The choice of the geographical location of the premises for the business is of extreme importance for all kinds of enterprises, although for some it may be more important than for others. Some of the most important location factors are : social environment, climate, existing business environment, the attitude, regulations and tariffs of local authorities. The main purpose of this research is to map, and create a document for the small businesses (formal and informal businesses) in northwest greater Mafikeng. In pursuit of objective there will be at least, new knowledge and understanding of a specific geographic phenomenon (formal and informal businesses). The study is subdivided into seven major chapters. Chapter one includes the small-scale business sector in the South African context, statement problems, and objectives of the study and research hypotheses. The literature review (chapter two) covers a number of subtopics related to both the topic and objectives, to name few: an overview of small businesses, location, and size and diversity of small business, important and laws governing small business, education and training for small business. Methods of study and the research area (chapter three) cover the approaches and techniques used in this study. The research area includes the background information of the northwest greater Mafikeng. Maps analysis : spatial distribution of small businesses (chapter four) covers the analysis of spatial distribution of small businesses (non tax registered and registered) in northwest greater Mafikeng. Consumer perception (chapter five) covers the discussion report of the questionnaires from the sampled residents of northwest greater Mafikeng. Traders surveys (chapter six) follows with the discussion report of the interviewed conducted in the small businesspeople (non tax registered and registered) in northwest greater Mafikeng. Summary, conclusion and recommendations, (chapter seven) includes the main summary of the study, major conclusion and recommendations to government and local authorities. / M.A. (Geography) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

This thesis formed part of a existing longitudinal study. The overall study is an outcome of research done to understand success and failure issues in Africa, which is an attempt to understand the impact of a short entrepreneurial training programme on the performance of small scale enterprises over time. The study is unique in the South African context in that it is the first short term, 3 days, entrepreneurial training programme that is assessed by means of a longitudinal method incorporating a control group.

South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, currently 23.90%. One way for the government and policy-makers of South Africa to address this dire statistic is through the fostering and promotion of entrepreneurship and small business creation. The benefits of entrepreneurship are numerous and can include: increasing a country’s productivity, enhancing the welfare and well-being of its citizens, reducing emigration rates, improving economic development and perhaps, most importantly, increasing employment rates. Worldwide, small businesses within the private sector have become indispensable to sustainable job creation and therefore it is of the utmost importance that small businesses in any economy develop, grow and succeed. Despite the fact that research pertaining to small businesses has increased over the years, little empirical evidence has been established. In particular, research into what makes small businesses successful has been limited. Entrepreneurial activity in South Africa remains less than ideal and therefore it is appropriate that research into the success factors of small businesses in South Africa be investigated. Furthermore, the survival of South African small businesses beyond four to five years of being in operation is estimated at only 20.00%. It is evident that a lack of knowledge exists and with respect to this research the factors found to be the most common determinants of success for small businesses in Port Elizabeth were determined and investigated. Convenience- and snowball sampling techniques were used to identify potential participants. In total 43 usable questionnaires were returned. Methodological triangulation was used to analyse the data, according to descriptive- and inferential statistics, as well as content analysis. This being so, the research was conducted within two paradigms, primarily, the positivist research paradigm and also the phenomenological research paradigm. The key findings of this study indicate personal factors to be the most important success factor group, while the environmental success factor group is considered the least important. The most important factors attributable to the success of participants’ small businesses include: maintaining good customer services skills and relationships; having a strong commitment to product/service quality; and having honest employees with sound professional ii knowledge and a positive morale. The least important success factors include: trade exhibitions and business fairs; small business legislation; and industry structure and competition. Finally, the hypothesis tests indicate that significant differences only exist between: the relationship statuses and business factors and the business sectors and environmental factors. The results of this research have significant practical implications for the various stakeholders of entrepreneurship. It is hoped that the results will add to the existing body of knowledge and in turn aid South Africa in becoming aware of the factors essential for small business success. In doing so, South Africa at large will be able to take full advantage of entrepreneurship and small business creation, which continue to remain well within its reach

