To survive and succeed in the very competitive business environment, firms should have a clear business strategy supported by appropriate information technology (IT) and marketing strategies. Whilst many prior studies argue that strategic alignment between, for example, business strategy and IT strategy generally enhances organisational performance, strategic alignment including multiple factors has received little attention and strategic orientation of firms is rarely considered. This research, drawing on configurational theory and strategic management literature, aims to understand the performance impact of triadic strategic alignment between business, IT, and marketing strategies based on strategic orientation of firms. A number of hypotheses are proposed to examine the relationship between triadic strategic alignment and organisational performance through the use of structural equation modelling, and to identify generic types of triadic strategic alignment. The hypotheses are tested through MANOVA using data collected in a questionnaire survey of 242 managers in Yemen. The findings indicate that (1) there is an ideal triadic strategic alignment for prospectors and defenders; (2) triadic strategic alignment has a positive impact on organisational performance; and (3) triadic strategic alignment provides a better indication of the nature and performance impact of strategic alignment. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to support the arguments and to clarify how strategies should be aligned. This research also contributes to managers’ knowledge and understanding by suggesting how a firm should coherently align its strategies to improve organisational performance.

Over the last few decades, microfinance industry has played an essential role in alleviating poverty level and helping the underprivileged, by enabling access to myriads of financial services. Statistics from the World Bank reveals that, currently, only 4% of the underprivileged were served out of the 3 billion potential clients. Such results were due to several claims, particularly the operational and financial challenges faced by the MFIs in the constant flux, inviting more attentions towards its performance. While explicit focuses were given by many researchers towards mobile banking and Information Communication Technology (ICT) and online services in improving the MFIs performance, the study on how Social Media, as a rapidly growing online phenomenon, could affect the MFIs performance remain scarce. Hence, this study was aimed at investigating and clarifying the impact of social media on MFIs, based on four dimensional performance indicators: efficiency, financial sustainability, portfolio quality, and outreach. A model was developed utilising Resource Based-View (RBV) Theory, to test the relationship between social media application and organisational performance. A quantitative approach has been adopted employing from web-based questionnaires, to collect data from MFIs employees in developing countries such as Kenya, India and Jordan. Structured Equation Modelling (SEM) technique (i.e. SPSS and AMOS 20 software) was used as a tool to analyse the responses. Results revealed a significant influence of the social media over the MFIs performance, offering valuable insights to both researchers and practitioners in the domain of micro-finance, as well as social media – conforming that the adoption of social media as marketing, advertising and communication tools could significantly improve the MFIs performance. Keywords: Microfinance, Microfinance Institution Performance, Social Media, Resource Based View Theory.

This thesis explores the question of whether Performance Management Systems (PMS) contribute to the managing of Executive Agencies (EAs). Exploring this question empirically in the context of the Jamaican public sector, it develops a realist methodology with methods, which are applied to the study of four Jamaican Executive Agencies (JEAs). Primary research conducted in 2011 through semi-structured interviews is combined with secondary research that considers both official government and unofficial resources such as reports (official) and newspapers (unofficial). The thesis is one of very few studies to focus on JEAs, one of only two studies to explore PMS in JEAs, and the first to make a focus on PMS in JEAs the primary object of study. It therefore contributes to a very limited literature, which is, therefore, both a strength of the thesis insofar as it breaks new ground, and also a challenge. It is a challenge because the lack of available literature on JEAs with which to relate. In order to address this lack, drawing on Historical Institutionalism (HI), Path Dependency (PD) and Policy Transfer theories, it argues that it is reasonable to draw on British literature owing to the historical influences of Britain on Jamaica, their institutional and constitutional contexts and, particularly, because the agencification of the Jamaican public sector has been based on the British Next Steps Model. From reviewing the British literature an Integrative Conceptual Framework (ICF) is developed. This framework incorporates those factors deemed as critical to the development of PMS in the organisational performance management literature, (that is, both management and public management), in order to harness the structural, procedural, situational and behavioural aspects discussed in the existing literature into a single framework. The ICF is at the heart of the thesis because it influences the methods used in conducting the primary research, and the presentation of research findings. It is therefore a major contribution of the thesis, and it is recommended that this framework could be applied in other contexts (e.g. in the private sector) and locations (e.g. in countries other than Jamaica) to analyse the use of PMS for managing. By triangulating the primary research findings with secondary data, that is, existing literature on the four case studies, the ICF is applied to generate a longitudinal aspect to the study. It is also found that PMS do contribute to managing JEAs, and that the use of PMS in JEAs has evolved positively over time for managing JEAs. The research findings discuss how PMS contributes to managing the four JEAs in terms of the different components of the ICF. Based on this, the study is able to add to existing academic literature, and make recommendations to practitioners. The contribution of this thesis to literature therefore incorporates both a conceptual and theoretical aspect, and also has a practical element. Both of these, it claims, could form the basis for further research.

