1,720,970 research outputs found
Consumer acceptance of mobile marketing through mobile phones: a case study of South African University students
Full text linkMCom (Business Management)Department of Business ManagementConsumer mobile phone adoption is on the rise exponentially, and offers marketers with many new opportunities to reach and serve customers. The South African mobile phone market has increased rapidly and a significant proportion of mobile services usage in South Africa is the youth. South African youths are following international trends as well as becoming the fastest-growing group in terms of technology adoption in the country. The prevalence of mobile technology as well as its capability to enable laser precision marketing on an individual basis has directed marketers to consider the adoption of mobile marketing. However, the question remains whether consumers are ready for uptake of mobile phone marketing. The purpose of this study was to bring light and create an understanding of the factors affecting university students’ willingness to participate in mobile phone marketing in South Africa. This study used a positivist paradigm that ensures that there is a gap between the researcher’s subjective bias and the objective reality being studied. The study was descriptive in nature with survey method being used to complete the study. The quantitative research technique was applied with data being collected from respondents by a self-administered questionnaire targeted at youth students from selected South African Universities. The questionnaire was pre-tested in a pilot study involving the research participants to identify errors in the research questionnaire and to ensure that the data collected would be relevant and as precise as possible. Findings from this study revealed how consumers want to participate in mobile marketing as well as the contributory factors influencing the acceptance of mobile marketing. Furthermore, this study supplements to the increasing body of evidence on mobile marketing acceptance. The study can also assist managers to utilise the potential of this marketing medium amongst university students in South Africa. More essentially, this study also provided information that can be used to monitor decision making towards mobile advertisements and marketing planning
Challenges and opportunities of the COVID-19 pandemic on women entrepreneurs operating in the informal food sector: A post COVID-19 analyses
Full text linkThe purpose of this study is to explore the challenges and opportunities of the COVID-19 pandemic for women entrepreneurs operating in the informal food sector. An exploratory qualitative approach is used to guide the collection and analysis of data which were collected from a sample of twenty women entrepreneurs. Verbatim transcriptions of digital recordings were analyzed thematically. The findings of the study indicate that women experienced the worst economic effects of the pandemic and faced a range of challenges, such as decreased customer base and demand, loss of income, lack of government and private support, safety and security fears, disrupted supply chains, and requirement for trading permits. Whereas the opportunities encompassed usage of digital technologies, alternative markets and new product offerings, and establishment of Informal women business networks. From the study findings, it is hence vital that policies acknowledge the importance of women and informal food vendors in the nation\u27s informal food system
Rural Women Entrepreneurship in South Africa: Issues and Challenges
Full text linkDespite its importance in rural development, women’s entrepreneurship has faced a series of problems in South Africa. For a holistic assessment of such problems, through a literature review approach, this study aims to review prior research on women entrepreneurship, with a focus on the issues and challenges surrounding rural women entrepreneurship in South Africa. Secondary information sources, such as journal articles, theses, books, abstracts, and credible business-affiliated websites, were used to conduct the review. Among the results emerging from the study, some of the key challenges facing South African rural women entrepreneurs include a lack of adequate financing, education and training, gender bias, inadequate business skills, and difficulties in balancing between family and business. In view of these challenges, this study recommends capacity-building programmes, a robust government policy framework, and opening wider channels of funding and awareness to foster entrepreneurial activities among rural women entrepreneurs in South Africa
The moderating effect of information security on the adoption of mobile marketing transactions among South African tertiary students
Full text linkPhD (Business Management)Department of Business ManagementDespite the fast pace of development within the mobile commerce industry globally, marketers in developing countries are still lagging in understanding why and how consumers participate in mobile marketing transactions. The literature reporting on mobile marketing transactions’ adoption in a South African context remains largely inconsistent and fragmented as most previous studies are based on the experience of consumers in a non-South African (and nondeveloping country) context. Therefore, this study identifies a literature gap, in that there lacks a sufficient critical mass of studies into the moderating effect of information security on consumer adoption of mobile marketing transactions in South Africa particularly among the youth who have a strong affinity for constant mobile connectivity. Furthermore, confronted with rapid changes in emerging technology, previous models of technology adoption are slowly becoming outmoded. Consequently, this study considered testing a proposed model on the predictive power of marketing-related mobile activity to help improve understanding and prognosis of the adoption of mobile marketing transactions in South Africa. Specifically, in order to render these tests robust, perceived information security was applied as a moderator variable to increase the explanatory power of the model. The objectives set out for this research were measured utilising a single cross-sectional approach, guided by the positivist paradigm. In keeping with the dictates of ensuring the highest levels of reliability and validity, a measuring instrument developed from past studies was used. Using a self-administered questionnaire, data were collected from a sample of 810 students from selected South African universities. Descriptive and multivariate statistical tests including the moderated hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyse data. The implication of the study is that it provides both marketers and policymakers with a set of controllable variables that may be manipulated to promote the adoption of mobile marketing transactions.NR
