This study explores the notions of 'success' and 'failure' held by senior executives in the UK and Irish airline industry. Previous studies of this industry have tended to be from a positivist perspective, focusing on financial performance at the level of 'airline' or 'airline industry'. This study takes the airline executive as the unit of analysis and is conducted from a phenomenological perspective. A methodology using interviews, causal mapping and postal questionnaires is applied to surface the notions of 'success' and 'failure' and the perception of the causes of 'success' held by board-level airline executives. Standardised data published by the Civil Aviation Authority Economic Research Group is used to establish a range of objective measures, both financial and operational, and these objective measures are compared with the rankings of the senior executives' perceptions of the success of UK and Irish airlines. The research establishes that senior airline executives do not see 'success' in terms of financial objective measures such as Added Value or Operating Ratio; they use profit as the primary financial measure of 'success' and frequently hold notions of 'success' that are based in other functional areas such as operations and marketing. The causes of 'success' are seen as coming from the breadth of functional areas. The influence of HRM factors becomes clearer at deeper levels of abstraction when considering 'success'. There is limited evidence of the stereotyping of perceptions when the success of specific airlines is considered, but not for airlines' success in general. Recommendations for further research into the management of human resources within airlines are made.

This study explores the notions of 'success' and 'failure' held by senior executives in the UK and Irish airline industry. Previous studies of this industry have tended to be from a positivist perspective, focusing on financial performance at the level of 'airline' or 'airline industry'. This study takes the airline executive as the unit of analysis and is conducted from a phenomenological perspective. A methodology using interviews, causal mapping and postal questionnaires is applied to surface the notions of 'success' and 'failure' and the perception of the causes of 'success' held by board-level airline executives. Standardised data published by the Civil Aviation Authority Economic Research Group is used to establish a range of objective measures, both financial and operational, and these objective measures are compared with the rankings of the senior executives' perceptions of the success of UK and Irish airlines. The research establishes that senior airline executives do not see 'success' in terms of financial objective measures such as Added Value or Operating Ratio; they use profit as the primary financial measure of 'success' and frequently hold notions of 'success' that are based in other functional areas such as operations and marketing. The causes of 'success' are seen as coming from the breadth of functional areas. The influence of HRM factors becomes clearer at deeper levels of abstraction when considering 'success'. There is limited evidence of the stereotyping of perceptions when the success of specific airlines is considered, but not for airlines' success in general. Recommendations for further research into the management of human resources within airlines are made.

Thesis (PhD) -- AUT University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print ( xi, 268 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 658.022 YOU)

Many factors contribute to business and entrepreneurial success. Raw material, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship are common inputs into most business organizations (enterprises). Entrepreneurship is the one factor of production that is needed in all successful business organizations. In Southeast Kentucky, there has been much attention given to small business development and the need for more entrepreneurship. However, little research has been done on the “self-directedness” and “emotional intelligence” that are needed for entrepreneurial success. This study investigated the possible association between self-directed learning and emotional intelligence with entrepreneurial success in a Southeast Kentucky group consisting of independent small business owners. This study also examined the relationships of age, gender, annual salaries, years of college education, and years of business experience with entrepreneurial success. The Learning Preference Assessment (LPA), the online BarOn EQ-i survey, and a short demographic survey were used in this study. Of the 250 entrepreneurs randomly selected, 104 responded by completing and returning the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Survey instrument (SDLRS) and the demographic questionnaire. Due to technical difficulties, the results from the online BarOn EQ-i survey were not available. The mean SDLRS score for all 104 entrepreneurs was 239.63. The minimum SDLRS score was 206, and the maximum SDLRS score was 284. Correlational analysis revealed a moderate-size, positive correlation of SDLRS with years of experience. More experience tended to go with higher test scores. Also, a moderate- to large-size positive correlation of SDLRS scores with sex (gender) was discovered. Males tended to score higher than females on the SDLRS. There was no correlation whatsoever of SDLRS scores with age. There was a large positive correlation of educational level with SDLRS scores. Individuals with higher education were associated with higher scores. Lastly, there was a very large correlation between SDLRS scores and income. All variables, except age and experience, were significant when compared to self-directedness.

