Evaluating the value of e-business in small and medium-sized enterprises: a model and analysis in Southern Africa

The implementation of electronic business (e-business) in organisations has led to a major improvement in business performance in both developed and developing countries. This improvement as well as market forces have put pressure on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to adopt e-business. However, the e-business models adopted by SMEs are often abstruse and poorly represented, which leads to time consumption and miscommunication between the stakeholders involved, the business operations and Information Technology (IT) functions. These unclear e-business models make it difficult to evaluate its value. This research examines the elements necessary for this e-business value creation and draws from different disciplines and theories to create a comprehensive model for e-business evaluation in Southern African SMEs. Most studies done on e-business in Southern Africa have been found to be on challenges of technology, a lack of resources such as financial and user capabilities and challenges in business processes. Some gaps in the e-business literature have been found to exist on issues of alignment of business mission and strategy, entrepreneurial drive and management capabilities. The study adopted Gerbner’s theory of communication exchange for the data collection strategy and process, which posits that by studying the events of the communication exchange, one can infer about the state of the systems engaged in the exchange and their relationships. Consequently quantitative website content analysis of 100 Southern African SMEs was conducted to determine their e-business value. The results revealed that an SME that comprises of a properly aligned business mission and strategy, business processes that are enabled by e-business, an entrepreneurship orientation, management capabilities and employees as well as technology integration will achieve ebusiness value. This was seen by a positive influence of 68% on e-business value from these elements. Conversely 32% of this influence is from external elements, and future studies could explore more elements that influence e-business value. Also, a small employee size was found to not be a hindrance of e-business value. Lastly, overall infrastructural e-readiness is the same in Botswana and South Africa, which refutes claims that e-readiness is higher in South Africa than the rest of the Southern African countries. However, SMEs in Botswana lag behind when it comes to technological aspects such as technology equipment, successfully integrating their systems within the businesses; and their IT in their entire businesses and networks, forming technology interdependencies of processes with external businesses, and using online means to transfer information to clients/customers. The developed model (EBVE model) could help (1) stakeholders investigate, communicate and make appropriate decisions and (2) aid SMEs to successfully integrate e-business in their business processes and practices

Developing an Integrative Theoretical Framework for Electronic Business Value Optimisation in Botswana

Organizations are trying to move quickly to adopt remote working policies into their organizations as to attract and retain top talent, reduce office space costs, and increase productivity. As many of these strategies were quickly adopted by South African ICT organizations during the COIVD-19 pandemic, organizations are still somewhat unclear on what their role is with regards to ensuring long term adoption of remote working. Thus, this study explored the role of the organization with regards to a work-from-home strategy. It was found that the organization is responsible for formalizing the chosen strategy, creating supportive policies, and adapting its management styles to facilitate remote working

Strategies for stimulating poverty-alleviating growth in the rural nonfarm economy in developing countries:

"The rural nonfarm economy (RNFE) accounts for roughly 25 percent of full-time rural employment and 35-40 percent of rural incomes across the developing world. This diverse collection of seasonal trading, household-based and large-scale agroprocessing, manufacturing and service activities plays a crucial role in sustaining rural populations, in servicing a growing and modern agriculture, and in supplying local consumer goods and services. In areas where landlessness prevails, rural nonfarm activity offers important economic alternatives for the rural poor....Three key groups currently intervene in the rural nonfarm economy: large private enterprises, non-profit promotional agencies and governments. Large modern corporations take investment, procurement and marketing decisions that powerfully shape opportunities in the rural nonfarm economy throughout much of the Third World...." The authors put forth three basic principles for policy makers who want to ensure equitable growth of the RNFE : (1) Identify key engines of regional growth; (2) Focus on subsector-specific supply chains; and (3) Build flexible institutional coalitions. They conclude that "a prosperous rural nonfarm economy can contribute to both aggregate economic growth and improved welfare of the rural poor." from Executive Summary.Poverty alleviation Developing countries., Rural population., Employment, Non-agricultural Rural areas., Manufacturing industries., Service industries.,

Barriers of e-Tourism Adoption in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Nepal

