1,720,985 research outputs found
Technical capabilities of business intelligence systems in South African medium to large organisations
Get PDFMagister Commercii (Information Management) - MCom(IM)Companies are putting in place systems that might assist in attaining their business goals and
vision to improve the running of their business processes. Companies are looking at Business
Intelligence (BI) as a means to attain a competitive edge over competitors, predict future trends,
improve strategic decision making, facilitate quick and reliable decision making, or make the
day-to-day running of business easier.
The study looks at the perspective of middle to top management on the context of BI, with
main focus on the technical capabilities of BI within medium to large companies in South
Africa. To obtain factors relevant to the South African business context, an online survey was
conducted with various sectors of South African industry.
The study is part of research conducted collaboratively by the University of the Western Cape
and Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences in Germany. It focuses on exploring usage of
Business Intelligence Systems (BIS) together with Corporate Performance. Online surveys
were conducted that targeted medium to large companies in Germany and South Africa by
questioning middle to top management on issues surrounding BIS and Corporate Performance.
On this basis online survey approach was taken to ensure required number of participants
would be covered and approached. Therefore, the research adopted stratified sample method
for the online survey. Stratified sampling enabled the expansion of the research by gathering
and collaborating participants responses on the research question and eliminate the possibilities
of unreliable sample from large population
Technical capabilities of business intelligence systems in South African medium to large organisations
No full textMagister Commercii (Information Management) - MCom(IM)Companies are putting in place systems that might assist in attaining their business goals and
vision to improve the running of their business processes. Companies are looking at Business
Intelligence (BI) as a means to attain a competitive edge over competitors, predict future trends,
improve strategic decision making, facilitate quick and reliable decision making, or make the
day-to-day running of business easier.
The study looks at the perspective of middle to top management on the context of BI, with
main focus on the technical capabilities of BI within medium to large companies in South
Africa. To obtain factors relevant to the South African business context, an online survey was
conducted with various sectors of South African industry.
The study is part of research conducted collaboratively by the University of the Western Cape
and Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences in Germany. It focuses on exploring usage of
Business Intelligence Systems (BIS) together with Corporate Performance. Online surveys
were conducted that targeted medium to large companies in Germany and South Africa by
questioning middle to top management on issues surrounding BIS and Corporate Performance.
On this basis online survey approach was taken to ensure required number of participants
would be covered and approached. Therefore, the research adopted stratified sample method
for the online survey. Stratified sampling enabled the expansion of the research by gathering
and collaborating participants responses on the research question and eliminate the possibilities
of unreliable sample from large population
Technical capabilities of Business Intelligence systems in South African medium to large organisations
No full textMagister Commercii (Information Management) - MCom(IM)Companies are putting in place systems that might assist in attaining their business goals and
vision to improve the running of their business processes. Companies are looking at Business
Intelligence (BI) as a means to attain a competitive edge over competitors, predict future trends,
improve strategic decision making, facilitate quick and reliable decision making, or make the
day-to-day running of business easier.
The study looks at the perspective of middle to top management on the context of BI, with
main focus on the technical capabilities of BI within medium to large companies in South
Africa. To obtain factors relevant to the South African business context, an online survey was
conducted with various sectors of South African industry.
The study is part of research conducted collaboratively by the University of the Western Cape
and Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences in Germany. It focuses on exploring usage of
Business Intelligence Systems (BIS) together with Corporate Performance. Online surveys
were conducted that targeted medium to large companies in Germany and South Africa by
questioning middle to top management on issues surrounding BIS and Corporate Performance.
