The Eastern Cape Province ICT sector

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CHAPTER 2 CONCEPTUAL AND OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS

 INTRODUCTION

Since the researcher was aware that an established body of knowledge supported the ICT phenomenon, including formulated definitions gleaned from existing literature, important concepts and operational definitions were identified. Goldkuhl (2004) does not refute the view of performing a ―provisional concept determination‖ before collecting empirical data, especially where theoretical definitions already exist. This process assists to focus the research questions and guide the data collection. Initially, the conceptual definitions are broadly defined in order to create space for further exploration and refinement with the purpose of accommodating evolving empirical and theoretical ideas.

ICT SECTOR

For the purpose of this study, the ICT sector definitions and classifications are those employed by Statistics South Africa (2013):
i. For the ICT sector, the production (goods and services) of a candidate industry must primarily be intended to fulfil or enable the function of information processing and communication by electronic means, including transmission and display.
ii. ICT products must primarily be intended to fulfil or enable the function of information processing and communication by electronic means, including transmission and display.
iii. For the ‘content and media’ sector, the production (goods and services) of a candidate industry must primarily be intended to inform, educate, and entertain human beings through mass communication media. These industries are engaged in the production, publishing, and / or the distribution of content (information, cultural, and entertainment products) in such a way that content corresponds with an organised message intended for human beings.
iv. ‘Content’ corresponds with an organised message intended for human beings published in mass communication media and related media activities.
The value of such a product to the consumer does not lie in its tangible qualities but in its information, educational, cultural, or entertainment content.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

ICT is a generic term used to express the convergence of telecommunications,computing, broadcasting, and communications. On its website, the World Bank defines
the acronym ICT as consisting of hardware, software, networks, and media. These elements are used to collect, store, process, transmit, and present information (voice,data, text, and images). According to the World Bank, ICT could be split into:
i. Information and Communication Infrastructure (ICI) that refers to physical telecommunications systems and networks (broadcast, cable, satellite, postal) and the services that utilise them (Internet, voice, mail, radio, and television); and
ii. Information Technology (IT) that refers to the hardware and software of information collection, storage, processing, and presentation.
The ICTs represent a cluster of associated technologies defined by their functional usage in information access and communication (Appendix M: MICTSETA SIC code
list):
i. Office, accounting, and computing machinery;
ii. radio, television, and communication equipment;
iii. miscellaneous ICT components and goods;
iv. leasing or rental services without operator;
v. professional, technical, and business services;
vi. telecommunications and broadcasting information supply services; and
vii. content and media (Statistics South Africa 2013).

SMALL, MICRO, AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMMES)

The definition of an SMME is broad and defined differently in certain regions of country and across sectors. For example, SMMEs for funding purposes is defined by the South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as small enterprises that employ less than fifty, but more than five workers and fewer than 100, which utilise capital assets (excluding fixed property) valued at less than two million rand. In addition, they shoul have an annual turnover of less than six million rand. The South African National Small Business Act of 1996 defines a ‗small business‘ as:A separate and distinct business entity, including co-operative enterprises and nongovernmental organisations, managed by one owner or more which,including its branches or subsidiaries if any, is predominantly carried on in any sector or subsector of the economy.The South African National Small Business Act (1996), however, also provides a broader definition of SMME that is premised on three categories and their variations according to particular industries with reference to the number of employees, turnover bands, and variations of segments in relation to the different sectors:
i. Survivalist enterprises (informal): Operating out of necessity to secure a minimal income with little capital and skills and with scant prospect for upward growth;
ii. Micro enterprises: A growth potential that involves the owner and family members or at the most four employees; and
iii. Formal small and medium-sized enterprises: These businesses have five to one hundred and one hundred to two hundred employees respectively; they are still owner-managed and fulfil all the trappings associated with formality. For the purpose of this research project, the definition adopted is the DTI classification.
The SMMEs concerned are those businesses operating in the formal sector in the ambit of the ICT sector with the core business of manufacturing, producing, or processing ICT related products or services (SAITIS 2000).

SMME WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR

Appropriate for this study, an SMME woman entrepreneur is an employer, owner, cooperative (registered owner), part owner (51 per cent shareholding or 25.1 per cent equity), or principal manager who is responsible for the expansion and strategic
development of the ICT enterprise. A woman entrepreneur, by definition, refers to a woman who exercises initiative in setting up a new ICT enterprise, as well as organises and competitively operates the ICT enterprise independently. This involves taking on risk, as well as an opportunity to make a profit. In general, an entrepreneur is defined as either ―a person who either creates new combinations of production factors; such as new methods of production,new products, new markets, finds new sources of supply, and new organisational forms or a person who is willing to take risks, or a person who by exploiting market opportunities, eliminates the disequilibrium between aggregate supply 0and aggregate demand, or as [sic] one who owns and operates a business‖ (Tyson, Petrin & Rodgers 1994:2-3).

