by Cho Yiu-sun. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-101). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.vi / LIST OF EXHIBIT --- p.ix / Chapter / Chapter 1. --- INTRODUCTION AND METHODOLOGY / Introduction --- p.1 / Purpose and Planning Horizon --- p.2 / Names --- p.3 / Methodology --- p.3 / Sources of Information --- p.4 / Strategic Planning Model --- p.5 / Strategic Objectives and Plans --- p.11 / Chapter 2. --- HISTORY AND MISSION / History --- p.14 / Historic Strategies --- p.15 / The Mission --- p.17 / Chapter 3. --- PRODUCT SYSTEM AND INDUSTRY / Define Industry --- p.21 / Position of MEL in Industry --- p.22 / Product Systems --- p.25 / Research and Development --- p.33 / Chapter 4. --- ORGANISATION / Mintzburg Model --- p.35 / Sales office and Workshop --- p.37 / Organisation Chart --- p.38 / Chapter 5. --- MARKETS AND MACROENVIRONMENT / Review of Performance --- p.39 / Analysis --- p.43 / Market Potential --- p.44 / Macroenvironment --- p.45 / Chapter 6. --- COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT / Major Players --- p.52 / Analysis by Porter Format --- p.55 / Chapter 7. --- "STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS" / Strengths --- p.64 / Weaknesses --- p.66 / Opportunities --- p.68 / Threats --- p.72 / Chapter 8. --- STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES AND PLANS / Strategic Objectives --- p.74 / Strategic Plans --- p.77 / Chapter 9. --- CONCLUSION / General --- p.92 / Environment --- p.83 / Strategies --- p.84 / Necessity to change --- p.96 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.88 / Appendix / Chapter 1. --- HISTORY OF MEDIA-GO ENGINEERING LIMITED --- p.A1/1 / Chapter 2. --- MAJOR TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS --- p.A2/1 / Chapter 3. --- THREAT OF PROPRIETARY PRODUCTS AND PICTURETEL --- p.A3/1 / Chapter 4. --- WORKSHOP AT CHAKUOLING --- p.A4/1 / Chapter 5. --- PROJECTS LIST AND EXPENSES ANALYSIS --- p.A5/1

I propose an integrative approach to address the above questions. My findings suggest that certain kinds of the organizational form were always interwoven with the social situation at the time and could not be simplistically explained in terms of efficiency alone. It was the state and the development of the market that determined the dynamics of the organizational form. In my opinion, efficiency theory, specifically the concept of asset specificity, could explain why the internal market system failed. On the other hand, power theory, specifically the phenomenon of isomorphism, could shed light on why the enterprise adopted the internal market system in 1994. The study suggests that the perspective of power has more strength to explain the social process of the organizational form framing. Furthermore, it explores the source of the internal transaction costs, which was underdeveloped in neo-institutional economic theory. It is my argument that there is a missing link between asset specificity and the internal transaction costs. / In the institutional approach, the studies of organizational forms have long been influenced by two theories: efficiency theory and power theory. The general theoretical concern of this study is: Is efficiency theory adequate to explain the internal organizational form? Which of these two theories is more appropriate to explain the internal organizational form of the state-owned enterprises in China? / The twenty-year economic reform in China has witnessed frequent changes in the titles and structures of China's economic organizations. This case study investigates the internal organizational form of a state-owned enterprise in Guangzhou, China. It depicts the history of its organizational form from 1949 to 2000. Under the planned economy, the said enterprise, The Southern Heavy Machinery Corporation, had an over-integrated organizational structure. From 1994 to 2000, the enterprise has set up a system consisting of an enterprise group corporation and dozens of subsidiary companies, moving toward a market system for its internal transactions among the production units. The subsidiary companies were set up on the basis of the earlier production plants established before 1984. As profits decreased year by year, the new general manager who started his tenure in September 2000 made the decision to bring some of its crucial subsidiary companies back into the form of production plants to render stronger continuities in production. / Why then, after 16 years of internal market practice that has begun in 1984, did the enterprise restructure itself to adopt the unitary form (U form) in some crucial production units? This study aims to explain the following questions: what was the cause of adopting the certain organizational form, why it used the internal market system and why the internal market system failed. / 平萍. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2002. / 參考文獻 (p. 254-264). / 中英文摘要. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-05, Section: A, page: 2020. / Supervisor: Tai-lok Lui. / Available also through the Internet via Current research @ Chinese University of Hong Kong under title: From over-integration to asset specificity the organizational change of a state-owned machinery enterprise in Guangzhou (China, Chinese text) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / School code: 1307. / Lun wen (Zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2002. / Can kao wen xian (p. 254-264). / Zhong Ying wen zhai yao. / Ping Ping.

