AcknowledgementsThis research project would not have been possible without the co-operation and support of the management and staff of the case study organisation, Kumba Resources, whose assistance is here gratefully acknowledged. This paper is based on a doctoral thesis submitted by the lead author, and his full thesis can be found at http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-07302006-065725/. An earlier version of this article was presented by the lead author as a paper at the British Academy of Management Conference, 2007, Coventry, England. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to report on research conducted into the use of stories and storytelling to share knowledge in a large mining company based in South Africa. The paper shows how the use of oral methods combined with other media can be used to support a number of different objectives and yield a wide variety of benefits.Design/methodology/approach -This paper presents the results of a case study which used a largely qualitative approach to gather data on a specific community of practice within the case study company.Findings -The research identified an innovative approach being used to combine a number of approaches to sharing knowledge through the use of stories and storytelling, in particular graphical representation of the stories and the use of graphics in conjunction with oral storytelling methods.Research limitations/implications -This research was conducted in only one company, in one country. Further research would be necessary to further test the effectiveness of the approaches identified in this case.Practical implications -The innovative approach of combining media and methods for sharing knowledge through stories and storytelling represent an opportunity for other organisations to use similar techniques in their efforts to improve knowledge sharing.Originality/value -This is the first time that a case study exploring the use of stories and storytelling in the South African mining industry has used empirical research findings to evaluate the use of stories and storytelling. Significant value may be gained by others seeking to understand how best to use stories and storytelling to share knowledge.

This article presents the findings of research that was conducted amongst Enterprise Architecture (EA) practitioners in the South African financial services sector. Due to the duration and cost implications of EA projects, factors that contribute to the success and failure of EA initiatives need to be investigated and identified. The research was largely based on a similar international study that was conducted by Schekkerman (2004b). A number of aspects of EA were investigated, including the place of EA in organisational and strategic governance, the EA architects, practices and processes, as well as the measurement of EA initiatives. Key findings from the study were that South African companies surveyed demonstrated lower levels of maturity in their approaches to the management of EA practices and processes; also identified were significant differences in the approach in South African respondents compared to international studies with respect to ownership of EA initiatives and the types of EA frameworks and modelling techniques in use.

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The authors embarked on this study to investigate factors likely to impact on the adoption of VoIP and other converged Internet protocol (IP) services in the SA market. The intention of this study was to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive understanding of the forces shaping the market, in order to help industry participants and new entrants position themselves correctly. This is achieved by evaluating technology adoption and diffusion models, in particular Moore’s chasm model, which highlights the reasons why so many new technologies fail to break into the mainstream. Empirical research of business customers and potential customers shows that the two key factors hindering the adoption of these technologies in SA are high bandwidth costs/high costs of services and quality of service issues. The research also shows that the trend towards IP is well established in SA, with many companies having already invested in, or planning to invest in, VoIP and converged IP services.