Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-174). / Even though Information technology (IT) adoption has been widely studied most of this research has been conducted from within a limited set of perspectives. This study used a combination of perspectives as lenses to understand the factors that enable the adoption of unified communications in South Africa.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-148).

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-174). / This research project began with a literature review of IS project management theories which aimed to explore and describe the as-lived experience of practitioners in an IS project network. The study builds on this body of knowledge by providing a narrative of as-lived experiences of IS project participants. The study involved a cross-sectional study of two IS projects cases from two countries in sub-Saharan Africa, namely, Malawi and South Africa. Information was collected and analysed qualitatively using Actor-network Theory. Unstructured interviews were the main data gathering technique supplemented with secondary data and observations. Most interviews were audio recorded. All interviews were transcribed before analysis.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-162). / This study examines the adoption of a Corporate Performance Management (CPM) Information System in the context of a local Municipality with South Africa. The role of ICT in supporting and facilitating CPM is also examined within this context. The historic progression of CPM Systems is reviewed from their origins rooted in early executive information systems to the rich functional business intelligence aligned platforms of today.

This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of impact of using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) on the livelihoods of microenterprises in the developing countries context.

The post - apartheid restructuring of South Africa's water sector has left the responsibility of planning, access and provision of water with local government. Local municipalities, which lack the " financial and human resources to deliver on their constitutional and legal mandate and on citizen expectations" (Department of Co - operative Governance and Traditional Affairs [CoGTA] , 2009) , constitute 71% of South Africa's local government . This means that a large proportion of South Africa's local government does not possess sufficient capacity to fulfil their legal responsibilities. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the potential for improved capacity they provide is not a new concept, especially to the fields of education, health and governance. For instance, South Africa's Local Government Association (SALGA) developed a guide and roadmap f or successful ICT governance in local municipalities. They recognised the importance of aligning governance and ICTs to improve the role of local municipalities , and while many examples of ICTs successfully improving capacity do exist , there are also many other examples where they failed to do so Literature identifies the reasons for failure and suggests ways to address them so that ICTs have the maximum possible impact on improving capacity , however , many ICTs still fail, especially in developing contexts. This is because most studies in the field of ICTs focus on the impact they have on capacity and not vice versa. Not many studies research the impact that existing capacities have on ICTs, and especially not when the ICTs have already been designed to overcome those challenges usually associated with failure in developing contexts. In view of this, the purpose of this study was to assess what impact rural local municipalities ' existing conditions and capacities have on the implementation and use of ICT s and hence the change in capacity ICTs seek to bring about in the first instance . Additionally, the study assessed whether ICTs bring about any measurable change in low - capacity environments. Two local municipalities in rural Eastern Cape of South Africa , which were looking to improve their capacities to resolve issues of water and sanitation service delivery and maintain customer relations , were identified as the study sites. An ICT system, which sought to address and improve upon the challenges associated with each municipality's customer relations and management of complaints, was co - designed and implemented using best practices, so as to overcome the challenges usually associated with ICT failure in developing contexts. Using the Adaptive Capacity Wheel (Gupta, Termeer, Klostermann, Meijerink, Van den Brink, Jong, Nooteboom, & Bergsma, 2010) , a comprehensive comparative analysis between the pre - and post - ICT implementation capacities of each municipality was undertaken ( both to resolve issues of water and sanitation service delivery , maintain customer relations , and to adapt and respond to the change the ICT system sought to bring about ) . The results showed that the existing conditions and capacities of each municipality did impact the implementation and use of the ICT system. Despite the ICT system being co - designed with the municipalities and their communities to best suit their current conditions, financial and human resource challenges still resulted in each municipality adapting the use of the system to their particular environment. While the adaptations in use benefitted the municipalities, by improving their complaints management and resolution, it negated any benefits the system offered citizens and, as a result, impacted customer relations negatively. The results also showed that ICTs do result in measurable change in low - capacity environments. They are not always the changes expected or designed for, but can, from certain perspectives, end up being the most important. Overall, it is hoped that this study contributes to the discourse of ICT4D implementations in low - capacity environments in relation to the assumption that ICTs inevitably improve capacity. It also highlights the importance of an ongoing debate to rethink the various definitions of ICT for development

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-112). / Service-oriented computing is an emerging IT innovation. Among its manifestations is service-oriented architecture (SOA), an approach to designing and implementing IT solutions. Organizations adopting SOA are facing implementation challenges. Examining factors affecting SOA adoption at an organizational level can reduce uncertainty about SOA, its advantages and disadvantages, and implementation issues. This study uses quantitative analysis to investigate organizational SOA adoption in South Africa from DOI theory and TOE framework perspectives. Results highlight a number of factors influencing SOA adoption: use of multiple standards and platforms, complexity, compatibility, cost, top management support, good governance and strategy, adequate human and financial resources, vendor support for integration and development tools.

