Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)

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    The diffusion of digital technology among Millennials and Gen X in the South African Aviation Industry
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Kgodane, Kabelo; Magida, Ayanda
    As digital technology continues to shape the aviation industry, it remains unclear how millennials and gen x help or hinder the diffusion of digital technology in the workplace to improve usage and shape the passenger digital technologies in the industry. This study examines the impact of millennials and gen x on the diffusion of digital technology in the South African Aviation Industry. A qualitative approach was adopted, and 12 participants were purposively selected and interviewed (with an equal representation of millennials and gen x). The participants were asked questions relating to their role as contributors to passenger digital technologies in the industry and as passengers (consumers of passenger digital technologies). The data was analysed thematically using an inductive and deductive approach to capture the rich responses. Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory underpinned this study and also informed the interviews and analysis of the data. The findings were in-depth insights that showed the two generational cohorts’ meaningful contributions in the workplace. Overall, the study found that millennials and gen x share similarities in their attitudes about the advantages and concerns of using passenger digital technologies in the workplace and showed differences in the challenges and disadvantages of using the technologies as passengers. Age, the social system, communication channels, and the role of time were found to play a big role in the diffusion process. The theoretical framework was useful in structuring the interviews and analysing the data collected using themes that emerged from the data and the framework. The findings indicated that the two generational cohorts belong to two important adopter category groups, which help the workplace diffusion process. This study contributes valuable insights that enrich the existing body of knowledge in the South African Aviation Industry. There are not many contributions related to the diffusion and usage of digital technology in the South African Aviation industry and in those that exist researchers use quantitative approaches to collect data. This study however illustrated the importance of using qualitative methodology in analysing the insights from the participants which provided a deeper
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    A Multi-dimensional framework for adopting Physical Address System in a developing country
    (2017) Ditsela, Jeofrey
    This thesis is about the adoption of an Information System (IS) at a country level. Information Systems literature addresses adoption of IS at an individual level, organisational level or national/country level. Each level of analysis has its own complexities. However, literature acknowledging these varied complexities has not been forth coming. That is, literature has more studies done at either individual or organisational, and hardly at national or country level. This thesis argues that the adoption of an information system (also referred to as an innovation) at country level is a multi-dimensional and multi-level phenomenon. Existing literature and previous studies have hardily addressed fully, this complexities and multi-dimensionalism, although it has been noted that countries experience and internalise the innovation adoption, as a social process, differently. The study was on a developing country adopting a Physical Address System (PAS), herein seen as an IS innovation. In this thesis, PAS is seen as a social system comprising of artefacts (digital and visual representations), physical world, residents and organisations as stakeholders. The goal of the study was to conceptualise a multi-dimensional framework for adopting a Physical Address System, in the context of a developing country. Since the thesis argument is that the adoption of IS at a country level is even more complex, varied theories were employed as lenses to tackle the various aspect of the study. These lenses are the Diffusion of Innovation, the Stakeholder Theory, Upper Echelon Theory and the Contextualist Approach. Following the interpretivist philosophy, a case study was employed as a research strategy, using Botswana as a developing country case. The research design included semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, observations, policy documents. The data was analysed, discussed, synthesised and interpreted using thematic framework analysis method. Informed by the empirical evidence and the existing literature, this thesis conceptualises that the adoption of the Physical Address System ought to be done sensitive to the developing country as a multi-dimensional social system. This multi-dimensional social system includes the roles of stakeholders, determinants of innovation and context. The contribution of the thesis is in four folds; theoretical, methodological, practical, and contextual. Theoretically, the thesis conceptualised a multi-dimensional framework for the adoption of the Physical Address System in a developing country. Methodologically, the thesis contributed by following an interpretive philosophy and a case study as appropriate for understanding the complexities of adopting an information system, employing a case. Practically, the thesis, through the framework, may inform practitioners with ways to adopt a physical address system. Contextually, the thesis gives insight into the uniqueness of a developing country adopting an information system. Keywords: Developing Country, Adoption, Physical Address System, Stakeholder Theory, Upper Echelon Theory, Diffusion of Innovation, Context