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Faculty of Management Sciences

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    Business leadership competency for innovative strategies post COVID-19 among small and medium enterprises in Gauteng Province, South Africa
    (2023) Mugivhisa, Fulufhelo Lindelani; Ogulu, Christiana
    The COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges to South African business leaders, such as optimising hybrid teams, attracting and retaining workers with needed capabilities, and making the most of scarce competencies. Current and complex challenges require leadership with the necessary skills. Besides COVID-19 challenges, business organisations and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) must deal with economic downfall, social unrest, and corruption. Leadership plays an important role in ensuring business competitiveness amid these challenges. This study investigated the business leadership competency required for innovative strategies required post-COVID-19 among SMEs in Gauteng Province, South Africa. This involves identifying leadership competencies and proposing a framework for innovative leadership. A sample size of 384 respondents was drawn from owner/managers of SMEs in Gauteng Province. A mixed-method approach was adopted using both structured interviews and a closed-ended questionnaire through an online survey. The results showed that most of the SMEs agreed that COVID-19 challenged SMEs with several difficulties. The research highlighted business leadership competencies for innovative strategies post-COVID-19. The main findings revealed that training and developing employees play a pivotal role in shaping and influencing business performance, which is critical to the success of a business and ensuring innovation. Furthermore, the survey results showed that most SME owners/managers prioritise the competency of setting targets, reviewing and improving financial performance. Results also indicated that adaptability, flexibility, and resilience are necessary to meet changing market conditions. Furthermore, the study highlighted the importance of building diverse and expansive networks. Additionally, findings show that SME Leaders must be willing to take calculated risks for the business to emerge successful.
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    Sustainable business strategy for small and medium enterprises in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    (2022-04) Bugwandin, Vinay; Bayat, Mohamed Saheed
    Business sustainability in today’s world is primarily arduous owing to global economic and financial crises. In the first quarter of 2019, according to Statistics South Africa the Gross Domestic Product deteriorated by 3.2%. Similarly in KwaZulu-Natal, the state of sustainability of Small and Medium Enterprises were on the decline and the majority (75%) of small and medium enterprises failed after operating for three years. The purpose of this research was to formulate a business strategy to achieve sustainability for small and medium enterprises. Small and medium enterprises in KwaZulu-Natal do not sustain themselves for long term periods due to the underlying problem being strategy formulation. Hence, the need for a strategy to achieve sustainability. The mixed methodology approach was used in this empirical study using the survey and interview methods. The target population of 488 000, a confidence level of 95%, margin of error of 5% and a 50% response rate was used which indicated a sample size of 384 respondents. Upon completion of the data collection, a total of 200 responses were obtained within a capped period of 30 days, which accounted for >52% of the target sample size. Furthermore, the grounded theory was employed on a target of 20 individuals, whereby the participants were interviewed to investigate opinions towards strategy development and sustainability in KwaZulu-Natal. The core element of ‘Strategy’ and the sub-elements of ‘Change’, ‘Purpose’ and ‘Leadership’ were investigated. It was found that ‘Change’, ‘Purpose’ and ‘Leadership’ were the main contributors towards achieving sustainability. Furthermore, a Systems Thinking Model was used successfully to indicate the interdependencies to purport the goal of achieving sustainability. Ultimately it was found that ‘Strategy’, ‘Change’, ‘Purpose’, and ‘Leadership’ were required to achieve a ‘Sustainable Business Strategy’. Due cognisance should be taken by leaders, from the perspectives of ‘Change’, ‘Purpose’ and ‘Leadership’, to formulate a strategy which sustains the business. A conceptual framework was developed for small and medium enterprises to achieve a sustainable business strategy.