3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions

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    Beyond the edge: rethinking a new multi-functional commercial typology along Lilongwe River : Malawi to empower small scale businesses
    (2020) Chokhotho, Thembani Benjamin
    This research report will address the issue of empowerment through reconfiguring an existing organic informal market typology by expanding its functions to allow for learning and skills development. In many African countries, the typical response for people driven informal (self-help) markets has been eviction, demolition, and relocation to other supposedly modern facilities. However, many informal markets are situated within an advantageous geographical location and have a self-organized operational logic that guides their continued existence despite many challenges. Therefore, using the case of Tsoka and Lizulu Market in Lilongwe, Malawi, this study will attempt to appropriate the logic that makes such markets thrive and use that to develop a design approach that moves away from the typical approaches. The research will analyze the commodity value chains experienced by small scale traders in Malawi, Lilongwe, the tsoka & Lizulu market through interviews, mapping as well as literature and document reviews. It is expected that this study will generate a design intervention that will facilitate the continuation and improvement of existing trading activities and also introduce new functions that are aimed at enhancing the growth potential of micro-scale businesses as well as small scale farmers.
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    The effects of retailer innovation on customer retention in small independent retailers
    (2019) Zulu, Valencia Melissa
    The South African government (Department of Trade and Industry) classifies small independent retailers as part of small, medium, and micro enterprises, making these retailers a significant and critical industry in the South African economy. However, there have been numerous challenges that influence the high failure rate of small independent retailers. The lack of innovation is one of the biggest challenges. The skill and capability of a retailer to innovate has become an important differentiating factor and one of the primary means of enhancing a competitive advantage. While scholars have cited that small businesses that innovate increase their chances of survival, and enriched performance, there is a lack of studies on the potential of innovation as a consumer retention strategy within the small retailing context. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of retailer innovation on consumer retention in small independent retailers in the township economy. Following a quantitative approach, the data was collected conveniently from 500 consumers. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used as the statistical technique to analyse the data and test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that retailer innovation had a non-significant direct relationship with consumer retention. However, findings identified consumer participation, consumer advocacy, consumer experience, and consumer satisfaction as the mediators that enable the relationship. These results provide a valuable contribution to current literature by generating new knowledge for scholars in the field of township economy, consumer behaviour, retail marketing and small businesses innovation. Furthermore, this study provides valuable information to policy makers, entrepreneurs, and the private sector, particularly those with interests in the revitalisation of the township economy.
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    A critical analysis of the relevance of the South African research and development tax incentive to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups  
    (2019) Tau, Thato
    Industries, companies, and economies; all are changing and staying still is not an option. This highlights the importance of innovation, and how it can no longer be dismissed as just another business buzzword. In the same vein, the important role that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-up companies play in driving innovation, job creation, economic growth, and social values cannot be ignored. One way in which governments can better nurture and support the participation of SMEs and start-ups in the promotion of innovation, thereby driving productivity, growth and job creation, is through research and development (R&D) tax incentives. There are a variety of ways in which the design of R&D tax incentives can be shaped. There is also scope to sharpen its focus by closer targeting of organisations identified as vital for society but have special needs for support. For instance, many countries who offer an R&D tax incentive either explicitly or implicitly target SMEs and start-ups who are often loss-making and for whom some incentives can be a highly-valued source of finance. This research report explores whether the South African R&D tax incentive benefits SMEs and start-up companies by comparing various design features of the South African R&D tax incentive against some other countries’ R&D tax incentives. The main findings show that although the Department of Science and Technology has gone some way to fixing the issues previously faced by the R&D tax incentive programme, there is still more that can and should be done to ensure that the incentive better meets the interests of SMEs and start-ups.  
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    Examination of the relationship between entrepreneurial capital and the profitability of smallholder farmers in Analamanga’s rural areas
    (2019) Ratsimanetrimanana, Radomalala
    Apprehending the role of entrepreneurship in economic success and poverty eradication is a fascinating topic, at the centre of scholars’ cares when inquiring into the field of new venture creation. This one-of-a-kind, ground-breaking study sought out to examine the nature of the relationship between entrepreneurial capital (entrepreneurial competence x entrepreneurial commitment) and the profitability of smallholder farmers in Analamanga’s rural areas. The use of a non-experimental cross-sectional survey was deemed to be most suitable for the purpose of the research. A cluster sampling method with a quota approach was adopted to determine the sample size and select the survey participants. The survey participants were questioned by a team of trained interviewers, equipped with a structured questionnaire, which served as a way to generate data that would be processed. Simple and multiple linear regression were the major statistical tests performed to analyse and interpret the data. The ensuing observations revealed a partially significant relationship between entrepreneurial competence and the profitability of smallholder farmers in Analamanga’s rural areas. A similar result was observed when testing the correlation between entrepreneurial commitment and profitability. Finally, the multiplicative interaction between entrepreneurial competence and entrepreneurial commitment - engendering the entrepreneurial capital paradigm - was proven to feature a significantly positive relationship with the dependent variable i.e. profitability. Considering the alarming magnitude of rural poverty in Madagascar, the outcomes of the study could function as the foundation of research-based policies and services delivered to smallholder farmers in the central region of the island to authentically satisfy their needs as a means to ensure their economic success and alleviate rural poverty in the country.