Text in English, abstract in English, Afrikaans and Venda / This study developed and tested an integrated internal communication audit (IICA) tool to evaluate the communication strengths and weaknesses of the Unisa Library. The existing communication audit instruments were explored, namely: the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) and the International Communication Association (ICA) audit were adapted and complemented by the Organisational Culture Survey (OCS) and the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). The current trends and the trends in South Africa were also explored. The sequential mixed method design consisting of the semi-structured qualitative interviews and the quantitative surveys were used to collect data. The ATLAS.ti and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software packages were used to analyse qualitative and quantitative data. The results revealed the IICA as an appropriate tool for measuring the integrated internal communication of the Unisa Library. The IICA identified the communication needs of employees; the active and preferred communication channels; and the positive and negative communication experiences of employees. / Hierdie studie het ʼn geïntegreerde interne kommunikasie-oudit (IICA)-hulpmiddel ontwikkel en getoets om kommunikasie-sterkpunte en -swakhede van die Unisa-biblioteek te evalueer. Die bestaande kommunikasie-oudit-instrumente was ondersoek, naamlik: die Kommunikasietevredenheidsvraelys (CSQ) en die Internasionale Kommunikasievereniging (ICA) se oudit is aangepas en gekomplementeer deur die Organisasiekultuur-opname (OCS) en die Kritiese-insident-tegniek (CIT). Die sekwensiële gemengdemetode-ontwerp, bestaande uit die halfgestruktureerde kwalitatiewe onderhoude en die kwantitatiewe opnames, is gebruik om data in te samel. Die ATLAS.ti-programmatuurpakket en die Statistiese Pakket vir Sosiale Wetenskappe (SPSS)-programmatuur is gebruik om kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe data te ontleed. Die resultate gewys die IICA as ʼn geskikte hulpmiddel was in die meting van die geïntegreerde interne kommunikasie van die Biblioteek. Die IICA geïdentifiseer die kommunikasie behoeftes van werknemers; die aktiewe en voorkeur kommunikasie kanale; en die positiewe en negatiewe kommunikasie ervarings van werknemers. / Ngudo iyi yo bveledza na u linga tshishumiswa tsha u Sedzulusa Vhudavhidzani ha nga ngomu ho Ṱanganelaho (Integrated Internal Communication Audit (IICA), u ṱola vhuḓi na vhuvhi ha vhudavhidzani kha Ḽaiburari ya Univesithi ya Afrika Tshipembe. Zwishumiswa zwa u sedza vhudavhidzani zwi re hone zwo sedzuluswaho zwi katela: Mbudzisambekanywa dza Vhudavhidzani dzine dza fusha ṱhoḓea (Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire) (CSQ) na tshishumiswa tsha u sedzulusa vhudavhidzani tsha Dzangano ḽa Dzitshaka ḽa Vhudavhidzani (International Communication Association) (ICA). Zwishumiswa izwo zwo ḓadziswa nga tshishumiswa tsha Ṱhoḓisiso ya Mvelele ya Tshiimiswa (Organisational Culture Survey) (OCS) na Tshikalo tsha u ela Maitele a Zwithu zwa ndeme (Critical Incident Technique) (CIT). Pulane ya thevhekano ya maitele o ṱanganelaho o vhumbwaho nga maitele a ṱhoḓisiso ane a shumiswa kha saintsi dza matshilisano (qualitative) na maitele a ṱhoḓisiso ane a shumisa zwiṱatisiṱika na mbalo (quantitative) zwo shumiswa u kuvhanganya mawanwa. Phakhedzhi ya Sofuthiwea ya ATLAS.ti na phakhedzhi ya Siṱatisiṱika ya Saintsi dza Matshilisano (Statistical Package for Social Sciences - SPSS) dzo shumiswa u saukanya mawanwa a ṱhoḓisiso dza matshilisano na a ṱhoḓisiso dza zwiṱatisiṱika na mbalo. Mvelelo dzo bvisela khagala uri IICA ndi tshishumiswa tsho teaho u ela vhudavhidzani ho ṱanganelaho ha nga ngomu Ḽaiburari ya Univesithi ya Afrika Tshipembe. Tshishumiswa itshi tsho bvisela khagala thoḓea dza vhashumi dza vhudavhidzani, zwishumiswa zwa vhudavhidzani zwine zwa khou shumiswa na zwi takalelwaho; na tshenzhemo ya vhashumi kha vhudavhidzani havhudi and vhu si havhudi. / Communication Science / M. Comm (Communication Science)

