MBA & MM Theses

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ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND SCHOOL FEES FOR REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN CENTRAL JOHANNESBURG
(2014-02-19) Sepuru, Thabo Dominic
Education is regarded universally as a fundamental human right and is recognized officially by many countries including South Africa. South Africa is signatory to a number of United Nations (UN) Conventions relating to refugees and acquired certain obligations towards refugees such as the provision of basic education. For the children of refugees and asylum seekers, education has a developmental as well as an integrative and rehabilitative value. While there is recognition of education as a fundamental human right, the realization of this right is impeded by a number of obstacles. School fees have been cited as one of the barriers. In respect of the charging of fees by schools, South Africa seeks to ensure the realization of education as a fundamental and constitutional right by everyone regardless of their nationality, race, gender, religion and financial status through the mechanisms of fee exemptions and no-fee-school policies. This study attempts to explore and document the obstacles encountered by refugee and asylum seeker parents living in South Africa from accessing fee exemptions at a fee-paying school. Through a qualitative exploratory research study, the findings show that there are various barriers to accessing fee exemptions by refugee and asylum seeker parents whose children are enrolled at fee-paying schools. No-fee schools on the other hand are inaccessible to due amongst other issues the fear of xenophobia in the townships. As a result, some refugee/asylum seeker parents keep their children out of school. The findings show the negative impact of the fee exemption policy on fee-paying schools with large numbers of poor learners through the measures adopted to push parents into paying for school fees.
Accountability frameworks and their relationship to the performance of state-owned companies
(2016) Murovhi, Hulisani Douglas
ABSTRACT The quality of a country’s economic institutions is widely accepted as a key determinant of cross-country differences in economic prosperity (Acemoglu, et al., 2005). Owing to their responsibility to develop infrastructure and manufacturing capacity, and to create employment, state-owned companies assume a critical role of advancing and stimulating the economic growth of a country (Khoza & Mohamed, 2005). In order to yield greater public economic value as agents of the national government, state-owned companies need to operate within an accountability framework that is adequate. Good governance is essential to ensure their positive contribution to the overall competiveness and efficiency of the economy. The realisation of an adequate accountability framework for state-owned companies is inhibited by a myriad of factors. This study attempts to explore the existing accountability framework applicable to state-owned companies and the impact thereof on their performance. Through a qualitative exploratory research study, the relationship between four (4) dimensions of an accountability framework (transparency, performance objectives, supervision and compliance, and performance) is examined. The findings indicate: the prevalence of political patronage/influence in the appointment of board members of state-owned companies; and that there are no formal processes for the appointment of board members. Despite being ultimately accountable for the performance of the organization, boards often do not have absolute authority to appoint and dismiss the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other executives. This in turn diminishes the level of independence and authority of the board. Further, it was found that the oversight structures (in this case the line department and the relevant Parliamentary portfolio committee) were not sufficiently resourced and skilled to exercise an appropriate oversight function, nor do they have the power to impose punitive measures of any form for non-performance. Furthermore, conflict of interest situations exist within the supervisory structure matrix.
Accountant’s’ perceptions of
(2011-06-15) Slabbert, Valerie-Joan
During the past decade there have been a number of high-profile corporate failures, both locally and internationally. This has led to numerous legislative and regulatory changes, both locally and internationally. In South Africa, the Auditing Profession Act was released for comment in October 2004 and this led to the Auditing Profession Act, Act No.26 of 2005, which was signed into legislation on 16 January 2006; this took effect on 1 April 2006, as did the Corporate Laws Amendment Act of 2006. The draft Companies Bill of 2007 was released for comment in February 2007 and will replace the Companies Act of 1973. The purpose of this study was to research accountants’ perceptions regarding the effectiveness of legislative changes to the audit profession in South Africa with regard to the prevention of audit failure. Quantitative, non-experimental research was conducted to test the propositions developed from the literature review through a questionnaire that was sent to chartered accountants within South Africa. The majority of chartered accountants surveyed agreed that the reputation of the audit profession in South Africa had been affected adversely by high-profile business failures internationally and nationally, and that this necessitated the legislative changes to the audit profession in this country. There are certain aspects of these legislative changes that will be efficient in the prevention of audit failure and in ensuring greater independence of the external auditor; this was the opinion of the chartered accountants surveyed, and included the functioning of the independent audit committee, legal backing to accounting standards and increased liability for directors and parties involved in the preparation of financial statements. Legislative changes that were not perceived to be efficient included increased liability for the external auditor, practice reviews and the mandatory rotation of audit partners
Acculturation pressures on black managers in Information and Communication Technology organizations in South Africa
(2016) Kwinana, Zukhanye N.
