RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IN-STORE PROMOTIONS AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN SHOPPING MALLS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Promotions of products and services close to the point of purchase is a reality to many companies. These promotions include the demonstration of products, price discounts and free samples. This paper sets out to determine the influence of in-store promotions on consumer behaviour. The study sampled 200 middle-of-the-month and month-end shoppers in four of the largest shopping malls in Polokwane, South Africa among. The paper was designed along quantitative method dicta and the primary data were collected by means of a questionnaire. Data were analysed via IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, and presented in graphs and tables for easy interpretation. The results and knowledge gained from this study add to the existing body of knowledge in the discipline, and it might assist shop managers in finding the most suitable methods for in-store promotions. All ethical requirements were considered during the course of the study. The outcome of the study indicated a statistically significant relationship between consumer behaviour and in-store coupon offers. However, the association analysis results for the enjoyment of in-store promotions, in-store free samples, in-store buy-one-get-one-free offers, and in-store price discounts, failed to provide any evidence of association with consumer behaviour.

DYNAMIC MANAGERIAL CAPABILITIES AS ANTECEDENT OF CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Current studies on Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) present organisational boundaries, discretionary time, rewards/reinforcements, work discretion and management support as antecedents of CE. This ignores the fact that all these variables are a managerial function in organisations. Furthermore, considering these variables at the same predictor level as management support, has contributed to entrepreneurship coordination challenges for organisations. To address this predicament through the lens of dynamic capabilities, we submit a conceptual model that considers dynamic managerial capabilities as antecedents of CE.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AT AN ONLINE STORE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Online shopping has become a common way in which retail businesses are conducted across most parts of the world. South African (SA) retailers such as Takealot, Makro, and Spree added this function to their existing operations. However, the survival of SA online stores is compromised by the competitive activities set by international players, including Amazon, eBay, and Google. Online stores such as Nine West and Mango have closed amidst poor financial performance. The adoption of a customer-centred approach is among the strategies that SA online stores can take to remain competitive. It is against this background that this study sought to assess customers’ perceptions of electronic service quality and to determine its influence on customer satisfaction and customer behavioural intentions. A quantitative descriptive approach methodology, using a questionnaire structured by SurveyMonkey, was employed to collect data from a sample of 300 online customers from the online store in SA. SPSS V24 was employed to conduct descriptive and multivariate analyses, including factor analysis and correlations analyses. The results indicated that the respondents were not fully satisfied with the service quality of the online store regarding efficiency, system availability, fulfilment, privacy, responsiveness, compensation, and contact. It was also found that electronic service quality sub-constructs have a positive effect on customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the researcher found that customer satisfaction had a positive effect on customer behavioural intentions. Several implications for practice were provided to the management of online stores to facilitate improvement in their operations.

CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING AND SUPPORTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND

Entrepreneurship education is broadly considered an important factor in promoting an entrepreneurial culture among higher education students. Considering the importance of entrepreneurship with regard to economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation, there is a need to train entrepreneurs and to equip them with an entrepreneurial culture that promotes entrepreneurship. However, the South African education system is lacking when it comes to entrepreneurship education. The education system seems to promote the white-collar jobs rather than self-employment, and the methodology that is used to teach entrepreneurship studies, focuses more on the theory of entrepreneurship than on its practice. Against this background, this study sought to identify the challenges to develop and support entrepreneurship education by focusing on the University of Zululand as a case study. The researcher used primary data for this study. The study adopted a qualitative approach, where data was collected using interview schedules from 11 heads of departments of the university’s faculties. The results from the study show that the development of curriculum, inexperienced educators, and the methodology used to teach entrepreneurship education, are some of the challenges that are hindering the promotion of entrepreneurship education. A policy implication that arose from these findings, is that there is a need for the development of entrepreneurship-based curriculum to promote entrepreneurship. The policymakers were also encouraged to employ educators who are qualified and experienced in teaching entrepreneurship. The development of incubation centres for grooming entrepreneurs at higher learning institutions was also recommended.

LIVED EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN MASVINGO CITY: SUCCESSES, FAILURES AND SURVIVAL STRATEGIES

There has been a significant increase in the number of women entrepreneurs in various sectors of the economy throughout the world. Some women entrepreneurs registered some success stories, while others dismally failed and ended up poorer than they were before they started their businesses. The main purpose of this study was to establish the successes, failures and survival strategies of women entrepreneurs in Masvingo city, Zimbabwe. A qualitative research methodology was employed to carry out the study. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted on 40 (forty) participants who were selected by using the snowball sampling technique. Thematic data analysis approach was utilized to analyse the collected data. It was found that despite some registered failures and challenges like failing to retain staff, failing to raise adequate capital, and failing to access advanced technology, a significant number of women entrepreneurs were generally successful in launching, maintaining and growing their businesses. The strategies which women entrepreneurs employed to survive, included among others, buying raw materials or goods for resale in bulk to enjoy the economies of scale; pegging prices and selling their products in United States Dollars (USD); pegging prices in USD and selling products at the prevailing Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rate; or hiring competent staff to ensure that workers were appropriately motivated. It was recommended that women entrepreneurs should continuously scan the macro- and micro-environments to identify new opportunities as well as emerging business threats.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF SMALL ENTERPRISES: AN OVERVIEW OF AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES IN THE MOPANI DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

Background: This study analysed entrepreneurial dynamics, activities and challenges confronting small agricultural businesses in the Mopani District Municipality in Limpopo, South Africa. Mopani is a rural district municipality and home to 1,2 million people of whom 77% live below the poverty line. Agriculture is a major income-generating sector for many disadvantaged communities in rural areas of South Africa, and it plays a significant role in the economy. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to investigate the operational practices that contribute to the success/failure of emerging agricultural small enterprise owners in their agricultural activities within Mopani District – a district with large numbers of highly competitive and commercial farmers. In addition, the study suggested interventions that could help smallholder farmers to sustain their income-generating businesses.Method: A qualitative research method was adopted to gain insights from 30 small agricultural businesses, which included crop, poultry and diversified or mixed production. Different data collection techniques (interviews, document analysis and observations) were used to collect data and increase the trustworthiness of the research findings. Results: The majority (68%) of farm owners had no finance to start their own personal businesses, except that they received funding (financial start-ups) from the Municipality, the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and other agencies. Thirty-two per cent (32%) started their businesses on their own without municipal assistance, but they received funding later on. The study revealed that entrepreneurial practices and procedures of running small agricultural enterprises were multidimensional and diverse. Entrepreneurs lacked business management skills, vision, capital and access to markets. Conclusions: While the number of jobs in the large enterprises is decreasing, and government battles in creating conditions for job opportunities, the number of people seeking employment is growing every year. This causes an increase in unemployment in the country. The successful enterprises established income-generating activities that met the needs of their communities. Successful farmers seem to have an endless array of internal and external constraints such as internal efficacy, farm knowledge, business practices, poor marketing, natural disasters and harsh climate conditions amongst emerging farmers. Government should focus their attention on entrepreneurship training, as this is the avenue for incubators and the engine room for economic growth. This would create the much-needed business sustainability, employment opportunities and alleviate poverty in communities