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Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/14

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    The influence of key risk drivers on the performance of SMMEs in the manufacturing sector in KwaZulu-Natal
    (2021-12) Zhou, Helper; Gumbo, Victor
    Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) have been shown to be key contributors to sustainable socio-economic development, constituting more than 90% of private sector enterprises around the world. Inevitably, many developing countries continue to explore means aimed at enhancing the performance of small enterprises. However, despite the implementation of various interventions the failure rate of SMMEs in South Africa particularly KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is disturbing, reaching up to 80% in the first year of operation. As such, to contribute to addressing this challenge, the study adopted a novel approach to establishing and modelling manufacturing SMMEs performance drivers. Utilising a unique three-year panel dataset, key risk drivers were established and modelled via R software version 3.6.3. To achieve the study objectives, a series of independent but related papers were carried out and these make up the main chapters of this thesis. The first chapter provided the background to the study. The second chapter explored the characteristics of manufacturing SMMEs based in KZN province. The findings showed the complexity of firm performance, indicating the heterogeneity between rural and urban based SMMEs. The next chapter, harnessing Stochastic theory aimed to establish whether SMMEs’ growth performance followed a random walk. The theoretical model was rejected, thus providing a basis for the claim that firm performance is a function of certain risk drivers. Armed with findings from the previous papers, the investigation of key drivers impacting the sales and growth performance of manufacturing SMMEs ensued. The fourth chapter, harnessing the Penrosian and strategic management theories established key drivers of SMMEs’ performance. The fifth chapter concerningly, revealed that SMME owners in the manufacturing sector are largely not aware of the impact of established drivers on their enterprises’ performance. In the next chapter, a total of five machine learning algorithms were evaluated of which Artificial Neural Network and Support Vector Machines were identified as the best algorithms for SMME sales and growth predictive modelling, respectively. The two algorithms informed the development of a dedicated machine learning application for SMMEs that’s being commercialised through the DUT Technology Transfer and Innovation Directorate.
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    The relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, organisational orientation and innovation performance of manufacturing small and medium enterprises in KwaZulu-Natal province
    (2019-03-24) Kankisingi, Gustave Mungeni; Dhliwayo, Shepherd
    This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, organisational orientation, and innovation performance of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in KwaZulu Natal province. To instil innovation culture, an organisational architecture of SMEs should accommodate both organisational and entrepreneurial factors in order to create a synergy that is likely to achieve innovation objectives of SMEs. The empirical investigation was based on a quantitative study and used a cross-sectional survey design to collect data from owner-managers of 308 small and medium firms in the manufacturing sector. The provincial SMEs database from the Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism was used and it contained an estimate population of 1255 SMEs. This study found that there was a positive and significant correlation between entrepreneurial orientation and organisational orientation dimensions. It further established that organisational and entrepreneurial dimensions were correlated with innovation performance dimensions in the SMEs. An aptly entrepreneurial orientation is proven to be grounded in a related organisational orientation. This implies that an organisational strategy, its culture, structure, systems and the management style in SMEs strengthen the entrepreneurial strategy leading to improvements in the standard of the product, the process, the market position and the business model of SMEs. In the same context, other organisational factors such as available rewards, SMEs’ age, size and ownership provided another dimension and an insight into the innovation performance of SMEs. Based on the findings, the researcher suggests two models: the proximity model of the correlation between entrepreneurial orientation and organisational orientation and the new model of innovation performance for SMEs. The managerial implication is that the success of an entrepreneurial strategy of an SME is rooted into organisational orientation dimensions: culture, structure, strategy, systems and management style of owner-managers. However, an organisational orientation is proven to be driven by a mindset which, if entrepreneurial, leads to an entrepreneurial orientation and consequently achieve an innovation performance of SMEs. With such variables, the study recommends new approaches in line with the suggested models in support of manufacturing SMEs and the manufacturing sector in terms of managerial decision-making about firms’ innovation performance and competitiveness at organisational and sectorial levels.
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    Exploring fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) manufacturers need for innovation to achieve growth in KwaZulu-Natal
    (2016) Nze, Grace O; Lekhanya, Lawrence Mpele; Dorasamy, Nirmala
    This study explores South African Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) SMME manufacturers’ need for innovation to achieve growth in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). South Africa suffers from a high rate of unemployment, with an official unemployment rate estimate of 24.7% (Statistics South Africa, 2013). This high rate of unemployment in South Africa is partly attributed to the failure rate of SMMEs, which is between seventy and eighty percent. Small enterprises encounter greater barriers than medium-sized and large enterprises in accessing finance for innovation, commercializing new ideas and expanding their businesses. The study was exploratory and quantitative in nature. Questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data. The questionnaires were distributed personally and with the help of a research assistant to the business sites of the respondents. The respondents comprise 120 FMCG SMME manufacturers in KZN, who were selected by means of a non-probability sampling method. The results obtained identified a number of factors influencing innovation for FMCG SMME manufacturers to achieve growth. The influencing factors include a lack of financial skill and knowledge; high cost or complex procedures to register or defend patents; a lack of information on the part of employers on how to satisfy consumers’ interest; a lack of technological know-how and human capital problems; difficulty in accessing finance for research and development; government laws and regulations; new entrant threats and protocols; and a lack of product brand name.