ABSTRACT There is a rapid expansion of employment opportunities in the field of Information Communication Technology (ICT) due to the importance of technical fields in our modern society. The ICT industry, which is characterised by mostly white males, plays a key role in enabling the South African economy meet its targets. Within the industry there has been an increase in the number of Black, Coloured, and Asian young people and this is demonstrated by the fact that the number of black ICT graduates overtook the number of white graduates in 2002 and this trend has accelerated over time with more than twice as many black than white graduates. This results in a large number of black managers joining corporate South Africa, which is already characterised by a “white” culture value system, resulting in an increase in diversity within the work teams. The business problem addressed by this research is to understand the pressures that black ICT managers face to acculturate within their organisations, and whether these pressures have an impact on the black ICT manager’s integration into the team, as well as their commitment to the organisation. The study aims to show leaders in the ICT industry that diversity is not just about race and gender but also about psychological empowerment in the work context and this study explores an area where very few studies have been conducted in a South African context. This research report investigates both the experiences as well as the perceptions of male and female black managers in the ICT industry who are in middle and senior management roles in Gauteng, South Africa. A sample of 91 respondents was identified using the snowball sampling technique and were sent an online questionnaire consisting of questions relating to acculturation pressures within the organisation, practises of white managers that are inclusive or isolating to black managers as well as the impact of these behaviours on black managers and their integration into the team and commitment to the organisation. The collected data was analysed using the statistical software package SAS. The analysis showed that there is a polarisation of view of the organisation from a very equitable to a prejudiced and biased view of the organisation. Statistical analysis of the data using a T-Test showed that males and females do not hold a different view of the work environment; while a Spearman’s correlation revealed that the respondent’s tenure and management level also did not have an impact on their view of the work environment. The overall conclusion of the research was that there is evidence to contradict the proposition that black managers in the ICT industry in South Africa feel the pressure to acculturate to the white Western culture in their workplace; however there is evidence to support the two propositions that white managers exhibit practises and behaviours that are perceived as either inclusive or isolating by black managers; and secondly the practises and behaviours that are exhibited by white managers have an impact on black managers and their integration into the team and commitment to the organisation. With the structural unemployment that South Africa is currently facing, it is extremely important that the entire workforce feels that the company culture is accommodating of everyone so as to ensure that the organisations get the best from its employees. This research has assisted in bringing to light the issues that exist as well as assist in laying the foundation for further studies in this research. This will result in South Africa tapping into all of its human resources’ intelligence and competence to solve the problems faced by the country so that the diversity within the country provides a competitive edge to the country.
Acquirers' selection criteria when choosing a mergers and acquisitions advisor bank in South Africa.
(2014-09-04) Albanie, Sylvester Neil
ABSTRACT The research had three main objectives: firstly to establish if acquirers in Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) deals find value in M&A advising banks, secondly to determine what selection criteria acquirers use when deciding which advisor to select, and thirdly to determine some sort of ordering of these factors of the selection criteria of acquirers. The data for this research was collected using a survey questionnaire. The questions were informed by a review of the recent literature on the topic of M&As. The data was subjected to various statistical analysis techniques including ranking, averaging and factor analysis. The main finding of the research was that 90 per cent of acquirers still see value in using M&A advising banks on deals and find them especially useful where acquirers do not have access to the specialised intellectual capital that M&A advising banks have. The other important finding is that costs remain a key factor in explaining the selection process, but that costs, whether high or low, are not indicative of the quality acquirers perceive to get from advisors. Acquirers are looking to M&A advisors to show commitment to deals and deliver on their promises.
