The effect of organizational ambidexterity on the sustainable performance of SMEs in the Limpopo province of South Africa (original) (raw)
Related papers
Critical success factors towards SMEs sustainability in Johannesburg municipality
2016
The essence of entrepreneurship spanning many decades, from, broadly put, seen as any attempt to create something new to current times including concepts of economic value creation and uncertainties. The urgency of small businesses contributing to the creation of this value is visible to the country due to unemployment stagnating at 25.5% and the 2008 financial crisis not a so distant memory. Entrepreneurship breeds innovation which can be turned into an economic value. Small businesses are a breeding place for innovation. Entrepreneurship Orientation (EO), a concept in entrepreneurship literature highlights the innovativeness, pro-activeness and risk taking businesses can be positively on business performance. However, with the high mortalities of small business at stages of business inception, a need has been created in relooking at what the factors impacting business are critical for to improve on SMEs life expectancy. By inferring age of the business as a measure of business performance, a quantitative cross sectional study was conducted on 62 owners of small businesses with age of 10 years and beyond to investigate what the owners perceived as factors critical for SME survival. Through the ranking of the factors deemed to impact on SME performance, an understanding of what factors were deemed critical was found. A focus on managerial skills on managing business resources and value offering moderated by Entrepreneurship Orientation and an enabling business environment were deemed highly critical. The outcome for this research provides a window of knowledge for aspiring and existing business owners on what aspects of business they should be focussing on more to ensure sustainability of the business in South Africa.
THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES OF SMES IN NORTH-WEST PROVINCE, MAFIKENG
Letlhaku, M.J.L., Pelser, T.G. and Pelser, A.S. 2013. The sustainability challenges of SMEs in North-West Province, Mafikeng. Proceedings of the 7th International Business Conference, Victoria, Isle of Mahe, Seychelles, 2 – 3 September 2013.
The role and importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the economies of developed, developing and emerging countries are unquestionable. SMEs continue to be viewed as the engine of any economy, particularly in job creation, poverty alleviation and the contribution towards Gross Domestic Production. Despite the promotion and strategies applied to develop and encourage small businesses, the failure rate of new SMEs in South Africa is the highest in the world. This research investigate the causes of small and medium enterprises’ failure in North-West Province‘s Ngaka Modiri Molema District. The study reveals that there are many challenges faced by the SMEs in the district as far as businesses are concerned. It is recommended from the results that Government should respond speedily to the pertinent needs of SMEs by ensuring that incentive schemes are efficient and effective and ensuring that these schemes are accessible through awareness programmes. This study will help entrepreneurs and those who are in the process of establishing businesses in Mafikeng. Finally, it will assist policy makers, particularly officials who are involved in Local Economic Development (LED).
Impact of Sustainable Entrepreneurship Indicators on Smes Business Success in South Africa
2021
There is a rising scholarly interest in sustainable entrepreneurship globally and across Africa. However, there has been limited consideration of how ongoing debates about the characteristics of sustainable entrepreneurship play out in African environments. Furthermore, what component of SE determines the success of SMEs is a topic of much academic debate. This article explores the influence of Sustainable Entrepreneurship factors (SE) on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. A simple random sampling was used to estimate statistical measures proportional to the population size of 3000 SMEs. A total of 1590 questionnaires were distributed and 980 responses were received. Multiple regression technique was used in estimations. The results indicated that financial resources and government support influenced the success of SMEs in South Africa. Findings also show that social index and environmental index had no significant impacts on the success of SMEs. It is obviou...
Since the early 1980s Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) have been regarded as the driving forces of both developing and developed economies around the world. In a South African dispensation, SMMEs are responsible for adding imperative socio-economic value to the country, particularly in terms of eradicating poverty and diminishing unemployment levels. By doing so, these business entities are believed to contribute at least 50% to the national Gross Domestic Product. Albeit the aforementioned, previous research studies report that up to 75% of South African SMMEs fail after being in existence for only 42 months. Though the latter dispensation has been blamed on many economic factors, over the years the sustainability of South African SMMEs has not improved to a great extent. In order to provide insight on the latter dispensation, this literature review paper was conducted to ultimately formulate two hypotheses for further empirical testing.