The Information Systems field is one characterised by constant debate about its central focus and lack of a defined identity. This debate has perpetuated as the field constantly changes its identity in response to rapid and often turbulent technological advances. By attempting to study humans, computers and the results when humans and computers interact, the field covers a vast intellectual territory. This vastness causes inconsistent focus and different prioritisation across geographic regions, academic institutions and industry entities. In contrast to established fields, where curricula are relatively standardised, Information Systems' curriculum has traditionally been slow to respond to industry needs, generic in nature and has served as a guideline rather than an authoritative truth. This research is concerned with how the nature of the field affects Information Systems students and graduates, and seeks to investigate how learners can contend both the with vastness of the subject matter and the lack of authoritarian guidelines. The theory of existentialism is presented as a possible philosophy that can be instilled in students to help them contend with the nature of the field. Through the gathering of personal accounts from graduates and Graduate Recruitment Officers, this research assesses how students have grown in academia and moved past the challenges of adaptation to industry. In this endeavour it confirms that existential interventions are necessary tools that can be instilled in practitioners to help them contend with the unstable and ever changing nature of the field. In addition, teamwork or the first team experience is determined to be a fundamental event in identity formation. Lastly, significant specialisation change, otherwise called role movement, is identified during this time and could be the subject of further research.

Bibliography: leaves 118-126. / E-commerce is an area of business that is expanding rapidly, especially in developed countries. Its adoption is based on factors that enable and impede e-commerce growth. Previous research, conducted predominatly in developed countries such as the United States of America (USA,) has highlighted both enablers and obstacles to e-commerce growth. The goal of this study is concerned with determining whether these factors also enable, and inhibit, the advancement of e-commerce in developing countries.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-107). / Managing an information systems (IS) project is a challenging undertaking because of the very nature of these projects. The IS project manager is challenged with increasing and changing requirements, the management of technical resources and business users, and the delivery of the project to meet the business need in time and on budget. The high failure rate of projects in general is a concern for organizations as this can have serious repercussions for the business in terms of loss in turnover or business opportunities. The abilities that are required of an IS project manager in order to manage IS projects efficiently and successfully are of interest to both organizations and the IS project managers themselves. The mastery of project management competencies was previously regarded as being sufficient for successful project management. However, with the high rate of project failure, it became evident that successful project managers have other "soft" skills or abilities over and above these competencies that enable them to be successful. The leadership style that the project manager employs during the project can affect the outcome of the project. A transformational leader motivates and inspires the team to improve themselves and become more effective. Emotional Intelligence is a soft skill that enhances the project manager's ability to practice transformational leadership. This study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership of South African project managers practicing specifically in the IS field. The study further explored the effect of demographic factors such as age, gender and occupational background on emotional intelligence and transformational leadership, and the relationship between the two constructs. Data was collected from a sample of 49 IS project managers based in South Africa. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to determine leadership and the Genas El Inventory was used to determine the emotional intelligence of the participants. The results of the data analysis show a strong positive and significant relationship between the transformational leadership and emotional intelligence of South African IS project managers. None of the demographic factors had an effect on the relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership. IS project managers with a more technical background showed lower average scores for both emotional intelligence and transformational leadership than their peers. Female IS project managers showed slightly higher average scores for both transformational leadership and emotional intelligence than their male counterparts. The results suggest that an increase in emotional intelligence can assist an IS project manager to effectively improve their transformational leadership skills. Further research into the appropriate interventions that should be introduced in order to increase emotional intelligence In South African project managers is advisable. The perceived effect on the project team and the success of the IS project manager after introducing these interventions should be measured. This will be useful in motivating South African organizations to facilitate and encourage their IS project managers to develop their emotional intelligence and transformational leadership skills in order to be more effective and achieve better results with IS project implementation.