The Internet is one of the most advanced technologies of modern times and it is diffusing at an exponential rate amongst business-to-consumer and business-to-business organisations. This has resulted in it becoming an irrevocable and an unstoppable trend, thereby making it vital for companies to incorporate it into their businesses. The Internet, Internet technologies and Internet services, particularly the Web, are widely acknowledged to have had and to continue to have a considerable impact on the practice of marketing. The adoption of the Internet and the Web is an independent variable influencing two interrelated aspects of the marketing function, namely the company’s conceptualisation of its marketing activities and the definition of its markets, which together directly influence the creation of greater customer value. Although research studies regarding the Internet’s impact on marketing conducted in the past in different countries and at different times produced quite similar trends in responses, advances in information technology (IT) and the increased Internet usage since the late 1990s necessitated reinvestigating marketers’ perceptions as to the changes in market practices brought about by the Internet. This study sought to determine the changes arising from the Internet in the conceptualisation of marketing activities, the definition of markets and the creation of greater customer value, based on a literature review and on empirical evidence founded on the opinions of South African marketing practitioners. The purpose of this study was to determine the South African marketing practitioners’ perceptions of the Internet’s influence on the practice of marketing. Five focal questions were asked and answered by the study: 1. How has the Internet changed the way that companies conceptualise their marketing activities? 2. How has the Internet changed the way that companies define their markets? 3. How has the Internet changed the way that companies create value for their customers? 4. To what extent have South African marketers’ perceptions of the influence of the Internet on marketing changed from the late 1990s to 2011? 5. To what extent do South African marketers’ perceptions of the influence of the Internet on marketing differ to those in studies conducted in Australia in 2001(Leong, Ewing & Pitt, 2003) and in Iran in 2007 (Ghazisaeedi, Pitt & Chaharsooghi, 2007)? For this study, the target population comprised South African marketing practitioners. The sampling frame consisted of the top 200 South African companies of 2009, ranked according to turnover, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), as published by the Financial Mail (2009). A non-probability, judgment sample of the 100 of these top South African companies was taken in April 2011. The study was conducted without replacement sampling. The telephone directory was used to obtain the telephone numbers of these companies so that the secretaries could be contacted to obtain the particulars of the marketing managers or marketing directors of the companies and permission to forward the questionnaire to the respective individuals. A structure self-administered questionnaire was then be emailed to those respondents from whom telephonic permission had been obtained. The questionnaire requested respondents to indicate on a five-point Likert scale their perceptions as to the extent to which the Internet influences the marketing practices within their company on 31 items divided into the three constructs of re-conceptualising marketing activities, changing market definition and creating greater customer value. In addition, the respondents were asked to provide certain demographic data. The findings indicate that the Internet has changed the way companies conceptualise their marketing activities, define their markets and create value for their customers in a variety of ways. When comparing this study against the results of the other three studies it is evident, that between the 1997 and the 2011 South African study and the 2001 Australian study and the 2011 South African study, the respondents did not vary significantly in their perceptions towards the items in each of the three constructs and the overall scale. Hence, the differences between the mean scores of the two studies concerning the three constructs and the overall scale are both statistically and practically non-significant. When comparing the 2005 Iranian study against the 2011 South African, the results show that for both the first construct and the overall scale there is a significant statistical difference at p < 0.05. Concerning to Construct 1, the extent to which the Internet has changed the way that companies conceptualise their marketing activities, a significant statistical difference exists between the two studies, with p = 0.002 < 0.05. Furthermore, with regard to the overall scale, the Internet’s influence on the marketing activities of companies, a significant statistical difference exists between the two studies, with p = 0.046 < 0.05. With the exception of Construct 1 and the overall scale, there is no significant statistical difference between the 2005 Iranian and the 2011 South African studies on Construct 2 and Construct 3. These results indicate that the respondents from the two studies conducted in Iran in 2005 and more recently in South Africa in 2011 did not vary significantly in their perceptions towards items in the second construct and the third construct. In order to assess whether there was a significant practical difference in the item means between the two studies, Cohen’s D-statistic was used. There is a small effect, moving toward practical significance on Construct 1 (D = 0.422) and the overall scale (D = 0.268). From this, it is evident that all main areas of marketing are being significantly influenced by the Internet. Therefore, Internet marketing has become a business imperative owing to it being an irrevocable and an unstoppable trend and, as a result, companies must make a concerted effort to collaborate the technologies available to them to avoid failure in the new digital business environment. / MCom, Marketing Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