On this basis online survey approach was taken to ensure required number of participants
would be covered and approached. Therefore, the research adopted stratified sample method
for the online survey. Stratified sampling enabled the expansion of the research by gathering
and collaborating participants responses on the research question and eliminate the possibilities
of unreliable sample from large population
The Barriers to Adoption of a Cashless Economy in the South African Agri Market: A Consumer`s Perspective
No full textA research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Digital Business to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024The agricultural sector can play a crucial role in driving South Africa’s economy. However, this sector only contributes less than 3% to the country’s GDP. A part of this low performance can be attributed to challenges faced by small-scale. The wholesale market generally dictates unfavourable prices for farmers’ produce, and long-term payback periods that negatively affects farmers’ ability to sustain their operations. In recent years, the integration of digital technology such as electronic commerce (ecommerce) in agriculture globally has emerged as a promising solution to improving agricultural yields and impact to a country’s economy. In the case of South Africa, ecommerce can be the solution to alleviate challenges faced by small scale farmers to improve their ability to sustain farming operations. This research explores which ecommerce features an Agri-Based ecommerce platform should have to encourage and facilitate direct transactions between farmers and consumers, with a focus on the sale of fresh produce. The study employs a quantitative approach through an online survey requesting participants to rate the level of importance ecommerce features have on their intention to purchase fresh produce online. The Theory of Affordance served as the conceptual framework. The research findings reveal that the visual and descriptive presentation of produce, website aesthetics and ease of navigation, availability of multiple payment methods, customers support information and channels, store reviews and rating scores, and same day delivery features are crucial for an Agriculture Ecommerce platform to drive fresh produce sales online for farmers. The introduction of a uniform online Agri marketplace, or individual fresh produce online stores, can improve the ability for fresh produce farmers to improve their operations profitability and sustainability, and therefore overall food security for South Africa.MM202
The use of social media to drive the growth of South African brands
No full textA research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Digital Business to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023The proliferation of social media usage has coincided with the expansion of social media marketing efforts. However, the mere escalation in social media activity does not uniformly translate into user interaction or engagement with advertisements disseminated through these platforms. Consequently, it becomes imperative to scrutinize the determinants of engagement and discern how such engagement can impact the development of indigenous South African brands. Existing scholarly literature offers limited insights into the factors underpinning social media brand engagement and the resultant effects on the advancement of local brands within the South African market. This research aims to augment the Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) model with the aim of delineating the catalysts propelling engagement with social media brands and investigating the ramifications of such engagement on the performance metrics of domestic brands. Employing a quantitative methodology, the study leveraged an online survey to solicit responses from 272 South African social media users. The findings underscore that the principal determinants of social media brand engagement encompass entertainment value, brand resonance, informativeness, and social influence. Furthermore, the analysis reveals those interactions with brand advertisements on social media platforms bolster purchase intent, thereby fostering an amelioration in brand performance metrics. This emphasizes the pivotal role played by social media platforms in fostering the growth of local brands in South Africa. Consequently, social media engagement emerges as a pivotal determinant shaping the trajectory of growth and performance for local brands, underscoring the imperative of deploying strategic social media marketing initiatives tailored to the specificities of the South African market landscape.MM202
To investigate the role of the 3R’s (review, rating and recommendation systems) in shaping overall online customer experience
No full textA research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Digital Business to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024This study aimed to explore the role of review, rating, and recommendation systems (3Rs) in shaping the overall online customer shopping experience within the South African Business-to-Consumer (B2C) online shopping landscape. The theoretical framework of the study was based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework and the Valence Framework, grounded in the context of the dynamic and evolving nature of e- commerce. The study aimed to understand the multifaceted dimensions of online customer experience, including social presence, habit formation, and performance expectancy. Data collection involved using a quantitative research method to survey individuals who considered themselves to regularly use online shopping channels in South Africa. An online questionnaire was distributed using a convenience sampling approach, which resulted in a sample size of 268 online shoppers. The key findings of the study indicated that review, rating, and recommendation systems do play a pivotal role in enhancing the online customer shopping experience. Specifically, these systems were identified as contributing factors in cultivating social presence, molding habit formation, and positively impacting performance expectancy. Holistically, these systems either as independent or combined capabilities, influence the online shopping experience of customers. This study highlighted that review, rating, and recommendation systems present opportunities for businesses to strategically enhance the online customer shopping experience. Businesses that concede to the influence of user- generated content on social presence, habit formation, and performance expectancy, can customize their strategies to meet the evolving expectations of online shoppers. The findings presented in the study could enable businesses, researchers, and policymakers to navigate the complexities of e-commerce and iii social commerce, ultimately enhancing the overall online customer shopping experienceMM202
