Innovation In South Africa Research Articles

A Holistic Barometer for Measuring the Impact of Science, Technology and Innovation in South Africa

A Holistic Barometer for Measuring the Impact of Science, Technology and Innovation in South Africa

Navigating the chasm: Customer experience innovation in South Africa

This study aims to explore the current state of customer experience (CX) innovation in South Africa and its position within the chasm of the innovation curve. In a diverse market characterized by cultural and varying consumer preferences, the focus on CX innovation is essential for creating unique, memorable interactions between customers and brands. The paper explores the transformative journey from product-centric to customer-centric business strategies within the South African context, emphasizing the impact of organizational culture on customer interactions. By examining various industries and sectors, this paper seeks to identify key challenges, opportunities, and strategies for bridging the gap between early adopters and mainstream market acceptance. The insights gathered from direct observations and indepth interviews with industry leaders will inform recommendations for fostering a culture of customer-centric innovation in South Africa.

Advancing a transformative human development approach to climate resilience through local innovation in South Africa

ABSTRACT Climate change continues to exacerbate social and economic development challenges in local communities the world over. This paper advances a human development approach to climate resilience innovations, showing how local innovation initiatives can be conduits for increased equity, agency, efficiency and sustainability vis-à-vis effective responses to climate impacts. Based on a scoping review of literature (journal articles, books, theses, occasional papers etc.), and through a discussion of four case studies focused on technological and institutional innovations in selected rural South African communities, a major finding is that local innovation initiatives vis-à-vis livelihoods are laden with opportunities for improved social, economic and ecological well-being. Appreciating and supporting these local innovations will open up viable and transformative pathways towards effectively responding to the impacts of climate change and variability. The paper contributes to an interdisciplinary integration of innovation and climate change research by exploring climate resilience through a transformative human development lens.

Psychological capital, innovators’ DNA and innovative behaviour

Orientation: This study was positioned within the field of positive psychology, specifically positive organisational behaviour scholarship (POBS).Research purpose: The aim of the research was to investigate the relationship between psychological capital (PsyCap), employees’ innovative thinking and their innovative behaviour.Motivation for the study: Psychological capital has been associated with many positive organisational behaviour outcomes, but relatively little previous research has addressed the relationship between PsyCap and innovation in South Africa. In a similar vein, there is much interest in the Innovator’s DNA model, but it too has received little research scrutiny. Combining these variables into a single model, provided an opportunity to address both these research gaps.Research approach/design and method: The research design was quantitative in nature. The model of innovative behaviour was tested on a sample of 485 employees from the travel and automotive industries in South Africa.Main findings: The model of innovative behaviour was mostly supported by the data. Significant relationships between PsyCap, innovators’ DNA (innovative thinking) and innovative behaviour were found.Practical/managerial implications: The characteristics that underpin both PsyCap and innovative thinking have been shown in previous research to be malleable and trainable. The current research found that both these variables contributed significantly to the variance in innovative thinking. Managers seeking employees who engage in innovative behaviours would do well to spend time and effort in the training and development of both PsyCap and innovative thinking.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the limited amount of research on employee innovative behaviour in South Africa. Specifically, the study established a link between employees’ cognitive skills, psychological skills and innovative behaviour.

Public Service, Leadership and Innovation in South Africa

In South Africa public service institutions are the implementing arm of government. These include services such as education, electricity, health, housing, transport and water. Government services such as municipalities are also part of this and have always bore the brunt of citizens who protest about the non-delivery of services. Community members demanding service delivery from government departments have been initiating unending strikes which are frequently destructive. Yet, various South African government departments have experienced employees’ non-commitment, corruption and wastage of government resources. The purpose of this article is to utilize literature review to examine the role of public service leaders in transforming public service for effective governance. Arguably, public service institutions with weak leadership and no vision will always falter. The discussion focuses on how conscientious leaders can employ values, ethics and ownership to strengthen the function of these public service institutions. Furthermore, the article examines how in a time of decolonization and transformation leaders could adapt strategies for revamped African public institutions. The conclusions show that it would not be enough for leaders to know the Batho Pele principles and the Constitution of the democratic South Africa of 1996, but it is being able to be a transformational and ethical leader that one can lead public service institutions.

