to avoid unforeseen consequences should they be successfully integrated