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) contributes to performance with an outlook on business growth as well as business development and improvement. It is predicted that the failure rate of small, medium and micro enterprises in South Africa is between 70% and 80%. Millions of rands are being lost on new venture creations because of mistakes and problems that could have been avoided. The survival rate of SMME‟s in South Africa is relatively low indicating that less than half of newly established businesses survive beyond five years. There are a number of similar undesired events surrounding entrepreneurs. These events called for a study on entrepreneurial orientation with the aim to improve on the current situation. The South African government Gazette (2009) indicates that small and medium-sized enterprises contribute positively to the South African GDP and it is essential to help these businesses to grow and to develop. The primary objective of this study is to investigate entrepreneurial orientation in small and medium-sized businesses in South Africa and to assess the awareness and application of the five EO-dimensions, in order to ultimately promote entrepreneurial orientation in the entrepreneurial environment so that businesses can be successful and sustainable. The field of study is entrepreneurship with reference to the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on business managers and entrepreneurs, managing and creating South African SMME‟s. The private sector with specifically regard to micro, small and medium sized-enterprises in South Africa is under investigation. The study was carried out on selected product and service suppliers in the region of the North-West and the Gauteng provinces. Only businesses older than one year was considered during the research process due to the fact that most businesses that have not yet reached the first year is still under establishment. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) contributes to performance with an outlook on business growth as well as business development and improvement. It is predicted that the failure rate of small, medium and micro enterprises in South Africa is between 70% and 80%. Millions of rands are being lost on new venture creations because of mistakes and problems that could have been avoided. The survival rate of SMME‟s in South Africa is relatively low indicating that less than half of newly established businesses survive beyond five years. There are a number of similar undesired events surrounding entrepreneurs. These events called for a study on entrepreneurial orientation with the aim to improve on the current situation. The South African government Gazette (2009) indicates that small and medium-sized enterprises contribute positively to the South African GDP and it is essential to help these businesses to grow and to develop. The primary objective of this study is to investigate entrepreneurial orientation in small and medium-sized businesses in South Africa and to assess the awareness and application of the five EO-dimensions, in order to ultimately promote entrepreneurial orientation in the entrepreneurial environment so that businesses can be successful and sustainable. The field of study is entrepreneurship with reference to the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on business managers and entrepreneurs, managing and creating South African SMME‟s. The private sector with specifically regard to micro, small and medium sized-enterprises in South Africa is under investigation. The study was carried out on selected product and service suppliers in the region of the North-West and the Gauteng provinces. Only businesses older than one year was considered during the research process due to the fact that most businesses that have not yet reached the first year is still under establishment. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Thesis (M. Com.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-130). Also available via the World Wide Web.

This paper analyzes the effects that state-level economic variables have on corporate success measures such as accounting-based return ratios in the period after firms initially go public.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The research identified Site C area of Khayelitsha, a township in the Western Cape province of South Africa, as the case study. Khayelitsha has an estimated population of 1.2 million people, and has about 22 sub-sections or areas. Khayelitsha is made up of old formal areas and new informal/formal areas. Site C, is an area which was built up around one of the old formal areas, and contains a high number of informal settlements, RDP houses, and informal backyard dwellers. The study’s primary objective is to identify what factors the business owners themselves regard as being critical for their own personal success, as well as that of the business they own. The secondary objectives were to determine what the make-up of these identified success factors were, and what their respective contribution was to the overall success of the business, as well as what interventions (if any) could make these identified success factors more effective. Qualitative data was requested from each of the participants over the various questionnaire development phases, to obtain a basic and detailed picture of each owner and their business, and to enable a detailed descriptive analysis of each participant. During the literature reviews of the Small Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME) sector in South Africa, many sources identified the possible failure factors. These failure factors had extensive references to studies which focused primarily on the small and medium enterprises versus the micro enterprises component. The level of data available on micro enterprises indicated a significantly lower level of relevant data, than the data available on the small and medium enterprises component. The identification of the success factors is equally important as a valuable contributor to understanding the significant failure rate of start-up businesses within the SMME sector in South Africa. This thesis will consult literature studies that discuss these challenges. It will have an emphasis on the micro enterprise sub-sector within the broader SMME sector. The inequitable number of data between the micro enterprises and the small to medium enterprises is confirmed by the literature review. The core focus of the research is to hear from the established micro entrepreneurs themselves and what they identified over the course of their business existence, as being the key factors that enabled their success to date, as well as moving toward the future. The findings indicated that success factors are indeed identifiable from the entrepreneurs themselves. These factors included the education and training level of the entrepreneur, the entrepreneurial capacity of the entrepreneur, the access to financial resources, the specific business retail mix and the uniqueness of the specific business within its immediate locality. Whilst the owners’ success (and by default the business as well) is the priority of this research, the equally important failure rate of small business initiatives in South Africa is of concern, and are the proverbial other side of the coin. Small businesses are playing a vital part in our global economy and in particular in terms of job creation and poverty alleviation. The two pillars of the governments micro enterprise rollout is through the Department of Social Development via poverty alleviation programs which have at their core, essentially micro enterprise formation. The other pillar is via the Department of Trade and Industry in respect of job creation and empowerment as objectives. In South Africa much emphasis throughout the Integrated Small Business Strategy is placed by national, provincial and local governments on Small, Medium and Micro enterprises (SMMEs), to drive job creation and poverty alleviation. Therefore, an investigation into the factors contributing to the success of SMMEs is of vital importance. Recent changes in statistical data gathering methodologies have enabled greater understanding of the contribution of especially the smaller enterprises in the informal sector. The extensive literature consulted, put this figure as high as 80% of economic activity in developing countries. This by itself makes it critically important as an employment option for the retrenched, school leavers, graduates and the unemployed in general. Only willing participants were interviewed and were randomly selected based on the criterion of being in business continuously, for at least 5 years. This target population’s value is unique because they fall into the 20% category of small businesses who survive the first 3.5 years of business, as well as being in the even more elite and valuable niche of 2.10% of South Africans who are running firms older than 3.5 years. These two features are both exceptional and generates’ a unique further study opportunity. The opportunity is to identify why the other 80% of start-ups failed over the initial 12 - 48 month period since start-up. The specific focus area of this research is to identify the success factors of retail micro enterprises located within the case study area, being Site C Khayelitsha. The broad findings of the study of successful retail micro-enterprise owners in Site C Khayelitsha, indicate that their prior quality of education, the presence of role models in their social circle influenced their motivational aspect to start a business, their personal management skills levels were a significant feature in their success as well their exposure to, and understanding of business and how it works; were all crucial to their success.

Co-operatives, particularly worker co-operatives, form an integral part of the social and economic development efforts of the South African government. However, worker co-operatives have not achieved the expected results and have mostly remained survivalist in nature, In the literature study, this research explored the potential of worker co-operatives in terms of social and economic development, the state of worker co-operatives in South Africa according to previous research and the challenges faced by worker co-operatives. The submission is that worker co-operatives can only reach their potential in social development when they achieve business success. Therefore, business success factors were determined and criteria for these co-operatives to be classified as successful established. These criteria were as follows:  Longevity (operating for more than three years).  Profitability (showing a surplus for at least one year).  Financial Independence (operating without external funding for at least one year).  Member Income (at least R955 per member per month). The research population for the research was actively operating worker co-operatives registered as clients with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda). A questionnaire exploring the demographics of members, the financial position of the co-operatives and the way in which they were managed and operated were developed. The questionnaire contained questions with regard to financial practices and management, marketing management and activities, operations management, human resource management, management processes.and the support received from development institutions. In addition to the evaluation of the business performance in terms of the criteria for success, the research evaluates the way in which worker co-operatives are managed and operated in terms of established business practices. It, moreover, explores the impact of support initiatives by government institutions and a framework for future development efforts is suggested. The study‟s results show that worker co-operatives are operating at a level where they are unable to fulfil their expected role in economic and social development. Various management and operational challenges were identified. Moreover, it was found that current support initiatives do not have the desired developmental effect. / PhD (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015