Thesis (MTech (Business Information Systems))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2005 / The Internet was functioning on Internet protocol (IP) and transmission control protocol (TCP) in the 1970s and soon afterwards electronic mail (email) was invented allowing messages to be sent from one person to another using packet switch services (PSS). However email did not form an information space for information to permanently exist. The World Wide Web (Web) arrived in the late 1980s, riding on top of the Internet providing a global and persistent information space available to everyone. This information space has assisted in small business facing dramatic change, often referred to as the 'e-commerce evolution'. Compared to the industrial revolution with the advent of the railways and electricity the magnitude of ecommerce is no less. Advances in the information technology (or e-comrnerce elements) and the use of Information systems (or applications) are the main drivers behind this e-commerce evolution. Some authors believe all businesses will be equal in the utilisation of e-commerce eroding any competitive advantage the one may have over the other. The 'digital economy' is now available with the explosive popularity of the Internet and the Web as seminal applications of e-commerce. In South Africa the maturity level of e-commerce adoption has increased from skepticism to positivism since the world wide availability of the Internet. Although e-commerce has generated a profusion of articles in South Africa, there has been a lack of research into the effects and benefits of e-commerce utilisation by small business. Various elements of e-commerce are explored highlighting the suitability of use towards a small business. This stUdy will explain the fundamentals that small business owners will need to understand to enable them to knowledgably participate in the global phenomenon of e-commerce. Authors nationally and internationally have explored the applications of e-commerce for example email and electronic data interchange (EDI).

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Social entrepreneurship is well positioned in tackling socio-economic problems in poor communities. Besides transforming the market, the impact of social entrepreneurship is becoming more important for the world to improve social challenges and provide social innovation solutions that are sustainable and effective. Regardless of the positive performance of activities implemented by social entrepreneurs in tackling socioeconomic issues in the Cape Metropolitan area, their impact on community development remains unknown and is negatively perceived by the communities. This study sought to develop an understanding from communities of how social entrepreneurship impacts their development and to determine its social impact. The study investigated the impact of social entrepreneurship on community development in order to improve interaction among stakeholders. The research questions were: What impact do social entrepreneurs have on communities? How can social entrepreneurship improve development in communities? What forms of support do social entrepreneurs need in order to effectively develop communities? A mixed method approach (qualitative and quantitative) was used to collect data through semi-structured questionnaire and interview to determine the needs and capture the views of stakeholders regarding the impact of social entrepreneurs on community development. Social entrepreneurship is a tool that can tackle deprived communities’ problems, especially in the Cape Metropolitan areas of Khayelitsha and Gugulethu where socioeconomic problems such as health, education, and others are increasing. Social entrepreneurs’ activities are laid to develop the community as they provide comprehensive care, support the most vulnerable communities and strive to improve the quality of health, education and unemployment. It was found that improvements through training, educating and facilitating communities’ engagement in different activities such as home-based care and developing children mentality in creating space for every person to develop their needs is what could promote and impact community development. However, it was also found that social entrepreneurs sometimes use resources or methods of monitoring that are deemed useless to attain their objectives.

M.Com. (Business Management) / The main objective of the study is to measure the relationship between the practices of corporate entrepreneurship and lean six sigma within the South African financial sector. Although studies on these management styles are prevalent in the literature, few of them provide a direct comparison of the styles. There is a further gap in the literature that addresses the South African context. The study design included anonymously submitted questionnaire data on the levels of corporate entrepreneurship, lean six sigma and organisational performance from employees at South African banks. 248 potential participants were contacted, with a snowball sampling method being utilised. The final response rate was 41% (102 completed surveys), and this is the number used in the study. Respondents were employees at South African banking institutions. Likert scales were used to score the various constructs of corporate entrepreneurship and lean six sigma. The study looked to determine if there are statistically significant relationships between these constructs. In addition, the relationship between organisational performance, corporate entrepreneurship and lean six sigma was reviewed. The findings were that there are low-level practices of entrepreneurship and lean six sigma in the South African financial institutions. The main findings showed that in general the elements of corporate entrepreneurship had a correlation to the elements of lean six sigma, as evidenced in four out of the six possible correlations. This being said; the correlations were weak to slightly moderate in nature. As for the correlation to organisational performance, four out of the five potential correlations were statistically significant, all be it either weak or almost moderate. There was a positive direction to the correlation in all instances. The main implications of the findings are that corporate entrepreneurship and lean six sigma, though vastly differentiating in history and styles can co-exist in a single organisation. There were no instances of negative correlation as may be expected from the seemingly incomplete and incompatible nature of the two methods. The recommendation is that these two strategies can and should be implemented in conjunction, given their explicit impact on organisational performance. The main limitation of the study was that a small sample used. Another limitation was the focus on banks and not the entire financial sector. Future research could target other financial institutions that are not full service banking operations. The study could contain more detail to determine if, the size and age of the organisation impact on the practice of corporate entrepreneurship and lean six sigma.

