Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters/MBA)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37942
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Item Factors that influence the consumer behaviour and the increase of online shopping in the South African market(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Tshabalala, Lilian Bertina; Rukudzo, PamachecheSouth Africa’s e-commerce industry grew by 66% (more than R30 billion) in 2020, compared to 2019, significantly due to online shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research explores the factors influencing growing intentions for online shopping in the South African market after hard lockdown restrictions were lifted. Drawing on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model and the Need for Cognition theory, the study investigates the extent to which online shopping intention is explained by perceived effort expectancy, online shopping performance expectancy, delivery value expectancy, customer dissatisfaction / dissonance and social influence. The constructs are aligned with the understanding that purchasing online requires less effort than traditional retail store visits and that delivery time, customer service social e-communities affect acceptance and usage of online shopping. Using the survey method, a self administered questionnaire on a Google form was designed to collect geo-biographical information and responses related to each construct of the study. Quantitative data was collected from 81 participants residing in Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal and Western Cape who engaged in online shopping. After the internal structure and reliability of the constructs were determined, multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationships between the data was analysed using and structural equation modelling to determine the path relationships between online shopping intention and perceived effort expectancy, online shopping performance expectancy, delivery value expectancy, customer dissatisfaction / dissonance and social influence in SmartPLS v4. The findings show that delivery expectation has the strongest influence on online while effort expectancy and performance expectancy revealed moderate relationships with online shopping intention. As more retailers engage in ecommerce, findings imply that maximising the delivery component of online purchasing should improve online shopping behaviour. Inferring from the results, this study provides 7 insights for online retailers to prioritise their delivery times and cost to enhance online shopping intention. Additionally, optimising retailer websites calls for a strong digital presence to improve online customer experience with a long-term perspective that will better position retailers to compete in the e-commerce space. Researchers are encouraged to interrogate the lack of significance of customer dissonance and social influence in determining online shopping intention in future researchItem The perceptions of customer use on mobile applications in the telecommunication industry of south africa(University of the Witswatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Manentsa, SisonkeIn South Africa, mobile applications in telecommunications are constantly developing and introducing new products and features to the market. South Africa is following in the footsteps of other countries by investing in mobile applications to deliver products and services. Mobile applications are topical in boardrooms. Various models established by academia and practice have highlighted numerous factors that are necessary, but few exist on how mobile application factors occur in the telecommunications industry. The purpose of this study is to determine factors that influence the use of mobile application and to examine the extent to which customer satisfaction influences the use of mobile applications. As a result, this exploratory quantitative study investigates their relevance to the South African telecommunications industry. An online survey was distributed to 300 South African users of mobile applications through emails. A total of 167 responses were received. The results were analysed using descriptive analysis, structural equation modelling to determine the contribution of different factors on the use of telecommunication mobile applications, Principal Components Analysis (CPA) was used to ensure that the data is convergent, different and a structural fit model was performed to determine model fit. The findings revealed that general awareness, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating condition, system quality, individual innovation, and customer satisfaction are factors that influence the use of telecommunication mobile applications. Surprisingly, social influence has a negative impact on the use of telecommunications mobile applications. This study reveals that social influence does not influence the use of telecommunication mobile applications. Furthermore, respondents of this study strongly agree that customer satisfaction is critical for motivating use of telecommunication mobile applications. This report has made a number of contributions, a theoretical contribution has been made by developing and testing an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model for mobile applications in the telecommunications industry of South Africa context. The model includes factors such as system quality, individual innovation, general awareness, customer satisfaction. This research's contextual contribution assists the South African telecommunications industry in more ii effective ways, guiding them toward the usage of mobile applications. The practical contribution indicates that the telecommunications industry should concentrate its resources and investments on increasing customer awareness of mobile applications, providing products and features on mobile applications that are simple to use and appropriate for the task at hand, maintaining a low failure rate, and maintaining an environment that promotes the use of mobile applications