Browsing by Subject "Economy"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Financial services and the informal economy
    (CSSR and SALDRU, 2015-05-28) Ardington, Cally; Leibbrandt, Murray
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    Integration into the South African Core Economy: Household Level Covariates
    (CSSR and SALDRU, 2015-05-28) Dieden, Sten
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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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    Understanding the role of cybersecurity culture in the gig economy: the case of platform-based food delivery workers in Gauteng
    (2025) Radebe, Mlungisi; Tsibolane, Pitso
    The growth of gig economy platforms has coincided with increased cybersecurity threats and attacks. As gig platforms have evolved, so too have cybercriminals, with attacks such as malware, phishing, and social engineering becoming increasingly sophisticated and human centric. However, cybersecurity defence mechanisms are still centred around traditional technical controls. In response to this growing threat landscape, researchers argue that organisations should implement other mechanisms to counter the threat. Embedding a cybersecurity culture in organisations has gained prominence in recent studies. However, studies on the cybersecurity culture in the gig economy, focusing on food delivery workers, are needed, as there is currently limited literature on this phenomenon. This research report explored the nature of cybersecurity culture in the context of platform-based food delivery workers in Gauteng, South Africa. The main research question explored the following: How does the cybersecurity culture influence the cybersecurity behaviours of food delivery gig workers? The Cybersecurity Culture Model (CCM) was used as a sensitizing theoretical device to develop the initial interview guides, observation protocols, and the preliminary coding schemes. A qualitative research strategy was adopted using semi-structured interviews as the primary data source; furthermore, a qualitative research survey and publicly available documents and observations of the context were provided as secondary data sources. Fifteen (N=15) semi-structured interviews were performed with food delivery workers. Secondary data was acquired via online searches (N=11), web articles on the gig economy, three (N=3) online qualitative surveys, and contextual observations by interacting with food delivery workers at their pick-up sites. Data analysis was conducted using established guidelines for inductive data analysis using the NVivo 14 software. The research revealed significant barriers to implementing cybersecurity culture in the food delivery sector of the local gig economy. Workers receive minimal cybersecurity education and training, with limited management communication about security policies and procedures. Gig work apps present additional challenges, contributing to a virtually non-existent cybersecurity culture among food delivery workers in Gauteng, South Africa. Weak management initiatives, inadequate training, and absent security policies drive non-compliance, further complicated by conflicts between financial incentives, personal safety, and cybersecurity requirements. These findings highlight structural gig economy issues, underscoring the need for enhanced cybersecurity governance, comprehensive training programs, and integrated information security policies. Future research should examine platform providers' responsibilities in cybersecurity culture development and methods to align safety priorities with cybersecurity compliance.