South Africa is ranked as one of the most mega-biodiverse countries in the world. But as the country faces poverty, unemployment and income inequalities, it is a mammoth task to develop, sustainably use and appreciate this natural capital. Thus, South Africa must find ways to ensure a balance between conservation of biodiversity and the achievement of socio- economic development. But when land is set aside for conservation, in most cases, local communities are on the receiving end of the decision making, with little to no opportunity to be involved. The Colbyn Valley Wetland is different, however. The site provides invaluable ecosystem goods and services to the local residents, as well as being an integral part of the Hartbeesspruit catchment and Roodeplaat dam. It has a history of sustained attempts to convert the site into housing estates, shopping centres or car parking. These attempts have met with unrelenting resistance by the local residents. Contrary to the experiences of other communities in South Africa, Colbyn Valley residents have elected to work together with other stakeholders to ensure the protection of this site. This study documents the processes that the residents undertook to protect the wetland. In this regard, local authorities can learn how to leverage stakeholder engagement to protect other sites. Importantly, the study found that the various stakeholders involved in the preservation of the Colbyn Valley Wetland were driven by different but interwoven interests. Thus, different interests need to be taken into consideration before protected areas adjacent to communities can be proclaimed. For example, the primary stakeholders - local residents who initiated the call to protect the Colbyn Valley Wetland – hold strong beliefs that the wetland must be preserved for ecosystem goods and services that it provides. Secondary stakeholders – the provincial government departments responsible for the management and protection of ecosystems – only acted when pressured by the local residents, despite their legal obligations to protect the site (as it carries so much value to the water provision of the city). The tertiary stakeholders – various voluntary institutions and people – elected to support the conservation effort due to the manner in which the local residents organised themselves and developed a vision for the site. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Science)

In the era of globalisation, organisations around the world have increasingly become stages of global diversity where multi-cultural workforces interact in teams on a daily basis. International organisations, in particular, are a characteristic display of cross-cultural interaction. The study of organisational culture in a multi-cultural organisational environment is receiving growing attention due to a pressing need to understand and manage the consequences of cross-cultural interaction and achieve better organisational outcomes. However, so far, studies in the area have focused on multinational for-profit organisations and neglected other industry and governance, missing opportunities for broader and richer understanding in the field. The present study covered a case of an internationally federated complex non-profit organisation and captured new insights, thereby contributing to theory and enriching the empirical evidence in the field of study. The results shed light on the importance of industry and governance, and provoked critical questions for further research. The unique features of non-profit and federated governance culture depicted the opportunities for cross-learning with other industries. The study highlighted the distinct formation of conventional cultural dimensions contributing to cultural cohesion and cushioning the federation against excessive fragmentation. The dimensions of institutional collectivism, in-group collectivism, power distance and uncertainty avoidance depicted interesting behaviours in the study context. These dimensions dominated behaviour and have rendered other dimensions subservient. Cultural behaviours, such as cultural-anchoring and power grouping, transpired as unique findings to the industry and governance, where consensus and fragmentation have played integrative and accommodative roles. Dominant dimensions determined direction and intensity in subservient dimensions irrespective of values espoused by leadership in the subservient dimensions. The line between organisational politics and the ingroup collectivism dimension was blurred, calling for further research in the field of organisational behaviour. Further research in the field could focus on shaping organisational cultural dimensions fit for diverse industry and governance contexts, identifying areas of cross-fertilisation of learning, investigating the significance of dominant versus subservient dimensions in the process of organisational cultural change, and broadening the knowledge base in the field by studying diverse organisational typologies. / Graduate School of Business Leadership (SBL) / D. B. L.