ACTIVITY-BASED COST MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING SECTOR
(2011-10-20) van der Walt, Petrus Stefanus
The South African banking sector is characterised as being highly competitive and has adopted several management accounting techniques to assist in setting the direction for the sector. As a consequence, activity-based costing (ABC) is one of the techniques employed. The research evaluated the appropriateness of ABC in the banking sector. Champions and users of ABC in the four major banks of South Africa were interviewed together with implementation consultants. The research found that ABC has particular value in the application of internal transfer pricing. The internal focus of transfer pricing raise some concern on the external value added by ABC. Differing views exist on further application of ABC. As far as implementation goes, all banks have implemented ABC with varying degrees of success. One of the major considerations that surfaced is the level of ownership by the business and continuous maintenance of the ABC system.
AN ADAPTIVE FORECASTING MODEL
(2011-04-01) Da Silva, Paulo Ferreira
Newspapers are considered the fastest moving consumer goods in the country, with a shelf life of only a couple of hours. Since the publishers carry the responsibility for over or under stocking newsprint products in the various retail stores, they employ a number of ‘allocation’ staff who manually modify a simplified forecasting technique to ensure that the optimal number of newspapers are delivered to each retailer in Gauteng. As it is common for the cost of newspaper production to equal or sometimes exceed the newspaper retail price, the correct allocation of newspaper copies carries a financial benefit to the publishers. To achieve a more accurate copy allocation, this research employs the Holt-Winter forecasting methodology, coupled with an adaptive closed loop algorithm. The closed loop algorithm automatically adjusts the Holt- Winter forecast to ensure that the number of copies allocated to each of the retailers is optimised. This is done to maximise the newspaper sale volume while reducing the volume produced, thus minimising the number of unsold newspaper copies and the associated financial losses attributed to overproduction. The adaptive forecasts were produced on an aggregated and disaggregated level. The aggregated method was used to forecast on a macro level, prior to the allocation of the individual copies at each retailer. Whilst this method performed well in comparison to the existing heuristic forecasting method, the forecast accuracy actually lays in the correct allocation of the aggregated forecasted result. The disaggregated method was used to forecast the number newspapers to be supplied at a retailer level. The adaptive disaggregated forecasting method not only achieved a reduction in the volume of unsold newspaper copies, but also a reduction of sales volume. Therefore, neither the adaptive aggregated or disaggregated forecast models achieved the objective of maximising newspaper sales while simultaneously reducing the volume of unsold newspapers.
Adaptive Organisational Culture as a Source of
(2011-05-13) Maharaj, Devina
Understanding organisational culture and its role in creating long term economic performance has become a major area of research in recent times. Leading researchers in the field have found that organisational culture characteristics that facilitate learning and adaptability can significantly enhance economic performance (Schein 1990; Peter and Waterman 1982; Dension 1990; Kotter and Heskett 1992). Identifying distinctive characteristics and core culture traits can therefore assist managers in assessing the role that organisational culture plays in either facilitating or inhibiting the implementation of strategies and goals. The study aims to explore the role of adaptive organisational culture in creating a sustainable competitive advantage within a single South African organisation. The study was guided by three research questions which included 1) describing the culture characteristics of the organisation; 2) assessing if the culture characteristics of organisation were representative of an adaptive culture; 3) examining if the organisational culture served as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Due to the nuanced nature of organisational culture the case study design was deemed appropriate as it provided valuable in-depth understanding of context and processes within a single organisation. The investigation employed the method of multiple data collection and included collection of data from documentary sources, direct observation, physical artifacts and semi-structured interviews (Yin 1984; Eisenhardt 1989). Based on historical data, the culture was assessed and found to be representative of an adaptive culture. It was also concluded that the adaptive culture of the organisation had served as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. The findings revealed that the ability of the organisation’s culture to remain adaptive and serve as a source of sustained competitive advantage depended on the active management of that culture during periods of intense growth and/or in times of immense change. Key recommendations for continued culture strength included proper integration of newcomers into the organisation, continued active management of the culture and establishing role models and heroes in addition to the founding members of the organisation.
ADDRESSING RECIDIVISM: AN EVALUATION OF
(2011-06-23) UMANAH, TEBOGO ELIZABETH
Measures to address the issues of juvenile crime and the problem of young people in trouble with the law are areas of international concern. Violent crime is mostly perpetrated by young people between the ages 14 and 25. The entry of these youngsters into the corrections system is worrying, as some of them will be equipped to become worse criminals partly due to them sharing cells with hardened criminals. It has been argued that it is a fruitless exercise to keep young offenders in prison as they tend to relapse upon release. Consequently, various approaches such as rehabilitation, minimum sentences and restorative justice have since been introduced as alternatives to traditional ways of imprisonment. Drug abuse, peer pressure, a lack of commitment on the part of offenders to change and corruption amongst DCS personnel are some of the factors leading to recidivism. As far as juveniles are concerned, rehabilitation therefore means helping young offenders to become responsible citizens.