The key to understanding the development of competitive advantage is to understand knowledge and how it is managed and shared. Organisations not only need to understand comprehensively the concept of knowledge in order to manage it effectively, but also to create and maintain competitive advantages, especially as the business environment has become increasingly competitive in recent years. The aim of this study is to understand how the knowledge management (KM) concept can be harnessed as a vital factor in the enhancement of productivity, performance and the competitiveness of organisations. Therefore, grounded theory strategy has been used, providing in-depth information relevant to KM implementation. Data were collected from face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 24 top managers from 19 different top-ranking companies operating in Saudi Arabia. As a result of constant comparative analysis of the collected data, five major categories emerged: barriers to KM; organisational learning (OL); means of communication; critical successful factors (CSFs); and impacts of KM on organisational performance (OP). The most common barrier to knowledge sharing is the unwillingness of employees to participate and share their knowledge. Moreover, OL is very important. It is considered to be the main goal of KM and it helps organisations to sustain a competitive advantage and improve employees’ performance and efficiency by encouraging them to learn and share knowledge through the creation of a good learning environment. A well-structured communication system is also a crucial factor for KM success because its role is to ensure and facilitate the passing of knowledge to the appropriate people. Furthermore, there are 14 factors that are very important to the successful implementation of KM and these positively influence employees’ willingness to share knowledge. The study found that the most important factor influencing the success of KM implementation is the employees’ willingness to participate in KM activities and share their knowledge. This implies that organisations that want to be knowledge-based by implementing KM activities need to improve the willingness of employees to participate in the project, otherwise it will fail. Therefore, the researcher has labelled this category ‘employees’ willingness’ and has selected it as a core category. The comparative analysis between knowledge-based and non-knowledge-based organisational performance is presented in this study in order to determine how KM enhances productivity, performance and competitiveness. Therefore, the theoretical and practical contribution was discussed, as well as the findings. The theoretical model illustrates how employees’ willingness can be influenced by the other categories. A theoretical contribution of the model is the determination of the reasons for employees in knowledge-based organisations being more interactive and participating in KM activities by analysing the barriers that impede the adoption of KM activities and, especially, knowledge-sharing activities between employees, as well as the factors that aid the adoption of knowledge-sharing activities. This aided the researcher to determine the conditions that influence employees to share more, or less. The researcher concludes that highlighting the human side of the KM perspective is another of the research’s contribution to knowledge, achieved by covering the current lack of existing empirical studies in the field. Furthermore, the main practical contribution of this study is the presentation of a framework model that demonstrates the process for effective KM implementation. This model is considered to be a summary of the experiences of the organisations participating in this research.