Impact of sustainability strategies on small and medium sized enterprises in Zimbabwe.PDF
Emerald Publishing, 2020
Purpose - This qualitative multiple case study explored strategies that owners of small and medium-sized enterprises in Zimbabwe use to sustain their businesses. Design/methodology /approach - The participants of this study consisted of owners of SMEs purposefully selected who were successful in implementing sustainable strategies for over five years. Semistructured interviews were conducted with each participant to gain a deeper understanding of their experience in implementing sustainable strategies for SMEs. The general systems theory, which specifies the relationship and interaction of a system and its environment was applied as a framework to explain the sustainability strategies for SMEs in Zimbabwe. Findings - Four major themes emerged from data analysis: passion and dedication, quality of products and services, customer satisfaction, and employing staff with the right skills. Practical implications - This study may lead owners of SMEs to create growth strategies for their businesses, increase revenue for the country, and create long-term job opportunities for the communities. Originality value - The findings from the study addressed the gap on existing literature and contribute to the body of knowledge on effective business practices, particularly for SMEs in Zimbabwe and other developing economies. The results of the study could catalyze positive social change by improving workforce capabilities, creating awareness of the success of entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe, and increasing the interest of financial institutions in lending to SMEs. Keywords: Sustainability, Strategies, Entrepreneurship, Effective business practices, Small and medium-sized enterprises Paper type Research Paper
Organisational ambidexterity and social enterprise performance: A Ghanaian perspective
South African Journal of Economic and management Sciences
Background: Despite the important role of social enterprises in addressing the gaps in social service and infrastructure provision by national governments, the organisational capabilities that make social enterprises competitive and effective are still under-researched in emerging economies.Aim: The purpose of the study is to extend the extant studies on the nexus between organisational ambidexterity and firm performance to the social enterprise context. More specifically, we draw on the Dynamic Capability Theory to investigate business-like social enterprises in Ghana and how organisational ambidexterity (i.e. exploitation and exploration) influences their social and economic performance.Setting: Organisational ambidexterity was tested on 317 randomly selected social enterprises in Ghana.Method: The study employed a quantitative research design via a survey questionnaire while the structural equation modelling technique in Analysis of a Moment Structure (AMOS) software was used to ...
Constraints that Hinder the Sustainability of Small Businesses in Durban, South Africa
Journal of Reviews on Global Economics
South Africa is viewed as one of the developing countries when compared to other African countries. However, the challenges that are experienced by the Small Business Enterprises (SMEs) continue to limit the economic growth of the country. Thus, these challenges are linked to the high rate of business failures. The main aim of the study is to evaluate constrains that hinder the sustainability of small businesses in Durban, South Africa. Employing the sociological entrepreneurship theory to understand the context of entrepreneurship and the challenges that pose a threat to the entrepreneurial activities, a qualitative approach was employed to achieve the objectives of study. A convenience sampling technique was employed to conduct in-depth interview among ten (10) entrepreneurs who participated in this study. NVivo 12 software was employed to analyse the data using a thematic and content analyses. The study findings revealed poor management, poor planning and lack of appropriate technology as some of the challenges confronting small businesses. Recommendations and conclusion are provided in this article.
THE DETERMINANTS OF SMEs' SUSTAINABILITY
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews
Purpose of the study: This study aims to prove the determination of SMEs' sustainability in Madiun's views of intellectual capital and competitive advantage empirically. Methodology: Data was collected using a questionnaire filled out directly by SME entrepreneurs in Madiun, randomly selected by 200 respondents. This study applied quantitative research conducted in two phases. First, perform exploratory factor analysis tests, and the second phase, confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS version 18. Main Findings: The results of the study found that intellectual capital directly did not significantly impact SMEs' sustainability. Intellectual capital significantly affects a competitive advantage. Furthermore, competitive advantages significantly impact SMEs' sustainability. Competitive advantage moderates the impact of intellectual capital on SMEs' sustainability. Applications of this study: The research is expected to be used by SMEs entrepreneurs to improve their...