Addressing societal challenges through innovation in South African low income communities. A case study of 5 Selected Small, Micro to Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) in Ekurhuleni Metro
(2018) Chipango, Muodzi Misheck
ABSTRACT This research report was a result of work undertaken by the researcher to establish the level of innovation in Small, Micro to Medium Enterprises SMMEs within the Ekurhuleni Metro, at the same time identifying gaps in terms of strategy, support gaps and proposing ways to bridge these. It also looked at the key facets of innovation, SMMEs – the key advantages and challenges that hinder full potential and realisation of these. It looked at the fundamental challenges that SMMEs face in acquiring appropriate knowledge and tools to tackle socio-economic challenges. It also highlighted the connection between innovations, and small businesses – usually postulated as a panacea for economic growth challenges in developing countries. A qualitative analysis approach was utilised for data collection and processing. The data was collected by use of a semi-structured interview schedule and the interviews were carried out by the researcher. Non probabilistic sampling was used to select a sample of 5 SMMEs from within the Ekurhuleni Metro. Nvivo 10 was used for data coding and analysis. The key findings were:  Innovation capability levels are quite low in SMMEs in this region.  Whilst the SMMEs acknowledge the importance of innovation they do not have a formal approach to innovation i.e. no policy, processes or frameworks to drive innovation  Most of the SMMEs are not aware of government driven innovation frameworks that they could utilise  Funding towards innovation is quite low.  The key hindrances to innovation in SMMEs include lack of resources (funds, time, and technology), availability of skills & training and government interventions. This report further proffers some recommendations, some as stated by the SMMEs as to how they can harness innovation more, to ensure they are not only economically viable but they assist in eliminating social ills such as unemployment.
ADEQUACY OF CRITICAL CARE BEDS INCLUDING HIGH CARE AT THE CHARLOTTE MAXEKE JOHANNESBURG ACADEMIC HOSPITAL
(2012-10-08) Mthethwa, Florance Thabi Pinkie
Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic (CMJA) Hospital has experienced a shortage of critical beds for a period of more than thirteen years without investigating the factors that are contributing to the shortage. The purpose of this study was to determine the underlying factors that contributed to the shortage of critical care beds at the CMJA Hospital. The study also focused on the implications of the hospital strategic plan regarding the factors identified, and proposed interventions to resolve the shortage of critical care beds at the CMJA hospital. The hospital’s strategic plan had measures in place to begin to address the shortage. Findings revealed that the main factor that contributed to the shortage of critical care beds at the hospital was the shortage of critical care nurses. The study recommended that the South African Nursing Council should develop a curriculum for lower categories of nurses to function in critical care areas.
Adjustment challenges of South African expatriates working in Africa
(2013-10-08) Dhrampal, Sharmintha
With globalisation, expatriate assignments to developing locations such as Africa are increasing. The purpose of this research was to investigate the adjustment challenges of South African expatriates working in Africa and used a qualitative methodology. It is based on the Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991) framework of international adjustment and applied to an African context. The findings indicate that expatriates experienced adjustment challenges with regard to adapting to local living conditions, ability of family to adjust to new environment, adapting to a new culture and language, interacting effectively with host country nationals, lack of support from organisation, adapting to work related challenges, inadequate preparation prior to departure and had crime, corruption and security concerns. The study found that Pre-departure preparation, organisational support, family-spouse challenges, cross-cultural training, interacting with host country nationals, adapting to a foreign culture and language are all general aspects that expatriates have had adjustment challenges with. However, South African expatriates working in Africa, expatriates faced many location difficulties in one or more of a following areas: limited housing options, limited education options, rudimentary medical facilities, climate and physical conditions, Infrastructure, communications, disease and sanitation, physical remoteness, political and social environment, recreation facilities, availability of goods and services, heightened exposure to bribery and corruption, crime, safety and security issues. Expatriates face intensely challenging living conditions and quality of life issues. South African companies need to have a greater appreciation for the conditions endured by expatriates in African countries and offer better support.
