Aligning Web content and organisational strategy: Towards increasing funding

Abstract

Background: The effectiveness with which the Aurum Institute manages to communicate its organisational strategic objectives through its website was investigated. Despite its ground breaking research and programs which have made a positive impact on the community, the major problem that it faces is funding its core.Objectives: An investigation of the website’s content was carried out to determine the extent to which the organisational strategy is reflected to potential funders visiting the site. Requirements for aligning the content with the organisational strategy were identified.Method: Content analysis was used where secondary data, such as website content and organisational strategic objectives, was analysed. An interview was also conducted with Aurum’s knowledge manager to gain an in-depth understanding of the organisation’s strategic objectives and to validate the initial findings.Results: The results show that the website content was not effectively representative of Aurum’s strategic objectives, and that the website structure did not effectively share the information that supports the decision-making process of potential investors. Recommendations were presented to the organisation in the form of a prototype website which reflects the desired website content that is representative of Aurum’s strategic objectives.Conclusion: Further research is required in determining the effect that a strategically driven website could possibly exert on the funding potential of the organisation. The theoretical approach used in this study can be used as a scoping exercise in organisations of a similar business nature.