Towards a conceptual framework for measuring innovation in the agricultural sector in sub-Saharan developing countries

Despite the importance and benefits of measuring innovation in businesses, standard methods for innovation measurement, such as the Oslo Manual, largely exclude the agricultural sector. As a result, innovation scholars in developing countries struggle to develop knowledge to understand innovation in agricultural businesses. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to guide research on the measurement of innovation in the agricultural sector in developing countries, focusing initially on commercial agricultural businesses. The proposed framework provides an analytical reference point with detailed methodological guidelines for scholars and practitioners of innovation studies who wish to understand the complexities and dynamics of innovation in commercial agricultural businesses (including forestry and fishery businesses). A practical example, based on an empirical study that used this framework to measure innovation in South Africa’s agricultural sector, illustrates how it can be put into practice.

Social innovation in South Africa: building inclusive economies?

PurposeSocial innovation (SI) acknowledges socio-economic challenges as opportunities to make communities more sustainable and cohesive through inclusive grassroots practices. The question remains, however, as to whether and how socially innovative practices can be effectively supported in developing inclusive economies. Drawing on the findings from two South African in-depth case studies, This paper aims to discuss how social innovation ventures may be supported to drive inclusiveness.Design/methodology/approachThis paper purposively sampled two social enterprises (SEs) and conducted in-depth case studies through interviews and secondary data review.FindingsThe SEs selected promoted digital, economic and social inclusion. Despite the diversity of the two organisations, they shared similar challenges in undertaking their practices mostly deriving from South Africa’s lack of legal recognition and policy framework for social purpose-driven businesses.Originality/valueApplying Moulaert et al.’s (2007) SI classification criteria to the case studies in focus, this paper seeks to extend our understanding of the challenges that innovative SE organisations face in tackling exclusion and contributing to build inclusive economies in the South African context.

Inclusive Digital Innovation in South Africa: Perspectives from Disadvantaged and Marginalized Communities

Inclusive digital innovation (IDI) entails rolling out policies and digital innovations to ensure equal access to services and new goods by previously excluded and marginalized societies. Digital commerce (d-commerce) has the potential to foster an inclusive community through IDI empowerment in emerging economies; however, the literature on inclusive digital innovation and citizen empowerment is limited on the effect of e-strategy policies and empowerment on d-commerce adoption, use, and recommendation propensity. Underpinned by three theories: the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, the citizen empowerment theory, and the affective decision-making theory of optimism bias and risk, this study proposes a model to establish the determinants of use intention, use behavior, and propensity to recommend d-commerce in disadvantaged and marginalized communities in South Africa. Using survey data from 983 disadvantaged d-commerce users to test the proposed model and hypotheses using IBM Amos for Windows and structural equation modeling (SEM), this paper provides a unique narrative to the empowerment discourse of marginalized people. Results show that privacy, security, trust, and citizen empowerment positively influence use intention and optimism bias, use behavior, and citizen empowerment mediate the propensity to recommend. Factors that promote or hinder citizens’ choices to use and recommend d-commerce are pertinent to scholars, government agencies, and regulators seeking better policy implementations to eradicate socio-economic inequalities, sustainable societies, and the empowerment of disadvantaged and marginalized people.

Reflecting on the Effects of Disruptive Innovation in South Africa’s Accommodation Subsector: A Focus on Emerging Black-Owned Businesses

South Africa’s tourism industry has experienced significant changes since 1994. These changes have been propelled by the government’s developmental policies with the aim being to redress the imbalances of past racial injustices. The tourism and hospitality industries remain dominated by white-owned enterprises as well as by large and well-established international brands. In light of this narrative, this paper reflects on how the ever-growing online dominion offers palpable opportunities to deal with the ongoing struggles faced by existing and emerging black-owned small tourism businesses in South Africa. Specifically, the paper reviews key literature on disruptive innovation in the sharing accommodation economy. An important take from the literature is that for emerging black-owned accommodation ventures to succeed in the digital era, there needs to be a strategic shift in how they understand new market trends in the industry. The latter is imperative for their success and sustainability in a post-pandemic world.