Adopting environmental management systems in the South African construction industry.
(2014-07-31) Green, Jordan Mark.
ABSTRACT It is widely acknowledged that sustainable development is a global imperative in order to achieve the dual objectives of development which meets the needs of the population, whilst ensuring long term impacts on the environment are minimised and mitigated. Therefore pressure is being placed on the construction sector to implement sustainable practices during development. Studies show that construction industries vary in their environmental maturity and are affected to varying degrees by a number of drivers and barriers which influence the adoption of sustainable development practices, specifically the implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) such as ISO 14001 EMS. This study conducted interviews and administered surveys with key personnel within the major construction firms in South Africa in order to determine the level of adoption of ISO 14001 EMS and the factors affecting its uptake. The key findings indicate that, although construction organisations acknowledge the sustainable development imperative, there is currently a sluggish implementation rate as a result of mainly the cost related barriers exceeding the expected benefits of implementation. Further, although the South African construction industry is supported by comprehensive and robust environmental regulations, implementation and enforcement of these regulations is weak, whilst trade associations and industry bodies are not promoting its uptake. This has resulted in a low desire by contractors to transition to environmental practices and there is no single stakeholder currently driving the green agenda in the construction sector. Although there is degree of environmental management taking place in South African construction industry currently, it has a short term focus, rather than a long term, holistic approach encompassing all principles of sustainable development.
THE ADOPTION DECISION OF TEXTBOOKS WITH SUPPLEMENTARY DIGITAL CONTENT BY SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES
(2011-03-24) Caseley, Gavin B.
Higher education publishers increasingly invest in elaborate supplementary digital textbook packages in the competition for textbook adoptions. This supplementary digital content ranges from video demonstrations for instructors to online practice exercises for students. The research study was designed to examine how textbook adoption decisions are made at public universities in South Africa and the role played by supplementary digital textbook content in these textbook adoption decisions. In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty-four faculty members responsible for making textbook adoption decisions at two public universities in Gauteng. It was found that the quality of textbook content was the single most important criterion currently applied in textbook adoption decisions followed by the cost of the textbook to students. Supplementary digital textbook content was not found to have an important influence on textbook adoption decisions for most faculties included in the study. The research did find, however, that supplementary digital textbook content can be expected to play an increasingly important role in textbook adoption decisions made at public universities in South Africa with implications for both faculty and higher education textbook publishers.
Adoption of advanced workforce analytics amongst South African HR practitoners
(2018) Malebatja, Ntswaki
ABSTRACT The 21st century is characterised by a volatile, complex and ambiguous business environment which is primarily data driven. Those who are able to derive insight from data obtain a competitive advantage. This can be seen in the medical, engineering and even marketing industries. Due to these successes, the field of management is being challenged to move from “gut-feel” into becoming more evidence-based. It is this transition, into evidence-based management, that affords HR the opportunity to become a strategic partner in business, thus building a strong case for workforce analytics. Workforce analytics is said to offer visibility of trends, the impact of training on business outcomes and improve the quality of hire. Workforce analytics has three levels, namely descriptive, predictive and prescriptive. It is the latter two levels which provide additional value to the business, especially surrounding effective strategy formulation and decision-making. Academic research conducted to date suggests that the adoption rate of the latter levels is slow and HR excellence is an exception in South Africa. Thus, prompting the need for this study. Information gleaned from the literature review revealed that the field of advanced analytics is still in its infancy. It appears that the slow progress is due to lack of widely accepted management principles in the field. Other challenges include HR practitioners’ lack of analytical skills, business acumen, leadership support and organisational cultures that are not supportive of evidence-based management. While there is a strong call for evidence-based management, a critique which is often levelled against it is that human behaviour is unpredictable and therefore cannot be measured accurately. Several frameworks such as the balanced scorecard, human capital model and value-linkage model have been developed to provide instruments of calculating advanced analytics. However, none of these frameworks offer a model for prescriptive analytics. The commonality in the frameworks is that successful implementation requires that the HR practitioner should have in-depth knowledge of the business and advanced statistical competencies – skills which most HR practitioners seem to lack. As such, advanced workforce analytics has become a multi-disciplinary process. To gain an understanding into the South African landscape, the research used a quantitative approach. A questionnaire was distributed to 5,800 HR practitioners across the country. The research found that only 11.8% of respondents reported their analytics as advanced. The implication is that 89% are indeed relying entirely on gut-feel because they are either unequipped or ill-equipped to manipulate data to derive insight. As such practitioners are unable to provide HR intelligence. ii The low rate of adoption of advanced analytics should be of major concern to practitioners and business alike. Evidence-based management, achieved through analytics, provides decision-makers with timeous business information and insight required to make sound business decisions enabling businesses to gain competitive advantages. HR intelligence lies primarily in HR addressing business needs. Analytics, and thus evidence-based management, is but an enabler. Therefore, without a thorough understanding of the business needs, analytics, advanced or otherwise, will be another façade and HR practitioners risk being replaced by dashboards.
