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Faculty of Management Sciences

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    Construction SMEs versus economic growth : the Eastern Cape perspective
    (B P International (a part of SCIENCEDOMAIN International), 2023-05-30) Flepisi, Lubabalo; Womack, Anna Johanna Catharina; Lekhanya, Lawrence Mpele; Twum-Darko, Michael
    Globally, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are recognised as the engine and backbone of economic growth, especially for emerging countries such as South Africa. However, construction SMEs in South Africa are faced with some major challenges that hinder their contribution to the economic growth of the country. The study sought to investigate the factors that hinder the contribution of construction SMEs to the economic growth in the Eastern Cape province, in South Africa. The sample size of the study comprised 303 construction SME owners/managers in the Eastern Cape province. Nevertheless, for this conference, the findings of the study are based on the reviewed literature, supplemented by a pilot study with 30 construction SME owners/managers as participants. The study revealed key factors that influence the contribution of construction SMEs to economic growth in the Eastern Cape province. These factors include insufficient/inadequate financial resources, innovation, business management skills, and investment in human capital, as well as a lack of Information Technology use, along with skills shortages, and too many government regulations. The South African government and private sector thus need to develop mechanisms that will cushion construction SMEs through the development of policies that will enable these firms to contribute to economic growth.
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    Strategic management in construction firms with focus on small and medium enterprises : a case study eThekwini, South Africa
    (2021-06-28) Rambaruth, Amit; Adam, Jamila Khatoon; Krishna, Suresh Babu Naidu
    Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the economy and have contributed significantly to the growth of the economy, however, there is still a high-level failure rate. Many face a threat of failure within the first few months of establishment and the lack of strategic planning may prevent them from achieving their full potential. Therefore, the aim of this study is to address the factors that influence the adoption of strategic management in an organization and to identify persuading factors that contribute to strategic management to improve performance and to categorise challenges faced by SMEs in implementing a strategic plan. The results advocate that majority of the eThekwinibased SMEs in the construction industry are applying strategic management practices in their business and through this application they have improved the performance of their business. Furthermore, the study found that there were high levels of agreement with the challenges facing the implementation of a strategic plan in an organization. The research concluded that that majority of the eThekwini-based SMEs in the construction industry are applying strategic management practices in their business and through this application they have improved the performance of their business. The study also concluded that there were high levels of agreement with the influencing factors that drove SMEs to adopt a strategic plan and high levels of agreement with the contributing factors of strategic planning in improving performance of the business. Furthermore, the study found that there were high levels of agreement with the challenges facing the implementation of a strategic plan in an organisation.