Repository logo
 

Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)

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

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.Success in business

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Financial sustainability and financial well-being of small and medium enterprise owners in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana
    (2023) Amankwaa, Robert; Agbenyegah, Albert Tchey
    Financial sustainability is the most vital part of SMEs and the cornerstone of SME owners’ well-being. However, poor financial sustainability of SMEs leads to poor well-being of SME owners. Therefore, the study aimed to assess SME owners’ financial sustainability and well-being. Primarily, the study sought to identify the main factors that influence SMEs’ sustainability, describe the level of SMEs’ financial sustainability and level of SME owners’ financial well-being, amd to assess the relationship between SME financial sustainability and owners’ financial well-being in Sekondi-Takoradi. Through the use of cross-sectional design and a quantitative approach, 250 SME owners were chosen from a population of 10,205 SME owners in SekondiTakoradi, the study. Overall, the study used close-ended instrument to gather data from the participants. In particular, 5-point Likert scale measure was relied upon to solicit information from SME owners on sustainability factors, business sustainability measures and the financial well-being of the SME owners. Using SPSS version 22.0, data obtained were analysed and presented in tables and figures. Simple linear and multiple regression techiques were also used to determine the relationship between the variables. A p-values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant at a 95% confidence interval. The study found that SMEs financial sustainability is influence by both internal and external factors. It was also revealed that the businesses were financially stable amd the well-being of SME owners was financially good to a moderate extent. Finally, there was a favourable and significant relationship between financial sustainability and the financial well-being of SME owners. Therefore, the study recommended that since SMEs have no control over the external factors, they should concentrate on and improve upon the internal factors such as skills, experience amd finacial literacy since they positively influences SMEs' financial sustainability. In addition, it is recommended that SMEs work on their return on investment to better their sustainability.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The impact of financial audits on the sustainable growth of SMME’s : a case study of the eThekwini Municipality
    (2021) Mkhize, Nkanyezi Lindani Alen; Chazireni, Bobo
    Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) play a very important role in the economies of the world. However, the sustainable growth of these businesses in South Africa is one of worst recorded, as 90% of them fail within the initial stage of their existence. This study sought to investigate whether financial audits had an impact on the sustainable growth of SMMEs in South Africa. The New Companies Act 71 of 2008 of South Africa has brought about a lot of changes in the regulatory requirements of SMMEs to relieve them of administrative burdens and increase their sustainability. This, however, worked adversely against these businesses due to the barriers which inhibit their longevity. This can be attributed to the notion that managers/owners of the SMMEs have become oblivious to the risks inherently associated with businesses, and that this is enhanced by SMMEs not having to account to anyone (that is, there is no regulatory body or entity that controls these businesses). The commander and the agency theories, highlight the importance of separating ownership and control amongst SMMEs to align information symmetry between interested parties. A quantitative approach was followed in conducting the study and data was collected from SMMEs in Durban, under the eThekwini Municipality using a semi-structured questionnaire. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed to analyse the sample demographics, and then mean and standard deviations were computed for the variables.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    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.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The impact of entrepreneurial competencies on the performance of SMEs in the eThekwini Municipal Region, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    (2018) Mahohoma, Tinaye; Chetty, Soobramoney
    Throughout the world, SMEs play an important role in reducing unemployment and poverty. However, despite their significant socio-economic contribution, the failure rate among SMEs in South Africa is high. A number of studies conducted in South Africa by, inter alia, Olawale and Garwe (2010:732), Sha (2006:67), and Smit and Watkins (2012:6326), have identified a lack of finance; poor managerial and marketing skills, and high labour costs, as the primary reasons for the high failure rate of SMEs South Africa. However, studies conducted in other countries also highlighted the important role of entrepreneurial competencies in the success of SMEs, and, in this regard, very little research has been conducted in South Africa on the impact of entrepreneurial competencies on the performance of SMEs. To address this shortcoming, this study examined the impact of entrepreneurial competencies on the performance of SMEs in the eThekwini municipal region in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. As there were no records/databases of all the SMEs in the eThekwini region, a sampling frame, which consisted of the 700 SMEs in the eThekwini region who were members of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in 2015/2016, was used, and, at the 95% level of confidence, a sample size of 248 was statistically determined. The primary data was collected via a self- administered quantitative questionnaire, and was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 21. From the empirical research undertaken for this study, the main findings that emerged regarding the impact of entrepreneurial competencies on the performance of SMEs in the eThekwini region were: that there was no statistically significant association between the level of education of SME owners and the success of their businesses; that there was a significant positive relationship between both the personality traits of SME owners as well as their leadership styles with the success of their businesses, and that there was no significant relationship between the personal values and beliefs of SME owners and the performance of their enterprises.