Primarily, this research study was concerned with the evaluation of the brand campus concept implemented at then DaimlerChrysler South Africa in 2002, as a case study. Pretoria-based Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) Ltd. (MBSA) is a subsidiary of global vehicle manufacturer Germany’s Daimler-Benz AG (DBAG). They are responsible for assembling, distributing and retailing, certain Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi vehicle brands, and spare parts. The landmark 1998 DaimlerChrysler global ‘merger of equals’ was preceded by the 1995 joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi Motor Corporation. Consequently, three brands (Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler and Mitsubishi) were retailed and marketed under DaimlerChrysler South Africa (Pty) Ltd. (DCSA), positioned next to each other in the same showroom. This report identifies key challenges stemming from this approach, namely: brand strength dilution, more than 80 multi-franchised dealers and multi-branded showrooms, service capacity problems, old working environment and infrastructure, and perceived intra-brand competition. The research evidence suggests that these problems prompted then DCSA to launch the 2000 Dealer Network Strategy (DNS). In the grand scheme of things, the DNS intervention entailed partitioning the dealer network into five brand centres in five metro regions, and eighteen market centres in the rural areas. The brand campus concept was borne out of DNS and proved to be a masterstroke since, the primary focus was on streamlining the retail facilities for DCSA vehicle sales, service and spare parts for both the passenger and commercial vehicles. This study highlights key pillars of the brand campus concept, namely: profitability, brand focus, customer orientation and diversity. The challenge was to address seven major drivers of the brand campus concept, namely: after-sales vehicle support, vehicle service capacity, lead-times, spare parts availability, sales information propagation, behavior of sales personnel and the overall vehicle dealership appearance. Semi-structured interviews constituted part of the evaluation based on the perspectives of five customers, three dealer principals and two MBSA marketing executives. The research evidence, which also came from MBSA documentation and direct observation, shows that this innovative concept has been remarkably successful.

The research investigates the retention of employees in the institutions of higher learning and the focus is placed on the Central University of Technology: Free State (CUT). The research is undertaken because the employees at the Central University of Technology: Free State, are resigning from their positions and join rival institutions and other organisations. This creates a problem on part of students, fellow employees and management. There is therefore, a need to find reasons behind these mass resignations of employees and also to look at the retention strategies that can be employed to keep employees at the Central University of Technology: Free State. In order to address the above purpose of the research, various retention strategies to keep talented employees are discussed, and factors that lead to employees leaving the institutions are also placed under the spotlight. The discussion shows that talent management has a direct relationship with employee needs and motivation. Qualitative and quantitative methods of research are used to analyse the retention strategies employed at the Central University of Technology: Free State. The findings of the research reveal that factors such as working environment, satisfying work-life, personal career development, emotional exhaustion as well as rewards versus performance exacerbate mass exodus of talented employees at the institution. It is also disclosed that there are retention strategies in place but are not effectively implemented. The findings revealed that managers and supervisors play crucial roles in the interpretation and implementation of strategies. Working conditions should be improved so that employees stay with the institution and perform to the best of their ability. Training should be made compulsory for every employee as it provides necessary skills. Best performance and rewards should match performance in order to keep employees at the institution. / Public Administration & Management / M.Admin. (Public Administration)

Despite decades of development efforts to combat desertification processes in southern Zimbabwe, a development deadlock occurs. Using the local knowledge systems as a basis, and making an effort to strategically facilitate the revival of their capacity for checks and balances as a development approach, endogenous development could become more realistic. The actor-oriented RAAKS.methodology offers relevant tools for a case study'in which an insight into the processes of innovation is obtained in order to confirm this. The Charurnbira case study shows that many local interfaces hinder development. Although the facilitation of platform processes could enhance endogenous development, the external environment provides a serious constraint. The method employed did ndt permit broad conclusions, but a deeper examination of recent experiences suggested that by giving local people a greater say in natural resource use, local knowledge could be utilized more effectively and better use could be made of traditional management structures. / Development Administration / M.A. (Development Administration)