Thesis (MTech (Cost and Management Accounting))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019 / Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa play a pivotal role in the economy. However, sustainability and operational problems are hindering these business entities, and researchers continue to report extremely high rates of business failure. Arguably, not making adequate use of management accounting practices (MAPs) could be a contributory factor to this status quo. These MAPs are a set of established accounting tools and techniques that have been developed through practice to provide timeous, accurate and relevant information for decision making in a firm. In this regard, MAPs can be used to aid operational efficiency and improve the overall performance of the business. This study sought to determine the extent of MAPs utilisation and the relationship with perceived organisational performance in manufacturing SMEs located in Cape Town. A quantitative approach was adopted using a structured questionnaire to collect data. Through a stratified random sampling technique using sub-industries in the manufacturing sector as the basis for stratification, a total of 104 usable responses were obtained. This data was analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The results showed that the mostly utilised MAPs were costing, budgeting and performance measurement techniques. Decision support systems were used to a lower extent, and strategic management accounting techniques were rarely used. The intensity in competition and rising costs of productions were cited as the most influential factors in the adoption of MAPs. These results implied that manufacturing SMEs relied on basic MAPs and did not fully utilise the more sophisticated ones. Using the Spearman’s rank of the correlation coefficient, the associative relationship between MAPs utilisation and perceived organisational performance was tested. Results showed a moderate positive significant relationship between costing, budgeting and performance measurement techniques utilisation and increasing operating profits. A weaker positive significant relationship was found between decision making support, strategic management accounting techniques and increasing operational profits. These results implied that there was a positive relationship between MAPs utilisation and perceived organisational performance represented by operational profits. This study extends the current knowledge of MAPs utilisation and performance links in SMEs particularly in developing economies. Also, this research is vital to SME owners in considering adoption of MAPs, and it is recommended that they take the initiative to explore these tools. Furthermore, the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) can incorporate strategic MAPs in their training materials. Lastly, accounting advisory firms need to expand their services rendered to the SMEs to include the utilisation of relevant MAPs.

The literature emphasises the need to integrate innovation initiatives under the umbrella of the total quality management (TQM) philosophy. Such integration is instrumental towards achieving and sustaining a superior organisational performance. Using a sample of 229 Portuguese manufacturing organisations, factor and regression analyses procedures were used to assess the impact on organisational performance of innovation for small and large organisations in the Portuguese TQM business context. The results of this study point to the significance of the size of the organisation, and product and process innovations for organisational performance. Organisational innovation was not found to have a significant impact on organisational performance. These results might be attributed to specific ownership, which is associated with process and product innovation. Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that small organisations might want to consider directing their innovation investments towards management aspects such as processes and products. In this context, top-down organisational innovation might take more time and effort.

Despite the abundance of research dealing with the impact of supply chain management on today's organisations, such research tended to emphasise discreet relationships. A cross-sectional sample of Portuguese organisations is used to test several hypotheses pertaining to organisational resources, competencies, different levels of supply chain integration and organisational performance. Based on the findings, the impact of information technology infrastructure flexibility exhibited mixed results on the constructs studied. Executive information technology competencies tended to positively influence the different types of supply chain integration. Internal integration was found to have a direct influence on organisational performance. Such internal integration is being encouraged by external entities including customers and suppliers. In this context, more integration might lead to more effective organisational performance. Therefore, it is concluded that organisations should integrate their resources, processes and in the process encourage effective utilisation of information.

Yes / Purpose – The purpose of this article is to identify how the organisations are able to improve their business value through acquisition of business analytics capabilities and by improving their performance. Design/Methodology/Approach – With the help of literature survey, along with standard resource-based view framework, a conceptual model has been developed. These have been statistically tested by collecting the data using the survey questionnaire from 306 selected respondents from various service sector and product based organisations in India. To analyse the data we have used partial least square based structural equation modelling. Findings – The study highlights that by the help of data acquisition and tool acquisition as two vital components, the acquisition of business analytics capabilities could improve the business value of the organisation by strengthening its organisational performance. The findings of this research also indicated that acquisition of business analytics capabilities has a significant influence on organisation’s business process performance and business decision, which in turn significantly influence organisational performance. And, organisational performance eventually positively influences its business value. The model was found to provide an explanative power of 71%. Research Implication – The proposed research model can provide effective recommendations to the management of the organisations to realise the importance of acquisition of effective business analytics capabilities to eventually improve the business value of the organisation. Originality/Value – No specific studies, as yet, have analysed the effects of acquisition of business analytics capabilities for improving organisational performance mediated through business process performance and business decision. Therefore, this research has explored the distinctive effort to empirically validate this understanding.

