The use of ICT by SMMEs in a Digital Economy: A case study in Buffalo City Metropolitan in South Africa [Abstract]

10.28945/4314 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Underdeveloped Areas ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up

Aim/Purpose: The goal of this study is to advance understanding of ICT utilization by SMMEs by checking access, ability (in terms of technological skills) and usage of ICT among some SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in an underdeveloped areas to enhance their business activities in order to utilizes the digital opportunities 21st century digital economies present. Background: In today’s world no nation or region is untouched by the forces of globalization and digital economy. One of the key pioneering forces of globalization is the advances of ICT like internet, social networks, etc. In the sphere of business, this pioneering force has also altered the way businesses and organizations communicate and interact with customers and society at large. Such alternation presents obvious opportunities for wealth creation and growth for businesses and organizations that are well-equipped to take advantages of them. But for those that are less-equipped, particularly SMMEs, globalization can easily lead to fore-closures and marginalization. It is a common knowledge that SMMEs entrepreneurs mostly rely on ICT gadgets like mobile phone, Laptops, Tablets to conduct their business activities as many of them don’t have enough capital to set up offices with necessary equipment. Therefore, using various ICT functions/programs on these ICT devices to enhance their business activities are critical to their businesses in the 21st century digital economies. Methodology: Purposeful sampling was used to approach fifty-four SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas locally called Townships in Buffalo City Metropolitan. Microsoft excel was used in the descriptive statistics. Contribution: This research will add to the growing knowledge ICT usage in SMMEs in the 21st century digital economies. Findings: The results indicate that the participating SMMEs entrepreneurs need to be educated, trained and supported in the use of the ICT applicable to enhance their business activities in order for them to take advantages of 21st century digital economies present. Recommendations for Practitioners: The agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs in South Africa needs to consider the lacked of utilisation of ICTs by SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas as one of the barrier to growing of their businesses and take necessary steps to address it. Recommendation for Researchers: Since age and gender have been proven to be key-moderating variables in many technology acceptance models. There is a need to explore in depth whether the factors of gender and age also act as barriers. Impact on Society: The research will assist stakeholders, policy makers and agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs to identify the barriers hindering SMMEs to grow and address them accordingly. Future Research: More work needs to be done to check whether gender, age of the SMMEs entrepreneurs have some effects on their attitude towards the integration of ICT into their business activities.

The use of ICT by SMMEs in a Digital Economy: A case study in Buffalo City Metropolitan in South Africa

10.31355/74 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 159-168
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Underdeveloped Areas ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up

Aim/Purpose.................................................................................................................................................... The goal of this study is to advance understanding of ICT utilization by SMMEs by checking access, ability (in terms of technological skills) and usage of ICT among some SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in an underdeveloped areas to enhance their business activities in order to utilizes the digital opportunities 21st century digital economies present. Background........................................................................................................................................................ In today’s world, no nation or region is untouched by the forces of globalization and digital economy. One of the key pioneering forces of globalization is the advances of ICT like internet, social networks, etc. In the sphere of business, this pioneering force has also altered the way businesses and organizations communicate and interact with customers and society. Such alternation presents obvious opportunities for wealth creation and growth for businesses and organizations that are well equipped to take advantages of them. However, for those that are less-equipped, particularly SMMEs, globalization can easily lead to fore-closures and marginalization. It is a common knowledge that SMMEs entrepreneurs mostly rely on ICT gadgets like mobile phone, Laptops, Tablets to conduct their business activities as many of them do not have enough capital to set up offices with necessary equipment. Therefore, using various ICT functions/programs on these ICT devices to enhance their business activities are critical to their businesses in the 21st century digital economies. Methodology.................................................................................................................................................. Purposive sampling has been used to approach fifty-four SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas locally called Townships in Buffalo City Metropolitan. Microsoft excel was used in the descriptive statistics. Contribution............................................................................................................................................... This research will add to the growing knowledge ICT usage in SMMEs in the 21st century digital economies. Findings....................................................................................................................................................... The results indicate that the participating SMMEs entrepreneurs need to be educated, trained and supported in the use of the ICT applicable to enhance their business activities in order for them to take advantages of 21st century digital economies present. Recommendations for Practitioners .......................................................................................................... The agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs in South Africa needs to consider the lacked of utilization of ICTs by SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas as one of the barrier to growing of their businesses and take necessary steps to address it. Recommendation for Researchers ........................................................................................................... Since age and gender have been proven key-moderating variables in many technology acceptance models. There is a need to explore in depth whether the factors of gender and age also act as barriers. Impact on Society ....................................................................................................................................... The research will assist stakeholders, policy makers and agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs to identify the barriers hindering SMMEs to grow and address them accordingly. Future Research........................................................................................................................................... More work needs to be done to check whether gender, age of the SMMEs entrepreneurs have some effects on their attitude towards the integration of ICT into their business activities.

