Browsing by Author "Sewchurran, Kosheek"

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    Building a model to improve front end project conceptualisation: introducing the Project Conceptualisation Canvas
    (2020) Van Niekerk, Cordi; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    Project management has seen significant growth which has been beneficial to academics and practitioners in the field alike. However, the alarming trend of project underperformance continues. This points to an apparent relevance gap in Project Management. One of the areas that has been highlighted as an important area for further study to improve this situation is project front end management. Using Design Science as research methodology, the knowledge contribution of this research is an artefact called, the Project Conceptualisation Canvas. The Project Conceptualisation Canvas represents a process to be followed to ensure that the conceptualisation phases of potential projects are adequately performed. The Project Conceptualisation Canvas was developed using as input the results of the systematic review of literature on the typical challenges that occur during project conceptualisation. The Project Conceptualisation Canvas was evaluated through two sets of focus groups which confirmed that it contributes towards the improvement of project conceptualisation practice. The relevance of the contribution of the Project Conceptualisation Canvas is that it will improve decision making during the project conceptualisation and selection process which will ultimately result into improved project delivery and reduced opportunity cost that results from underperforming projects.
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    Culture and communication in global software development
    (2007) Tanner, Maureen C; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    Global Software Development (GSD) is a growing sector in Mauritius and South Africa. With a constantly increasing number of IT investors, both countries are gradually being recognised as IT hubs in the Southern African region. They offer advantages like cheap and highly skilled labour, and a good IT infrastructure to support the work. GSD is however not easy to orchestrate. Due mostly to cultural disparities and complex communication settings, this particular software development configuration faces numerous issues. In spite of being rich mediums for investigation, no prior GSD research has to date been performed in Mauritius and South Africa. This research has therefore been undertaken in an attempt to shed light on the intricacies of GSD practices followed by these two countries. The purpose of this study is to explore GSD in the South African and Mauritian context, to understand how different forms of Software Development Practices, Cultural Coping strategies, and Communication Practices are being used to overcome the GSD issues and mediate differing cultural affiliations. In addition, the study also looks at the role served by communication technologies to improve the communication process and bridge distance. The study has been performed through multiple qualitative case studies within 4 GSD organisations located in South Africa and Mauritius. The Grounded Theory techniques have been applied to analyse the data through a general inductive approach. The results show that SA and Mauritius face numerous GSD challenges. However based on past experiences and failures they devised several practices to overcome those issues and achieve success. The categories uncovered during the study include GSD Governance, Communication Practices, GSD Team, Software Development Practices, GSD Project, GSD Process Issues, GSD Value Issues, Technology, and Culture. One major finding relates to the fact that different software methods, like the Waterfall model, Prototyping or RUP, can be used to fit specific cultural requirements and mediate cultural issues. These methods are beneficial due to their ability to provide flexibility and rigour in the GSD setting. Flexibility is perceived in the way in which they have been adapted to fit the SA and Mauritian GSD context while rigour is demonstrated in the promotion of standards and rules that should be followed to achieve GSD project success. The second major finding relate to the form of communication employed to mediate both cultural and communication issues. In essence, if only one key person offshore is allowed to communicate with team members onshore, communication issues and cultural issues are no longer felt due to non-existing interactions between the team members. This however shifts the high need for communication towards the offshore team members, who have to collaborate tightly with the designated key person and inform him of all pertinent details of the project. Secondary findings reveal that people have a major role to play during GSO orchestration.. GSO team members should be carefully chosen and should possess high adaptability level, good communication skills and expertise level. These features can be improved through regular training. Finally a wide range of technologies are employed within GSO, each fitting for one specific form of work or communication. In addition, each organisation seems to favour one form of communication technology, in spite of employing a palette of tools. The preference is explained by the cost incurred while employing the tool, the infrastructure effectiveness, and the type of work process followed. One technology can also be used to mediate the disadvantages of others.
