Acknowledgement to reviewers

No abstract available.

East-African women’s thoughts on stimulating the growth of their mid-scale enterprises

Background: Some of the obstacles to successful entrepreneurship in emerging economies are embedded in the internal operations and management of enterprises, especially women mid-scale enterprises. This includes the lack of effective strategies that promote the growth of women-owned mid-scale enterprises and their inclination towards necessity-based entrepreneurship, which greatly limits their growth potential.Aim: The study explored the experience and know-how of strategies applied by three high-profiled women-owned mid-scale enterprises in East Africa to stimulate their business growth.Methods: A qualitative research approach, using perspective seeking methods by applying unrestrictive semi-structured questioning was adopted.Results: Findings suggest that women must embrace, recognise and own their internal aspirations and ambition to grow their mid-scale enterprise.Conclusion: Women-owned mid-scale enterprises showed the need to map out their strategic growth plan and it must be built on a solid foundation to justify the need to grow for all stakeholders to buy into it.

Spurring entrepreneurial intensity through social capital and relationship quality

Background: The rapid increase in the pace of globalisation has been met with increased calls for sustainability as a means to entrepreneurship development. As entrepreneurship and sustainability continue to gain recognition, entrepreneurial intensity has emerged as a critical component of the ecosystem. The entrepreneurial intensity notion conceptualised the extent and frequency of innovation, risk taking, and proactiveness within an organisation.Aim: This study investigated how social interaction and relationship quality, referred to as social capabilities, influences entrepreneurial intensity.Setting: The population comprised all small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zimbabwe. An online questionnaire constructed using Google Docs was posted on Masvingo centred Facebook and WhatsApp groups from 15 October 2018 to 19 December 2018.Methods: Based on an extensive review of the theoretical and empirical literature, hypotheses were formulated and then tested using the structural equation modelling framework. The study was based on a sample of 312 SMEs selected through convenience sampling, and data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale.Results: The study results back the propositions that social interaction and relationship quality are strongly and positively related to entrepreneurial intensity.Conclusion: In light of the findings, several recommendations are made, but generally, to promote superior innovativeness, risk taking and proactiveness, firms must concentrate on steering up and refining their social capabilities.

Business skills development for a successful fashion business in peri-urban communities, South Africa

Background: Entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds often possess low levels of education, limited qualifications and training. This also applies to survivalist fashion entrepreneurs in the Sedibeng District Municipality (SDM), Gauteng. Over a third of these entrepreneurs are not formally educated in business skills and may not possess the adequate knowledge to operate their fashion business successfully.Aim: The aim of this research was to investigate the uses and challenges pertaining to business skills amongst fashion entrepreneurs without formal, fashion-related education or training, in order to determine their business skills’ training needs.Setting: The sample population included 105 black, adult fashion entrepreneurs, operating micro, survivalist fashion enterprises within peri-urban, resource-poor communities in the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) of the Sedibeng district. Data for this study were collected from the respondents whilst shopping at fabric and haberdashery stores or from their home-business environments.Methods: A quantitative study applying non-probability, purposive and snowball sampling was performed. Data were collected by means of interviewer-administered questionnaires by trained fieldworkers.Results: The results indicated that the respondents lacked skills in developing business plans and possessed only moderate skills in finance and marketing. The respondents indicated training needs for fashion business skills in all areas of investigation, including developing a business plan, conducting basic bookkeeping, determining correct product pricing, drafting quotations and invoices, developing a budget, conducting basic market research and advertising their products and services.Conclusion: Fashion business skill training programmes should be developed to target and train fashion entrepreneurs without formal fashion-related education or training, contributing to the long-term sustainability of local fashion businesses in South Africa (SA).

Corrigendum: Challenges facing small business retailers in selected South African townships

No abstract available.

Contextual factors influencing entrepreneurship education at a South African University of Technology

Background: Entrepreneurship education (EE) occupies a particularly critical space in the development strategies of emerging market countries where entrepreneurs and small businesses are required to drive economic growth and job creation. In South Africa, universities of technology (UoT), which provide vocation-focussed tertiary education, are considered vital vehicles of EE.Aim: Institutions and educators are challenged by the limited research around EE content and pedagogy, particularly outside of the business school context. This study seeks to address these research gaps within the South African economic context by examining EE courses at a UoT.Setting: This study examined 14 entrepreneurship courses offered across 11 disciplines at one South African UoT.Methods: A qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews with 10 educators was conducted to explore how they design and deliver their EE courses.Results: The study found three contextual factors that influence the way educators design and deliver EE courses: (1) the needs of the student: the systemic nature of their experiences, (2) the quality of teaching materials: the limited relevance of the content, and (3) the background of the educators: their experience with entrepreneurship and industry.Conclusion: In examining these key contextual factors, this study highlights the challenges that locally higher education institutions face in designing the courses that are effective at promoting entrepreneurship locally. It also showcases the prominent role that educators play in solving problems, addressing challenges, and ensuring that EE contributes to a broader economic agenda by bringing their own passion, educational expertise, and practical knowledge to the classroom.