Cultural Effects on Technology Performance and Utilization

2011 ◽  
pp. 245-276
Author(s):  
Susan K. Lippert ◽  
John A. Volkmar
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Technology Implementation ◽  
Reasoned Action ◽  
Gender Effects ◽  
Future Research ◽  
It Adoption ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Cultural Effects ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Acceptance Model

Research to date on information technology (IT) adoption has focused primarily on homogeneous single country samples. This study integrates the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with Hofstede’s (1980, 1983) Masculinity/Femininity (MAS-FEM) work value dimension to focus instead on post adoption attitudes and behaviors among a mixed gender sample of 366 United States and Canadian users of a specialized supply chain IT. We test 11 hypotheses about attitudes towards IT within and between subgroups of users classified by nationality and gender. Consistent with the national MAS-FEM scores and contrary to the conventional consideration of the U.S. and Canada as a unitary homogenous cultural unit, we found significant differences between U.S. men and women, but not between Canadian men and women. These results support the importance of the MAS-FEM dimension—independent of gender—on user attitudes and help to clarify the relationship between culture and gender effects. Implications for managers responsible for technology implementation and management are discussed and directions for future research are offered.

scholarly journals CONCEPTS OF CREATIVE LEADERSHIP OF WOMEN LEADERS IN 21ST CENTURY

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude-Hélène Mayer ◽  
Rudolf M. Oosthuizen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Women Leaders ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Creative Leadership ◽  
And Gender

This article presents the subjective perspectives of women leaders working in higher education institutions in the 21st century in South Africa. It focuses in particular on creativity as demonstrated by women leaders working in culturally and gender diverse post-apartheid settings. The aim is to contribute to the discourse on the creativity of women leaders from diverse cultural backgrounds within South Africa higher education institutions by examining how women leaders experience creativity and what creativity means to them from a qualitative perspective. The study reported on assessed the experiences of creativity of 23 women leaders and their views on creativity and creative leadership by means of a research paradigm based on Wilhelm Dilthey’s modern hermeneutics. It used qualitative research methods, such as semi-structured interviews, as well as observations within one selected higher education institution. Data was analysed by means of content analysis. Quality research criteria and ethical considerations were upheld. The findings highlight the creative skills and attitudes of women leaders underlying successful leadership and the types of creative leadership applied. They suggest that women leaders’ creativity manifests in facilitating creativity in higher education institutions by fostering the creativity of others rather than directing their own creative vision through or integrating it in the work of employees.

Strategic recommendations for financial technology service development: a comprehensive risk-benefit IPA-Kano analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalia Suzianti ◽  
Fannisa Rahma Haqqi ◽  
Safira Nurul Fathia
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Financial Risk ◽  
Reasoned Action ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Kano Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Financial Technology

Purpose This study aims to purpose a strategy for Financial Technology (Fintech) service development to increase user adoption of Fintech services. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model based on a risk-benefit approach was adopted based on the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned behaviour and technology acceptance models. The partial least squares structural equation modelling method was used to test the proposed model and estimate the relationship between constructs. The results are used to develop strategies, which are then categorised based on the integration of an importance-performance analysis and the Kano model. Findings The results show that trust, economic benefit and convenience significantly influence users to adopt Fintech services, whereas privacy awareness, financial risk and legal risk factors affect user trust. A strategy for consumer protection against security threats and financial losses warrants the highest priority for improvement. Practical implications The findings of this study can help Fintech product managers classify their service improvements and help regulators make the appropriate policy decisions related to customer security and the adoption of Fintech. Social implications There are some limitations of this research that should be noted. First, the research target respondents were millennials who have been statistically proven to have the highest affinity in using Fintech services. Second, the Fintech services used in this research were only mobile payments, peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding. Future research could expand the number of research respondents to improve research validity, including other Fintech services or focus on one Fintech service at a time for targeted results and consider moderation variables, such as customer experience with Fintech services based on age and gender. Originality/value This study contributes to the development of new frameworks for evaluating Fintech adoption intention based on a risk-benefit approach. It also presents strategy recommendations to be implemented by Indonesian Fintech companies.

scholarly journals Teachers’ use of ICT in implementing the competency-based curriculum in Kenyan public primary schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julius Murithi ◽  
Jin Eun Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Computer Literacy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Teacher Capacity ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Gender