During the past two decades, increasingly powerful and capable information technologies have made information more accessible and valuable so that it has become the prime resource for business; ahead of the traditional resources of land, labour and capital. Improved information acquisition, usage and distribution has also driven and enabled globalisation. The emergence of the virtual enterprise (VE) is one consequence of changed market conditions and advanced information communications technology (ICT). VE s are characterised by various configurations of networks of collaborating partnerships and intensive ICT linkages. As ICT has become more pervasive, businesses have become increasingly reliant on it for their effective operation so now the question for business strategists is how to create value and sustainable competitive advantage in a virtual world? This thesis offers an answer to that question.This thesis uses rational arguments drawn from a wide variety of research from both the business and ICT disciplines to examine the theoretical foundations of value creation. It explores the development of corporate strategy and value driven sources of competitive advantage from the viewpoints of industrial organisation (IO), the resource based view (RBV) of the firm, innovation, transaction cost economics, network theory and value and supply chains. However, these established strategy theories, whose origins often predate the internet, do not adequately accommodate the expanded roles that information and digital technologies play in creating value in an increasingly digital environment. Alternately, Information Systems research, which is rich in information technology, struggles to accommodate the notion of value as legitimate information systems goal. Virtual organisation (VO) is a new strategic paradigm that is centred on the use of information and ICT to create value. VO is presented as a meta-management strategy that has application in all value oriented organisations. Within the concept of VO, the business model is an ICT based construct that bridges and integrates enterprise strategic and operational concerns.The Virtual Value Creation (VVC) framework is an innovative and novel business model that draws on the concept of virtual organisation. The VVC’s objective is to provide enterprises with a framework to determine their present and potential capability to use available information to create economic value. It owes its inspiration to Porter and Drucker, both of whom emphasised value creation as the legitimate focus for enterprise activity and the source of sustainable competitive advantage. The VVC framework integrates existing and emerging theories to describe the strategic processes and conditions necessary for the exploitation of information in a commercial setting.The VVC framework presently represents a novel and valuable tool that enterprises can use to assess their present and potential use of information to create value in a virtual age.

Instead of choosing between reading Nietzsche's perspectivism as a metaphysical thesis or as one relating to his critique of traditional morality, this paper intends to show that these are but two sides of the same coin. As regards the metaphysical position, I argue that perspectivism is a version of idealism that critiques the cogency of the `thing-in-itself,' thereby moving beyond the appearance/reality distinction whilst retaining the fundamental tenant that the subjective contribution to reality is irreducible. As regards Nietzsche's transvaluation of all values, I argue that the notion of perspectivism is utilized to critique the idea of the `Good in-itself,' thereby shifting the focus of morality from that of universally applicable prohibitions and obligations to a sort of virtue ethics in which the subject's unique perspective is given expression in and through their creation of values. Given that, I argue for a certain continuity in Nietzsche's thought, such that perspectivism is best seen as an argument against realism, the basic tenant of which - i.e. the inconceivability of the `in-itself' - remains constant even whilst Nietzsche's interests shift during the evolution of his writings.

The implementation of different business models has enabled financial markets to not only create value for their benefits, but it has also helped them contribute to economic growth, as well as fulfil their roles in the society. However, the impacts of technological advancements, cross-border flows and regulations continually introduce new dynamics into the business environments of financial markets and as a result, financial markets are faced with future uncertainties. These have increased the dire need for markets to continue to devise methods that can be adapted to survive and thrive in the economy. Hence, financial markets are focusing on profitability than growth, or ideally profitable growth. As a means to achieve this, financial markets need to continually innovate and re-examine their business models to sustain growth. However financial markets still have to adapt general business model frameworks to design new business models because of the lack of a business model framework that has been designed specifically to meet the needs of financial markets. In the midst of these uncertainties, “business as usual” is not an option for a sustainable future; financial markets need sustainable business models that can be used to future proof their business strategies and create long-term value. This research identifies the need for sustainable business models in financial markets and identifies the lack of a framework for sustainable business models. Hence it aims at developing a business model framework that can be used to develop sustainable business models; with an objective of achieving long-term profitability while only having a minimal long lasting impact on the physical and social environments and to be sufficient enough to compare the business models of financial markets. This research contributes to the knowledge of business models, sustainability, and competition in financial markets.