Managerial conceptual competencies and the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises in Zimbabwe

Background: Literature is replete with evidence on the impact of managerial competencies on firm performance. Yet, there is minimal evidence on how managerial conceptual competencies in particular, affect the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zimbabwe.Aim: The current study was meant to find the impact of managerial conceptual competencies on the performance of SMEs in Zimbabwe’s Harare Province.Setting: The under-exploration of the relationship between managerial conceptual competencies and SME performance, in an economy that at present is highly informalised, provides a platform for further exploration of this phenomenon.Methods: The study adopted a purely quantitative approach that employed a structured direct survey design.Results: The study established that owners and/or managers had reasonable levels of conceptual competencies and that SMEs performed fairly well in terms of both innovation and return on investment (ROI). It was found out that statistically significant relationships existed between managerial conceptual competencies and SME performance when measured by innovation and ROI.Conclusion: In view of the results, it can be concluded that the performance of SMEs in terms of innovation and ROI can be influenced, to some extent, by owner and/or managers’ conceptual competencies.

Determinants of innovation and its impact on financial performance in South African family and non-family small and medium-sized enterprises

Background: The importance of innovation for enterprises of all sizes is well documented. However, existing research is ambiguous, with several research gaps concerning the role and nature of innovation in the performance of family and non-family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in a South African context.Aim: The aim of the study was to identify the determinants of innovation output, the types of innovation that are commonly being utilised and the influence thereof on perceived financial performance.Setting: A total of 224 responses from family and non-family SMEs in South Africa were analysed in the study.Methods: The statistical analysis included assessing the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument by using an exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, respectively. Inferential statistics included calculating the Pearson’s product moment correlations, a t-test, analysis of variance tests and multiple regression analyses.Results: Predictors or determinants of Innovation output amongst family and non-family SMEs in this study are Innovation-orientated organisational culture, Market orientation and response and Risk-orientated entrepreneurial orientation. A significant and positive relationship was also found between Innovation output (which included product, process, organisational and marketing innovation) and Perceived financial performance. No differences were found concerning the innovation practices of family and non-family SMEs in this study.Conclusion: Innovation plays an important role in improving the financial performance of SMEs. In addition, financial and human resources are not necessarily the main determinants of innovation in South African SMEs, but rather the creation of an innovation- and market-orientated organisational culture, together with a risk-orientated entrepreneurial orientation.

Unravelling the makings for entrepreneurial success: A case study of the Maponya business in South Africa

Background: The achievement of local entrepreneurial success in South Africa is projected to reduce widespread unemployment in the townships, enhance the general buying power and upraise the overall productivity and living standards of poor South Africans. However, most entrepreneurial ventures do not survive for long, and remarkably the number of self-established, privately owned and long-standing businesses amongst black South Africans is very few.Aim: To investigate the factors that have led to the success and longevity of the Maponya business case.Setting: This research focused on a privately owned, self-initiated black South African successful business, which has been in existence for at least six decades.Methods: A qualitative research approach of a descriptive and explanatory single case study design was utilised using data from a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic and content analysis were used in the data analysis process.Results and findings: It was found that the Maponya business case is a family-controlled type of business. The success and longevity of the Maponya business case are attributable to the closeness of members within the Maponya family or clan. Access to membership is well controlled and requires adherence to a set of values based on one another to prosper in business.Conclusion: The documented findings can serve as a template for understanding the operationalisation of management techniques and leadership principles for entrepreneurial success and longevity in business for black South Africans and illuminate business prowess for the Southern African region and the entire African continent.

Business response to COVID-19 impact: Effectiveness analysis in South Africa

Background: Following the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many businesses have put out measures to counter the impact of the outbreak and its related reactions from economic actors (individuals, authorities and other businesses) on their business operations. However, nearly no empirical studies or reports have been carried out to investigate the effectiveness of those measures.Aim: This study aimed at examining the effectiveness of business response measures to COVID-19 impact on business outcome.Setting: This study focused on businesses that are value-added tax (VAT) registered.Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used. The authors applied logistic regression technique to analyse the effectiveness of business response measures on business outcome.Results: The authors found evidence that business responses such as virtual connection, innovative e-commerce and increasing working hours are more effective business responses, whilst decreasing work hours, laying off workers temporarily and ordinary e-commerce are less effective measures against the impact of the outbreak. Furthermore, business characteristics such as industry type (e.g. ‘agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing’ and ‘electricity, gas and water supply’) are more resilient to COVID-19 shock, whilst pure export market and small businesses, secondary and tertiary, are significantly less resilient.Conclusions: Firstly, the study shows that some business responses are more effective in remediating the adverse impact of COVID-19 and therefore recommends policy intervention and industrial actions to promote them. Secondly, it is also recommended that financial bailout and/or Internet infrastructure and domestic support for small and export businesses could make them more resilient to the adverse impact of the outbreak.