In the global economy of the 21st century, competition is complex, challenging and fraught with competitive opportunities and threats. Strategic leadership is increasingly becoming the main focus for business and academics alike and is the key issue facing contemporary organisations. Without effective strategic leadership, the capability of a company to achieve or sustain a competitive advantage is greatly constrained. More than 30 years of Harvard Business School research have shown that aligned and integrated companies outperform their nearest competitors by every major financial measure. The organisational effectiveness emanating from alignment is a significant competitive advantage. Alignment is that optimal state in which strategy, employees, customers and key processes work in concert to propel growth and profits. Aligned organisations enjoy greater customer and employee satisfaction and produce superior results. Can leadership make a difference? Some leaders do, some do not - and many more could. Effective strategic leadership can thus help organisations enhance performance while competing in turbulent and unpredictable environments. However, there has been little empirical evidence of the effects of strategic level leadership on organisational processes that have distinctive strategic significance. A greater understanding of the criteria that influence success in organisations will enable organisations to take positive action to become more successful. iv This study examines the importance of critical leadership criteria and the degree of alignment in high-performing organisations. A quantitative research design was used in this study to assess the impact of strategic leadership on strategic alignment of business organisations in South Africa. The research instruments to test the research questions comprised two questionnaires. The first was used to establish the value top leadership place on selected critical leadership criteria, and the second to establish the level of alignment in the organisations under investigation. The population selected for this study consisted of the companies included in the 200 top-performing organisations which appeared in the 2007 Financial Mail. Six companies participated in the research. The data was electronically collated into a database and the results were then analysed using the statistical inferential techniques of correlation and linear regression analysis. The study proposes that strategic leadership will positively influence strategic alignment which, in turn, will have a beneficial effect on organisational performance. / Graduate School for Business Leadership / D. B. L.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A fundamental shift has occurred from the industrial age, traditional worldview to the knowledge age, emerging worldview. The implication of this shift is that organisations can no longer rely on an enduring competitive advantage for sustainable results. This raises questions about the relevance of the existing organisational performance approaches in addressing the challenge of complexity, particularly with regard to the validity and reliability of the established performance management frameworks. In the industrial age, financial measures were sufficient for measuring organisational performance. However, the emergence of the networked economy implies that a more composite measure is required, which reflects the diversity of stakeholder interests. The research confirms that, whilst there is no universal agreement in defining organisational performance, there is agreement that sustainable organisational performance is a combination of growth (social and economic measures) and profitability (financial measures). Further, the research confirms the existence of gaps, which undermine organisational performance. These gaps originate from the divergent approaches to organisational performance, which can be traced through the evolution of organisational development theory and management practice. Existing research studies collaborate the existence of these divergent approaches in determining organisational performance. These approaches include execution, strategy and people, representing the ‘ESP’ of organisational performance. Execution refers to a process based, micro perspective of organisational performance, whilst strategy and people refer to the systemic, macro approaches. In conditions of hyper-change, execution is considered to be the key determinant of organisational performance, whilst the traditional, strategy approach is found to be essential in addressing the challenge of complexity. The emergence of the networked economy implies that a more composite, people approach is required to address the challenges associated with increasing connectivity. The research proposition contends that an execution culture is necessary for addressing the challenge of complexity. This culture is dependent on the strategic fusion of the divergent