Adoption of cloud computing by small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries : the South African context
(2018) Hlatshwayo, Prince Nkosiyomusa
ABSTRACT SMEs and businesses in developing economies, through research, have shown a lack in the adoption of technologies that has benefit for them. Cloud computing is one of such technologies that has the potential of levelling the playing fields for these SMEs and businesses, enabling them to compete with big, global businesses. The adoption of cloud computing, by SMEs in developing economies, has not shown great traction. Why is this, especially, in the South African context? Cost, awareness, connectivity, security and other factors have been summarised as causes for the lack of cloud computing adoption in developing economies but there is a lack of research around why the lack of cloud adoption is, in the South African landscape. This paper focuses on the cloudcomputing topic with specific focus to the developing economy of South Africa, the unique challenges that this economy and its SMEs face and the potential reason why adoption is lacking within this context. This study expands further on why there is a lack of adoption of cloud services in developing economies by showing that security in the main consideration, at present, that leads on why the adoption of cloud services lacks. SME are in the know around what cloud services are about (awareness), they make provision for ICT services from an expenditure perspective and are of the view that broadband connectivity has somewhat come down though more can still be done. Security came out as the major concern that is contributing to the lack of adoption of cloud. This research gives a potential, cloud computing, South African SME a view of what other SMEs consider as the benefits of cloud computing to their business and what these prospective SMEs can do, and need to mindful of, in infusing cloud computing as part of their business. The study continues to show cloud computing considerations that are still top of mind to most SMEs and how to plan for these in adopting cloud services.
Adoption of financial technology solutions by unbanked grant recipients in South Africa.
(2017) Tshabalala, Innocentia Nonhlanhla
South Africa still has over 40% of its population without access to a full suite of financial services. With the introduction of financial technology organisation (Fintechs) could they improve access to financial services? Grant recipients are a sub-set of this population as they obtain funds on a monthly basis but do not have access to full suite of financial services. To better understand how financial technology can resolve this issue, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was applied to identify what would influence the adoption of a financial technology for grant recipients that are unbanked or underserved. Through various interviews the following was noted:  Performance expectancy does influence the adoption of a new financial technology service by a grant recipient. In addition the habit and experience of the grant recipients will impact how performance expectancy influences the adoption of a new technology.  Effort expectancy will influence the adoption of a new financial technology by a grant recipient. However habit and experience will not influence grant recipients effort expectancy for the new technology  Price value will influence the adoption of a new financial technology by a grant recipient. However the habit and experience of the grant recipient did not impact how price value influenced the adoption of a new financial technology by a grant recipient Based on the above financial service institutions can better address the needs of the grant recipients and potentially partner with Fintechs that can provide solutions that address all the above.
