4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    Exploring the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to reduce production loss on farms in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mukumela, Mukandangalwo
    Production loss has been a longstanding hinderance to farmers that not only impacts the quality of harvest and quantity of yield but the profitability they are able to realize. The literature emphasizes the current state of agriculture in South Africa, the impact of production loss in the food production process, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and the adoption of technology in agriculture whilst the study aims to explore the use of UAVs to reduce production loss on farms in South Africa. Qualitative research was the chosen strategy, and seven research participants were interviewed through semi-structured interviews conducted online and field observations at a Forestry operation utilizing drones in Mpumalanga. The findings of the study highlight that the adoption of UAVs has the potential to reduce production loss on farms in South Africa with participants expressing optimism in drone technology to address losses through a more data informed view of farms, enhanced efficiency, and improved on farm practices. Factors that are either driving or limiting adoption of drones have been identified for future agricultural stakeholders to consider. The study’s findings contribute to agriculture and modernization in the industry by helping researchers and stakeholders develop an understanding of the various uses of drones and their role in improved efficiency and increased productivity on farms. The managerial implications stemming from the study suggest that a focus should be put on small-scale farmers who sit at the bottom-end of the adoption curve, issues related affordability should be addressed through government incentives and subsidies which will help reduce the upfront costs of adopting drone technology, improve farmers skills and knowledge as farmers need education and training on the effective use of drones and the benefits of drones and promote entrepreneurship which will directly lead to new innovations in software and hardware, more affordable drones, and value creation for agricultural end-users of UAVs.
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    Exploring employee perceptions on the adoption of 4IR-driven job automation in the South African Food Manufacturing Industry
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Maphosa, Grant
    The Fourth Industrial Revolution (or 4IR in short) is characterised by the latest technologies that mostly serve as solutions for automating tasks. Examples include the internet of things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence with machine learning and robotic process automation. The food value chain is no exception to this automation. All processes involved in converting the raw agricultural produce into finished goods for sale and consumption are expected to eventually integrate the 4IR technological advances, which automate job functions. In the South African Food manufacturing industry, these traditionally manual tasks are performed by a high number of employees, many of which perform lower-occupational level manual functions. The study’s purpose was to explore the South African Food manufacturing industry’s employee’s perceptions of this 4IR phenomenon, with the technologies that will be possibly automating their job functions or overall employment. This is to intentionally address the main research problem of not knowing the employee’s views on the subject, in addition to not being able to track the policymakers and employers’ efforts in managing the transition to 4IR-adoption in the industry. The research study was conducted through interviewing 14 participants who are employed by the South African Food manufacturing industry. They were expected to share their perceptions by answering open-ended questions, and their responses were analysed qualitatively. Their responses were coded and grouped to themes, and findings led to recommendations such as accelerating the change management process to identify upskilling requirements sooner.
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    Loadshedding challenges and adoption of ICT solutions by SMEs in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Masilela, Senzi Michael; Msimango-Galawe, Jabulile
    Small and medium-sized enterprises are regarded as important contributors to improving the employment rate in South Africa. Unfortunately, loadshedding is severely affecting enterprises across different industry verticals. ICT is one of the enablers of collaboration, improved business processes, production and so forth. Companies rely on electricity as it underpins and enables the continuous running of business operations. Primary data was collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews that were conducted with participants in the ICT space in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Majority of the participants who took part in the study work for organisations in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria. The collected data was analysed through thematic analysis where similarities were drawn, and suggestions put forward. It was discovered that some organisations run their IT services from physical hardware hosted on-premises while some are evolving and have since adopted newer ways of running IT services. Organisations running IT from on premises had to put down standby power generators and UPS systems to make sure that they are not negatively affected by loadshedding. Most smaller companies unfortunately were not able to afford backup power solutions because of them being so exorbitant from a cost perspective. Due to loadshedding challenges, some moved their infrastructure to third-party data centres and ran them remotely from there. Some have fully migrated to cloud computing
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    The adoption of multi-sided market platforms within the South African creative economy
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Magwebu, Yoyisani Gcisa; Chalomba, Nakuze
    This study aimed to explore the adoption of multisided marketplace platforms (MSMPs) within the South African creative economy, given the limited evidence of their adoption, explicitly focusing on the visual art domain participants. By applying a phenomenological design, the study aimed to understand how the phenomenon of marketplace platform adoption can create value for all stakeholders within the visual art ecosystem and develop a conceptual framework which addresses the unique needs of the visual art sector whilst providing valuable insights for future researchers to expand. A qualitative research approach was used to gather data from semi-structured interviews with ten visual art value chain members. Participants included actors representing the primary market, secondary market, support services and reception of the visual art ecosystem. The interview data were examined using thematic analysis, including inductive and deductive analysis. The study findings highlight the potential MSMPs have in creating value for all ecosystem actors within the South African visual art value chain. The research suggests that implementing appropriate platform policies and governance and positive experiences through platform features, functionality, design, layout, and social influence can increase adoption and retention with ecosystem members. Furthermore, the study suggests that co-creation impacts the adoption and sustained usage of MSMPs