Globalisation, technological advancements and changing social needs result in virtual work arrangements becoming more prominent. Virtual work is conducted away from the traditional office setting and usually occurs in employees’ personal home environments. Virtual work has been called virtualling in this study, and virtual employees are referred to as virtuallers. A phenomenological orientation was adopted in studying completely virtual workers in a completely virtual context; sourcing of participants and data collection were also conducted completely virtually. This study presented new ways of conducting research in the modern, virtual world of work. An autoethnography was included, as the researcher is also a virtualler and insider of virtualling. Four key case studies are presented to provide a holistic picture of virtualling and virtuallers. Thematic results indicate key influencing factors that originate from virtualling, as well as factors and mindset requirements that pertain to the virtualler personally. It was further found and proposed that the resulting virtual environment changes virtuallers’ ways of doing things and viewing the world, hence results in changes in their lifestyle and career identity. The abstract psychological structure as it resulted from the thread of meanings was presented as virtualness. Authentic psychological identification with virtualling and adopting a boundarylessness employability mindset oriented towards psychological success are highlighted as key requirements in order to experience virtualness. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / MCOM (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the role that they play in the economy have been widely studied. SMEs are of particular interest because they are seen as greatly contributing to innovation, economic competitiveness, equity and redistribution, employment creation. Given the positive role that they are seen as playing in the economy, the growth and transformation of small enterprises into medium enterprises is welcomed. It is seen as increasing the benefits of the SMEs to the economy and society in general. The research sought to analyze and draw insights on the growth of enterprises from small to medium size. This issue has been widely studied but as late as 2007, reviewing the state of knowledge about growth in small businesses, Dobbs and Hamilton (2007, p.296) observed that despite the growing volume of applied research, our knowledge base still lacks a body of theory capable of explaining the growth of small businesses. This research therefore responds to this call by Dobbs and Hamilton (2007) for new theoretical perspectives and alternative types of research. It does so by focusing on the practical role that the entrepreneur plays in facilitating or hindering growth. It also responds to this call by using a methodological approach that has not been widely used in this field to date. In addition, not sufficient attention has been paid to the role of the entrepreneur as the dynamic element in the growth and transformation process, neither globally but even less so in the Southern African case in general but even less so in the South African construction setting specifically and in Gauteng in particular. The lack of sufficient attention to the role of the entrepreneur in facilitating or hindering the growth and transformation process is very pronounced in the context of the Southern Africa region. This thesis therefore seeks to address this gap. This thesis takes as its departure, the decisiveness of the entrepreneur in the business system. It places the entrepreneur at the centre of the enterprise and analyses the role that the entrepreneur plays in facilitating or hindering the growth of the enterprise from small to medium size. Freel (2000: p.321) observed that more significantly, the internal dynamics of firm growth have remained something of a 'black box'. Focusing on growth, this research seeks to identify the key drivers of why some firms grow and others do not. It seeks to unravel the "black box" of small enterprise growth in the context of South Africa. In this process, the research sought to focus on the role of the entrepreneur in facilitating or inhibiting growth. The main question that this research sought to answer is: Is the entrepreneur the main driver of small enterprise growth and graduation, and what role does he or she play and how does he or she facilitate the growth and graduation of small into medium enterprises in South Africa? Building on the main and sub research questions the research sought and successfully proved the following Propositions: Proposition One (P 1): The entrepreneur is the key driver of small enterprise growth and graduation in South Africa. Proposition Two (P 11): The entrepreneur is the main inhibitor of small enterprise growth and graduation in non- growth small enterprises in South Africa. Proposition Three (P 111): Macro - economic environmental factors are a key but not the decisive driver for growth and transformation of SMEs. Proposition Four (P 1 V): The growth and competitiveness of the industrial sub sector is a key but not decisive driver of growth and competitiveness of