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Academic institutions such as the University of South Africa (Unisa) are using information and communication technology (ICT) in order to conduct their daily primary operations, which are teaching and learning. Unisa is the only distance learning university in South Africa and also in Africa. Unisa currently has the highest number of students on the continent of Africa. In an attempt to bridge the gap between facilitators and students, Unisa introduced a learning management system known as myUnisa. MyUnisa is used by facilitators and students as a tool to conduct teaching and learning, and for communication. To the best of the researcher's knowledge, factors that influence its acceptance and usage have not been studied prior to this study. The main deciders of the success of technology are the users, as is reflected in the well-established theories and models that exist to evaluate the acceptance of technology and innovation. The objective of this study was to understand the factors that contribute to the usage of myUnisa by students. An online questionnaire was used for data collection, and a quantitative analysis was conducted. Among others, the results reveal that complexity does not have a significant impact on the students' decision to use myUnisa.

Background: In a competition for scarce resources, higher education institutions in developing countries have lost to other priorities. The article examines specific barriers to innovation in the higher education context. A thorough understanding and removal of these impediments paves a way to innovation in developing countries, specifically Zimbabwe. Objectives: Firstly, the study sought to evaluate the barriers to innovation in higher education and secondly recommend strategies to improve the innovation capabilities of the institutions. Method: A survey strategy was adopted to collect data from 240 purposefully selected academics at four state universities in Zimbabwe with a 66.6% response rate. Results: The results indicate that the lack of funding for research is the biggest barrier to innovation in higher education with a 46% representation. Along the same spectrum, the lack of incentives is also another barrier with an account of 21% of the participants who participated. The organisational structure is also a pertinent barrier with 24% representation. Lastly, the organisational culture accounts 9% of the participants. Conclusion: Adequate resource allocation and funding is crucial to the success and transformation of the higher education system. Implementing policies that align with the strategic goals of the institutions is imperative to bring about innovation not only in Zimbabwe but also in other developing countries too. Contribution: Higher education institutions should provide adequate funding for research and reassess their organisational cultures and structures for them to be on the cutting edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review of the role of social trust in health information exchange on social network sites (SNSs). In the light of the confusion and panic about health information leading to and during the worldwide lockdown, in an attempt to control the spread and symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although the sharing of health information on SNS did not start during the COVID-19 lockdown, the concerns about health information interchange were highlighted during the lockdown. Objectives: This study investigates the nature of the association between health information exchange and social trust and how social trust has influenced health information exchange from 2005 to 2021. Method: In line with the purpose of the study, the researcher applied a systematic literature review to review conference articles, accredited journal articles and book chapters. The review process involved a rigorous procedure towards a definition of review protocol, extraction of articles, formulation of selection criteria and the review itself. Results: This study reveals a transactional interplay between the constructs of social trust (benevolence, integrity and competence) and social network site user roles (information seeker, information passer and information giver). Conclusion: In summary, the researcher argues that public health officials would benefit from setting up an SNS that proactively provides health information. The health information exchange experience should be designed in a way that takes into account how social trust can be used to moderate health information exchange in the SNS by different types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government departments are under increasing pressure to demonstrate technology effectiveness. One approach that government departments can use to be perceived as more technology effective is to understand the Management Information Systems (MIS) maturity issues that affect their departments. There are gaps in the academic literature about how African governments are dealing with the issues of MIS maturity; and this is also applicable to Nigeria. The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of some of the MIS maturity concerns of Nigerian Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs). This is important because senior managers and policymakers can more effectively understand the challenges that affect their respective departments and develop context‐appropriate policies. This study is quantitative in nature and primary data in the form of questionnaires were collected from 109 key stakeholders from selected Nigerian government departments. The data were analyzed using Factor analysis as a primary tool. The analysis provided a deeper understanding of some of the issues affecting the maturity within the selected Nigerian MDAs. The results of the analysis were used to develop a model that outlines some of the maturity concerns for the selected Nigerian MDAs. The issues that affect MIS maturity in Nigerian MDAs are related to: (1) integration of MIS initiatives, creating MIS vision, implementation of MIS management