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Technology acceptance model – related antecedents and the performance outcome of financial technology adoption in small and medium enterprises
Nyanga, Taguma; Eresia-Eke, Chukuakadibia E. (AOSIS, 2025-10-31)
BACKGROUND : Despite the increasing value of FinTech in emerging markets, empirical research pertaining specifically to South Africa's small and medium enterprises (SME) sector remains scant. Consequently, this quantitative study explores factors affecting the adoption of financial technology (FinTech) solutions by SMEs in South Africa and also interrogates the relationship between FinTech adoption and organisational performance. AIM : The purpose of the study was to investigate factors affecting adoption of FinTech by SMEs in South Africa and the relationship between FinTech adoption and organisational performance. SETTING : Leveraging the technology acceptance model (TAM), the study interrogated the nexus of the constructs of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, FinTech adoption and organisational performance of SMEs. METHODS : Data were collected from a purposive sample of 1036 respondents across the country and were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM), among other statistical tools. RESULTS : Results obtained revealed that both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use significantly affect FinTech adoption, which subsequently was shown to positively affect organisational performance. CONCLUSION : The findings of the current study affirm that the TAM offers a veritable framework for comprehending FinTech adoption, with perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as pivotal elements, and further illustrate that FinTech adoption substantially enhances organisational performance among the studied SMEs in South Africa. CONTRIBUTION : Instructively, the research enhances the theoretical comprehension of technology adoption and provides practical insights for policymakers, FinTech developers and SMEs, highlighting the necessity for user-centric and value-oriented solutions in the FinTech sector.
Effectual flexibility and venture performance : the intervening effects of absorptive capacity
Osuigwe, Ubochioma Udo S. (AOSIS, 2025-10-17)
BACKGROUND : Increasingly, there is a determined effort to understand the actions, behaviours and decision logics that drive the performance of entrepreneurial ventures (EV). This study provides insight into the interplay between effectual flexibility (EF), absorptive capacity (AC), and venture performance (VP). AIM : The study aims to understand the relationship that exists between the flexibility principle of effectuation and VP as well as the interfering impact of AC in a moderating and/or mediating role. SETTING : The data used for the study were collected from EV operating in various sectors in South Africa. METHODS : Using data drawn from a sample of 685 EV, a partial least squared structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was employed to examine the significance of the relationship between the key variables in the study. RESULTS : The results reveal that EF has a positively significant relationship with VP. While there was no support for moderating effects on this relationship, the findings confirmed that AC has partial and complementary mediating effects on the relationship. CONCLUSION : The findings suggest that EF enables EV to adapt in dynamic contexts while cocreating opportunities to achieve performance. The nuanced outcome supports the notion that EF and AC are distinct but complementary capabilities. CONTRIBUTION : This study contributes to the broader entrepreneurship landscape as it highlights that EF and AC are synergistic rather than interdependent capabilities. This means that ventures do benefit from both, but one does not rely on the other to function effectively.
Beyond survival : functionality and health-related quality of life among a cohort of ICU survivors 6 months after hospital discharge - a single-centre study in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
Van der Merwe, Elizabeth; Stroud, Louise; Sharp, Gary; Van Vuuren, Noline; Mosola, M.; Fodo, T.; Paruk, Fathima (South African Medical Association, 2025-09)
BACKGROUND : New or worsened impairments in physical, cognitive and/or psychological health may persist after critical care discharge and impact negatively on survivors' health-related quality of life (HRQOL), functionality and life roles. OBJECTIVES : To describe functionality, changes in life roles and HRQOL among an Eastern Cape single-centre cohort of ICU survivors, 6 months after hospital discharge. METHODS : The study was conducted in a multidisciplinary tertiary ICU in the Eastern Cape and enrolled critically ill patients who required organ support and had an ICU stay for at least 48 hours. Patients were assessed at 6 weeks and 6 months post hospital discharge. The Lawton's Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) score and employment/educational status were determined. The Rand Short Form 36 HRQOL questionnaire's physical and mental component scores (PCS and MCS) were used to determine quality of life at baseline and study visits. RESULTS : A total of 107 patients with a median age of 42, half of whom had COVID-19, completed the 6-month follow-up. At the 6-month follow-up, 17.5% of previously non-frail patients were still unable to complete at least two IADLs, and 24.3% one IADL. Overall, 34% had not returned to their life roles of home making, studying or remunerative work due to ill-health. At 6 months, 58.9% and 62.6% had significantly lower mean PCS and MCS scores, respectively. Overall, 62.6 % of survivors had either a significantly lower PCS and/or MCS at 6 months. CONCLUSION : This relatively young cohort of ICU survivors, with minimal previous comorbidities, demonstrated a high incidence of significantly lower HRQOL scores at the 6-month follow-up, affecting 6 out of every 10 patients. The proportion of patients who were unable to complete all IADLs at follow-up, explains the reported changes in relation to life roles, including remunerative employment. These findings have implications for the introduction or reengineering of rehabilitation resources and ICU follow-up services.