SMEs. This research was undertaken within the framework of qualitative research. It was undertaken in four phases, namely: Phase One: Sector and SME Selection Phase Two: Individual Interview Phase Three: Document Analysis Phase Four: Case Study Development focusing on the role of the Entrepreneur in the Growth Process The data analysis was driven by the model of the drivers of SME growth and transformation already outlined above. It sought to apportion qualitative weightings to key already identified drivers of growth and transformation: macro-economic environment, industry sub sector, access to finance, technology, and BDS and the entrepreneur's motivation and skills. The data analysis delved deeper into the last category of drivers, entrepreneur's motivation and skills. It dissected the role that the entrepreneur's skill played in the overall growth and transformation of the enterprise. The data gathered from the three methods, namely individual interviews, follow up telephonic interviews and the document analysis were analyzed to arrive at the role that the entrepreneur's skills played in the growth and transformation process. Qualitative analysis of the entrepreneur's responses was undertaken to apportion the weighting given to the key drivers of the growth and transformation process. The data analysis also sought to unravel the key constituents of the entrepreneur's skills. It identified what constitutes the entrepreneur's skills that are crucial to the growth and transformation process. Focus was on the technical, managerial or leadership aspects. Findings from the data analysis assist in the conclusions and recommendations. This study was limited to Gauteng province of South Africa. It is hoped that this province will represent the best construction macro-economic environment in South Africa. This study concentrated on the sectors that were selected from the sector selection process. The study interviewed entrepreneurs and enterprises that are exclusively in the selected sector. The study was limited to medium sized enterprises that grew out of small enterprises that were formal - registered, licensed and operating within the framework of the law. The medium enterprises that this study focused on were not subsidiaries of larger conglomerates. This study also did not focus on medium enterprises that were created as medium enterprises and did not grow in size. The study is based on three key assumptions: the growth in employment is a sufficient reflection of the growth process, changes in the structure of the business are a direct result of the growth in employment and what the entrepreneur does directly reflects itself in the growth or lack of growth in the enterprise. This study has the following limitations: the peculiarities of the selected sector construction, growth in employment may not capture the entirety of the growth process and the fact that the study was conducted in the period of the Soccer World Cup 2010 affected the perceptions of the owner managers to be more positive than could have been experienced outside of this unique event. This research has proven through the data gathered, presented and analyzed that the owner manager of the respondent enterprises is the fulcrum upon which all the major decisions in the enterprise revolve. It is the quality of these decisions that drive or hinder the growth process. The owner manager makes the key decisions regarding: - the role and nature of interaction with the government, - the structure of the enterprise and the roles and responsibilities of the staff within the enterprise, - the marketing strategy, - the quality and skill level of the staff, - the role information technology, the nature and type of communication within the enterprise and between the enterprise and its external stakeholders, - the culture of the enterprise, - the interaction between the business and family and, - the management of the book of accounts. It is the cumulative impact of these decisions that the owner manager makes that propel the enterprise to growth. This confirms that the entrepreneur is the main driver of enterprise growth and graduation from small to medium enterprise size through the decisions that he or she makes. This research has also identified that it is not only the decisions that the owner manager makes that matter. It is also the management style that the owner manager adopts that facilitates or hinders growth. The owner manager needs to adopt a participatory management style which empowers the staff, to facilitate enterprise growth and transformation. Based on the data gathered this research has dealt with the issue of the impact of the macroeconomic environment on the growth of the owner managed construction enterprises. Focusing on growth, this research has identified the key drivers of why some owner managed construction enterprises firms grow and others do not. The research has identified the macroeconomic environment as a key driver of the performance of the whole economy. A key element of the construction industry which positively benefitted the enterprises in the period 2002 - 2010 is the construction boom experienced because of the Soccer World Cup 2010. The construction bonanza was based on the ten new stadia to be build or renovated and the accompanying road infrastructure. This played a key factor in the positive growth experience by most