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    Designing purposeful action among divergent stakeholders: A 'being-doing' Approach
    (2014) McDonogh, Jennifer Claire; Elsje, Scott; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    Coordinating and organising divergent stakeholders to undertake action to improve a shared situation of concern is an increasingly perplexing problem. Industry, government and academia operate in siloes, make decisions at different speeds, have disparate worldviews and value sets, and do not share the same priorities and concerns. Whilst meetings between these stakeholders are not uncommon, progressing these conversations beyond ‘talk’ to achieve commitment to act, requires purposeful effort. This study investigates the persistent and relevant problem of how to design purposeful action, in a ‘wicked’ problem situation that cannot be solved by any one stakeholder operating alone, and in which the stakeholders do not share the same interpretation of the problem situation. Although such situations are common in cluster development, the literature on cluster development does not offer solutions as to how to design purposeful action, nor does it provide insight as to why attempts to intervene in systemic problems can result in a failure to improve the problem situation.
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    Executive wisdom: a study of phronesis in modern management practice
    (2019) Steyn, Francois; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    The prominence of executive management failures brings to the fore concerns with a perceived lack of management scholarship impact. Executive managers should be better prepared for a complex world of work and there is a growing scholarly awareness that this requires more focus on practical knowledge (developed though phronesis), which has largely been ignored in favour of theoretical knowledge (developed through episteme) and specialist craft skills (developed through technê). This thesis contributes to the discourse by analysing phronesis, as the virtue underpinning practical knowledge within the managerial scholarship domain. The thesis highlights the fact that, despite its utility, phronesis is generally absent from management scholarship, from professional development and from executive management practice. A phronesis-infused, practice-focused pedagogy is required. However, given the abstruseness of phronesis as a concept in the executive management context, what should a phronesis-pedagogy entail? How can the progress of executive managers in developing their phronesis be gauged? In seeking answers to these questions, this study crystallises a definition and conceptual typology of managerial phronesis through an inductive Gioia Grounded Theory analysis of relevant literature published over the past decade. Managerial phronesis is defined as a morally-imbued capacity for sense-making and managerial action aimed at virtuous outcomes. It is characterised as a situationally embedded developmental and practical skill characterised by interrelated Modes of Engaging, Knowing and Thinking, Being, and Acting. However, understanding phronesis in the applied executive management context demands that the theory be extended to practice. The theory was therefore tested through a two-phased Qualitative Content Analysis. The first analysis of transcripts of interviews with practicing phronetic social scientists was followed by an analysis of minor dissertations submitted by Executive MBA students from the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. In this context, Phronetic Social Science embodies phronesis-in-action and the Executive MBA represents a phronetic executive management practice programme. The analysis validated the Grounded Theory typology and extended it by highlighting the existence of “embraces paradox” as a further characteristic of a phronetic Mode of Knowing and Thinking. A credible typology of managerial phronesis emerges from the research. This thesis therefore contributes to the discourse on the training of executive managers. It clarifies how phronesis as a vital managerial competence manifests in practice. In so doing, this research offers the management scholarship discipline a framework for developing good executive managers.
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    Exploring the Lived-Experience of business model innovation
    (2015) Sangham, Mehul Anilrai; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    Due to increasingly complex and uncertain environments, businesses must deal with multiple competing and often opposing models, what we may call 'ontological relativity'. To deal with this, the practice of innovation management requires a new type of practical-epistemology. The best insight into these new types of knowledge is an exploration of lived experience of innovation management practitioners. This research then explores the phenomena involved in the practice of business model innovation in the context of two innovation projects. To achieve these goals, a phenomenological method is used to uncover fundamental aspects of the innovation process. The outcome of the inquiry is a set a set of phenomena that hope to contribute to the discourse around this emerging field of management knowledge.
