Although organisational capabilities have been recognised as a key source of competitive advantage, the empirical understanding of marketing capability and its associated components is still relatively under-developed. There is little consistency in approaching what constitutes organisational marketing capability, proposed conceptual frameworks have not been empirically tested and little attention has been paid to how organisational marketing capabilities are developed over the longer term. The purpose of this study was to empirically test how proposed conceptual frameworks of marketing capabilities match real-life organisational marketing capabilities, explore which marketing resources act as inputs into marketing capability and how these resources are transformed into marketing capability. The following key questions were answered: what are components of marketing capability in real-life organisational contexts, what resources inputs does it incorporate and how are these resources transformed into capabilities? This study employed an innovative (in this theoretical context) multiple embedded case study design using multiple data sources to provide a rich and detailed understanding of marketing capability. The target population for the cases was any South African organisation marketing products and services to domestic consumers/ customers. Based on this definition, four company cases were identified, representing the two target groups (business to business and business to customer) as well as products and services. Data was derived from 22 in-depth interviews with multiple interviews conducted for each case, as well as documentation and archival records. This study contributes at the theoretical level by developing a framework of marketing capability and sub-capabilities, providing an enhanced understanding of the nature of marketing knowledge resources underpinning marketing capability and outlining the mechanisms that integrate marketing knowledge resources in the development of marketing capability and sub-capabilities. At practitioner level, the findings can contribute to enhancing effective marketing within organisations by providing a route to building stronger underlying marketing capabilities, which in turn will improve competitiveness. / Thesis (DBA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / DBA / Unrestricted

Individuals are affected by different biases and heuristics in different ways. This dissertation explores the two of these (underdog bias and self-rated performance) and their relationship with personal risk propensity in the South African investment professional community. To measure risk propensity in investment professionals, a new instrument was developed. This was tested against a risk measurement scale based on the original work in prospect theory. Both risk propensity measures found similar and comparable results in the investment professionals, and similar results when compared to other studies that studied risk propensity in a more general population and risk tolerance in investment professionals in Europe. Similarly, self-rated performance had comparable results to other studies on overconfidence bias and the better than average effect. Investment professionals, on average, think that they are better than their average peer. Underdog bias, or the headwinds/tailwinds asymmetry, had an unexpected result where the investment professionals felt they did not suffer from stronger headwinds and barriers compared to their peers. This was an unexpected result and may show that the South African investment industry feel more grateful than others to be where they are or, the sample may have triggered the boundary condition of underdog bias where individuals feel their personalised benefits more than their shared headwinds. Further testing is required in the same population as well as similar populations to confirm the boundary condition. The three constructs were tested to understand the relationship between them. In each of the three cases, there was no significant relationship between any of the constructs. The results were different to what was expected and, subject to further testing, may have found a blind spot in investment professionals where they believe that what when they are doing something they consider to be right, they do not perceive the increased risks associated with the action. These blind spots have an impact on how risk is managed investment firms and needs to be monitored to protect the overall firm. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Executive remuneration has been discussed extensively in both academia and industry, causing much disagreement. This dilemma is not exclusive to South Africa as executive remuneration has been central in a number of company scandals globally and considered a critical contributor to the global financial crisis. The purpose of this research was to identify and compare the significant CEO pay-performance relationships between the developed and developing economies of Australian and South African publicly listed companies respectively. International comparisons of CEO pay-performance relationships are scarce, with the majority of studies comprising of only single-country analyses. Historical inconsistent remuneration practices of publicly listed companies have resulted in varied effects on company performance and shareholder value creation. CEOs are witnessed receiving large remuneration packages while delivering little shareholder value. Increased public attention has called for stringent corporate governance measures for CEO remunerations schemes. The research study was conducted as an empirical