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Firm dynamics in the adoption of artificial intelligence in plant maintenance practices within the manufacturing sector in Gauteng
Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613669855068160 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Makhubele, Lean |
| author_browse | Makhubele, Lean |
| author_facet | Makhubele, Lean |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2025 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/109129 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:39:49.883Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/109129 Firm dynamics in the adoption of artificial intelligence in plant maintenance practices within the manufacturing sector in Gauteng Makhubele, Lean ichelp@gibs.co.za Mataruse, Jed UCTD Artificial Intelligence Diffussion of innovation Dynamic capabilities theory Maintenance Manufacturing Gauteng Absorptive capacity Organisational agility Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2025. This study investigated the impact of firm dynamics on the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and its use in maintenance and aftermarket support in the manufacturing industry in Gauteng, South Africa. Based on conceptualizations of technology adoption and the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory and dynamic capabilities theory (DCT), this study aimed to understand how both technological perceptions and organizational capabilities influence AI adoption. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was utilized using structured questionnaires distributed to maintenance and engineering professionals across manufacturing firms. Quantitative data from 113 valid responses was gathered and analysed using SPSS 30, and structural equation modelling using partially least squares (PLS-SEM) was used to produce the statistical evaluation of the relationships among the constructs. The results of the study demonstrated that while technological perceptions such as relative advantage and complexity were influential to awareness of and attitudes towards AI, they were not significant predictors of actual adoption behaviour. Instead, organizational capabilities and environmental capabilities were identified as the strongest determinants of adoption. In particular, environmental capabilities and absorptive capacity had the most significant positive effect, followed by organizational agility and sustainable competitive advantage. These findings suggest that the driving factors of AI adoption in manufacturing contexts of emerging markets depend less on perceived usefulness and more on the firm's ability to learn how to readapt and reconfigure resources in dynamic environments. From a theoretical contribution, this study makes an integration of the DOI and DCT with a unified framework describing AI adoption as a capability rather than a purely perception/attributes process. Practical contributions show the potential in using PLS-SEM for statistical evaluations of complex organizational constructs in resource scarce contexts, and provides practical insights for managers and policymakers, that can be acted on to improve industrial competitiveness in maintaining organizations through the adoption of AI-enabled maintenance. The study suggests that proactive actions such as investment in digital skills development, knowledge-sharing partnerships and organizational agility, leveraging on absorptive capacity in ways that foster sustainable technology-adoption. Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) MBA Unrestricted Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) SDG-09: Industry, innovation and infrastructure 2026-03-23T09:08:33Z 2026-03-23T09:08:33Z 2026-05-05 2025 Mini Dissertation * A2025 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/109129 en © 2025 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | UCTD Artificial Intelligence Diffussion of innovation Dynamic capabilities theory Maintenance Manufacturing Gauteng Absorptive capacity Organisational agility Firm dynamics in the adoption of artificial intelligence in plant maintenance practices within the manufacturing sector in Gauteng |
| title | Firm dynamics in the adoption of artificial intelligence in plant maintenance practices within the manufacturing sector in Gauteng |
| title_full | Firm dynamics in the adoption of artificial intelligence in plant maintenance practices within the manufacturing sector in Gauteng |
| title_fullStr | Firm dynamics in the adoption of artificial intelligence in plant maintenance practices within the manufacturing sector in Gauteng |
| title_full_unstemmed | Firm dynamics in the adoption of artificial intelligence in plant maintenance practices within the manufacturing sector in Gauteng |
| title_short | Firm dynamics in the adoption of artificial intelligence in plant maintenance practices within the manufacturing sector in Gauteng |
| title_sort | firm dynamics in the adoption of artificial intelligence in plant maintenance practices within the manufacturing sector in gauteng |
| topic | UCTD Artificial Intelligence Diffussion of innovation Dynamic capabilities theory Maintenance Manufacturing Gauteng Absorptive capacity Organisational agility |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/109129 |