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    Factors relating to and impacting eGovernment readiness in South Africa : a case of the Western Cape Government
    (2015) Noruwana, Nimrod; Sewchurran, Kosheek; Twum-Darko, Michael
    Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become increasingly important in enabling governments to deliver services to their citizens. Developing countries have limited understanding of what needs to be in place for governments to be considered ready for the implementation of eGovernment projects. As a result, most developing countries embark on these projects inadequately prepared, which results in failure. Large sums of money are spent on eGovernment initiatives which do not provide the envisaged benefit for citizens and businesses. This study therefore discusses factors influencing eGovernment initiatives by governments to improve services to their citizens, businesses and among their constituents. It further examines the stage of readiness of the South African government in implementing eGovernment initiatives to improve its services. The discussion uses Actor Network Theory (ANT) and in particular the concepts of 'moments of translation' and 'irreversibility' as a lens through which to understand and interpret the social phenomenon. Although a number of eGovernment researchers have argued that strong leadership and clear vision are required to implement eGovernment initiatives, the view is that governments have continuously failed to achieve the intended results. eGovernment potentials which are well documented in Information Systems and eGovernment research literature have not been institutionalised by governments to derive benefits due to limited capabilities in the administration of the public service. The study used ANT as the underpinning theory. A deductive approach with interviews was used for data collection in a selected provincial government (of the Western Cape) in South Africa. The outcome of this study is a general framework of readiness for eGovernment initiatives in South Africa, and more generally, Africa, to guide and determine the stage of readiness for eGovernment initiatives to achieve the intended results. This research contributes the application of the moments of translation and irreversibility of ANT as a lens through which the interplay between role players of socially constructed phenomena such as eGovernment readiness can be studied. Other forms of contribution are the application of an iterative process to moments of translation, and institutionalisation of each stage of moments of translation, during the implementation of eGovernment projects.
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    Innovating the funding models for transport megaprojects in Kenya
    (2018) Karanja, Brian Gachichio; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    Investment in physical infrastructure - roads, bridges, power plants, hospitals, schools, airports, sea ports, water ports, railways etc. - is a fundamental ingredient in the growth and economic development of a country. Compared to countries like Singapore, South Korea and China, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have significantly underinvested in infrastructure over the years, resulting in stunted growth. Kenya has a large infrastructure funding gap, and with ballooning government debt, the country cannot solely rely on the government to meet its infrastructure funding needs. This study looks at the two predominant infrastructure funding models in Kenya, government funded procurement and public-private partnerships, to understand the salient features of each of the models and the causal relationships between them, before embarking on a process of creating a new model that results in the benefits of both. This systematic combining method emancipates the researcher, allowing the study to make use of Roger Martin’s process of integrative thinking to innovate new models for funding transport megaprojects in Kenya.
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    Organisational ventriloquism in a project centered organization: a qualitative inquiry into the effects of ritualized mimeticisomorphism within a project centered organization
    (2015) Steyn, Keegan; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    The management of projects has been area of intense study for many years, yet few researchers have ventured outside parameters of the mainstream concerns. This research aims to move outside the parameters of mainstream project management research, in order to explore other perspectives, with the purpose of illuminating new concerns and agendas. An abductive research strategy within a single case study was utilized to obtain rich data and new insights. This research seeks to uncover the social forces that influence the adoption of mainstream project and programme management standards and structures. The literature revealed that mainstream project management has idealogical foundations rooted within a 'Cartesian-Taylorist' paradigm and these have affected the development of programme management. The empirical findings indicated that a superficial understanding existed regarding the motivation for the adoption of project management standards and structures, within the case company. In addition, it was noted that the adoption of these project management standards and structures was perceived to provide more control and legitimacy. A consequence of these practices, within the case organization, is that it created a strong resource dependence on external consultants. The theoretical explanations illuminated that the desire for control, reducing uncertainty and the need for competitiveness serve as social forces towards the adoption of mainstream project and programme management standards and structures. Furthermore, the research explored the consequences of this phenomenon, within the case organisation.