COVID-19 pandemic digitisation lessons for rural women-owned Micro and Small Enterprises
Full text linkThe world economy and ecology have undoubtedly been impacted by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic. Female-owned Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), particularly those operating in marginalised rural economies, are major victims of the COVID-19 outbreak, mostly due to their restricted usage of digital technologies. Digitalisation thus opens up new opportunities for rural women owned MSEs and can help them remain competitive. The study aims to explore COVID-19 pandemic digitisation lessons for rural women owned micro-and small-enterprises. Even though the literature on Women Entrepreneurship is well covered, to the best of our knowledge, the intersection between rural women entrepreneurship and digitisation remains largely unexplored, particularly in African economies. A qualitative approach using personal insights to provide COVID-19 pandemic digitisation lessons for women owned MSEs was used to guide the collection and analysis of the data. The data were collected from a purposive sample of seven women entrepreneurs operating MSEs in the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality located in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province and analysed through thematic analysis. The results highlight the critical importance of incorporating digital technology into business operations, stressing the need to prioritize data security, adopting a mobile-first approach, recognising the significance of an online presence, and innovatively developing digital or digitally enhanced offerings. The study\u27s insights provide data-informed insights, as we continue to advocate for inclusive and effective responses to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. For rural women owned MSEs in South Africa, it is clear that digital platforms have been helpful, and while digitalization alone is insufficient, this research can inform the recovery strategies and policies needed after the pandemic.
Key words: COVID-19, digitization, micro-and small enterprise, rural women entrepreneurs
 
Overview of Women Entrepreneurship in The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
Full text linkPurpose: This article aims to review prior research on women entrepreneurship and recommend/propose future research opportunities for South Africa’s women’s entrepreneurship research agenda.
Design/methodology/approach: A literature review technique was used, and all studies between 2002 and 2022 that addressed the issues pertaining to women entrepreneurs in the Eastern Cape were searched and analysed. To successfully do this, a review of literature consisting of 14 studies was undertaken.
Findings: The literature review pertaining to women entrepreneurship in the Eastern Cape Province yielded five ensuing themes: gender bias within the entrepreneurial discourse, motivation for women entrepreneurs, contribution of women entrepreneurs, barriers facing women entrepreneurs, and support required by women entrepreneurs.
Research limitations/implications: Women entrepreneurship research in South Africa is still growing, which presented a limit to the number of studies that were used in carrying out the review.
Practical implications: The study encourages women business owners to develop their professional skills and familiarise themselves with entrepreneurial capabilities that have a positive impact on their productivity.
Paper type: Literature revie
THE INFLUENCE OF MARKETING-RELATED MOBILE ACTIVITIES ON THE ADOPTION OF MOBILE MARKETING TRANSACTIONS: A USES AND GRATIFICATION PERSPECTIVE
Full text linkThere is an increasing attention being accorded to the adoption of mobile marketing transactions in recent years, as both practitioners and researchers recognise that mobile commerce (m-commerce) is poised to burst into the mainstream. This study identifies a literature gap in which there seems to be an insufficient critical mass of studies on the adoption of innovative marketing technologies within the South African context. More specifically, very few studies have been conducted regarding the contribution of mobile marketing-related activities on consumer behaviour towards m-commerce. In view of this development, guided by the uses and gratification theory, the purpose of this study is to ascertain the influence of marketing-related mobile activities on the adoption of mobile marketing transactions, specifically focusing on the South African youth consumers. To fulfil the purpose of the study, the objectives of the study are centered on examining the degree to which the following marketing-related mobile activities: (1) provide information online, (2) access content online, and (3) share content online, influence consumers’ adoption of mobile marketing transactions. Following a quantitative research technique and a descriptive single cross-sectional design, data was gathered through a self-administered questionnaire, using a sample of 810 students from three selected South African universities. Three research hypotheses were advanced in line with the study objectives, and they were tested using linear regression analysis. The study findings confirm the positive significant effects of marketing-related mobile activities in driving adoption of mobile marketing transactions. Managerial implications of the findings are discussed, and limitations and future research directions are also indicated
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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