AbstractThe use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education has been widely advocated as much needed 21st-century skills by governments and policymakers. Nevertheless, several challenges in integrating ICT into the curriculum have been reported in previous research, especially in studies on Sub-Saharan African countries. Focusing on the case of Kenyan public primary schools, this study investigated the availability of ICT facilities; teacher capacity to integrate technology into their lessons; and teacher perceptions towards technology in schools. In particular, the study is premised on the constructivist learning theory and the Technology Acceptance Model. A total of 351 teachers completed an online questionnaire. Teachers perceived that ICT facilities were inadequate in schools, which presented a challenge in the integration of technology during the implementation of the new curriculum. Most of the teachers answered that they received only basic computer literacy training. Although teachers perceived the use of computers as necessary, they faced difficulties integrating technology in their lessons. The effect of age and gender on teacher capacity was also investigated in inferential statistics, specifically with Welch tests and Games-Howell post hoc comparisons. Teachers in their 40s had a higher perception of usefulness than teachers in the 30s. Implications of the study are discussed as well as future research topics.

Becoming better humans in a world that lacks humanity: Working through trauma in post-apartheid South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Manda
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Religious Support ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Surrounding Areas

This article shares the work of the Trauma Healing Project in Pietermaritzburg and its surrounding areas in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In exploring how individuals and families face and work through trauma in post-apartheid South Africa, a pilot project was set up at Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness (PACSA), which ran from 2009 to 2014. Despite the change from Apartheid to a democratic government, South Africa continues to experience multiple-woundedness through domestic and gender-based violence, injuries, HIV and AIDS, xenophobia and crime. These hamper true political and economic development as so many people have to live with pain. This pain prevents them from making a significant contribution to their communities. This article argues that creating safe spaces, narrating our trauma, writing life narratives and restoring social and religious support systems make significant contribution to the healing of South Africa’s multiple-woundedness and empowering of traumatized individuals and communities to restore relationships, recover faith, hope, meaning and dignity. This type of healing is transformative.

Cultural Effects on Technology Performance and Utilization

2010 ◽  
pp. 346-375
Author(s):  
Susan K. Lippert ◽  
John A. Volkmar
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Technology Implementation ◽  
Reasoned Action ◽  
Gender Effects ◽  
Future Research ◽  
It Adoption ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Cultural Effects ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Acceptance Model

Research to date on information technology (IT) adoption has focused primarily on homogeneous single country samples. This study integrates the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with Hofstede’s (1980, 1983) Masculinity/Femininity (MAS-FEM) work value dimension to focus instead on post adoption attitudes and behaviors among a mixed gender sample of 366 United States and Canadian users of a specialized supply chain IT. We test 11 hypotheses about attitudes towards IT within and between subgroups of users classified by nationality and gender. Consistent with the national MAS-FEM scores and contrary to the conventional consideration of the U.S. and Canada as a unitary homogenous cultural unit, we found significant differences between U.S. men and women, but not between Canadian men and women. These results support the importance of the MAS-FEM dimension—independent of gender—on user attitudes and help to clarify the relationship between culture and gender effects. Implications for managers responsible for technology implementation and management are discussed and directions for future research are offered.

Self-Compassion and Quality of Life in Adults Who Stutter

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Croft ◽  
Courtney T. Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
The Self ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
Adults Who Stutter ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.

A reconnaissance of tropical resources during Revolutionary years: the role of the Paris Museum d'Histoire Naturelle

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
MADELEINE LY-TIO-FANE
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Scientific Principles ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Joseph Ii

SUMMARY The recent extensive literature on exploration and the resulting scientific advances has failed to highlight the contribution of Austrian enterprise to the study of natural history. The leading role of Joseph II among the neutral powers which assumed the carrying trade of the belligerents during the American War of Independence, furthered the development of collections for the Schönbrunn Park and Gardens which had been set up on scientific principles by his parents. On the conclusion of peace, Joseph entrusted to Professor Maerter a world-encompassing mission in the course of which the Chief Gardener Franz Boos and his assistant Georg Scholl travelled to South Africa to collect plants and animals. Boos pursued the mission to Isle de France and Bourbon (Mauritius and Reunion), conveyed by the then unknown Nicolas Baudin. He worked at the Jardin du Roi, Pamplemousses, with Nicolas Cere, or at Palma with Joseph Francois Charpentier de Cossigny. The linkage of Austrian and French horticultural expertise created a situation fraught with opportunities which were to lead Baudin to the forefront of exploration and scientific research as the century closed in the upheaval of the Revolutionary Wars.

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