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    Correlates of organisational culture, employee creativity, and innovation towards explaining entrepreneurial banks
    (2018) Gcabashe, Skhumbuzo
    The South African commercial banks have undergone immense regulatory and technological changes post-1994, to such an extent that these changes have increased competition among the big players in South Africa, which have forced financial innovations, and other strategies to reduce costs and propel intrapreneurship. In this research, the relationships between organisational culture and entrepreneurial orientation, as well as human resource management and entrepreneurial orientation were explored. Furthermore, the relationship between employee creativity and innovation, were investigated using the perceptions of employees at specific banks selected for the study. Entrepreneurial orientation was applied using its three dimensions, innovation, risk-taking and pro-activeness. The banks selected for convenient sampling were: FNB, ABSA, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Investec, and RMB. A structured online survey was used to examine the constructs: organisational culture, employee creativity, human resource management, innovation, and entrepreneurial orientation. A link was sent to the employees in the selected banks and once all responses were received, the data was cleaned and the relevant statistical tests were applied. The results showed an inter-relationship between the constructs. It was determined that a significant relationship existed between organisational culture and entrepreneurial orientation, human resource management and entrepreneurial orientation, as well as employee creativity and innovation. The study concluded by noting the importance of leaders in organisations in driving a culture of inclusion where employees were given resources to innovate, and were motivated and encouraged to be entrepreneurial.
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    Perceptions of informal traders towards taxation in Buffalo City Municipality
    (2018) Mungwana-Zake, Eva Nabukalu
    The pressure on South Africa’s tax revenue (income tax in particular) has become evident in recent years. The Davis Tax Committee and National Treasury have echoed the urgency of broadening the tax base by minimizing revenue leakages and maximizing compliance to tax legislation. Compared to industrialized and developing countries, the informal sector in South Africa remains an unexplored source of tax revenue. This research investigates the tax perceptions of informal traders to understand their attitude towards tax compliance. Personal, semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted with ten informal traders in Buffalo City Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. The respondents generally displayed a positive willingness to comply with tax; issues of fairness and legitimacy as they pertain to the government, tax authority and tax system were strong anchors of tax compliance. A slightly defiant attitude towards the elements of the tax system was observed. Therefore, an inclusive approach to remedy non-compliance is recommended to address such variations in compliance behaviour.
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    Comparative study of EO in incubated and no-incubated SMME's in South Africa
    (2018) Marokoana, Lerato
    South Africa is a standout amongst the world with regards to inequality. Small Medium and Micro-Sized Enterprises (SMMEs) are aimed at alleviating the inequality problem through job creation. Proactive individuals such as the unemployed, look for entrepreneurial opportunities as a means of generating income. SMME’s have gained tremendous attention since the dawn of democracy for a number of reasons. The underlying reason is that small businesses are a big driver for any economy. However, their failure rates are very high. It is thus necessary for government and the private sector to work together to ensure the success of start-ups. Incubations globally have been brought into the picture to remedy the appalling failure rates of these enterprises. Business incubators (BI) have succeeded in some part to remedy the failures of these SMME’s by providing a tailored and generic solutions. Studies on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) previously focused on performance. However previous work has failed to address the extent in which incubators affect the (EO) of a small business in relation to growth. The challenges faced in South Africa as a result of these failing SMME’s could be remedied by improving the level of entrepreneurship in the country, the reason the topic justifies research in the first place. A qualitative method was adopted to investigate whether EO and its dimensions can be analysed as a performance variable between incubated and non-incubated companies. 180 respondents completed they questionnaire. The study subsequently inferred that higher levels Pro-activeness in a non-incubated firm leads to growth while higher Risk-taking leads to a decline and Innovativeness had no impact on business growth in non-incubated businesses. Business incubators in South Africa play more of a sustainability role than a growth role for SMME’s.