Investigating Factors that Influence Compliance of Digital Financial Service Agents to Legislation and Standards in Kenya
Get PDFThis study investigated the factors that influence compliance with existing legislation and standards among digital financial services (DFS) agents in Kenya. DFS in Kenya serve 60% of the adult population with at least 16 million subscribers. Much of these are attributable to the mobile money service Mpesa which accounts for the largest DFS market share. The number of DFS agents serving the market has grown to over five times the number of bank branches and ATMs in the country. With this growth in DFS, there have been many operational challenges among agents and the legislation has been at nascent. The aim of the study was to understand agent operational factors and how they influence compliance. Therefore, the main research question that guided the study was “How do operational factors affect compliance of DFS agents with agency banking legislation and standards in Kenya?” Additionally, the study investigated the compliance status among agents and identifiable groupings by compliance behaviour. Previous studies on DFS agents have identified persistent operational challenges but there has been no inquiry on how existing legislation addresses these challenges and whether their persistence is due to non-compliance. To investigate compliance, first, Configuration Theory (CT) was used to conceptualise DFS agents as organisations, classifying their operations under CT's principles of structure, strategy and environment. Subsequently, a conceptual model was developed with structure, strategy and environment as independent variables and compliance as the dependent variable. The first three propositions derived stated that structure, strategy and environment have an influence on compliance. The fourth proposition posed was that strategy has a greater influence on compliance than structure and environment. Quantitative paper-based questionnaires were used to collect cross-sectional data from 450 DFS agents in Kenya. A Partial Least Squares approach to Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to analyse the data on Smart PLS3. All four propositions were confirmed. Structure, strategy and environment had highly significant effects on compliance and strategy had the strongest effect on compliance. The findings suggest that Strategy, which was measured using training and technology utilization questionnaire items plays the biggest role in an agent's operations and compliance. Training equips agents with skills to manage liquidity, offer quality customer service, perform Know-Your-Customer (KYC), CustomerDue-Diligence (CDD) and suspicious transaction reporting (STR) procedures to assist with fraud detection and anti-money-laundering (AML) by identifying counterfeit customer identification documents, cash, and suspicious behaviour. Technologies such as CCTV cameras, counterfeit cash detectors and cash counting machines not only enhance efficiency but support the enforcement of the fraud and AML procedures. A two-step cluster analysis was performed to classify agents by compliance behaviour. Two distinct clusters emerged. The cluster where majority of agents fell exhibited better training and awareness of existing legislation, higher education levels and financial resources and was compliant with most of the questionnaire items measured. The second cluster with fewer agents was uncompliant on most questionnaire items measured and was characterised by lower education levels, financial resources and training levels. There were commonalities in both clusters which were relatively low scores on legislation awareness, and low compliance scores on liquidity and possession of DFS agent operational manuals. These findings suggest that an agent with a good alignment of financial and human resources (structure), good training and technology (strategy) and well informed about existing legislation (environment) would be compliant and is likely to experience less operational challenges. The findings also provide insights on what areas agents can take initiative for their own development, the most important being liquidity management, technology optimization and educating themselves on what legislations apply to them, and their compliance roles and responsibilities. Lastly, the study provides regulators with exploratory findings on the state of compliance among DFS agents in Kenya, indicating which areas agents are having most difficulty with. Banks and MNOs must recognize the crucial role of training and tailor programs to be responsive to all agent's operational and legislative areas
Factors That Drive the Selection of Business Intelligence Tools in South African Financial Services Providers
Get PDFInnovation and technology advancements in information systems (IS) result in multiple product offerings and business intelligence (BI) software tools in the market to implement business intelligence systems (BIS). As a result, a high proportion of organisations fail to employ appropriate and suitable software tools meeting organisational needs, resulting in a prime number of BI solution failures and abandoned projects are therefore recorded. Due to such project failures, benefits associated with BI are not realised hence organisations loose enormous investments on BI solutions and competitive advantage. The study aims at discovering and exploring critical factors influencing the selection of BI tools when embarking on the selection process. This is a quantitative research study and questionnaire surveyed data was collected from 92 participants working in South African financial services providers listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) appearing in the top 100 based on market capitalization. The data was analysed quantitative by employing the use of SPSS and SmartPLS-3 software's to test the significance of influential factors using the proposed conceptual model that emerged from the literature. The findings showed that a combination of domain technical and non-technical factors is critical. Therefore, software tool technical factors (functionality, ease of use, compatibility, availability of an integrated hardware/software package, and availability of source code), vendor technical factors (availability of technical support, technical skills, quality of product, availability of user manual for important information, tutorial for learning and troubleshooting guide, and experience in using product developed by the same vendor), and opinion non-technical factors (end-users, subordinates, outside personnel acquaintances, and improvement in customer service) emerged as significant combination of influential factors to be considered. The study contributes to both academia and industry by providing influential determinants for software tool selection. It is hoped that the findings presented will contribute to a greater understanding of factors influencing the selection of BI tools to researchers and practitioners alike. Furthermore, organisations seeking to select and deliver appropriate BI tools will be better equipped to drive such endeavours
The effect of digital nudging on the users of eCommerce websites in South Africa
Get PDFPost pandemic, online shopping applications have seen a rise in consumer traffic over the past three years. E-commerce sales have grown by 35% year over year, with online penetration remaining 30% higher than pre-Covid levels (McKinsey & Company, 2021). In South Africa, e-commerce is driven by high and fast-growing internet usage, pushing e- commerce growth from 27 million to 38 million by 2027. Given the ubiquitous use of e-commerce applications, it has become increasingly important for e-retailers to optimize the design of their web stores to attract consumers and gain a competitive advantage. Usability concerns affect transactional websites (e-commerce), as they need to enable users to achieve their goals efficiently, effectively, and satisfactorily (Díaz et al., 2017). Many e-commerce applications have incorporated digital nudging techniques to change consumers' online choice environments and influence their purchase decisions. This thesis aims to understand the effect of digital nudging on the users of e-commerce websites in South Africa. Specifically, this study investigates the effect of timed promotions, shipping information, and returns information nudging on customer response based on an experimental e-commerce platform. The responses were recorded using a questionnaire with a specific focus on three dependent variables to measure the customer responses between the nudge variants. Online experiments were conducted with the e-commerce clothing store “Superbalist” which is the second most popular e-commerce site in South Africa generating 220 million in annual revenue. This study employed a one-way between - subjects ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) ,to analyze the quantitative data. The results of the study show that the individual digital nudges examined (timed promotions, shipping information, and returns information nudges) result in more positive customer responses to most of the variable questions than no nudging. Moreover, combination nudges created by combining individual nudge variants have shown interesting insights into the negative backfiring effect of having too many nudges, resulting in a less positive customer response than no nudging at all
Bridging the gap: factors driving retail analytics adoption in traditional retail businesses
Get PDFThis thesis investigates how South Africa's traditional retail sector adopts advanced analytics amid infrastructural, cultural, and economic constraints. Guided by the Technology Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework and Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory, it addresses a critical gap in understanding the interplay of legacy systems, limited IT resources, and stringent regulatory demands on data-driven decision-making. A multi-case qualitative study of three large and mid-tier traditional retail chains in South Africa was conducted, involving 15 participants including store managers, IT directors, data analysts, marketing executives, and senior decision-makers. Findings highlight how outdated point-of sale infrastructure, patchy internet connectivity, and frequent power outages impede real-time analytics. At the organisational level, siloed structures and staff concerns over job displacement slow adoption, despite growing leadership support for pilot projects and training programmes. External forces, particularly the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), socio economic pressures such as high unemployment, and intense competition, further complicate large-scale analytics initiatives. Even promising solutions like loyalty cards and semi automated storefronts have yielded uneven returns when confronted by crime risks, transient consumer behaviour, or landlord restrictions. Nonetheless, incremental deployments (e.g., “mobile-first” analytics and phased cloud migrations) emerge as viable stopgaps to overcome resource and connectivity challenges. Findings underscore the importance of executive sponsorship, cross-functional collaboration, and targeted upskilling in fostering a data-centric culture. They also reveal that retailers can simultaneously advance sustainability goals, such as cutting waste and optimising energy usage, by harnessing predictive models that align with cost-saving strategies. Ultimately, this thesis argues that successful analytics adoption in emerging markets hinges on aligning technological ambitions with infrastructural realities and social imperatives. By integrating global best practices with localised approaches, retailers can enhance competitiveness, improve operational efficiencies, and contribute to inclusive, data-driven growth across South Africa's evolving retail landscap
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