In a global world with an ever-changing environment, expansions of partnerships have been suggested in order to stay competitive. A fundamental goal of partnerships has shown to be value creation. Previous research has focused on value creation in partnerships mainly in developed markets. This study helps to address the gap of value creation in partnerships in emerging markets, by showing how value is created in markets characterized by a complex environment. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to explore how organizations can create value through their partnerships in emerging markets. To begin with, a literature review was conducted. Following by a case study on partnerships in emerging markets in order to explore value creation in these partnerships. Data was collected using seven semi-structured interviews at four different organizations. The researchers have in this study identified different aspects important to create value in partnerships at different stages in emerging markets. A model with three stages have been developed including: starting the partnership, throughout the duration of partnership, and shared value. Identifying and declaring these stages is in itself a contribution to academia, as well as practitioners, since these stages have not been noted in earlier literature.

This thesis aims to examine if and how Value Co-Creation works online, and what interactions the customers believe to be of importance to continue a relationship with a company. The problem of the thesis is how to create value in order to establish long-term relationships with customers in an online environment where the element of face to face interactions is absent, and switching costs facing the customers are non-existent. There is little research made about Value Co-Creation in an online setting, further how Co-Creation of Value affects the ability to establish and maintain Customer Relationships. This paper utilized a qualitative research approach and was executed through a case study built up by a thorough analysis of a marketing plan and the value creating activities of Company X, and semi-structured interviews with twelve customers of Company X to investigate how these activities are perceived. The conclusion of the research in this paper is that Company X performs activities that allows Co-Creation of Value. Further, it was concluded that the services provided by Company X contributes with important factors when trying to establish and maintain relationships with their customers.

Empresas de todo o mundo enfrentam um difícil desafio para planejar e implementar uma estratégia inovadora num mundo de negócios complexo e globalizado. A Internet abriu uma série de oportunidades para desenvolver um novo posicionamento estratégico, mas também aumentou as ameaças na forma de novos competidores, além de tornar mais fácil a cópia de soluções baseadas numa tecnologia de plataforma aberta. No Brasil, a Internet pode trazer novas possibilidades para as empresas bem como pode impulsionar a inserção da economia brasileira no mercado global. O objetivo desta pesquisa é verificar: (a) a possibilidade de desenvolver uma posição estratégica inovadora baseada em diferenciação no Brasil; (b) o papel relevante da Internet para gerar vantagem competitiva integrando a cadeia de valor no Brasil; e (c) se as questões a e b forem verdadeiras, a Internet está gerando uma posição estratégica única para as empresas brasileiras analisadas nos estudos de caso. / Companies all over the world face a difficulty challenge to design and implement an innovative strategy in a globalised and complex business environment. The Internet has opened a lot of new opportunities to deploy a new strategic position, but also increased the constraints to the form of new competitors, besides making easier to copy the solutions based on an open platform technology. In Brazil, the Internet can bring new possibilities for companies and also can potentially help the national economy to foster its insertion in the global market. The aim of this research is to verify: (a) the possibility of deploying a strategic positioning based on differentiation in Brazil, (b) the relevant role of Internet to generate a competitive advantage by integrating the value system in Brazil, (c) if the issues a and b were truth, the Internet is generating an unique strategic positioning for Brazilian companies, analysed on a case study.