explanatory quantitative study to further understand the relationship between CEO remuneration practices and the financial performance of Australian and South African publicly listed companies. The overarching principal finding of the study was the confirmation of the difference in the significant pay-performance relationships between Australian and South African publicly listed companies, with results indicating that only a negligible portion of the variance in CEO remuneration can be attributed to financial performance measures. The increase in the globally mobility of CEOs has added an additional level of complexity to the pay-performance relationship. Contributing to the field of human resource management and remuneration this study builds on the understanding of CEO pay-performance relationship to maximise shareholder value creation and retain talented CEOs. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

The current qualitative research was aimed at exploring and describing symbolic consumption and extension of self through possessions during liminality of full-time MBA students, moderated by financial constraint. The main purpose of the study was to gain deeper understanding of the liminal stage of full-time MBA students as consumers, and its effect on the symbolic consumption in the context of restricted financial resources. The main purpose of the research determined its exploratory and inductive nature within the interpretivist philosophy to qualitative inquiry. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants chosen according to the pre-set criteria. Raw data was analysed using constant comparative and content analyses. The main findings of the research showed that during MBA studies as a period of liminality, participants faced the necessity to re-adjust their consumption behaviour in order to fulfil the shifts to new social roles and therefore construct new identities. Being financially constrained, they had to make trade-offs defined by main priorities of this stage in life. As a result, participants re-evaluated their previous consumption behaviour, and adopted a new one appropriate for their new social roles and gained new decisionmaking skills. Through financial constraint as an important moderating variable of the experience, participants gained new understanding of power and value of money which formed their consumption going forward. The outcome of the research contributed to the existing body of knowledge on changes in consumption behaviour of individuals in life transitions, including symbolic consumption and self-extension through possessions. In addition to that, insights gained during research contributed to the understanding of the role financial constraint plays as a moderating variable for consumption in transition. Therefore, the results of the research are of practical value for marketers as they provide valuable insights that can be used for more efficient targeting of appropriate buyer groups. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Self-evaluations are typically performed in the workplace in order to apportion rewards, judge suitability for promotions and to assign people to appropriate roles. However, people adapt their representations of the self to their circumstances so much so that self-evaluations, as a true reflection of a person’s performance or character, are often of little worth. Assuming honest and sincere rather than manipulated feedback in the workplace is better for achieving business objectives, this research describes hypothesised key drivers of self-presentation behaviour and contributes towards improving the design of self-evaluation instruments. A theoretical model of self-presentation behaviour was constructed, drawing on theory of social desirability bias, impression management and accountability, that proposes anticipation of two distinct characteristics of an audience, power to reward and knowledge of the dimensions being assessed, cause the self-presenting individual to adapt their representations of themselves in specific and predictable ways. A quasi-experiment was performed, using a sample of 278 MBA students allocated to four groups, on the effects of audience anticipation on self-reporting on the dimensions of performance and personality. Statistical pair-wise comparisons of means in experimental groups and principal components analysis verified the theoretical model. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

This thesis was developed to investigate the current models of sustainable development and architectural working and design practice and process to respond to the challenges of the current era defined as the Information Age. This thesis proposes a new model of sustainable development aligned to architecture and the Information Age, and a new integrated systems-design methodology to support it. Buildings were defined by le Corbusier in 1927 as ‘machines for living in’1 on the premise that these buildings facilitated our day-to-day user experience. The role of architecture as a facilitator for a sustainable existence is therefore subject to continued investigation. While there has been an increasing interest in environmental issues and ‘green building’, built environments have consequently failed to effectively holistically integrate core sustainable development principles in architecture. When compared to the definition of sustainable development in the UN Brundlandt Report of 1987, further research into an architectural design methodology is required to enable and plan for the long-term success of our built environments for current and, importantly, future generations. The practices and production of architecture risk being limited to reactively monitoring the design and construction processes for fixed moments in time, usually after the problem has presented itself. This is representative of localised, yet much publicised trends involving quantifiable rating systems for building performance. This does not contribute to long-term sustainability of the architectural product, nor the core principle of sustainable development to adequately meet the needs of current and future generations. The gravitation towards these easily-followed, yet limited-in-scope checklist processes is symptomatic of concepts of sustainable development remaining too broad and fragmented to facilitate focused, industry-appropriate implementation and design. The digital and information-based revolution has arrived, and humankind has now progressed to the point where constant and pervasive access to information and communication in a world of connected systems has changed the way we live and work. This is occurring at an exponential rate within what have been termed ‘knowledge-based societies’. Furthermore, the influence of the Information Age continues to manifest itself in the built environment through advancement of concepts and initiatives such as Smart Cities, intelligent buildings, and the Internet of Things. However, architectural approach and its emphasis on the building as a finite product comes at the expense of a holistic and integrated systems approach, and therefore requires investigation towards a revised design methodology. This thesis will begin by investigating the concept of sustainable development from its original inception to existing interpretations, and will interrogate its continued significance as a decades-old concept to the Information Age. This will be undertaken on the basis that sustainable development primarily aligns itself to the needs of humankind (current and future generations) and as such remains timeless as a core concept. However, the criteria that define sustainable development require investigation based on: a) their suitability towards human need in the context of knowledge-based societies and the Information Age, as well as b) their appropriateness for focused implementation in the scope of the built environment. In this aim, newly proposed criteria will be assimilated into a revised model for sustainable development, from which a methodology for design is developed. This will address the nature of the architectural process towards the creation of sustainable building solutions as a function of a systems approach, rather than a product approach. An integrated systems-design methodology is proposed, promoting the evolution of sustainable development theory in architecture for greater applicability to the Information Age. This systems-design methodology proactively identifies criteria for solving a given problem and the development of alternative solutions, while the proposed revised model for sustainable development is integrated to achieve a holistic building solution based on a systems process. This is inclusive of product (systems solution) delivery into the operation phase. The designer and project information model therefore transition into ‘information custodian’ and repository for knowledge gathering and exchange respectively, to the benefit of current and future stakeholders. This is addressed through various stages in design development and implementation, which apply contextually-based requirements of proposed sustainable development criteria, while catering for aspects of future flexibility, user experience, and knowledge-based development. This methodology expects the design practitioner to apply multi-dimensional evaluation and assessment tools at their discretion, and accommodate changing project dynamics over its life cycle. This implementation will benefit from future research and the introduction of new technologies to aid the process. This may furthermore be affected by new regulatory policy and guidelines affecting architects and the built environment. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Architecture / PhD / Unrestricted

The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is a stochastic, population-based optimization technique influenced by social dynamics. It has been shown that the performance of the PSO algorithm can be greatly improved if the control parameters are appropriately tuned. However, the tuning of control parameter values has traditionally been a time-consuming, empirical process followed by statistical analysis. Furthermore, ideal values for the control parameters may be time-dependent; parameter values that lead to good performance in an exploratory phase may not be ideal for an exploitative phase. Self-adaptive algorithms eliminate the need to tune parameters in advance, while also providing real-time behaviour adaptation based on the current problem. This thesis first provides an in-depth review of existing self-adaptive particle swarm optimization (SAPSO) techniques. Their ability to attain order-2 stability is examined and it is shown that a majority of the existing SAPSO algorithms are guaranteed to exhibit either premature convergence or rapid divergence. A further investigation focusing on inertia weight control strategies demonstrates that none of the examined techniques outperform a static value. This thesis then investigates the performance of a wide variety of PSO parameter configurations, thereby discovering regions in parameter space that lead to good performance. This investigation provides strong empirical evidence that the best values to employ for the PSO control parameters change over time. Finally, this thesis proposes novel PSO variants inspired by results of the aforementioned studies. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Computer Science / PhD / Unrestricted

This study sought to find out if there is a correlation between the wellbeing and work performance of Christian managers and support from their families. Based on Don Browning’s revised correlation approach to practical theology, the study employed a mixed methods research design (quantitative and qualitative). This study involved an empirical study with thirty-two (32) Christian managers in Ohangwena Region, Namibia. The participants in the empirical study either completed a questionnaire or participated in an interview. Additionally, six biblical leaders and other key scriptures were selected to draw theological principles related to Christian managers’ wellbeing and work performance in relation to family support. The results revealed that Christian managers’ experiences at work, at home and at church affect their physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual wellbeing; wellbeing affects the work performance of Christian managers, family support plays a significant role in the wellbeing and work performance of Christian managers; most Christian managers do receive support from their families, but families can do much more; Christian managers have a role to play in gaining support from their families; the church has a part to play in enhancing family support to address the wellbeing needs and work performance of Christian managers. Based on the findings, the study culminated in the designing of a model to enhance the wellbeing and work performance of Christian managers, which can be used by Christian managers, Christian managers’ families and Christian practitioners such as pastors and counsellors. Osmer’s four tasks of practical theology were found to be especially useful for pastoral intervention. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / University of Pretoria / Practical Theology / PhD / Unrestricted

The ubiquity of the cloud has accelerated an abundance of modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based technologies to be built based on the cloud infrastructures. This has increased the number of internet users, and has led to a substantial increase in the number of incidents related to information security in the recent past, in both the private and public sectors. This is mainly because criminals have increasingly used the cloud as an attack vector due to its prevalence, scalability and open nature. Such attacks have made it necessary to perform regular digital forensics analysis in cloud computing environments. Digital Forensics (DF) plays a significant role in information security by providing a scientific way of uncovering and interpreting evidence from digital sources that can be used in criminal, civil or corporate cases. It is mainly concerned with the investigation of crimes that are supported by digital evidence. Furthermore, DF is conducted for purposes of uncovering a potential security incident through Digital Forensic Investigations (DFIs). There is always some degree of uncertainty when cyber-security incidents occur in an organisation. This is because the investigation of cyber-security incidents, as compared to the investigation of physical crimes, is generally still in its infancy. Unless there are proper post-incident response and investigating strategies in place, there will always be questions about the level of trust and the integrity of digital forensic evidence in the cloud environment. The impact of cyber-security incidents can be enormous. Much damage has already been experienced in many organisations and a disparity between cyber-security incidents and digital investigations lies at the origin of where an incident is detected. Organisations need to reach a state of Digital Forensic Readiness (DFR), which implies that digital forensic planning, preparation must be in place, and that organisations can implement proper post-incident response mechanisms. However, research study on science and theories focused on the legal analysis of cloud computing has come under scrutiny because there are several constitutional and statutory provisions with regard to how digital forensic evidence can be acquired from Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). Nevertheless, for Digital Forensic Evidence (DFE) to satisfy admissibility conditions during legal proceedings in a court of law, acceptable DF processes should be systematically followed. Similarly, to enable digital forensic examination in cloud computing environments, it is paramount to understand the technology that is involved and the issues that relate to electronic discovery. At the time when this research thesis was being written, no forensic readiness model existed yet that focused on the cloud environment and that could help cloud-computing environments to plan and prepare to deal with cyber-security-related incidents. The aim of this research study is therefore to determine whether it is possible to achieve DFR in the cloud environment without necessarily having to modify the functionality and/or infrastructure of existing cloud architecture and without having to impose far-reaching architectural changes and incur high implementation costs. Considering the distributed and elastic nature of the cloud, there is a need for an easy way of conducting DFR by employing a novel software application as a prototype. In this research thesis, therefore, the researcher proposes a Cloud Forensic Readiness as a Service (CFRaaS) model and develops a CFRaaS software application prototype. The