Strategic Management in Small Businesses in South Africa

Date
2012-10-08
Authors
Rappard, Gregory
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Abstract
Small businesses are essential to the South African economy contributing in 2005 approximately 40% to the gross domestic product (GDP). With failure rates of small businesses approaching 80%, the South African government is focused on supporting and assisting small businesses in order to help them thrive. This research is focused on determining whether small businesses conduct formal strategic management with the aid of instruments and taking the longterm into consideration. A review of literature indicates that small businesses that conduct strategic management as defined show improved performance. A strategic management matrix was developed that aided in gathering data from interviews with owner-managers. The responses were analysed according to the data analysis spiral. The overall conclusion is that small businesses conduct informal strategic management, without the use of strategic management instruments and only take the short-term into account. For small businesses to survive and thrive in the world of today and tomorrow, the owner-managers of these businesses need to develop strategic awareness as a capability. Without achieving strategic awareness, small businesses are likely to become part of the 80% failure statistic.
Description
MBA thesis - WBS
Keywords
Small businesses, Strategic management
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