Developing countries lack e-tourism competencies despite attractive destinations to offer. Nepal is one of the developing countries with its natural beauty and diverse cultural heritage that has great tourism potential. This research is aimed at identifying barriers of e-tourism adoption in developing countries, using Nepal as a case study. Based on the Technology, Organization and Environment (TOE) and e-readiness models, and our literature review, we propose ten factors that affect e-tourism adoption. We applied mixed methods to validate these factors using seven interviews with relevant stakeholders and a survey of 198 tourism organisations in Nepal. The results demonstrate that e-tourism adoption is affected by environmental factors such as lack of national infrastructure, market size, and country-specific contextual factors. Similarly, organizational factors include lack of e-tourism awareness, lack of resources, low value proposition and limited top management support. Finally, we discuss these factors and its implication to policy and practice

Strength properties of rice husk ash concrete under sodium sulphate attack

The use of pozzolanic materials in concrete provides several advantages, such as improved strength and durability. This study investigated the strength properties of rice husk ash (RHA) concrete under severe durability (sodium sulphate attack). Four RHA replacement levels were considered in the study: 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% by weight of cement. The durability performance of the RHA blended cement exposed to sodium sulphate solution was evaluated through compressive strength, reduction in strength, and weight loss. Test results showed that RHA can be satisfactorily used as a cement replacement material in order to increase the durability of concrete. Concrete containing 10% and 20% of RHA replacements showed excellent durability to sulphate attack. The results also indicate that the amount of Ca(OH)2 in the RHA blended cement concrete was lower than that of Portland cement due to the pozzolanic reaction of RH

The Nature of Business Process Redesign in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in a Developing Country Context

As important drivers of the economy, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)in developing countries need to adopt innovative business practices to deal with their volatile economic environment. Business process (BP) redesign provides transformational capabilities that can improve the performance of SMEs. However, research in BP redesign has concentrated on large organisations, mostly in developed economies, resulting in methods that are not suitable for SMEs in developing countries. This has resulted in limited adoption of BP redesign among these enterprises. SMEs have unique challenges such as resource poverty, lack of business skills, and different business goals and practices. Thus, they require BP redesign methods tailored to their needs. To contribute to addressing this gap, this paper explored the issues raised by SMEs in BP redesign initiatives in a developing country context. Through exploratory interviews with managers of SMEs, the findings show that the SMEs are characterised by severe limitations in resources, and uncertain business environment. Thus, they engage in agile, iterative, systemic, and context-sensitive process change practices. As part of a larger design science research (DSR) project, these findings serve as a foundation for designing and developing a BP redesign method suitable for SMEs in developing country contexts

Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Business and Finance

Theme: ‘Creating futures: Sustainable economies?’ Purpose: To share continuous and collaborative research outputs that review existing strategies and to propose mechanisms for the likely achievement of a sustainable economy that is unique but inclusive to different entities in the world. Target audience: This year’s 7th International Conference on Business and Finance (ICBF) continues its tradition of being the premier forum for presentation of research results and experience reports on contemporary issues of finance, accounting, entrepreneurship, business innovation, big data, e-Government, public management, development economics and information systems, including models, systems, applications, and theory. Editorial Policy: All papers were refereed by a double blind reviewing process in line with the South African, Department of Higher Education Training (DHET) refereeing standards. Papers were reviewed according to the following criteria: relevance to conference themes, relevance to audience, contribution to scholarship, standard of writing, originality and critical analysi

Exploratory study to evaluate the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Namibia's manufacturing sector

This study sought to explore what is termed the 'entrepreneurial ecosystem' that exists for small businesses operating in the manufacturing sector in Namibia. The objectives were to establish whether there exists a conducive business environment – that is an environment conducive for small businesses in the manufacturing sector to develop networks and build new institutional capabilities. The study also sought to determine if there existed an environment conducive to foster cooperation between different stakeholders in the manufacturing sector in Namibia. Finally the research also sought to make practical recommendations on how stakeholders in the small business sector in Namibia can create an integrated holistic system that encourages a healthy entrepreneurship ecosystem. Through an analysis of literature information provides an overview of the business environment, and through analysis of the primary findings, the researcher shares perception on the ecosystem from the manufacturers themselves. The interviews revealed that the challenges faced by small businesses operating in Windhoek were similar to those documented by existing literature. Of key note however, was the increasing perception of a lack of cooperation between various stakeholders, the government, the private sector, tertiary institution and consumers to make concerted efforts to foster a conducive environment for these small businesses. It is recommended that government initiatives be supported by the private and civil sector – particularly and awareness of and access to funding opportunities, compulsory skills development and training, and capacity building through mentorship and incubation and facilitating market access. The research concludes by suggesting a systematic model that illustrates the relationships (as suggested by the theory and the interviews) between the elements of the ecosystem, as well as recommendations for future research