Abstract Theoretical discussion concerning value creation has been popular in recent years in business studies, at both relationship and network levels. However, the body of research on value creation still clearly exhibits a dearth of empirical studies, especially at the level of networks. In this study, value-creating networks are empirically explored in a specific dynamic industrial setting, the software component business. The purpose of the research is to build an empirically grounded model that provides the elements that are involved in carrying out value creation processes related to software component business networks. Through the empirically grounded elements of the model and variations identified within them, a typology of value-creating networks related to the software component business is aimed to be provided as an empirical outcome of the study. First, a preliminary model of value-creating networks is built based on theoretical elaboration on the value creation and business network literature. The model is built upon the three interrelated elements of perceived end customer value, core competencies, and relationships. The preliminary model is then applied to the selected industrial setting. Based on the empirical findings, a fourth element is added at the heart of the model, namely the value system router. This fourth element characterise the importance of understanding the role of so-called system architecture in studying value creation and network structures in the software component business. System architecture provides the layered framework for integrating different components and subparts in order to build an effective total system solution for the end customer. System architecture acts as a value system router, as it gathers value streams from several suppliers at different system layers and then leads the value stream through the integration process to the end customer, which sees the system solution provided as being one value-creating entity. Although system architecture is not a new concept or area of consideration in the fields of technology and industrial management, its role both as a rationale for the specific value network structure and as a tool for understanding actor positioning, competence linking, and supplier portfolio management has not been taken into account in earlier studies.

The purpose of this doctoral dissertation was twofold: (a) to explore how communities of practice (CoPs) can be designed, implemented, assessed, and sustained in sport settings, and (b) to examine the value that is created by participating in a community of practice using Wenger, Trayner, and De Laat’s (2011) value creation framework. Two studies were conducted. In Study One, a sport coach CoP was collaboratively designed, implemented, and assessed in a youth soccer organisation. Data generation included two individual interviews with each co-researcher, observations from CoP gatherings, and communications via an online discussion platform. Findings indicated that the co-researchers created value within each of the five cycles of value creation outlined in Wenger and colleagues’ framework. The co-researchers created value that was personally relevant to their coaching needs, which led to an increase in perceived coaching abilities. The co-researchers also gained new perspectives, such as the importance of social learning, and a broader view of athlete development. Study Two examined the value that was created in five CoPs nested in the university sport setting and how they were sustained. One interview was conducted with each participant (10 coaches and two administrators). The findings revealed that the coaches created value in each of the five cycles of the value creation framework. They learned a variety of strategies, some of which they implemented in their coaching practice. As a result, the coaches noticed an improvement in their coaching abilities and their athletes’ outcomes. The coaches also gained new perspectives, and reframed their views concerning their personal development and that of their athletes. For example, the coaches realised the importance of focusing on their own well-being. They also realised the importance of learning through social interactions, and developed a broader view of athlete development. The findings from both Study One and Study Two illustrate that CoPs in sport settings are practical and pragmatic, and that they have a positive impact on coaches’ development and on their coaching practices.

The study explored how private firms and their constituents capture value through Public-Private Collaboration (PPC) in South Africa. Partnerships are touted as key enablers of firm innovation and value creation in an increasingly complex global context. Yet, very few studies have provided the evidence base of value creation and capture beyond the ‘feel good’ process considering integrated value for firms. Nor is there clarity on how value can be planned for, operationalised and measured for improved management practice. This study progressed knowledge on practice and evaluation of PPC processes for firms by going beyond traditional linear models that have been found to be deficient in complex contexts. A qualitative case study was explored in the mining sector to provide richer and deeper insights into PPC processes from a firm perspective in its collaboration with government entities. The study provided the evidence base and indicators of value creation and capture for a private firm through a PPC process, exposed generalised assumptions, disaggregated value dimensions, and foregrounded a foundational multi-dimensional model and partnership value framework. The study contributed an integrated strategic value lens and the choices made in aggregation and disaggregation of value constructs in diverse contexts. It demonstrated new combinations of constructs whereby PPC processes created sources of competitive, collaborative and societal advantage for firms through mediated pathways. Contextualised concepts and data gathering of use value, exchange value and transformative value offered the evidence called for on value capture through PPC processes. It revealed the need to disaggregate value dimensions such as intellectual, relational and political value from social value. The role of PPC processes in Balancing Accountability between public and private sectors was suggested as a concept in progressing the field of cross-sector governance. A multi-dimensional model is presented reflecting the iterative and evolving nature of PPC processes and the interaction between value creation and value capture. An extended value indicator framework aims to aid in operationalising the assessment of PPC processes. The study promotes PPC processes as a mechanism to operationalise concepts such as Creating Shared Value (CSV) and respond to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / PhD / Unrestricted