Sara Grobbelaar

THE DYNAMICS OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION: A SYSTEM DYNAMICS ANALYSIS OF PATHWAYS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF VALUE CHAINS IN THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN CUSTOMS UNION

Despite progress towards improved cooperation within the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), it can be argued that real economic integration is still lacking. Cross-border value chain (VC) development has been proposed as a potential enabler of regional economic integration. This article draws on a systems thinking process to explore the dynamic process of regional economic integration and value chain development. Through an inductive approach, we consider pathways for value chain development using the agro-processing and automotive sectors within SACU as case studies. The outcome of the dynamic hypothesis is to inform a framework for strategic decision-making to support policy action towards developing cross-border value chains in SACU.

University-driven inclusive innovations in the Western Cape of South Africa: Towards a research framework of innovation regimes

Inclusive innovation refers to the improvement of living conditions and creation of employment opportunities for the poor through the development or co-creation of new products, services, processes and business models aimed at resource poor communities. Based on an empirical study of 15 university-led inclusive innovation projects in the Western Cape Province in South Africa, using an inductive approach we apply an analytical framework that serves two purposes (1) to describe our empirical findings and (2) to develop a broader research agenda that identifies a number of key research questions on the role of inclusive innovation projects in developing countries, and ways of addressing those questions in future studies. The empirical findings reveal a wide variety of university departments and individual staff members engaging with low-income user groups or entrepreneurs to (co-)create, launch or operate inclusive innovations. Our analysis shows that unravelling the various structural components and functions can provide interesting new insights into the workings of inclusive innovation systems. The findings of our study illustrate the complexity of the subject matter and the urgent need for a ‘system of innovation components’ approach to enhance our understanding of inclusive innovation projects and to develop appropriate methodologies for measuring their impacts.

Developing a competitive concentrating solar power industry in South Africa: Current gaps and recommended next steps

The paper provides an overview of the attractiveness of the global concentrating solar power (CSP) industry, analyses South Africas current capabilities in developing a CSP manufacturing capacity, and then makes recommendations regarding policy measures and an associated industry roadmap for developing a competitive CSP industry in South Africa. The analyses highlight that cost reduction is currently the most important stumbling block for the large-scale rollout of CSP. From a supply, or technology-push, perspective, changes such as cost-effective production methods, improved products through directed research and development, and reductions in operating and installation costs could be implemented. From a demand, or technology-pull, perspective, more ambitious targets need to be incorporated into the current South African policies with reliable support schemes to ensure long-term investment security for CSP systems. Recommendations are made accordingly. Specifically, South Africa should continue to promote strategic collaborations with potential CSP investors to access funding possibilities for projects.

University-supported inclusive innovation platform: the case of University of Fort Hare

ABSTRACT A common question that prompts universities to reconsider their relationships and role in sustainable development in their immediate context is: How has the university over the years contributed to inclusive development of surrounding communities? Grounded in the innovation systems framework, the literature of engaged scholarship, innovation for inclusive development, and innovation platforms, the authors propose a framework for the development of a University-coordinated Inclusive Innovation Platform. The University of Fort Hare was used as a case study to reflect on what has been done and the processes and principles that have been followed during the coordination of the formation and functioning of such a platform. This paper is of interest to a wide audience as it may assist in supporting more proof-of-concept inclusive innovation projects and programmes to stimulate and support inclusive development in communities.

EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN PPM IMPLEMENTATION AND COMPANY SUCCESS IN ACHIEVING STRATEGIC GOALS: AN EMPIRICAL FRAMEWORK

Organisations are constantly under pressure to innovate and grow by successfully executing their business strategies. The ever-increasing rate of change in technology has implications for product lifecycles, cost pressures, expectations of higher quality, and a larger variety of products and services. These trends result in mounting pressures and a huge increase in complexity, as the drivers of technology must be managed to achieve a competitive advantage. Project portfolio management (PPM) is a solution for unravelling the complexities of multi-projects. In theory, PPM assists an organisation to achieve this competitive advantage through implementing its business strategy, balancing its portfolios, maximising value, and ensuring resource adequacy. There is, however, a lack of empirical evidence on the use and success of PPM approaches in South Africa. This article presents a framework that lays the foundation of an empirical study that will aim to explore the link between PPM implementation and company success in achieving strategic objectives. We base our framework on the factors of good practice in PPM, which include 1) single-project-level characteristics and activities; 2) multi-project- level characteristics and activities; 3) the link between projects and strategy process; and 4) availability and quality of project information.

