Evaluating the Effect of Artificial Intelligence Coaching and Mentoring on Entrepreneurial Agency in Small and Medium Enterprises. Stellenbosch Business School, REC Project ID 38129. Researcher: Bonus Francois Steenkamp. Supervisor: Prof. Nicky Terblanche.
You are invited to participate in this research study because you own or manage a small business in South Africa and are part of the network of TrioPlus or of the researcher. More information about the research is explained below. Participation is voluntary, and you are under no obligation to take part.
This study has been approved by the Stellenbosch University Research Ethics Committee (Project ID#: 38129) and will be conducted according to national and international ethical principles.
Purpose and benefits of the study
The study is testing two ways an artificial intelligence chat assistant can support small business owners over four weeks. We want to find out which kind of support helps business owners more, and how. If you take part, you get four weeks of free access to one of the two assistants.
Procedures
Should you volunteer to participate in this study, we would request the following from you:
You will first answer a short online questionnaire about yourself, your business, how confident and motivated you feel, and your business goals. You will then receive the address of the study page in a text message. When you open the address in your phone's browser and enter your mobile number, you meet your assistant, which is randomly chosen for you; you will not be told which of the two assistants you have. You are welcome to chat with it whenever suits you over the next four weeks, and you will receive three short text message reminders a week. At the end of the four weeks, we will ask you to answer the same questionnaire again. A small number of participants will afterwards be invited to a separate recorded video call about their experience; that step is optional and will be asked for separately.
Each questionnaire takes about ten minutes. How much you chat with the assistant is up to you. Everything takes place online on your own phone; there is no travel. Your questionnaire answers are recorded on the University's survey platform and your conversation is recorded in the assistant.
Potential risks and discomforts
We do not expect any harm or discomfort. Some people find answering questions about themselves and their business slightly tiring; you may skip any question. The assistant is not a substitute for professional financial, legal, tax or medical advice.
Confidentiality and protection of participants
Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission. Your mobile number is the only detail used to identify you in the study: it opens your conversation and matches your two questionnaires. Your conversations are stored under a scrambled version of your number, so the transcripts used for analysis carry no number and no name. This signed form is kept by the researcher on the University's secure storage (OneDrive), separately from your answers, and only the researcher and the supervisor have access to the research data.
To generate the assistant's replies, the text of your messages is processed by Anthropic, a company in the United States. Your number and name are never included in what is sent, and your messages are not used to train their systems. By signing this form you agree to this processing. TrioPlus does not see your answers or your conversations.
I understand that the information collected will be anonymised and possibly used in future ethically approved research studies.
Payment for participation
You will not be paid for taking part. Access to the assistant for four weeks is free. You use your own phone and mobile data.
The researcher receives no payment for any service associated with this research.
Withdrawal
You may withdraw at any time without consequences of any kind, and without any effect on your relationship with TrioPlus. You may also refuse to answer any questions you do not want to answer and still continue to take part in the study. To withdraw, contact the researcher, and all your information will be removed immediately.
Questions about research
If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact the researcher, Bonus Steenkamp, on +27 60 990 1329 or bonus.steenkamp@procursos.org, and/or the supervisor, Professor Nicky Terblanche, at nickyt@stellenboschbusiness.ac.za.
Permission for sharing samples and/or information with other investigators:
For each statement, please choose YES or NO by inserting your initials in the relevant box)
Rights of research participant
In accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), you have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal information. This includes the right to access the information you have provided and to request corrections if any of it is inaccurate or incomplete.
If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints regarding your rights as a research participant, or if you wish to exercise your rights under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), please contact the Research Ethics Committee at [applyethics@sun.ac.za; 021 808 9183].