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    Process, purpose and profit: organising the creation of shared value in an emerging economy
    (2025) Van Rheede, Nicole; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    This thesis examines the organizing principles of shared value creation, as a process pertaining to how firms adopt, define and practice mutually beneficial value creation. As evidenced in the literature, formal firms typically begin a process of creating shared value as a strategic input. While insights from this research evidence how informal firms create shared value as an unintended outcome, and cross-sectoral partnerships evidence a continuous dialogical process of creating and recreating shared value. Since its conceptualisation in 2011 by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, shared value creation has gained popularity in academic and practitioner communities alike. Research to date, has either primarily contributed to its conceptual definition and critique, or empirically aligning it within existing corporate sustainability frameworks. As a result, various tensions have emerged that tend to exacerbate dichotomies between economic and social value, and business and society. What remained to be contested are the ontological and epistemological underpinnings of creating shared value. To overcome these tensions and address this gap, I embark on a journey of critical scholarship that reveals how the conceptual intent of shared value creation is misaligned with its practice. I argue that the basis of this misalignment is ontologically and epistemologically derived, and is therefore, the source of the dichotomous tensions that have emerged in previous studies. I propose a new onto-epistemological visioning which reimagines creating shared value as an emergent, recurrent process. This reimagined stance is then applied empirically to two case studies to test this conceptual realignment in practice. This practical application contributes to the specific academic conversation of shared value creation, but more broadly contributes to process organisation studies and its affinity towards critical organisational scholarship. Upon reflection of these processual, critical ideals, emerges the key contribution of this thesis - that we as producers of knowledge are ethically implicated in having created this misalignment. As constructors of academic discourse, we are bestowed with ethical accountability for the narratives and boundaries our contributions solidify or dissolve. I conclude with a call to action for all organisational scholars to critically diffract on the consequences of our contributions, as we begin to reposition ourselves from knowledge producers to engaged knowledge creators.
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    Risk perception: how previous experiences influence the assessment of risk by immigrants in South Africa
    (2018) Sibanda, Pearson; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    Opportunity recognition and evaluation, or indeed creation, have been identified as critical for new venture creation. Studies have shown that they are mediated by risk perception, with some scholars arguing that the difference between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs lies in how they perceive risk. It has also been argued that immigrants are more entrepreneurial than the indigenous population, a finding confirmed by studies of entrepreneurial firms in Silicon Valley in the United States of America. It has been suggested that if all immigrants in the world lived in one country, it would be the sixth most populous in the world. This is what makes the study of immigrant entrepreneurs essential, with a view to finding out what drives risk perception amongst them. The central question that this study intended to answer was: “How do immigrants’ previous experiences in their countries of origin, as well as their experiences in transit to and on arrival in South Africa, influence their risk perception?” A qualitative study involving 36 immigrants drawn from the rest of Africa and the Indian subcontinent was undertaken in various cities throughout South Africa. The study used the Grounded Theory methodology, through which data collected from semi-structured interviews were processed. Using a constructivist epistemological stance the data were then interpreted, resulting in a model for risk perception that built on other well-known models. The study found that previous experiences, hardships, youth and individualism do influence risk perception both directly and indirectly. This is in addition to having limited choices, limited government support and a desire for independence, which were also found to influence risk perception. The study therefore contributes to theories on, and the understanding of, risk perception, and by extension new venture creation. However, no support was found for the often stated view that immigrants become entrepreneurs because they cannot access the job market. Although the study was conducted on immigrant entrepreneurs, the findings may well be applicable to any other group. This would need to be confirmed by further studies. In addition further studies would be needed to establish how this knowledge can be used in efforts to encourage entrepreneurship.
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    Shared values as organising principles in complexity
    (2021) Philipp, Felix; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    This study seeks to understand the role of organisational values as an apt candidate for organising principles to manage and adapt effectively in complexity. A starting interest of this research was the reflection that a strong set of shared values has the potential to enables a range of positive outcomes, particularly in complexity, where shared values act as schemata to guide behaviour and enhance an organisation's reflexivity and resilience in times of turbulence. My stance is informed by the pragmatist research paradigm, recognising the interrelationship of research, action, theory, and practice. The literature review draws on two theoretical lenses, values theory and systems thinking, to trace the parallels between the developments in systems thinking and management thought. While the chosen topic ranges across a wide scholarly terrain, it is grounded in the narrative of a particular organisation, a South African clothing retailer facing challenges in the face of increasing volatility and change in the market. Case studies are narratives, which can provide a rich and descriptive picture of the investigated object, portraying the complexities and ambiguities of the context and a socially constructed world (Tsoukas & Hatch, 2001). We live in a world with ever-increasing uncertainty, inter-connectedness, and interdependence. Businesses are increasingly challenged to redefine how they manage and develop in complexity and adapt during turbulent times in their environments. Conceptions of management practices are being challenged by increasing unpredictability brought forward by technology, global trade, and the speed of cultural change, amongst other variables. One of the starting deliberations of this thesis is whether in such times, informal behaviour-guiding principles, such as values, gain importance to enable the emergence of systemic outcomes. The project does this by articulating an analytical framework of systems thinking and values research and synthesising a combined lens for the primary case study. I utilise a mixed-methods approach for the organising of data, including interviews and documentation. Values arrange what we do in organisations, and during change, can be effective and meaningful rudders for direction and adaptation if they are shared among members of the organisation and successfully influence decision-making and behaviour.