From enterprise development to inclusive innovation – A systemic instruments framework for regional innovation support

Although the role and importance of innovation support in South Africa is a well-recognised concept on the national level, provincial governments have only recently started to debate, investigate and explore instruments through which innovation can be leveraged and supported regionally. Extant theory and practice is vague on providing support on how to design precise solutions. In this paper we consider the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism (WCDEDAT) in South Africa. The goal of the paper is to design and populate a policy-learning framework on the provincial government level. We explore the key functions of the provincial government towards supporting innovation and propose a policy-learning framework extensively exploring possible systems instrument goals and actual instruments/ mechanisms towards performing such functions. We argue that this policy-learning framework could be useful to a wider audience and that it can also serve as a guide for regions at a similar level of development.

The process of intrafirm technology transfer : a case study of a marine mining company

Technology transfer is an important function in the technology development cycle, and organisations can benefit extensively if a competent technology strategy is developed and implemented. The objective of this paper is to examine the approaches, processes, mechanism, barriers, and other aspects of intra-firm technology between two subsidiaries of a marine mining company. Subsidiary A of the marine mining company is primarily reliant on research and development as a key driver of technology development and continuous business improvement; an optimal technology transfer process is thus crucial. Using a case study methodology, the analysis sheds light on the current process to transfer technology, and major barriers to and elements of success.

Developing a local innovation ecosystem through a university coordinated innovation platform: The University of Fort Hare

ABSTRACT This article builds on the concept of the ‘Development University’ and draws on findings from previous studies by the author on the transformation pathway and a university-coordinated intermediary platform at the University of Fort Hare. The article places the university at the centre of the development of an innovation ecosystem to facilitate the development of ecosystem platform architectures for engaged scholarship projects and their implementation for the benefit of local communities. The platform ecosystem design framework derived in this article approaches the analysis from three levels: (1) Contextual considerations and design requirements through a development pathway framework; (2) distinguishing between top-down creation of institutional mechanisms and the emergence of bottom-up engaged scholarship activities; and (3) some reflection on the governance and orchestration of the intermediary platform architectural design considerations.

Systemic policy instruments for inclusive innovation systems: Case study of a maternal mHealth project in South Africa

Innovation for inclusive development refers to the development of products and services for and/or by marginalized communities with the aim of improved economic and social welfare. Innovation systems present a framework for analyzing actors, institutions, interlinkages and societal subsystems that contribute to the emergence of innovation for inclusive development. However, the innovation system framework requires a re-orientation as an analytical tool to 1) support a systematic process towards identifying barriers to inclusiveness 2) systematically define the root cause of systemic problems or barriers for innovation for inclusive development, and finally, 3) to provide a framework against which to formulate systemic policy interventions that systematically enhance the environment for innovation for inclusive development. The main contribution of this article is to deduce a systemic policy intervention framework and roadmap towards developing more inclusive innovation systems. We explore policy interventions to position innovation systems more inclusively by considering a case study of a large-scale maternal mHealth project (MomConnect) in South Africa. The article concludes that the use of a systemic policy intervention framework, as derived in this paper, may greatly enhance the design of large-scale projects and innovation systems towards improved inclusivity.

Value co-creation in entrepreneurial ecosystems: Learnings from a Norwegian perspective

Entrepreneurship has been linked with improved economic stability and the economic turnaround of countries. Creating and enabling environments that spur, cultivate and sustain entrepreneurs is of paramount importance. The purpose of this paper is to relate how entrepreneurial firms utilise external actors to create value in their companies in an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Of particular importance is how an intermediary organisation can foster value co-creation in an entrepreneurial ecosystem. An exploratory case study was undertaken on the Oslo Cancer Cluster incubator in Norway by analysing the interaction between the firms and the incubator. The study finds that proactive intermediaries play a crucial role in the ecosystem. The prominent intermediary roles mutate according to the industry and the stage of growth of the entrepreneurial firm. Furthermore effective value co-creation is enforced in the ecosystems if the entrepreneurial firms are open to both inflows and outflows of knowledge.