Characteristics and strategy of SMEs in Gauteng and their resilience in response to crises

Abstract

The SME sector in Gauteng is well known for its vibrant entrepreneurial culture. For the longest of time, SMEs in the Gauteng Province have been at the centre of SME growth in South Africa. However, since the first case of the coronavirus in the country close to three years ago, the sector has faced a myriad of challenges as a result of the COVID-19 national lockdown. In addition to that, just as things were starting to pick up with regard to business operations the sector was confronted with yet another crisis, only this time the crisis was in the form of load shedding.

The main research objective for this study was to examine the impact of SME firm characteristics and SME firm strategy in response to crises on SME resilience in the Gauteng Province. A quantitative research approach was adopted for the purpose of this study. The total number of SME Owner-Managers that participated in this study were 71. The main findings of this study indicated that the impact of SME firm characteristics in response to crises on SME resilience in the Gauteng Province was statistically non-significant however, the impact of SME firm strategy in response to crises on SME resilience in the Gauteng Province was statistically significant