The entrepreneurial intentions of university students are important factors to consider when developing entrepreneurship offerings at tertiary level institutions. This research study reports on pertinent findings from a study which set out to determine Rhodes university undergraduate students‟ entrepreneurial intentions and their pull and push factors that have brought them to the decision to become entrepreneurs. A survey, using a 43 question structured web-based instrument was used to capture the responses from undergraduate students across different departments at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. Key findings suggest that few undergraduate students intend to enter into an entrepreneurship career immediately after completion of their studies, whereas many of the respondents were more interested in doing so five years after graduation. The vast majority of students were satisfied without having formal entrepreneurial education and factors such as previous employment in entrepreneurial activities, and family influence had a statistical significant relationship with entrepreneurial intention.

The research problem in this study was to look at barriers confronting small and micro tourism enterprises of the previously disadvantaged entrepreneurs in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. To achieve this objective, literature on the barriers confronting these enterprises, was reviewed. The empirical results obtained indicate a strong concurrence with the literature study emphasizing the importance of the barriers identified and the possible ways of resolving them. The main problems identified in the literature review were: lack of institutional support, legislation, lack of access to finance, and lack of entrepreneurial skill (planning and organizing, marketing, training and human resources, time management, conflict resolution and negotiation skill). These barriers identified in the literature study were then used to develop a questionnaire to test the extent to which small and micro tourism enterprises are constrained by barriers when starting up and how these barriers can be resolved. A sample of 18 small and micro tourism businesses was taken, one from Uitenhage and 17 from Port Elizabeth. The main results were that there are few small and micro tourism businesses of the previously disadvantaged entrepreneurs in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. The main reason for this is that previously disadvantaged entrepreneurs are not given adequate support by government institutions created for that purpose. iv Most of these businesses are not getting enough financial support during start-up because of problems with the owners’ credit records. The results also indicate that small and micro tourism businesses of the previously disadvantaged entrepreneurs view legislation intended to develop them, as actually stifling their development, such as the municipal credit laws. The study recommends that more institutional support should be given to small and micro tourism businesses that are starting up, and government institutions responsible for the development of small and micro businesses need to target the previously disadvantaged communities with their marketing. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) need to conduct research on alternative non-collateral financing for small and micro businesses. More training programmes on business skills have also to be conducted.

This research addressed the study of entry strategies by Chinese sports-shoe manufacturers into the South African sports-shoe market. The goal of this research is to investigate what are the appropriate entry strategies for Chinese sports-shoe companies to enter the South African sports-shoe market. A Chinese sports-shoe company, Li Ning Limited, was used as a case study to illustrate the methods to explore appropriate entry strategies. The research methodology included: {u10007A} A literature study to explore the popular entry strategies used to enter the South African and also global markets was conducted. In addition, the South African and Chinese market environments were investigated. {u10007A} An empirical study, a survey of sports-shoe customers and sports-shoe shops owners, was done in order to explore the advisable entry strategies for Chinese sports-shoe companies to enter the South African sports-shoe market. According to the literature study as well as the empirical study, the research explored some advisable entry strategies for Chinese sports-shoe companies into the South African domain.

The significance of SMME development as a route to creating jobs and enhancing skills development has been and is still on top of South Africa‟s developmental agenda. The escalating unemployment rate and skills shortage to meet with demands of globalization compels the government to develop strategies to respond to the crisis. It is eighteen years since South Africa became a democratic country but the job creation and skills development sectors remain in a crisis. Stagnant economic growth is as a result of high unemployment which is a factor of skills shortage in the black South African labour force. The government creates an enabling environment by developing flexible regulations for equal participation of historically disadvantaged individuals to participate the in mainstream economic activities. Public investment through infrastructure development is one of the labour intensive programmes to promote SMME development, job creation and skills development. It is against this background that this research aims to explore the effect of SMME development in creating jobs and its ability to serve as centres of skills development. Also, it is against this background that this study aims to assess the extent of government support in creating an enabling environment for SMME development to achieve its ultimate goals.