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    A systemic landscaping of the software industry of an emerging economy : a case of the Western Cape, South Africa
    (2013) Mwalemba, Gwamaka; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    This study is an attempt to address that need focusing on Western Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa. Making use of case study research strategy, the research aimed at identifying the major pressure points in the software industry, their interactions (impact on each other) as well as impact on the overall industry. Data was collected through interviews with industry leaders operating in the province, analysed and synthesised abductively making use of systems thinking techniques to generate key insights for the industry. Research findings reveal an increasing frustration amongst businesses in dealing with a continuous decline of quality and quantity of software related skills, tension from competitors (mostly India) and absence of a nationwide or even regional software strategy which is an outcome of lack of leadership in the sector. The study concluded by highlighting the need for the government to take leadership and systemically organise the collective efforts of industry stakeholders such as business, academia, as well as NGOs into addressing the identified challenges.
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    The healthy organisation: is it meaningful?
    (2022) Oldenboom, Erna; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    In the thesis we have defined what is understood as a high health organization, and this in comparison with what is commonly known as a high performance organization. While much research is undertaken around high performance organizations, little or no research is undertaken around high health organizations. The thesis attempts to find answers to what it takes to be or to become a high health organization, and how organizations could create such a place, or possibly better “space”. Indeed, a high health organization is not a place, a building, or on organizational structure; it is a state of mind, a purpose, a form of coherence. The work in this thesis is by definition multidisciplinary and systemic, rooted in three, for the purpose, complementary research areas. Workplace spirituality is slowly making its recognition in the management literature, though still too much as a discipline in itself. Ayurveda, the thousands of years old wisdom tradition around systemic health, living systems and purposefulness does get some attention in academic work, however mainly within its cultural roots (of India). Finally, systemic thinking, not really mainstream yet either, is a scientific discipline that did find its way in the sciences, but is much less popular and use in management studies. As argued, we think that in the intersection of workplace spirituality, Ayurveda and systemics, a real new concept of a high health organization is emerging. Key concepts identified in the introduction were consciousness and coherence, which they play an important role in the entire thesis. The prevailing management research is based on an ontology of materialism, while it is clear that workplace spirituality, Ayurveda and systemics do not necessarily fit such an ontology. We have commented on an ontology of non-materialism, based on complexity theory and in particular the understanding of complex adaptive systems. If we would like to explore the concept of a high health organization, an adequate ontology (and epistemology) is necessary. It is impossible to develop a non-materialistic concepts within a materialistic ontology. The consequence of this ontological choice for our research methods are multiple and innovative. Our research method goes beyond deterministic causality, and attempts to visualize entanglement. It can only be based on a much more systemic analysis than what we are used to, hence we use Artificial Neural Networks and Semantics as analytical tools. Based on the results of our field research, the high health organization in a nutshell has the following components: 1. A systemic, values-based vision is the lighthouse of the high health organization 2. Values, and in particular lived values, are the driver of the high health organization 3. Transparent, clear, respectful and non-violent communication is the binding factor 4. A knowledge and learning culture is the necessary condition for a healthy organization 5. Organisational consciousness in the organization is the sufficient condition
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    Theorizing ICT-based social innovation on development in the context of developing countries of Africa
    (2016) Ngonzi, Tibuhinda T; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    Background - The main concern of this study is that the perspectives at the foundation of the deployment of information and communication technologies (ICT) undermine the pertinent long-term benefits in developing countries. Not only that, but they also affect the ways in which communities in the global information society engage themselves in the diffusion process of ICT. Claim of the study - The innovation and diffusion process of ICT in developing countries of Africa is foreign and sponsor driven. Consequently, the process is infested with a focus on the realizations in the short-term, with a continued domination of technological innovations by the technologically advanced communities. The argument in this study is that Africa's developing countries need to change their perspectives, and play an active role to drive the diffusion process of ICT in local contexts for long-term developmental impacts. Purpose of the study - The main aim of this study is to explore the conceptions surrounding ICT processes in theory and practice, for the purpose of gaining insight into the improved approaches for applied ICT. The study looks into ways through which local communities and their governments in Africa's developing countries can play a role in cultivating the enhancement of ICT to promote productivity, like it has happened in other places of the world. Problem statement - The assumption for the problem statement draws from the expressed main concern in the background. That is, there is a need for adequate theoretical foundations to appropriately guide the ICT deployment and application initiatives for effective social development in Africa's DCs. In the other words, theoretical contributions in the discipline of information systems are needed to explain the relationships between long-term impacts of ICT and societies, and the frameworks for practice to realize the impacts.
