Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters/MBA)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37942

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    The plausibility of developing a digitised township economy: A study of townships in Cape Town
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Tsolekile, Sisanda
    South Africa has a 91% penetration of smartphones in its adult population, making a plausible case for doing business on digital platforms including mobile apps. In the digital economy, business growth is hinged on the core capabilities of its owners or its human capital, while the customer remains at the centre of how business is conducted. The Covid-19 lockdowns have forced an accelerated adoption of the digital economy by any business that intends to survive. If township businesses participate in the digital economy that places a demand on the businesses to make a shift in their format of customer relationship management. In the case where the business had walk-in customers with face-to-face human interaction, businesses then need to transition their customer engagement efforts into social media networks, and this demands that they upskill and learn new interaction skills to make them effective digital citizens. The study goes on to build a case that reveals how increased internet connectivity in businesses present both growth opportunities as well as novice challenges such as cybersecurity threats. These businesses therefore need to invest in cybersecurity to protect their trade secrets and personal customer data. In the same vein, the government has a role to play to ensure that the economic environment is conducive for conducting business activities. The study also finds that while the government is doing its part in empowering the township population by developing the internet connectivity infrastructure, the same community members who are meant to be beneficiaries of the infrastructure were responsible for destroying it. The study concludes by making recommendations for what a typical township business needs to do to participate in the digital economy. Finally, if the township digital economy were to be plausible, the researcher recommends that all township small businesses should structure themselves as learning businesses incorporating the above-mentioned factors while constantly refreshing their technology and entrepreneurial skills
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    Social Media Marketing and Brand Awareness and its effect on online shopping customer loyalty
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Sumani, Srishti
    The main research problem is examining the influence of Social Media Marketing and Brand Awareness and its effect on online shopping customer loyalty. Research Methodology: This research will use the method of deriving data and analysing the data through the Quantitative method of study. There are many research designs, however this study uses the cross-sectional research design method (Bryman, 2012). Surveys form a part of cross-sectional designs. This research will use the method of deriving data and analysing the data through the Quantitative method of study. This research uses a non – probability method of sampling. Cross sectional research design is a type of statistical technique where information is gathered through many cases at a time, to gather quantitative data and show a sense of alliance within the different case variables (Bryman, 2016g). There are many quantitative methods in relation to data analysis, however this study will use the Descriptive Statistics, Structural Equation Model (SEM) as well as the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to study the responses and consolidate the conclusion (Bryman, 2012). Research Results: A detailed study was conducted to study the concept of customers, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction as well as customer relationship management strategies with reference to brand referrals. The survey was distributed to the customers of Sixty60. This survey was insightful because the questions outlined various questions that were in sync with the influence of social media. The survey determined that social media indeed has an influence on brand awareness; social media brand awareness through Facebook and Instagram leads to customer loyalty and whether this loyalty leads to brand referrals. The managerial and policy implications states that this research can be used by companies to understand Social Media Marketing and Brand Awareness and its effect on online shopping customer loyalty. The results can be used by companies in order to understand how they can use social media for their business as well as whether social media affects their business type. The theoretical implication of this theory is the fact that social media influences brand awareness and customer loyalty in the online shopping sector, thus the results are aligned with these implications
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    The efficacy of strategic customer relationship management in South African business-to-business organisations
    (2021) Singh, Sasha
    In an era of digitalisation where emerging technologies are leading the digital economy, the need for strategically aligned CRM has become imperative for organisations operating in B2B sectors. However, strategic CRM, is not prevalent in current operational structures, and is still an immature discipline in emerging markets and specifically within a South African context. Strategically driven CRM should provide a direct correlation to an organisations digital information structures to ensure and positively increase business continuity. These capabilities are imperative, overall misalignment of strategic business imperatives endure a snowball effect to operational management frameworks. Cohesion of new and existing customer information is necessitated to ensure tailored individual human experiences through a holistic customer experience approach. These should benefit both the customer and the organisation resulting in end-to-end value creation. To enhance the credibility of arriving at a comprehensive understanding of the research question, a qualitative method geared towards strategic change initiatives was applied. Utilising the Gioia methodology approach, the data sets employed were gathered in the form of semi-structured interviews from a sample of 15 B2B industry experts across multiple disciplines to adequately assess and analyse the derived research propositions. The study found evidence that supports existing contemporary strategic CRM models available in isolation of variable factors, additional dimensions of customer knowledge led practice and customer centricity highlighted that a performance culture were evident. These were emphasised as relevant supporting pillars and key determinants for successful strategic CRM through organisational knowledge sharing and exchange criteria. This research considers the implications of customer knowledge management as a process workflow within a strategic CRM framework. Whilst reviewing applicable relational constructs specific to current and associated factors adapted to emerging markets by considering people led systems as dependent constructs.