Wits Business School (ETDs)
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Item Product innovation strategies that support an organisation’s reset business strategy(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Maithufi, Marang Norah; Mupfawa, ShunguLiterature reveals that many organisations do not have well-communicated innovation strategies, or rarely articulate their innovation efforts to align with business strategies. In addition, research further emphasises that without innovation strategies, different parts of an organisation can find themselves pursuing conflicting priorities even in the existence of a clear business strategy. Organisation A, the case under study, has recently accounced its new refresh business strategy; in order to align itself with the changing business and consumer landscapes. The new business strategy focusses on value delivery through customer-centricity and market-focused businesses. The aim of this study is to ascertain product innovation strategies that can support Organisation A’s new business ambitions. Organisation A produces and markets a wide range of products, including chemicals; both commodity as well specialty chemicals. The products identifed for the study are polymers products, selected due to the unique challenges the products currently face; which include being commodity products at the mature stage of their product lifecycle. Parallel to this, these products have recently endured substantial environmental scrutiny relating to the increasing (polymers) plastics waste footprint in the environment and other externalities, with consumers thus demanding more environmentally sustainable product solutions. For a richer discovery, as well as uncovering perceptions which may influence how innovation is conducted at Organisation A, a qualitative single case study research strategy was pursued, via semi-structured interview schedules with Organisation A’ employees involved in and associated with the development, production, marketing, sales and support of polymers products under study. The study revealed that although innovation is widely acknowledged as important, the perceptions held within the business were that polymers product innovation was not a forefront imperative. This, according to the study participants, manifested as an environment that was unsupportive of product innovation endevours, a business that was overly risk-averse, internally focussed, and considered other categories of innovation such as manufacturing process innovations as more value creating than polymers product innovation efforts. Consequently, only incremental and sustaining product innovation activities that were perceived to not disrupt the business were embraced. Three strategies or opportunity areas are proposed, that Organisation A can explore for its polymers product innovation efforts to support the new business strategyItem The Factors Influencing the Adoption of Big Data in the Financial Services Sector in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Toma, Upenyu; Ndlovu, ChiedzaThis investigation examines factors influencing the adoption of big data in the South African banking sector. The dearth of studies on big data in the sector inspired the research. The investigation interrogates factors that influence the adoption of big data using the TOE model. The study used a total of 173 respondents across 53 South African banks. The primary data analysis model used was linear regression. The study’s findings are as follows: [1] Government regulations, competitor’s actions, and customer demands significantly influence adoption of big data. [2] Technology has a significant influence on the adoption of big data. [3] Organizational factors have a significant influence on the adoption of big data. Regression analysis showed that the dependent variable, big data adoption, is either positively or negatively affected by the study's variables. The study conducted a hypothesis test, which showed enough evidence to accept all alternative hypotheses suggesting a relationship between the variables and big data adoption. The study concludes that factors in the TOE model influence the rate of big data adoption in the banking sector. The study recommends that the government reduce regulations hindering big data adoption. The industry is encouraged to invest in big data for sustainable competitive advantage.Item Executive coaching as a vehicle to enhance organisational performance and culture in a mining company in the Northern Cape(2021) Nkomombini, SiphoThis qualitative study explored executive coaching as a vehicle to enhance organisational performance and culture. The study was undertaken in an open cast mine in the Northern Cape, the mine is part of a bigger multinational mining group. The mine experienced a few leadership challenges when it came to holding leaders to account in driving high performance and to shape the requisite organisational culture. The key motivation of the study was that the study will help better understand the role of executive coaching and its impact on organisational performance and culture in a mining context. The main purpose of the study was to examine executive coaching as a vehicle to enhance organisational performance and culture within a mining company. The data was collected by means of face-to-face semi-structured open-ended interviews. The sample consists of 20 senior managers who have all undergone executive coaching within the company. The key findings of the study were that executive coaching plays a significant role in driving high performance and culture in organisations. The study contributes to an existing body of knowledge and positions executive coaching as key driver of high performance and culture in an organisation. In conclusion the study found that it is beneficial for companies deploy executive coaching as a leadership development tool. The results show that organisations that implement executive coaching have a high-performance culture and this will ultimately positively impact the organisations culture and strategy. the study has practical and theoretical implications for the leadership of the organisation, coaching practitioners, and coaching bodies because it outlines the role executive coaching played in leadership development. The study makes detailed recommendations for future research in the field of executive coaching