Point process models for predicting the spatial distribution of rhino poaching activity in the Kruger National Park
Kirkland, Lisa-Ann; Fabris-Rotelli, Inger Nicolette; De Villiers, Johan Pieter (South African Statistical Association, 2025-09)
Rhino poaching in South Africa continues to threaten the existence of African rhino species. Since poachers often attack wildlife parks frequently, predictive models are essential for exploiting the availability of data to gain information about the poachers. Although a number of statistical methods have been applied to poaching prediction, they either do not take the spatial variation of observations into account, require additional observational data, depend on known priors, or result in models that are overfitted and challenging to interpret. This paper proposes the use of point process models to predict the spatial distribution of poaching activity within a wildlife park. Descriptive statistics of poaching spatial point patterns have been considered, as well as univariate non-parametric kernel density estimation. However, the focus of this work is on fitting multivariate parametric point process models, using a number of environmental factors. Since real-world poaching data could not be obtained for this work, due to the sensitivity of the data, a simulation study is performed, where numerous point patterns are generated from the same underlying point process. The method can be used when no data is available, and is based on environmental preferences of poachers, which can be obtained through expert knowledge, literature reviews, or by making intelligent assumptions. The results indicate that the point process models are able to predict the initial probabilities well, for most data generating processes. Point process models thus appear to be a promising method for predicting the spatial distribution of poaching activity.
A roadmap for kidney health for South Africa in the context of universal health coverage
Wearne, N.; Chothia, Y.; Bisiwe, F.; Cullis, B.; Freercks, R.; Rekhviashvili, V.; Wadee, S.; Davies, M.; Diana, N.; McCulloch, M.; Paget, G.; Van Hougenhouck-Tulleken, W.G.; Barday, Z.; Jacobs, L.; Thomson, D.; Muranda, A.Z. (Albert) (South african Medical Association, 2025-10)
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in South Africa (SA) is a growing public health crisis, driven by the intersecting burdens of HIV, tuberculosis, hypertension, diabetes and obesity. In Black African populations, high-risk apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) variants add a genetic predisposition to non-diabetic kidney diseases, compounding risk. Global recognition of CKD has recently advanced, marked by the 2025 World Health Organization (WHO) non-communicable disease resolution, which urges the integration of kidney care into national health strategies. This resolution emphasises prevention, early detection and treatment, while strengthening primary healthcare and addressing social determinants of health, particularly in low-income countries. However, in SA, domestic capacity has not kept pace. Public-sector dialysis slots have remained static since 1994, while the private sector has expanded rapidly, deepening inequities by province and income. In the public sector, dialysis is rationed to patients eligible for transplantation, yet transplant access is limited by organ shortages, logistical barriers and variable provincial resources. Expanding deceased donation and implementing kidney paired donation (KPD) programmes are essential to increase transplant opportunities, particularly for incompatible donor- recipient pairs, and to improve equity in access. Children and adolescents face additional barriers, including limited age-specific pathways and the absence of structured transition to adult care. Workforce shortages, inadequate regulatory oversight, inconsistent procurement processes and incomplete registry reporting undermine service quality, limit expansion and perpetuate inequities in access. Without urgent reform, CKD will continue to drive preventable morbidity, premature mortality and escalating costs. Scaling equitable dialysis and transplantation services, integrating KPD and investing in prevention, workforce and infrastructure are critical to reversing current trends and fulfilling the WHO's call for action.