ICT ENTERPRISE

For the purpose of this study, an ICT enterprise refers to an entity with the core business processes of production, manufacturing, and processing to generate ICT related products and / or services.
The Woman‘s ICT-based Enterprise for Development Project (2005), in defining an ICT enterprise, points out three main categories in qualifying their definition, namely:
i. ICT as an enterprise output refers to a business that produces hardware, software, and telecommunications products;
ii. ICT – as a primary, processing technology – refers to an enterprise that provides data entry services, ICT-based business services, software customisation, ICTbased distance learning, etc.; and
iii. Other ICT related support activities that refer to enterprises which provide computer training, consultancy, and other services.
It is important to clearly define the ICT enterprise right from the start, since understanding the context in which the ICT enterprises operate is critical for this study. The researcher‘s interest was to conduct an analysis that provided an in-depth understanding interpreted from the perspective of women on how those enterprises used ICT as a core product and / or service. This distinction is made because references in most literature focusing on women refer to ICTs as an enabling tool (Kelly 2013; Huyer & Sikoska & Women in ICT in South Africa 2006)

DECLARATION 
DEDICATION 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
ABSTRACT 
CHAPTER 1
OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION 
1.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.2.1 South Africa‘s ICT sector
1.2.2 The Eastern Cape Province ICT sector
1.3 AIM OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1.5 RESEARCH INTEREST
1.6 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS 
1.7 PHILOSOPHICAL POSITION
1.8 EPISTEMOLOGICAL ORIENTATION
1.9 METHODOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS
1.10 SUMMARY 
1.11 OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS 
CHAPTER 2 CONCEPTUAL AND OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS
2.1 INTRODUCTION 
2.2 ICT SECTOR 
2.3 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)
2.4 SMALL, MICRO, AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMMEs)
2.5 SMME WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR
2.6 ICT ENTERPRISE 
2.7 ENTREPRENEURSHIP
2.8 CYBERFEMINISM 
2.9 THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY SECTOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK (SAITIS)
2.10 THE EASTERN CAPE ICT STRATEGY 
2.11 THE ICT CHARTER 
2.12 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 3 LITERATURE REVIEW 
3.1 INTRODUCTION 
3.2 THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF THE STUDY
3.2.1 Cyberfeminism
3.2.2 Entrepreneurship
3.3 SKILLS SHORTAGE AND IMPACT ON THE ICT ENTERPRISE
3.4 SMME WOMEN-DRIVEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN THE ICT SECTOR 
3.4.1 Why women empowerment in the ICT sector is important
3.5 THE IMPACT OF CORRUPTION IN RELATION TO WOMEN-DRIVEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP 
3.6 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 INTRODUCTION 
4.2 RESEARCH AIMS 
4.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 
4.4 RESEARCH DESIGN
4.5 SECTION A: DATA COLLECTION
4.5.1 Selection of participants
4.5.2 Sampling procedures
4.6 SECTION B: DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES 
4.6.1 Interview guide
4.6.2 Interview Instruments
4.6.3 Procedure for conducting interviews
4.7 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 5 DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURE 
5.1 INTRODUCTION 
SECTION A:
5.2 PHASE ONE: THEORY GENERATION- EMPIRICALLY DRIVEN ANALYSIS (INDUCTIVE) – EXPLAINED 
5.2.1 Inductive coding
5.2.2 Conceptual refinement
5.2.3 Pattern coding
5.3 PHASE TWO: EXPLICIT GROUNDING – THEORY DRIVEN
ANALYSIS (DEDUCTIVE) – EXPLAINED
5.3.1 Explicit grounding
5.3.1.1 Theoretical matching
5.3.2 Explicit empirical validation
5.3.3 Evaluation of theoretical cohesion
5.3.4 Theory condensation
5.4 PHASE THREE: RESEARCH QUESTION, REFLECTION,
AND REVISION – EXPLAINED 
5.4.1 Research question
5.4.2 Reflection and revision
SECTION B:
5.5 APPLICATION: PHASE ONE – THEORY GENERATION
EMPIRICAL (INDUCTIVE)
5.5.1 Analysis of closed-ended questions and open-ended questions
5.5.2 Conceptual refinement
5.5.3 Patten coding
5.6 APPLICATION: PHASE TWO – EXPLICIT GROUNDING (DEDUCTIVE) 200
5.6.1 Theoretical matching
5.6.1.1 Cyberfeminism
5.6.1.2 Entrepreneurship
5.6.2 Document Analysis
5.6.2.1 The Eastern Cape ICT Strategy (2009-2014)
5.6.2.2 The ICT sector code for BEE score card point system
5.7 THEORY CONDENSATION 
5.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH DESIGN
5.9 CRITICAL EVALUATION OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 
5.10 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 6
RESEARCH FINDINGS, ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
6.1 INTRODUCTION 
6.2 ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS 
6.2.1 Recognising gender-based discrimination
6.2.2 Responding to gender-based discrimination
6.3 STUDY RECOMMENDATIONS
6.4 CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY TO THE FIELD OF
COMMUNICATION SCIENCE 
6.5 CONCLUSIONS

GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT
WOMEN-DRIVEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITHIN THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR: A GROUNDED ANALYSIS OF SMALL, MICRO, AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN THE EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE