scholarly journals The structural validity and measurement invariance across gender of the Brief Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument

Author(s):  
Renier Steyn ◽  
G. P. De Bruin

Background: Corporate entrepreneurial activity and innovation are presented as essential elements of organisational success, and gender diversity is often seen as an important variable in this context. The efficient measurement of these variables is essential to the management thereof. It is within this context that the Brief Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Instrument (BCEAI) was developed. Shorter instruments seem to be favoured by researchers and practitioners alike. However, little is known about the psychometric properties of the BCEAI, particularly regarding measurement invariance. Aim: This study seeks to address the structural validity and measurement invariance for the BCEAI applied for men and women. The objective was to establish the utility of the instrument within the South African context, with specific emphasis on cross-gender comparisons. Setting: Medium to large South African organisations, with more than 60 employees, were targeted for inclusion in the study. Once organisations indicated their willingness to participate, 60 employees per organisation were randomly selected to participate in the study. Methods: Data on the BCEAI were captured and pairwise multi-group confirmatory factor analyses with robust maximum likelihood estimation were used to examine four levels of measurement invariance, as well as the equivalence of latent means pertaining to male and female respondents. Results: Data were collected from 3180 employees representing 52 SouthAfrican organisations. The results support the structural validity of the BCEAI and demonstrate strict measurement invariance for the BCEAI across gender. Equivalence of latent means across gender was also supported. Conclusion: These results reveal that the BCEAI mirrors the structure of the original instrument in the South African context and that BCEAI yields psychometrically equivalent scores among employees of both genders. Researchers and practitioners can therefore use the BCEAI with the knowledge that its theoretical structure is sound and can apply it with confidence when comparing male and female employees in the workplace.

Author(s):  
Belinda Bedell ◽  
Nicholas Challis ◽  
Charl Cilliers ◽  
Joy Cole ◽  
Wendy Corry ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Auwais Rafudeen

This paper examines a South African debate on legislating Muslim marriages in the light of anthropologist Talal Asad’s critique developed in his Formations of the Secular (2003). It probes aspects of the debate under four Asadian themes: (1) the historicity of the secular, secularism, and secularization; (2) the place of power and the new articulations of discourses it creates; (3) the state as the arm of that power; and (4) the interconnections (or dislocations) among law, ethics, and the organic environment (habitus). I argue that Asad illumines the debate in the following ways: (1) by providing a deeper historical and philosophical appreciation of its terms of reference, given that the proposed legislation will be subject to South Africa’s secular Bill of Rights and constitution; (2) by requiring us to examine and interrogate the genealogies of such particular hegemonic discourses as human rights, which some participants appear to present as ahistorical and privileged; and (3) by showing, through the concept of habitus, why this debate needs to go beyond its present piecemeal legal nature and develop an appreciation of the organic linkages among the Shari‘ah, morality, community, and self. Yet inevitable nuances are produced when applying Asad’s ideas to the South African context.


1990 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. G. Rousseau ◽  
J. Kruger

This article describes the development of a psychographic inventory suitable for testing the VALS model of market segmentation within the South African context. Hypotheses relating to value and life-style traits, suggested by prior research, are tested, utilising a sample of white and black respondents in the Johannesburg/Soweto metropolitan area. Results imply that the instrument developed has moderate reliability and can be administered bilingually. The VALS model tested by the instrument suggests that most respondents hold need-driven and outer-directed values. Impllications for value and lifestyle segmentation within the South African context are discussed. Opsomming Hierdie artikel beskryfdie ontwikkeling van 'n psigografiese inventaris geskik vir die toetsing van die VALS-model van marksegmentasie binne Suid-Afrikaanse verband. Hipoteses met betrekking tot waarde- en lewenstyltrekke, voortspruitend uit vorige navorsing, word getoets op 'n steekproef van wit en swart respondente in die Johannesburg/Soweto metropolitaanse gebied. Resultate toon dat die instrument gemiddelde betroubaarheid openbaar en toepasbaar is op 'n tweetalige grondslag. Die VALS-model soos getoets deur die instrument toon dat die meeste respondente behoefte-gedrewe en na buite gerigte waardes openbaar. Implikasies vir waarde- en lewenstylsegmentasie binne Suid-Afrikaanse verband word ook bespreek.


10.28945/2181 ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 111-139
Author(s):  
Caroline Khene

The significance of ICTs in supporting socio-economic development in developing countries is inevitable. As academics of information systems in developing countries, we cannot ignore the need for teaching and building the capacity of our students to become knowledgeable and skilled in Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) practice and discourse. Furthermore, it is vital to equip our students with the ability to apply their discipline knowledge in addressing some of the ICT discrepancies in current ICT4D practice in their own context. I introduced and teach the ICT4D module to the Honours level course at my university in South Africa. This paper explores the factors that have influenced and shaped the development of the ICT4D module curriculum in the South African context I teach in, using a qualitative ethnographic lens and theoretical study. This provides a practice lens to motivate for and support the introduction of an ICT4D module in tertiary curricula in developing countries.


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