International patent applications and innovation in South Africa

Background: Experts recommend support to patents for stimulating innovation. Also, the South African government supports patents, in particular, international patents. In this paper it is examined how this strategy can be designed to successfully trigger economic progress.Aim: The present South African activities in patents are investigated in this paper and areas identified where an intensification of patenting looks promising for economic progress.Setting: The patent activities since 1985 are analysed and compared to the annual export–import balance from 2009 to 2018, in order to identify starting points for improving economic structures. The data are linked to current suggestions to the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) for future technologies.Methods: The analysis of patents is performed, using the international patent database PATSTAT, as well as the analysis of the export–import balance at the WITS database of the World Bank.Results: The patent analysis reveals a low level of South African domestic patents, with a focus on less complex goods and a stagnation period of 35 years. The data on the export – import balance show negative figures for consumer goods and even more so for capital goods.Conclusion: Economic progress can be accelerated by stimulating patent and economic activities to produce more complex consumer and capital goods. However, it may be necessary to focus on certain areas at the beginning in order to achieve a sufficient critical mass of competence and international competitiveness. In any case, the support of patents is only successful when it is closely linked to a strategy regarding technology.

Orthopaedic device innovation in South Africa: A study of patenting activity

We assessed knowledge development and exchange among actors who patent orthopaedic devices in South Africa over the period 2000–2015. A social network analysis was performed on bibliometric data using co-inventorship on patents as an indicator of collaboration between different organisations, with a focus on the spatial and sectoral contexts. Network metrics and innovation system indices are used to describe knowledge development and exchange. The results show that university, healthcare and industry organisations have primarily been responsible for increased patenting over time. The key actors were a set of industry actors – a national actor and its US partner – who have patented many devices jointly. National universities were found to make a small contribution, and science councils were found to be absent, despite the efforts in the changing innovation landscape to encourage publicly financed research organisations to protect their intellectual property. The collaboration networks were found to be sparse and disjointed, with many actors – largely from the private healthcare sector – patenting in isolation.Significance:
 
 The considerable number of patents filed by private sector clinicians in orthopaedic device innovation in their personal capacity is highlighted.
 Few patents emanate from national universities, and science council actors are largely absent, despite the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act to protect intellectual property emanating from public research organisations.
 Patenting networks are more fragmented than are scientific publication networks.
 
 Open data set: https://doi.org/10.25375/uct.14417246.v1

Development, manufacture and validation of an open cathode LT-PEMFC stack at HySA systems

This work presents open cathode low temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell stack development and validation process project performed at HySA Systems as a part of a long-term programme funded by Department of Science and Innovation in South Africa. A detailed explanation of the stack design, manufacturing, assembly and validation is given as well as detailed analysis of results is presented. Prototype stack has an electrode active area of 50 cm2, bipolar plates made of graphite composite material (Eisenhuth) and membrane electrode assemblies manufactured in South Africa - HyPlat (Pty) Ltd. A short 10-cell stack is validated using FuelCon Evaluator stack test station and custom designed stack control system integrated with complete balance of plant components. The stack maximum current and power densities are 1.2 Acm−2 at 0.5 V and 0.6 Wcm−2, respectively. Performed current hold (300 h) and open circuit voltage (60 h) durability tests resulted in degradation rates of 0.64 mVh−1 and 3.83 mVh−1, respectively.

Water innovation in South Africa: Mapping innovation successes and diffusion constraints

Because of its long experience with water scarcity, South Africa has built a highly active research and innovation capacity in the water sector, which is spearheaded by the Water Research Commission (WRC). As a result, South African scientists have been among the significant contributors to new knowledge creation in the water innovation domain, especially in water treatment technologies. This innovation dynamism has however not been translated into a large-scale harnessing of technological innovations to avert the looming threat of water shortage. This paper combines innovation diffusion theory with the technology maturation framework to explore the main factors that help explain the pace of innovation diffusion in the South African water sector. Data from key informant interview analysis as well as available secondary sources indicate that financing constraints and technical validation difficulties are among the main hurdles limiting the ability of innovators to scale up their inventions for commercialisation. Adoption costs and lack of municipal support budget are the most important factors that limit the ability of low income rural households to adopt water innovations. Policy measures to support diffusion strategies are necessary to ensure that innovators have the means to overcome the multiple diffusion obstacles that they are confronted with.