policies and the development of supportive MIS objectives which influence MIS maturity, (2) robust MIS objectives and robust MIS management that influences service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Knowledge-sharing culture permits knowledge reuse, exchange of knowledge, experiences and insights in an institution to achieve strategic goals. Knowledge-sharing requires motivation through rewards and recognition to improve employee engagement. The article provides an analysis of factors to promote a knowledge-sharing culture change. Objectives: The two objectives were designed to examine the factors that promote knowledgesharing culture change and to recommend strategies that encourage knowledge-sharing. Method: An online questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data from a higher education institution in Zimbabwe: a developing country on the African continent. Results: The results established that rewards, recognition, promotion and bonuses are significant factors in promoting a knowledge-sharing culture change. It emerged that 53.3% of the participants approved that knowledge-sharing is dependent on the disposition of the individual whilst the other 46.7% of the participants were either indecisive or disagreed with the proposition. Rewards are important to the extent that 91.7% of the participants approved the proposition. It was also confirmed by 95% of the participants that recognition adds value to an institution. Moreover, 80% of the participants submitted that recognition contributes to employee retention and engagement. Fascinatingly, 88.3% of the participants settled on the proposition that recognition allows access to top talent and 68.3% concurred that promotion encourages loyalty. Conclusion: Rewards, recognition, promotion and bonuses are important factors that encourage a knowledge-sharing culture. Rewards strengthen employee value proposition whilst recognition allows access to top talent. Promotion inspires employees whilst bonuses are perceived as signalling employee appreciation, which stimulates a knowledge-sharing culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of knowledge-sharing practices in higher education result in improved decisionmaking, improved access to information and increased collaboration. A knowledge-sharing culture enables the free exchange of knowledge amongst academics and this drives institutions towards innovation. This study examines the extent to which knowledge-sharing practices have been adopted at higher education institutions (HEIs) of developing countries. The article reports on an inquiry conducted at HEIs in Zimbabwe to determine the knowledgesharing practices in place. A survey was used to collect quantitative data from 240 purposefully selected academics at the HEIs. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. This study established that HEIs have not fully implemented the knowledge-sharing practices. Empirical evidence confirms that attendance of conferences is important for knowledge sharing where 43% of the participants approved the proposition. Coaching and mentoring improve academic skills such that 21.7% of the participants approved the premise. Subscribing to international journals increases the visibility of scientific research work and only 18.3% of the participants confirmed that their institutions subscribe to internationally recognised journals. Surprisingly, 60% of the participants confirmed that their institutions do not offer knowledge-sharing workshops. Unremarkably, 23.3% of the participants confirmed that their institutions do not have a knowledge-sharing culture. Transdisciplinarity Contribution: Higher education institutions have not fully exploited the knowledge-sharing practices that could make them more innovative. The institutions are still at the trial stage of adopting knowledge-sharing practices. This study therefore recommends the creation of communities of practice (COPs) specifically for knowledge sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The banking sector globally is saddled with intensified competition. Coupled with global economic situation of little tolerance for inappropriate resources usage, financial institutions have to pursue different strategies to meet the challenges and opportunities of providing quality services to existing customers, attract new customers, improve the turnover of employee, and increase long‐term firm performance. Innovation and technology are considered fundamental elements of strategic management. Implementing strategies to achieve a better relationship between technological innovation and financial services are essential. In determining the level of banking technological innovation, the study analyses responses as perceived by customers and employees at branch level of universal banks in Ghana and examines how these perceptions influence their preferences and assessments. 88% of customers and 96% of employees indicated their banks are innovative. 92% of customers will recommend their banks to others, whiles 81% of employee indicated positive innovation impact on profitability. From a logistic regression model, eight (8) factors were found to be significant (p‐value <0.05), indicating that customers are more likely to rate banks as innovative for service offering consistency with the latest innovations, product or service quality, new or improved product or service, and products or services features. For bank employees, innovation effect on process, innovation effect on risk management, and innovation effect on employee productivity were identified as the main perceptions for rating their banks as innovative. Practical implications and limitations of the study are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social media platforms are thriving on the co-creation of content, usually socially orientated content about the social interests of participants. There is also a growing trend of social media application in the human resources and marketing for business purposes. This study investigates factors that have an impact on the sharing of knowledge