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    The adoption of digital innovation in the South African oil and gas industry
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mokgoto, Tshepo; Schaling, Eric
    The ability to effectively adopt digital technology innovations such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Digital Twin, and cloud computing is crucial for any’s organization's continued growth and success. As much as innovation promises substantial value for organizations, not much is known about the attributes or factors that facilitate or impede innovation adoption. In addition, less is also known about how these attributes and factors influence adoption. There isn't much empirical data to support the growing significance of innovation through digital technologies in enabling the transformation of oil and gas organizations in South Africa, even though innovation globally is a growing phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of digital technology innovation in the oil and gas industry in South Africa. The literature showed that there are number of factors that influence the rate of digital technology adoption and out of these the most prevalent ones were investigated for applicability in the oil and gas in South Africa. This study explored factors that were more prevalent in the oil and gas and grouped them into two categories, namely, knowledge and persuasion factors. The DOI theory was used as lens to explore the factors that influence the adoption of digital technology innovation. The theory has helped in categorizing and grouping the factors. Data for this study was collected through survey questionnaires sent digital innovation subject matter experts from multiple companies in the oil and gas in South Africa. Trends in the data was observed through descriptive analysis and regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between the rate of adoption and the influential factors. The relationships were observed and the related extent of the relationships, if existed. A statistically significant positive relationship was found to exist between the rate of innovation adoption and two main factors, Know-How knowledge and motivation. In order to accelerate the rate of digital technology adoption in the oil and gas industry it is recommended that organizations should invest and prioritize building hands-on digital technology and leadership skills. Organizations should also focus on change management activities aimed at motivating current employees showing them benefits and opportunities brough about by digital technology adoption. This will serve as an incentive to ensure that they support and champion the initiatives. Digital technology initiatives should be made visible for awareness purposes and showing the transformation achieved and value unlocked
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    The adoption of Blockchain among the SMEs in Gauteng, South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Motea, Mosa; Wotela, Kambidima
    This study investigates factors that influence the adoption of Blockchain technology among small to medium enterprises (SMEs) within Gauteng, South Africa, through the lens of the challenges they face. The adoption of Blockchain in the SME sector is lagging as compared to other counterparts in emerging economies. It is evident, based on the literature review that SMEs face numerous business problems, and this creates severe challenges hindering the adoption of new technologies. The Technology- Organisational-Environment (TOE) framework was utilised as a theoretical framework and used for this study to analyse the adoption of technology among SMEs. A qualitative research approach was considered the most appropriate for this study. Primary data was collected from six SMEs comprising of owners and directors or senior managers using semi-structured interviews. A purposive sampling technique was chosen to select the participants. The interview question guide developed from insights gained from the literature review section, and other questions were added depending on the respondents' feedback. The author adopted Bryman's four-stage thematic coding for data analysis. The findings of this study offer’s knowledge and practical enlightenment on the factors that drive the adoption of technologies among the SME sector
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    Factors influencing online shopping in South Africa – a post-lockdown context
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mohamed, Raeesa; Budree, Adhees
    Purpose – To evaluate the factors that have influenced the use of online shopping in South Africa during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the role of perceived risk and trust in online shopping and how customers’ online shopping behaviour has changed since the start of the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 381 South African consumers responded to an online survey based on the UTAUT2 model, which was extended to include perceived risk and trust as factors. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the measurement model followed by a structural equation model to identify the significance of the factors and the strength of the relationship to the dependent variable, behavioural intention. Findings – The research shows that consumers have changed their online shopping behaviour, they have increased their usage of online shopping since COVID-19 and plan to continue to shop online. Additionally, all nine variables are significant to varying extents and the hypothesis is supported for each of them. The strongest correlations were found to be with effort expectancy, performance expectancy, hedonic motivationand habit. Research limitations/implications – The research provides an overall view of eCommerce in South Africa during the COVID-19 lockdown period. To provide further insight, age and gender could be tested as moderators. Moreover, the use of stratified random sampling could create a more generalised view in future studies. Practical implications – The insights from this research can help SMME businesses understand which elements are most important to customers when shopping online and where they should prioritise their limited resources to better serve their clients. Originality/value – This study provides valuable insights into South African consumers’ behaviour as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since this topic has not been extensively researched as yet, this study can benefit SMME businesses to understand the influences that drive consumer adoption of online shopping to enable them to be on a digital transformation journey
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    Exploration of the adoption of Artificial Intelligence within traditional recruitment and selection processes among South African Universities
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Murerwa, Godwin