The scientific base for orthopaedic device development in South Africa: spatial and sectoral evolution of knowledge development

We assess knowledge development and knowledge diffusion for orthopaedic device innovation in South Africa over the period 2000–2015. A structural network analysis is performed on bibliometric data using co-authorship on scientific publications as an indicator of collaboration between different organisations. We apply a technological innovation system (TIS) framework, quantitatively assessing the TIS functions ‘knowledge creation’ and ‘knowledge diffusion’ in their spatial and sectoral contexts. Network metrics (degree and betweenness centralities), and empirical TIS analyses are used to describe the knowledge functions of the TIS. Our results show that scientific knowledge development has increased as time has progressed, and that university and healthcare sectors have largely been responsible. Results further indicate that, for the national healthcare and national industry sector actors, ties to university and science council actors support scientific knowledge creation. The collaboration networks were found to be sparse, and disjointed, with many actors largely unreachable, indicating barriers to knowledge exchange between actors. Initially the network displayed spatial elements of an internationalised TIS, but over time, the spatial typology changed to that of a nationalised TIS. This shift may be a positive one, as South African research and development activity shifts towards being driven by local actors and towards medical devices which address the South African burden of disease.

Extension Officers' Perceptions Of Extension And Innovation In South Africa

Extension Officers' Perceptions Of Extension And Innovation In South Africa

INNOVATION PROFILE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TECHNOLOGY ROADMAPPING PRACTITIONERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

The objective of this paper is to derive the innovation profile in developing countries, such as South Africa, from a technology roadmapping practitioner’s point of view. The specific research questions that are addressed are i) what are the main priorities for innovation in South Africa? and ii) what are the actual or perceived innovation competitive advantages for South Africa? A mixed methodology research is used that combines online quantitative surveys, qualitative interviews, and document analysis. The quantitative survey was conducted with researchers and practitioners involved with technology roadmaps in South Africa. Through the realism research philosophy that combines both inductive and deductive approaches, an analytical inference is made through the five propositions that have managerial and policy implications for the technology roadmapping community in developing countries.

Early Learning Assessment Innovation in South Africa: A locally appropriate monitoring tool

Innovation in education goes beyond curriculum and content delivery. We also must look for ways to ensure that how we assess our education programs is relevant and current.

Developing a Roadmap for Improving Neglected and Underutilized Crops: A Case Study of South Africa.

Reports of neglected and underutilized crops' (NUS) potential remain mostly anecdotal with limited and often incoherent research available to support them. This has been attributed to lack of clear research goals, limited funding directed at NUS and journal apathy toward publishing work on NUS. The latter points also explain the lack of interest from emerging and established researchers. Additionally, the NUS community's inability to articulate a roadmap for NUS' promotion may have unintentionally contributed to this. The current study is a sequel to an initial study that assessed the status of NUS in South Africa. The objective of this follow-up study was then to (i) identify priority NUS, and (ii) articulate a strategy and actionable recommendations for promoting NUS in South Africa. The study identified 13 priority NUS, categorized into cereals, legumes, root, and tuber crops and leafy vegetables based on drought and heat stress tolerance and nutritional value. It is recommended that the available limited resources should be targeted on improving these priority NUS as they offer the best prospects for success. Focus should be on developing value chains for the priority NUS. This should be underpinned by science to provide evidence-based outcomes. This would assist to attract more funding for NUS research, development and innovation in South Africa. It is envisaged that through this roadmap, NUS could be transformed from the peripheries into mainstream agriculture. This study provides a template for developing a roadmap for promoting NUS that could be transposed and replicated among the 14 other southern African states.

Public Procurement as a Tool to Drive Innovation in South Africa

This article is an analysis of the use of public procurement as a tool to drive innovation. It explores the meaning of innovative procurement or public procurement of innovation, as well as the rationale for using public procurement to drive innovation. It then focuses on South Africa and evaluates whether there is scope within the existing public procurement regulatory regime for the promotion of innovation. Barriers in the regime are identified and suggestions are made for possible reform.
 

Biotech Innovation in South Africa: Twenty Years in Review

Biotechnology Law ReportVol. 35, No. 1 Original ArticlesBiotech Innovation in South Africa: Twenty Years in ReviewDonrich W. JordaanDonrich W. JordaanSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:12 Feb 2016https://doi.org/10.1089/blr.2016.29000.dwjAboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB Permissions & CitationsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail View articleFiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byArtificial intelligence in healthcare: Proposals for policy development in South Africa19 May 2022 | South African Journal of Bioethics and LawIntellectual Property Rights and Competition Policy with a Focus on BiotechnologySSRN Electronic Journal Volume 35Issue 1Feb 2016 InformationCopyright 2016, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.To cite this article:Donrich W. Jordaan.Biotech Innovation in South Africa: Twenty Years in Review.Biotechnology Law Report.Feb 2016.37-42.http://doi.org/10.1089/blr.2016.29000.dwjPublished in Volume: 35 Issue 1: February 12, 2016PDF download