scholarly journals The causes and impact of business failure among small to micro and medium enterprises in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Bushe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Business Failure ◽  
Medium Enterprises

scholarly journals The use of traditional versus e-marketing in SMEs in a developing country: A comparative analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 202-212
Author(s):  
Leanne Manley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Target Market ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Marketing Tool ◽  
Marketing Costs ◽  
Small Medium Enterprises ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Way

The revolution of the internet has changed the way many organisations conduct business in today’s market environment, and has specifically changed in the way companies market products to consumers. E-marketing allows a marketer to not only reach a broader target market than traditional methods, but substantially reduces marketing costs as well, which can mean the difference between success or failure in small medium enterprises (SMEs). Multiple studies have investigated traditional and e-marketing practices, however, few studies have focused on SME marketing practices and their use of e-marketing in developing economies. This article provides an insight into current marketing tools employed by SMEs in South Africa and provides a comparative analysis between traditional and e-marketing tool usage. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to SME owners, whereby data was analysed by means of frequency occurrence. The main results stemming from the research indicate that SME owners have no preference in using either traditional or e-marketing tools, with majority preferring to use both. However, the majority of marketing tools being used and receiving the most effective rating according to SME owners is directed towards e-marketing tools. From the results obtained recommendations are made to policy-makers, SME managers, development agencies and business owners so as to establish an appropriate strategy to improve SME marketability within South Africa. The findings can be universally applied as studies have shown that there is a lot of similarity in the challenges faced by SMEs irrespective of where they come from.

scholarly journals The impact of green supply chain management in small to medium enterprises: Cross-sectional evidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengedzai Mafini ◽  
Asphat Muposhi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Green Manufacturing ◽  
Green Supply Chain Management ◽  
Green Supply Chain ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Impact

Background: South Africa has a high rate of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) failure, especially in the manufacturing sector. The operational challenges confronting manufacturing SMEs are acknowledged by the Global Competitiveness Index that ranked South African SMEs as one of the lowest in emerging economies.Objectives: The aim of this study is to examine the association between green supply chain management (GSCM) practices, environmental collaboration and financial performance in SMEs.Method: The study is quantitative in nature and involves a convenient sample of 312 SMEs based in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Data analyses follow a two-step process involving a confirmatory factor analysis to test the psychometric properties of the measurement scale and Structural Equation Modelling to test the proposed hypotheses.Results: The study shows that three GSCM practices, namely, green procurement, green logistics and green manufacturing in SMEs exert a positive effect on environmental collaboration, with green manufacturing exerting a higher effect than the other two constructs. In turn, higher levels of environmental collaboration inspired higher levels of SME financial performance.Conclusion: The study advances that SMEs can succeed financially through the influence of enhanced environmental collaboration, which emanates, in part, from the adoption and implementation of GSCM practices.

scholarly journals Underlying structures of risk response measures among small and medium contractors in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Berenger Yembi Renault ◽  
Justus Ngala Agumba ◽  
Nazee Ansary
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Risk Avoidance ◽  
Risk Response ◽  
Response Measures ◽  
The One ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Although attention has been given to the measures used to respond to risk in the construction industry (CI), there is limited literature that scrutinizes underlying structures of risk response measures (RRMs) especially among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study, therefore, presents findings from an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of RRMs. A positivist paradigm was adopted to collect empirical raw data from 181 conveniently sampled respondents in Gauteng, South Africa (SA), using a structured questionnaire. The results support the extant literature and empirically established the structural composition of risk response by two constructs. The construct with emerged measures was termed trailing measures while the one with popular measures was termed leading measures of risk response. However, the study yielded a two-factor model with all the six items supposed to measure risk response. Based on the results obtained, it seems that risk avoidance and risk mitigation are reliable measures for measuring risk response. This study could thus serve as a reference for the accurate measurement of risk response and for the development of agreed responses for each risk, including an appropriate strategy and specific responses to implement the chosen strategy. The study was limited to the CI and to a lesser extent, construction SMEs in Gauteng; hence the findings cannot be generalized to all SMEs in SA.

scholarly journals Supply Chain Management and Customer Satisfaction in Small to Medium Enterprises

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osayuwamen Omoruyi ◽  
Chengedzai Mafini
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Product Quality ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Product Variety ◽  
Business Failure ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract To circumvent the possibility of business failure, small to medium enterprises in emerging economies face mounting pressure to increase the satisfaction of their customers. The adoption of supply chain management practices is critical to the provision of quality products and services as well as the satisfaction of customers by small to medium enterprises. This paper investigated the relationship between customer satisfaction, supply chain management practices and three input factors; namely, product quality, flexibility and product variety in small to medium enterprises. The study adopted a quantitative approach in which a four section questionnaire was distributed to 131 managers in small to medium enterprises based in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Hypotheses were tested using regression analysis. The results of the study revealed that product quality and flexibility predicted supply chain management practices. Supply chain management practices were also statistically significant, and mediated the relationship between customer satisfaction and product quality and flexibility. Based on these results, conclusions were drawn and appropriate recommendations were made.

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