on social media platforms, particularly students at an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution. Objective: This study evaluates the difference between direct and indirect benefit exchange expected by students when sharing knowledge. Method: Random and theoretical sampling were used to select the sample in this study from the population. A literature-informed questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect data from a selected sample of 315 students from the School of Computing at the University of South Africa. Results: A test of association was conducted to evaluate correlations, which revealed that only reputation and social language correlate with direct and indirect benefit exchange. Results indicate that there is a significant mean difference between direct and indirect benefit exchange and that issues concerning social identity and trust should be taken into account when developing social media instructional design. Conclusion: In this study, a survey was used to test the hypothesis. The authors concluded that instructional designer can design teaching and learning experience in the social media platform by catering for both direct and indirect benefit knowledge exchange. The results of the study further confirmed that some students share knowledge with the expectation of direct exchange benefit and, meanwhile, expect indirect exchange benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business competition and growth in the Information age is fuelled by rapid innovation of Information Systems. In turn, business leaders' demand rapid Information System (IS) adaption that would enable all stakeholders even in the small part of the organization to take advantage of innovation. Therefore, organizations upgrade in order to keep abreast with competitors in the global market. In addition, there is often a lack of commitment to IS change programmes from employees who may even go to the extent of resisting Information Systems change initiatives. In this article the author is investigating the associations and impact of IS change communication and understanding worth of IS change on commitment to IS change in the construction industry using a survey research design. Results indicate that both communicating IS change and understanding of worth of IS change are moderately related to commitment to IS change. Moreover, regression analysis results proved that understanding worth of IS change is a better predictor for commitment to IS change when compared to communicating IS change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic institutions such as the University of South Africa (Unisa) are using information and communication technology (ICT) in order to conduct their daily primary operations, which are teaching and learning. Unisa is the only distance learning university in South Africa and also in Africa. Unisa currently has the highest number of students on the continent of Africa. In an attempt to bridge the gap between facilitators and students, Unisa introduced a learning management system known as myUnisa. MyUnisa is used by facilitators and students as a tool to conduct teaching and learning, and for communication. To the best of the researcher's knowledge, factors that influence its acceptance and usage have not been studied prior to this study. The main deciders of the success of technology are the users, as is reflected in the well-established theories and models that exist to evaluate the acceptance of technology and innovation. The objective of this study was to understand the factors that contribute to the usage of myUnisa by students. An online questionnaire was used for data collection, and a quantitative analysis was conducted. Among others, the results reveal that complexity does not have a significant impact on the students' decision to use myUnisa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the knowledge economy, organisations are shifting their investment focus to intellectual capital in order to sustain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Organisational survival is increasingly dependent on the organisation's ability to create and distribute knowledge that contributes to the improvement of performance. The purpose of this article is to evaluate individual knowledge-acquisition and sharing practices in the South African public sector. I applied the techniques of grounded theory analysis to extract themes from data that could provide insight into the knowledge sharing that takes place in the South African public sector. Findings revealed that the informal sharing of knowledge takes place in discussion forums within communities of practice through web-based, socially orientated platforms. These communities of practice are widespread throughout the public sector and are established with the purpose of soliciting expert knowledge from those who have been using open-source software successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a widespread acceptance of information system (IS) strategic alignment. How and whether IS strategic alignment creates value especially in developing countries remains a major challenge for most banks. Additionally, alignment scope is often general making it difficult to identify specific important strategic alignment factors. We explored factors perceived to influence IS‐innovation strategic alignment, their interrelationships, and consequential effects among six universal banks in Ghana. Primary data were obtained through interviews. The two‐dimensional solution accounted for 85.4% of the total variance with P value of 0.000 indicating strong dependency in the data. The findings indicate IS and innovation of the banks are well aligned, and innovative performance is an output of successful IS‐innovation alignment. Collaboration and IS strategic projects factors contributed strongly to the successful alignment. The findings provide bank managers with more reliable and actionable insights to determine the dimensions of alignment that contribute more or less to firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]