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    Toward relevant measures of performance to manage complexity in inclusive development projects
    (2022) Mkhize, Nonhlanhla Patience; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    The 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development advocates for innovation for inclusive development. It is a fundamental issue to make progress within South African and globally. When one considers how to improve on the lack of success we have had so far, there are many areas of possible focus. This study looks at the management of innovation for inclusive development projects. These projects are complex. They harness science, technology and innovation to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable society. Their execution remains challenging despite models and tools to manage project complexity. The study focusses on how complexity exerts an influence on the management of these projects. It concurs with the literature that time, cost, and scope are inadequate measures on their own to assess complex project management performance. It seeks relevant measures of performance that can expand the triple constraint model to deal with complexity. To build a theory on the issues of concern, I use the lens of a project as a complex and adaptive temporary organisation. My qualitative study focuses on five projects within the Department of Science and Innovation in South Africa. It collects data from project management personnel, users and sponsors involved in these projects. The informants assist me in understanding the practise and processes of project management organisation and subsequent performance management. The study collects secondary data from various archival records. It uses the Gioia approach to analyse and interpret the data systematically and rigorously. The study contributes to complex project management theory, an evolving field. It expands existing knowledge by demonstrating how complexity influences the organisation of project management. It highlights how the plurality of stakeholders influences the definition and prioritisation of project goals. The prioritisation informs the allocation of resources, a task that is laden with conflict. The stakeholders establish a temporary organisation. The organisation has a unique identity, defined by the collective values of the stakeholders. Its governance is flexible, inclusive and responsive and embraces Ubuntu. Flexibility enhances its response to fluid and unpredictable changes in its context. The study underscores that learning is critical to the continuous improvement of the management of these projects. The stakeholders must recognise different ways of knowing to learn from each other. The findings stress technology appropriateness and its influence on organising project management. Technology itself might be exclusionary and marginalise other stakeholders within the temporary organisation. It shows the link between project management organisation and performance measurement. It highlights how complexity influences the selection of measures of performance. It proposes a four-dimensional model to expand the triple constraint measures. The dimensions are process, scope, context and good governance. The findings recommend further research to 2 understand how complexity influences the management of innovation for inclusive development projects.