Adoption of mobile internet applications as a means of communication in South Africa
(2014-01-21) Naidoo, Deena
Mobile network operators in South Africa are experiencing a decline in their voice and messaging revenues as consumers continue to find new and cheaper ways to communicate over the mobile internet. The availability of high speed mobile broadband access and increased smartphone penetration in South Africa has created an environment in which the availability and use of Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) applications (such as Whatsapp, Mxit, BBM and iMessage) are flourishing. Consumers are now downloading MIM applications onto their smartphones to support text messaging over the mobile internet as opposed to using mobile operators’ own messaging platforms. Consequently, every text message sent via MIM communication is lost revenue for mobile network operators. With limited research pertaining to the factors that influence consumers’ to adopt MIM for communication, this study attempts to identify these factors and the extent to which they affect consumers’ behavioural intention to adopt MIM for communication. Data collection was facilitated by means of an online survey via the internet and respondents were contacted via e-mail to participate in the survey. The samples used were mainly from the economically active population in South Africa that have valid e-mail accounts and have access to the internet. There were 259 valid respondents for the survey. The findings suggest that the factors, facilitating conditions, attitude, compatibility, perceived behavioural control, relative advantage and self-efficacy (in descending order of importance) have significant positive influences on consumers’ behavioural intention to adopt MIM for communication. While, subjective norms and significant others were found to have no significant impact. The results of this study are expected to give mobile network operators in South Africa an insight into how consumers come to accept and adopt MIM services for communication. Mobile operators must recognise that consumer behaviour is changing and that there is an imminent risk of their services being eroded by MIM communication.
Adoption of Online Grocery
(2011-05-12) Maal, Khalid
Grocery shopping is an activity that every person will conduct at some or other time in his or her lifetime. Over the past few centuries, shopping has always been done in the traditional way, where customers go physically to stores to purchase the products that they require. With the advent and extensive adoption of the Internet, the face of grocery shopping has changed and a new animal in the form of Online Grocery Shopping has emerged as a potential service that offers significant benefits to both users and retailers. The purpose of this research was to firstly indentify the typical demographical and behavioural profile of a South African that would use an Online Grocery Shopping Service (OGSS). The second aim was to review the factors identified from previous research that could potentially affect the adoption of such a service and to then test whether such factors were applicable to the South African market. Data was collected via online and email questionnaires that were sent to potential respondents, as well as paper questionnaires that were physically administered at the entrances to certain grocery stores. A total of 175 surveys were collected, of which 132 responses were fully completed and were used for the analysis. The demographical and behavioural profiles were analysed and discussed using graphs. A confirmatory factor analysis was employed and applied to the data collected, to determine whether the factors identified were pertinent to the South African consumer. It was found that the South African that is most likely to use an OGSS was between the ages of 30 to 49, would have a tertiary qualification and would earn at least a net household income of R10 000. The behavioural characteristics of the potential South African OGSS user was found to be that they would have larger families of at least 4 members, have one to two children, have access to the Internet, would be the major grocery shopper in the family and would normally spend a significant amount of time conducting the grocery shopping activity. It was concluded from the confirmatory factor analysis that the five factors identified namely, perceived benefits, perceived ease of use, perceived risk, visibility and social influence, were indeed factors that would affect the adoption of an OGSS in South Africa. ii From the perceived benefits aspect, users perceived the time saving, convenience and assisting the old and elderly elements to be the prime benefits offered by an OGSS. The perceived ease of use highlighted that the OGSS offered must be simple to understand and easy to follow for it to be initially adopted. The perceived risk factor was also found to be a critical element that influenced the adoption of an OGSS. Primary reasons of risk related to credit card fraud, potential robbery, incorrect products being delivered and poor quality of products. The visibility and social influence factors were found to be essential to the adoption of an OGSS, especially during the growth phase. The reason provided for this was that the visibility of the service being used and the social pressure by others contributed to new users adopting or rejecting such a service
The adoption of sales force automation technology in South Africa
(2011-03-22) Johnson, Bruce
The concept of automating an organization’s sales force by means of technology is known as Sales Force Automation (SFA). While SFA technology has been in existence for a number of years and has proven a valuable asset for many, there are still numerous instances of organizations facing the challenge of failed SFA implementation due to unsuccessful user acceptance. Far too often management only considers the impact of SFA technology from an organizational perspective and is usually not cognizant of the psychological factors influencing individual user perceptions of the new SFA system. Therefore this study, from an individual’s perspective, explores which of these factors affect adoption of SFA technology by South African sales people. As the body of technology acceptance/adoption research is well developed, this study has been undertaken using solely a quantitative approach. While positivist epistemology lacks the richness of qualitative research, it eliminates subjective bias and allows the researcher to gain an objective view and understanding of complex psychological influences. The findings of this research demonstrate that the factors of performance expectancy, social influence and perceived behavioral control are highly significant determinants of SFA adoption. Furthermore that an individual’s chronological age plays a significant role and that older salespeople are less likely to successfully adopt SFA technology.

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