    Industries across the world are investing in and embracing artificial intelligence in their recruitment and selection strategies. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in talent acquisition, fuelled through technological innovation has disrupted traditional recruitment and selection processes. Within South Africa, adoption of AI has been reported to be slow with most organisations still at a pilot stage. An organisation competitive advantage is generated from the people it employs. Due to increased globalisation and interlinked economies, companies rely on their highly talented employees for sustainable competitiveness. It is critical in a world where there is scarcity of skills, talent and resources to use an intelligent system in staffing. Traditional techniques of managing entities are being contested globally. Traditionally, recruitment and selection was a laboriously administrative, mundane and manual process susceptible to prejudices and biases of the practitioner. This research explored the factors influencing Artificial Intelligence adoption in the traditional recruitment and selection practices among South African universities. The main objectives of the study were to establish factors influencing the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in recruitment and selection processes among South African universities and consequently recommend feasible strategies of adopting such technology within the talent acquisition practices of the universities. The study utilised a quantitative research approach through a survey design. For data collection, the research instrument was an online self-completion questionnaire. The study employed non-probability sampling, purposive sampling in particular. This enabled the research to focus on the characteristics and attributes consistent with the study objectives. A total of ninety-five participants from nine South African universities completed the online questionnaire. The findings demonstrated the potential benefits of AI adoption to the hiring processes of South African universities. The benefits of AI adoption seem to be mostly in perceived accuracy and speed in which it curtails tedious tasks in recruitment and selection. There are however significant challenges that should be addressed. Issues to do with ethics
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    How SMEs in South Africa can implement robotics to increase competitiveness
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mpungose, Senzo Calvin; Totowa, Jacques
    Orientation: South African SMEs face technology adoption challenges. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies are no exception. However, SMEs need to gain knowledge on how these technologies affect them. More specifically, how can they benefit from the technologies. Research Purpose: This article investigates the impact of robotics and automation on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. It seeks to identify ways in which the technology could be adopted and with its adoption, improve SME competitiveness. Motivation: The technologies identified as the driving forces behind the 4IR have largely been identified so based on their impact on business and industry. They have led to market convergence which has enabled businesses to operate outside of their industries and markets, thereby increasing market competition. There has been low uptake of robotics and automation in South African SMEs compared to international counterparts and even with the technology viewed as capable of improving business operations, lowering costs and driving competitiveness. Research Design, Approach and Method: A narrative design with interpretivist philosophy utilizing the semi-structured interview schedule to collect data and narrate the views and experiences of participants so as to extrpolate findings was used. Knowledge in this kind of study is subjectively relative to the SMEs being analysed and hence a relativism epistemological stance was taken. The inductive qualitative approach was used to identify patterns from interviews and develop explanations for those patterns. A sample with a fair representation of SMEs that have and have not adopted robotics and automation was interviewed. The interview schedule had nine questions aimed at answering the research questions. Main Findings: The primary reason SMEs adopt robotics and automation is to drive production efficiency, reduce operational costs and increase capacity. SMEs face adoption challenges that include financing, skills shortages and information scarcity. Strategies to overcome these challenges were identified and include finding alternative forms of financing, upskilling existing labour and information dissemination through planned programs. Practical/managerial implications and Contribution/value-add: The study has developed a model that can be used to adopt robotics and automation as well as other 4IR technologies. Strategies that SMEs can use to increase competitivity through the adoption of robotics have been provided alongside strategies to adopt robotics and automation.
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    Factors influencing the adoption of big data analytics in the South African financial services industry
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Mthethwa, Siyabonga
    The rapid expansion of big data analytics (BDA) presents significant prospects for organizations across industries, including the financial services sector. This research investigated the factors that influence the adoption of BDA within the South African financial services industry, examining their impact on investment decision-making and the evaluation of post-implementation value. A comprehensive research framework is employed to accomplish these objectives, combining the Technological, Organizational, and Environmental (TOE) framework with the BDA Adoption model. The TOE framework provides a contextual understanding of technological, organisational, and environmental factors, while the BDA Adoption model specifically focuses on moderating factors such as paradigm shift and organisation’s complexity tolerance for big data analytics adoption. Data is gathered from diverse stakeholders in the South African financial services industry through a qualitative approach encompassing semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis method was used to analyse the data gathered from the interviews. The findings of this study indicate that organizations characterized by a higher tolerance for complexity are more prone to achieving a seamless transition from the intention of adopting BDA to its successful deployment. This study also found that a combination of factors such as top management support, relative advantage, trialability, human resource, regulatory environment and vendor support did influence investment decision-making collectively. Also, the push from the regulators and the need by financial organisations to improve customer experience led to an acceleration of BDA adoption, which ultimately led to investment decisions being made to meet these objectives. The outcomes of this research will contribute to the growing body of knowledge on BDA adoption by offering unique insights into the factors specific to the South African financial services industry. Furthermore, the findings will assist organizations operating within this sector in making well-informed decisions iii regarding BDA adoption, optimizing their investments, and maximizing the value obtained from the implementation of BDA technologies