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    Towards a multifaceted understanding of the evolution of an Information System Ecosystem: The case of a mobile payment systems implementation and its contextual impact in South Africa
    (2021) Harry, Ricardo; Sewchurran, Kosheek; Brown, Irwin
    The concept of IS ecosystem has grown beyond the organisational confines. Whilst the expansion of the IS ecosystems concept looked promising for the developing world the nature of its impact is not clearly understood in broader society. Most of the research available on implementation studies that involved IS ecosystems, past and present, have been in developed countries. A need arose to conduct studies in developing countries, especially those with an almost equal balance between formal and informal economies coined hybrid economies, shifting focus to the interplay between ICT4D and mainstream IS governed by a continuously changing context. A gap arose to understand the evolution of the IS ecosystem beyond the organisational confines, its impact on society its context, and how it is being influenced by society and its context. The aim of the study is to enlightened academia and industry on the IS ecosystems evolution through the theoretical lenses of Actor Network Theory (ANT), Structuration Theory (ST) and the Knowledge Creation Theory, especially the concept of Ba, by exploring the emergent and designed associations that impact it and how it influenced these associations. This study deploys a qualitative research strategy with an interpretive theme using inductive reasoning as the main method of enquiry with some elements of abductive reasoning. The case study approach is chosen with the focus on selecting data during a mobile payment implementation project in South Africa via interviews and observation, supported by internal and external documentation. The interpretation of the data collected led to discovering how different a mobile payment IS ecosystem evolved in the organisational, business and consumer environments. The results indicate that, although the implementation was successful in some settings like the organisational environment where more control can be exercised, when the implementation extends beyond the borders of the organisation the power dynamics change. The research further highlights how the mobile payment IS ecosystem influences and is being influenced by society and its context. It also highlights how context (time and space) “is both constitutive of social action and itself the outcome of social action. Social action reinforced the notion that context is a social structure which is identical to Giddens duality of structure theorem. This led to the understanding that the IS ecosystem is a never constant but constantly evolving and dynamic. Since social structures was evaluation in this study it also highlights the impact on IS ecosystem pre and post pandemic conditions. Additionally, traditional contextual analyses focus on the environment, this study proposes a different view on contextual analysis that may benefit future contextual analysis. Given this consideration, future research may consider focusing on the phronetic research approach to extract more detailed contextual data and how it impacts the value and well-being of the actors participating in the evolution of an IS ecosystem. This study will also contribute to the development or conception of new methods to aid similar IS ecosystems evolution and research studies in a pre and post pandemic environment.
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    Towards a regional ontology for information systems project management
    (2008) Sewchurran, Kosheek; Smith, Derek; Roode, JD
    The extant research literature on Information Systems (IS) project management illustrates that there is considerable confusion about the true nature of IS project management. The bewilderment is expressed in a number of ways. Practitioners are reporting that there is considerable mismatch between the prescribed practices they are socialised into and their actual experiences of project work. Appropriately, there are also debates about what constitutes project success and about what factors influence project success and failure. Whilst these fundamentals are being debated there are also concerns expressed about the lack of adequate underlying theoretical constructs to give coherence to the kinds of questions raised. As the essence of IS project management is being debated there is evidence suggesting that the project-driven organisational form is growing in popularity. Together with the concerns there are proposals being offered as alternatives to improve understanding of project management. The review undertaken in this thesis illustrates that alternatives are emerging despite the existence of an entrenched value system that makes society prone to unwittingly accept and be attracted to the adoption of best practices such as PMBOK, which is central to the debate taking place in IS project management.
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    Towards an inclusive reconceptualization of IT governance: espoused theory and theories-in-use
    (2014) Masuku , Siphamandla; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    IT governance is a highly researched field with a majority of the literature focusing on structural (form) and processual (contingency) mechanisms. The theoretical foundations of agency theory, which has a strong focus on control, predominantly underpin the current IT governance practices. The field is lacking in research contributions on relational mechanisms of IT governance and how they influence governance outcomes. Despite the amount of prescriptive models and “best practice frameworks” available in the field, achieving key IT governance outcomes remains amongst the highest ranked management concerns. This paper seeks to explicate the disharmony between current practices and espoused theory through a case study within an organization in the pursuit to understand multi-stakeholder perspectives as to their impression of governance, its purpose and relevance in the organization; for the purpose of attaining a systemic, multi -perspective view on governance as a practice within organizations, as opposed to those prescribed in mainstream theory. A key objective of this research is to provide more insight on the existing gap between the various stakeholders' perspectives on IT governance in the multiple echelons of an organization, with particular emphasis on the alignment of mental models and the process of sense making; revealing a deeper understanding of current governance practices from the social/relational, structural and processual mechanisms within an organization and highlighting the as-lived perceptions on IT governance purpose, objectives, important IT mechanisms for effective IT governance and perspectives on current IT governance effectiveness within their context. The culmination of the findings from this research reveal in a need for organizations to engage in a sense-making process that enables the inclusive conceptualization of IT governance within their context. At the core, it is about IT governance vision- purpose- practice alignment, and as a (important) consequence, about business and IT alignment.
