Title: The capacity of information technology for business model innovation and holistic value creation: a formulative study within the financial services sector in South Africa

Authors: Jacobus P. Kok; Walter Baets

Addresses: Yale School of Management, New Haven, CT 06511, USA ' Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract: This study explores the capacity of information technology for business model innovation and holistic value creation, focusing on the financial services sector of South Africa. Insights from the literature are used to build a preliminary conceptual model of the hypothesised disparity between business model innovation in a complexity vs. Newtonian paradigm. Distinct qualitative and quantitative research phases are conducted to test and validate the conceptual model. Firstly, semantic word clouds are used to synthesise interviews with top finance executives into a holistic conceptual model, combining theory and experience from practice. This model is used to develop a questionnaire to test middle manager respondents' views. Questionnaire data is then used to train an artificial neural network across different cluster segmentations. Findings indicate that the conceptual model appears valid, with the sample displaying the hypothesised disparity between mental modes. Demographic variables are shown to play a role in cluster formation.

Keywords: business models; business model innovation; social responsibility; value creation; information technology; financial services; complexity theory; artificial neural networks; ANNs; leadership; South Africa; conceptual modelling; semantic word clouds; mental modes; demographic variables.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCLM.2016.075032

International Journal of Complexity in Leadership and Management, 2016 Vol.3 No.1/2, pp.22 - 84

Received: 11 Feb 2015
Accepted: 02 Jun 2015

Published online: 01 Mar 2016 *

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