The study examines the challenges and critical success factors for effective incubation of ICT start-up firms. Information and communication technology (ICT) start-up firms are internationally acknowledged for their contribution to economic growth, improving the quality of life and job creation. The selected case site is the Innovation Hub which hosts a hi-tech incubator called Maxum. The Innovation Hub is an internationally accredited science park located in Tshwane, Pretoria which was launched by the Gauteng Provincial Government in year 2002. The Innovation Hub’s challenge is that its incubation programme is similar to those employed in the developed world. The off-the-shelve programme has not been customised for use within the South African socio-economic context. However, the Innovation Hub is a relatively high performing incubator which has met the prescribed precursors for success. The critical success factors include the hands-on professional services provided to entrepreneurs, value networks and government support. In order to improve the success rate of the incubation of ICT start-up firms, there is a need to adopt a long-term approach towards innovation support and to establish an incentive funding mechanism that fosters job creation by entrepreneurs. The objectives of the study were achieved. The researcher has extended Kumar & Kumar framework and added three critical success factors. The findings of the study cannot be generalised but can be replicated. These findings are of value to the incubator managers and also to the policy-makers when developing and enacting policies that promote incubation of ICT start-up firms. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from file title page. Philip P. Shapira (Georgia Tech), committee chair; Marco Ceccagnoli, Mary Frank Fox (Georgia Tech); Gregory B. Lewis, John P. Walsh (Georgia State), committee members. Electronic text (146 p. : col. ill., col maps) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Sept. 17, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-146).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2009. / A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney, College of Health and Science, School of Computing and Mathematics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and Docteur de L'Université de Toulouse, Faculté d'Informatique, under a cotutelle agreement. Includes bibliographies.

During the past three decades Information Technology (IT) has been constantly evolving and has emerged into a significant component and enabler of most organisations strategy, to the point that modern day organisations are intrinsically dependent on IT (Peppard and Ward, 2004). Henderson and Venkatraman (1993) advocate that for an organisation to be successful in a dynamic and competitive business environment it is imperative that there is an effective and efficient IT strategy that enables the business strategy and processes. Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA)in 2007 launched its corporate strategy, 1:10:100 – 2010 At the end of this stated period 2010, VWSA achieved several of its objectives, namely surpassing its competitors in passenger vehicle sales volume, improving its customer satisfaction, achieving a higher level of local parts content per unit, developing its people and improving its infrastructure and processes.

The goal of this research was to assess the Virginia three-year provisional teaching license preparation path for earning a teaching license with an endorsement in Business and Information Technology (BIT) and Marketing Education (MKED). The study examined BIT and MKED teacher preparedness as it relates to core teaching and program management competencies for CTE educators who enrolled and completed Virginia's three-year teacher provisional licensure route to determine the effectiveness of the routes themselves. The research studied how the participants teacher preparation path impacted teachers' preparedness and how the elements of the provisional path contributed to the teacher's confidence in teaching. The study had one main research question and two sub-questions. The first sub-question emerged into five themes. They include lack of support system, struggle to implement essential teaching competencies, struggle to implement essential program management competencies, taking coursework while teaching does not work, and slight improvement by third year, but still a struggle. The second sub-question emerged into three themes. They include the need for effective support system, need for increased funding for teacher pay and required college courses, and need for focused training on specific CTE competencies. Three key conclusions from the study were BIT and MKED teachers need specific preparation training focused on core CTE teaching and program management competencies prior to entering the classroom, need a student teaching and/or co-teaching experience prior to entering the classroom by themselves, and need effective and active mentoring as well as administrative feedback and support during the entire three-year provisional licensure process. / Doctor of Philosophy / The study examined BIT and MKED teacher preparedness as it relates to core teaching and program management competencies for CTE educators who enrolled and completed Virginia's three-year teacher provisional licensure route to determine the effectiveness of the routes themselves. A qualitative research design was used for this study to determine the factors that affect the first year and third year provisionally licensed BIT and MKED teacher competency obtainment in the state of Virginia. A pre-survey of essential core teaching and program management competencies was given to create awareness of the interview topic to the interviewees. This survey was followed by an in-depth interview to gather rich data relating to the obtainment of core competencies. Three key conclusions from the study were BIT and MKED teachers need specific preparation training focused on core CTE teaching and program management competencies prior to entering the classroom, need a student teaching and/or co-teaching experience prior to entering the classroom by themselves, and need effective and active mentoring as well as administrative feedback and support during the entire three-year provisional licensure process. The results of the research may help improve the provisionally licensed teacher path route for prepare beginning BIT and MKED teachers in Virginia. The research will add to the literature by providing (1) information on how to improve provisional-teacher license preparation programs, (2) suggesting methods of training in these programs, and (3) showing the significance of beginning CTE teachers' professional relationships with administrators and mentor teachers. The results of the study could also assist school districts to better allocate resources and staff to effectively help provisionally licensed teachers.

The primary purpose of this research is to establish to what extent, if any Zimbabwean companies proactively align their IT strategy with the business strategy as a way of building and sustaining business competitive advantage. The research seeks to provide further insights into the business performance implications of the alignment between IT and business strategies. It also seeks to determine if there are any linkages between strategic alignment, IT managerial resources and IT effectiveness. Last but not least, it examines whether alignment directly leads to increased business performance which Sabherwal & Chan (2001) terms ‘perceived business performance’. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / MBL

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / In the last decade, Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), and Women-owned SMMEs in particular, have significantly increased in many parts of the world. The growing contribution of SMMEs towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), job creation, poverty reduction, social and economic development, can no longer be ignored. In recognition of the significance of SMMEs, many countries in the world have created special mechanisms to enhance and facilitate the creation and growth of SMMEs. Lately, the main support services offered to small enterprises include both business development services and financial services by using the cutting edge of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). However, a review of various writings has revealed that despite efforts by numerous governments to establish a support structure for SMMEs, their efforts have not been very rewarding. SMMEs still complain about the lack of access to government support and services. Issues of accessibility were worsened as female business owners face different challenges than their male counterparts. A review of those challenges was conducted in the context of Rwanda. By using a multiple case study design and an interview method for the collection of data, the study identified the support and services provided by the government and the challenges that women-owned SMMEs encountered in their attempts to access them.

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / The requirement for appropriate information management and usage is critical in any modern day organisation. Without proper information structures and management, organisations may be affected badly in terms of sustained growth and competition. Social factors affecting information usage and management are seldom seen as needing proper attention and, therefore often neglected. Due to this obliviousness, organisations may subsequently suffer serious losses economically, without the awareness of the casual factors. To this point, this study explored the social factors that may influence the use and management of organisational information. The study analysed the organisational structure, actions, processes, operations and role of information users and managers, in a financial organisation.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Business Information Systems (Structured))--Tshwane University of Technology, 2011. / Since information technology is a business enabler, knowledge sharing amongst IT professionals within an organization can be very critical in achieving organizational goals and objectives. A knowledge sharing culture ought to be cultivated, within an organization, so that knowledge is shared and retained should employees leave the company. This mini-dissertation argues that organizations need to create an environment where knowledge can be created and shared - preventing situations where employees leave the organization with their knowledge because there are no means to capture and store such knowledge. One of the ways for an organization to grow its performance is the introduction of a knowledge sharing culture. However, factors that really influence employees to share their knowledge are not readily understood. Thus, this study sought to identify and understand the factors that affects IT professional's intensions and behavior towards knowledge sharing, using activity theory and organizational culture theory as lenses.

Thesis (D Phil.(Information Technology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references.