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    Towards coherent practice in capstone courses for IS majors
    (2012) Scott, Elsje; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used to support almost all areas of human activity, and information systems play an increasingly important role in organisations and in society as a whole. At the same time, continuous and dramatic changes in the field of Information Systems (IS) and its context pose serious challenges to educators preparing students for professional practice. This study is therefore about the search to design, develop and implement a framework for constructing a capstone course that will be both flexible and efficient, while simultaneously embracing the interdisciplinary character of the IS field. A capstone course can be viewed as a man-made artefact intended to meet the needs of the world we live in and the activity of building theory in such a world is embedded in the sciences of the artificial. The research paradigm for this environment thus comprised a combination of the behavioural science and design science paradigms. The evolution of a capstone course at the University of Cape Town commenced in 2001 and led to the development of a conceptual framework for a coherent practice. During 2010 and 2011 the conceptual framework acted as a bridge enabling the researcher to develop, refine and evaluate a design science theory. This was done through a series of themed action experiments each consisting of several interventions, to create a synthesis of theory and practice for preparing thoughtful practitioners. The theory includes prescriptive statements of actions leading to specific outcomes that provided evidence of how a reflective practice nurtures deep involvement of students in their learning experience. It further demonstrated how accompanying theories within this framework can be utilised either to underpin or to make sense of the different activities within this practice. These meaning-making activities initiated the reconstruction of interventions and actions to promote transcendence and embodied cognition, nurturing competence and lifelong learning. Ultimately, the intention of the theory is to extend the boundaries of the capabilities of IS majors (or students of other exit level courses) to such an extent that they become empowered to cope with the complex and changing demands of the real world.
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    Open Access
    Towards design principles for project artistry in exploratory sandpit projects: A design-based research perspective
    (2017) Makhoalibe, Puleng; Ng'ambi, Dick; Sewchurran, Kosheek
    Organisations are increasingly finding themselves operating in environments that are characterised by higher levels of ambiguity, uncertainty and complexity, as well as environmental and internal changes that are beyond their control (Reeves, 2015). This context is affecting the way in which projects are executed, as project managers are expected to conceive, manage and successfully implement projects within such an environment. An important question to ask is: Are intrinsically unpredictable environments becoming more dominant leading to increase in the complexity of projects? We are now living in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world; project management as a field has to overcome significant barriers to change and develop the capacity for more subjective, interactive, and interpretive innovations that appear to be more effective in these settings. The primary question addressed in this study is how the design of exploration projects may be carried out to bring clarity to project objectives and enablers. Design thinking, which is said to embody practices, mind-sets and processes that empower teams to co-create innovative solutions to wicked problems (Rittel and Webber, 1973) has been adopted in this study. Its design principles together with the creative problem-solving principles are combined to create a framework that facilitates design of exploration projects. This study uses design-based research (DBR) to apply the emerging framework to educational sandpit projects. These projects inherit the characteristics of exploration projects which are highly ambiguous toward more innovative, context-relevant, targeted solutions developed by diverse project teams. The study adopted a qualitative, interpretivist approach in order to enhance the design principles emerging from this study through authentic interventions in educational sandpits using DBR as a methodology. The outcome of the study, namely, a project artistry framework, emerged from the iterative process which was undertaken. The framework's value proposition is that it (the framework) had been proven to enable diverse teams to shift the participants' orientation from significant ambiguity and uncertainty to the ability to plan action by co-creating project visions with clear objectives and goals. The project artistry framework reflects the construction of a house and a more holistic framework, which consists of a roof (design process), the pillars required to hold up the roof (design pillars) and the foundational bricks. The design pillars include reflection, creative language, applied imagination, diverging and converging while the foundational bricks include empathy, empowerment, engagement, emergence, experimentation, environment, exploration and exploitation. In addition, an ambiguity acceptance journey is proposed to encourage a tolerance of ambiguity that leads to questioning and inquiry in projects that cultivates fresh insights and innovation in projects. New approaches to project leadership and design are essential to transform the world we live in. Although no panacea, project artistry provides project leaders with a new dimension to understanding the changing conditions that surround their project and envisioning better, innovative solutions to some of the most troublesome challenges facing our projects. It brings together the power of analysis and intuition to synthesize real solutions that not only work but meet the needs of the people. This fresh approach also brings enlightenment and transformation to those engaged in such projects and cultivates creative confidence and fosters collaboration.