In the context of sustaining innovation, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) strive to enhance their market position through product improvements. However, globalization and rapid technological advancements pose significant challenges, urging SMEs to integrate innovative capabilities into their business models. Effective SME business model innovation, fueled by customer insights, process efficiency, and technology application, can promote development and unlock additional value-creation resources. Despite this, SMEs encounter difficulties in capitalizing on disruptive innovation due to the competitive, technology-driven, and volatile global market. This study aimed to define a comprehensive conceptual model of disruptive innovation specifically tailored for SMEs. Through an automated content analysis of relevant literature, 13 themes and 82 concepts were identified and categorized into four strategic alignment domains. These domains provide a framework for operationalizing the findings and constructing a conceptual model of disruptive innovation. Utilizing this conceptual model as a checklist can assist SMEs in turning disruption into opportunity, thereby supporting their adaptation and growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Purpose – Through an evaluation of the information technology (IT) adoption and diffusion models and the free and/or open source policy of the South African Government, the underlying assumption is that the developmental divide between those with and those without access to technology is purely technical. This paper aims to illustrate that if Free and/or Open Source Software is to be used as a building block to bridge the “digital divide” a more social and environmental perspective, which embraces the philosophy behind the software, needs to complement the technical perspective. The human environmental model is presented as a useful alternative which, if embraced, can inform more holistic information and communication technology (ICT) policies. Design/methodology/approach – Through a review of diffusion of innovations models an alternative diffusion framework is described and applied to an interpretive open source case study in South Africa. Findings – Contemporary diffusion and innovation models are narrowly focused on IT as a purely technological linear phenomenon. This perspective also underlies many ICT policies. A more socio-technical adoption model can assist in providing a more holistic approach to ICT policy development. Originality/value – The application of a new innovation model, the human environmental model, to ICT policy provides a holistic framework in which the complexity of the innovation process can be reflected in policy. Such an approach to ICT policy formulation will assist with broadening the perspective of policy makers from IT as a technical solution to IT as part of a socio-technical solution and recognise the duality of the innovation process.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation process of an open source enterprise management system in the South African public sector. Change management was observed in relation to challenges and opportunities in the alignment of the internal organisational changes to the imperatives of the national Free and Open Source Software policy.Design/methodology/approach: An interpretive case study, using interviews, observation and document review was used.Findings: Alignment of the organisational environment, change management strategies and technology is required to address many of the “common” change management challenges. However, ICT policies are formed and adopted in a highly complex environment and have embedded property and power relations which impact the nature and direction of their implementation. In this case, one of the main challenges arose from the alignment of internal organisational change to a national policy, which did not seem to have the full support of the agency which was tasked with implementing it.Originality/value: Many of the challenges faced by the public sector department are commonly described in change management literature, such as inadequate consideration for the social context in which the change was to take place. What emerges from this paper is a caution that there is not a single voice within government and that in a multi‐levelled and multi‐sectoral institution, many different rationalities exist. The internal alignment of the divergent voices within government would be a prerequisite for the organisational environment, change management strategies and technology to be aligned.