strategy and people approaches and the existence of a strategic paradigm throughout the organisation. Organisational performance resides in an organisation’s ability to integrate the divergent approaches, to develop the necessary dynamic capabilities for sustainable organisational performance. The Performance ‘ESP’ framework reflects the integration of these approaches and provides a visual confirmation of the research proposition. The level of execution is determined by the existence of a strategic paradigm throughout the organisation, which is determined by individual performance, defined by the level of effectiveness, strength (individual) and partnership (‘ESP’). The development of a strategic paradigm is particularly relevant in the South African context, where historical factors have inhibited the level of empowerment within organisations. It is recommended that organisations apply the Performance ‘ESP’ index as a diagnostic tool to assess the existence of an execution culture to address the challenge of complexity. The purpose of the assessment tool is to complement the financial measures of performance, to ensure a balance between profitability and growth, to ensure sustainable organisational performance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar het ‘n fundamentele verandering plaasgevind van die industriële tydperk en tradisionele wêreldbeskouiing na die kennistydperk en opkomende wêreldbeskouing. Die implikasie van hierdie verandering is dat organisasies nie meer kan staatmaak op ‘n deurlopende mededingende voordeel vir volhoubare resultate nie. Dit laat vrae ontstaan oor die toepaslikheid van die bestaande organisatoriese prestasiebenaderings om die uitdaging van kompleksiteit te hanteer, veral met betrekking tot die geldigheid en betroubaarheid van die bestaande prestasiebestuursraamwerke. Tydens die industriële tydperk was finansiële maatstawwe voldoende om organisasieprestasie te meet. Die opkoms van die netwerk-ekonomie impliseer egter dat ‘n meer saamgestelde maatstaf nodig is, wat die diversiteit van die belange van belanghebbers weerspieël. Die navorsing bevestig dat, hoewel daar geen universele ooreenkoms is in die definisie van organisasieprestasie nie, daar wel ooreenkoms is dat volhoubare organisasieprestasie ‘n kombinasie is van groei (sosiale en ekonomiese maatreëls) en winsgewendheid (finansiële maatreëls). Daarbenewens bevestig die navorsing die bestaan van gapings wat organisasieprestasie ondermyn. Hierdie gapings ontstaan uit die uiteenlopende benaderings tot organisasieprestasie, wat gevolg kan word deur die evolusie van organisasie-ontwikkelingsteorie en bestuurspraktyk. Bestaande navorsingstudies gebruik ‘n samestelling van hierdie uiteenlopende benaderings om organisasieprestasie te bepaal. Hierdie benaderings sluit in uitvoering, strategie en mense, wat in die Engelse afkorting die ‘ESP’ van organisasieprestasie verteenwoordig. Uitvoering verwys na ‘n prosesgebaseerde mikroperspektief van organisasieprestasie, terwyl strategie en mense verwys na die sistemiese makrobenaderings. In omstandighede van hiperverandering word uitvoering gesien as die sleutelbepaler van organisasieprestasie, terwyl die tradisionele strategiebenadering noodsaaklik is vir die hantering van die uitdaging van kompleksiteit. Die opkoms van die netwerk-ekonomie impliseer dat ‘n meer saamgestelde, mensbenadering nodig is om die uitdagings te hanteer wat saamgaan met groter onderlinge verbondenheid. Die navorsingsvoorstel se uitgangspunt is dat ‘n uitvoeringskultuur nodig is om die uitdaging van kompleksiteit te hanteer. Hierdie kultuur is afhanklik van die strategiese samesmelting van die uiteenlopende strategie- en mensbenaderings en die bestaan van ‘n strategiese paradigma dwarsdeur die organisasie. Organisasieprestasie hang af van ‘n organisasie se vermoë om die uiteenlopende benaderings te integreer en die nodige dinamiese bekwaamhede te ontwikkel vir volhoubare organisasieprestasie. Die prestasie- of ‘ESP’-raamwerk weerspieël die integrasie van hierdie benaderings en voorsien ‘n visuele bevestiging van die navorsingsvoorstel. Die vlak van uitvoering word bepaal deur die bestaan van ‘n strategiese paradigma dwarsdeur die organisasie, wat bepaal word deur individuele prestasie, gedefinieer deur die vlak van doeltreffendheid, sterkte (individueel) en vennootskap (‘ESP’). Die ontwikkeling van ‘n strategiese paradigma is veral toepaslik in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks, waar historiese faktore die vlak van bemagtiging binne organisasies geïnhibeer het. Daar word aanbeveel dat organisasies die Prestasie ‘ESP’ Indeks toepas as ‘n diagnostiese instrument om die bestaan van ‘n uitvoerende kultuur te bepaal vir die hantering van die uitdaging van kompleksiteit. Die doel van die bepalingsinstrument is om die finansiële maatstawwe van prestasie aan te vul om sodoende ‘n balans tussen winsgewendheid en groei te verseker en dus volhoubare organisasieprestasie te verseker.