CFRaaS model employs the functionality of a malicious botnet, but its functionalities are modified to harvest digital information in the form of potential evidence from the cloud. The model digitally preserves such information and stores it in a digital forensic database for DFR purposes. The experiments conducted in this research thesis showed promising results because both the integrity of collected digital information and the constitutional and statutory conditions for digital forensic evidence acquisition have been maintained. Nevertheless, the CFRaaS software application prototype is important because it maximises the use of digital evidence while reducing the time and the cost needed to perform a DFI. The guidelines that have been used while conducting this process comply with ISO/IEC 27043:2015, namely Information Technology - Security techniques - Incident investigation principles and processes. The ISO/IEC 27043 international standard was used in this context to set the guidelines for common incident investigation processes. Based on this premise, the researcher was able to prove that DFR can be achieved in the cloud environment using this novel model. Nevertheless, the proposed CFRaaS concept prepares the cloud to be forensically ready for digital forensic investigations, without having to change the functionality and/or infrastructure of the existing cloud architecture. Several CFRaaS prototype implementation challenges have been discussed in this research thesis from a general, technical and operational point of view. Additionally, the researcher could relate the challenges to existing literature and eventually contributed by proposing possible high-level solutions for each associated challenge. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / University of Pretoria-UP Postgraduate Doctoral Research Award / UP Research Support / Special International Research Award / Computer Science / PhD / Unrestricted

The intention of this investigation was to retrace the life, martyrdom and influence of Bernard Mzeki’s identity from the formative history of the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe (1890 up to 2013). This study intended to establish the following objectives: tracing the history of the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe from its formative period leading up to the death of Bernard Mzeki; to establish the socio – anthropological, political and economic factors that might have contributed to the death of Mzeki; to establish the theological and biblical notion of martyrdom; to analyze the historical and religious life of Bernard Mzeki leading to his mysterious and controversial death, resultant commemoration and influence to the Anglican Church. And finally, the last objective was to give a critical examination of Mzeki’s martyrdom in light of contemporary African Christendom notion and the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe. In terms of research methodology of the study, there were many forms from which historical data was obtained. Primary and secondary sources were used to gather information. Critical analysis was done using a tool of probability value. Furthermore, historical, comparative, socio-anthropological, theological, phenomenological and political approaches were considered and utilized in order determine specific information in this research work. The theoretical framework of post-colonial theory was used as water that flowed along the study since Mzeki was a character lived in the late eighteen hundred. Bernard Mzeki was traced from his childhood life history in Mozambique, his calling, education in South Africa and his journey to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) through Beira Mozambique to establish a new Anglican Diocese of Mashonaland with Bishop Knight Bruce as part of the formative history of the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe. Mzeki was murdered during the revolt on the 18th of June, 1896 due to his Faith as established by the Western historian who painted and claimed him a martyr. After the study, the researcher highlighted conclusively that the political, economic and socio – religious factors forwarded disqualified him to be named a martyr. According to the researcher, history was silent on the procedure that the Anglican Church took to confer the status of martyrdom on Bernard yet the church referred to him as a saint and martyr. This research work alluded to the fact that Anglican Church in Zimbabwe, CPCA and the Anglican Communion worldwide did not have a process or system put in place or a liturgy in its history that bestowed saintly/martyrdom status like the Roman Catholic Church did. Yet, Mzeki was being venerated as a martyr without no traceable criteria or public function sanctioned by the church to bestore martyrdom on him. And his name was in the lectionary of the Church to be commemorated in the Anglican Communion worldwide annually. This showed how significant and influential Mzeki was as part of the spirituality of the Anglican community in Zimbabwe, CPCA and the Anglican Communion when shrines, institutions and many more were named after him. The researcher raised Revd. Wagner and Mrs (Mbuya) Mandeya, Anglicans who were claimed to have died of their faith and there was a need to recognise them as contemporary martyrs of the twenty first century in the Anglican Church in Zimbabwe but there was no procedure to do so. Recommendations were forwarded, one of them being an advocacy for the Anglican Church to establish a way of conferring martyrdom. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Church History and Church Policy / PhD / Unrestricted