| Přispěvatelé: |
Esiefarienrhe, M.B., Gasela, N., 25840525 - Esiefarienrhe, Bukohwo Michael (Supervisor), 24704113 - Gasela, Naison (Supervisor) |
| Popis: |
PhD (Computer Science and Information Systems), North-West University, Mahikeng Campus The prevailing economic environment, characterised by retrenchments, company closures and the drive to eradicate poverty has led to the increase in the number of small businesses. The small scale enterprises operate in the same environments with large companies and face challenges which often results in the businesses closing down within the first few years of inception. A lot of data that may be useful in improving performance and decision making, is generated during the small business’s operations. The small scale enterprises however lack the tools and expertise to analyse data. Business intelligence systems are an example of the tools that small scale enterprises could use to handle, manage and effectively use the data they generate. Despite the availability of business intelligence systems and related tools, the data generated in the small businesses is fragmented, kept in different forms and rarely used to inform decisions because they have not embraced this technology. The business intelligence systems technology is complex, costly and requires expertise making the small scale enterprises reluctant to adopt it into their operations. This study investigates the extent to which small scale enterprises in Namibia have adopted business intelligence systems and design a framework and model that may guide the organisations in implementing the business intelligence systems and reduce implementation failures. The mixed method approach to research was followed for this study. A survey was conducted with a total of one hundred and thirty questionnaires distributed to small scale enterprises in Namibia, using the convenience sampling approach. The questionnaire was informed by the Diffusion of Innovation and Technology Organisation and Environment theories, the Information Evaluation Model and the critical success factors for business intelligence systems implementation, with dimensions and aspects rated on a Likert scale of 1 to 5. Seventy-four questionnaires were returned, coded and analysed using Microsoft Office Excel. The Object-Oriented Design approach was followed to design the framework and model. The Feature Driven Development method was used to build the model in small increments using Java programming language. The survey results showed that in Namibia, small scale enterprises are at level 3, which means that they have not adopted business intelligence systems, although they are aware of the existence of such tools and have some of the required resources. The results informed the development of a tool that could be used by the businesses to evaluate their readiness to adopt the business intelligence systems. A framework for evaluating the small businesses’ resources against the framework parameters was defined to guide them in assessing their readiness to implement business intelligence systems. The framework was automated and simplified to produce a hybrid model that users can use without the intervention of experts. The resultant hybrid model was developed from the key technology adoption theories and factors specific to small scale enterprises. Desk checking and walk throughs were conducted by peer experts to evaluate the model for correctness and efficiency. The use of the model is recommended to all small scale enterprises that wish to adopt business intelligence systems because it will show how ready they are, well before the implementation project commences thus reducing the cost of failed implementation projects. Doctoral |