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    The political economy of government spending on small business and entrepreneurship in South Africa
    (2018) Hassen, Ebrahim-Khalil Goolam Mohamed
    Can a highly unequal country – in this case, South Africa – resolve its distributional challenges through the proliferation of small businesses? This study discusses this question through the lens of a transversal budget analysis of government spending on small business and entrepreneurship. The National Development Plan (NDP) answers this question affirmatively arguing that small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) will contribute ninety (90) percent of all new jobs by 2030. This report argues that such an affirmative answer is questionable. This questioning of the NDP assumptions is derived from a method of doing transversal budget analysis and applies it to small business and entrepreneurship in South Africa. The report argues that South African government efforts to support small business can be described as the actions of a “reluctant tactical state”. The paper identifies four rationales in governments attempts to support small business. These are (a) atomistic (b) enabling (c) relational and (d) holistic. In terms of recommendations, the paper argues that four possible pathways exist and argues for a pathway based on escaping current constraints. The paper motivates for a pathway called ‘escape’ which tackles distributional questions alongside market-based reforms. The value of the paper also derives from a new methodology of transversal budget analysis using methods from grounded theory and from critical realist inspired methodologies of real evaluation.
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    Entrepreneurial learning and microenterprise economic sustainability: a case of women with disabilities in Uganda
    (2018) Mulira, Fiona
    The critical role of entrepreneurial learning in sustainable development has been discussed extensively in recent literature. However, little is known about the effect(s) of entrepreneurial learning on economic sustainability of microenterprises. This research seeks to answer the question of “How entrepreneurial learning facilitates the economic sustainability of microenterprises?” The study draws from social learning theory and intersectionality studies to contribute towards understanding the complexity of entrepreneurial learning and economic sustainability, focusing in particular on women with disabilities. The study contributes to literature on entrepreneurial learning by examining the rarely-researched social conditions of learning characteristic of entrepreneurial environments in emerging economies. Furthermore, unlike previous studies that adopted either a gender-or disability-only approach in explaining the entrepreneurial experiences of women with disabilities, this study considers the combined influence of gender and disability as interlocking social identities. A qualitative case study approach based on four mini-cases was adopted. These mini-cases included 36 semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs with disabilities operating established microenterprises in Uganda. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with seven key informants from two national disability associations in Uganda. These interviews acted as a pilot to obtain advice on how to conduct research in a sensitive and appropriate manner that would not further marginalise women with disabilities. Data from both the key informants and these women were analysed using thematic content analysis. Findings indicate that the intersecting social identities of gender and disability of women entrepreneurs with disabilities have both favourable and unfavourable outcomes for their entrepreneurial learning and economic sustainability. These consequences have a lasting and varying impact on these women’s actions, affecting their tendencies to adapt and ingeniously imitate entrepreneurial behaviours in uncertain and resource-constrained learning environments. Furthermore, for this group, learning influences economic sustainability through the acquisition of entrepreneurial capabilities that nurture ingenious imitation practices such as self-determination, self-restraint, and social embeddedness. By contrast, the capabilities emphasised in social learning theory literature are not generally rooted in individuals’ abilities to acclimatise and overcome their limitations, and only emerge from social interactions under stable learning conditions. Results also suggest that the socio-economic context influences how economic sustainability of an enterprise is conceptualised. Women with disabilities operating microenterprises in resource-constrained contexts perceive economic sustainability as a mutually-inclusive triadic relationship between enterprise growth, sufficient livelihood, and empowerment. The key contribution of this study is that the researcher introduces the metaphor “adaptive observational learning” to explain a new form of entrepreneurial learning that occurs in social settings, particularly for women with disabilities. It involves individuals acquiring new knowledge by observing, adapting, creatively imitating, and replicating the actions of others in a way that is well suited to their abilities, and enables them to overcome their impairment limitations. The study further questions the narrow conceptions of describing economic sustainability solely as financial viability and growth; and argues for the need to include social components when classifying economically sustainable enterprises in impoverished contexts.
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    Measuring the adoption of ICT levels and the perceived impact on performance within the SME manufacturing sector in South Africa
    (2014-08-05) Motsoeneng, Lerato
    The establishment and growth of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in most economies have been attributed with a corresponding need and desire for these SMEs as catalysts for economic growth, unemployment reduction, etc. Various factors are also impacting on how SMEs can become competitive and one of these enablers is the adoption of ICT by SMEs to improve performance. The purpose of this research was to establish the perceived relationship between the adoption by SMEs of Information Communication Technology (ICT) usage in the manufacturing sector in South Africa and its perceived impact on firm performance. The intended objective was to assess whether the perception of ICT adoption usage within SME’s operating within a manufacturing sector will either have a positive or negative performance outcome. The research methodology adopted was a quantitative approach which was guided by a positivist paradigm. The population targeted were SMEs in the manufacturing sector in South Africa but deliberately excluded SME manufacturers involved in the production of computers, electronics, etc. A combination of an online survey and paper questionnaire was utilised to gather data. The adoption of ICT and the perceived impact on performance within SMEs in manufacturing in South Africa revealed some findings consistent with existing literature in terms of the overall accepted perception that ICT adoption has a perceived positive impact on firm performance, including but also not limited to market share, products and service innovation, etc. as measured in the research. A deeper analysis is required to understand why the respondents in the research did not overwhelmingly state that ICT adoption has a perceived positive impact on performance, market share, product and service innovation etc.
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