of the firms in the industry. The South African economy performed well in the period 1994 - 2008. The good performance of the economy in the period 1994 - 2008, had a positive spillover effect on the construction sector and the enterprises in that sector. This proves that the macroeconomic environment is a key driver of growth and competitiveness. However, starting in 2008, the GEFC set in. The impact of the GEFC on the economy was very severe. The GDP declined dramatically and the inflation rose. This impacted the whole economy. Added to this was the impact of the newly introduced National Credit Act. The National Credit Act made access to credit especially for housing loans more difficult. Despite the combined negative consequences of the GEFC and the National Credit Act, the majority of the respondent enterprises continued to experience growth. One respondent enterprise suffered a dramatic decline in sales and growth in this period. This was more because of the 'wrong' marketing strategy it chose to respond to the overall down turn in the economy. Significantly, when the owner manager adjusted the marketing strategy, sales and growth have begun to pick up again. This proves that a positive macroeconomic environment is crucial as a driver of growth but is not a decisive factor because even when the macroeconomic environment turns negative, growth firms are able to maintain their growth path. So, in conclusion, the macroeconomic environment is a necessary but not sufficient condition for enterprise growth. The above conclusion on the macroeconomic environment is also true of the sector competitiveness and growth's impact on the growth of enterprises in that industrial sub sector. As the economy has grown, so has the construction industry. Within the period 2000 - 2008, the construction industry has also been performing well on the back of the good macro economic performance. As a result the RMB / BER and the FNB / BER Business Confidence Indexes have been on a gradual upward trend. The Respondent Enterprises in this research clearly benefited from this gradual upward trend in the economy in general and the construction industry in particular. The Respondent Enterprises experienced sustained growth in this period as well. This confirms that growth enterprises benefit from a growing and competitive industrial sub sector. However, the industrial sub sector took a negative turn on the back of the GEFC, the National Credit Act and the end of the 2010 Soccer World Cup construction boom in the pperiod 2008-2010. Despite this, the majority of the respondent enterprises continued to enjoy significant growth. This leads to the conclusion that the growth and competitiveness of the industrial sub sector is a key but not decisive driver of growth and competitiveness of SMEs. This research has therefore unraveled the "black box" of owner managed small construction enterprise growth of the South Africa context by analyzing the role of the macroeconomic environment, the growth and competitiveness of the industrial sub sector and the owner manager. In this process the research has focused on the role of the entrepreneur in facilitating or inhibiting growth and highlighted the entrepreneur's centrality to the growth process. Through the use of the case study method this research has been able to address the how and why of construction enterprises growth in Gauteng. This study has added value to the existing body of literature on enterprise growth by delving deeper into many already known factors driving enterprise growth. This research in most of the identified areas has been to analyze deeply and give greater insight into the dynamics of how growth actually happens within the enterprise through the role of the owner manager. Through this process this research has helped in opening Freel (2000)'s 'black box" of enterprise growth with particular reference to the construction sector in Gauteng, South Africa. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the growth and transformation of SMEs globally. But specifically it makes a contribution to the understanding of the growth and transformation of the construction SMEs in Gauteng province of South Africa where there is a dearth of such studies. In a country and province where the issues of increasing black participation in the economy is topical, this study will increase society's understanding of how construction SME growth and transformation can contribute to the realization of this goal. This study assists in creating awareness within society of how entrepreneurship development can play a major role in achieving the goal of equitable distribution of the region's wealth. It contributes to a realization of a society that is supportive of enterprise development and an enterprise culture. The study contributes to the debate of what policy measures can assist in the development of a construction entrepreneurial class. The BEE policies attempt to create an environment which facilitates the growth and graduation of SMEs. This study will assist in informing how these policies can best be shaped. This study contributes to a greater understanding of this phenomenon in the context of the construction sector in South Africa. By focusing on the qualltative approach this study seeks to bring a different angle to the largely quantitative approach which has dominated the study of SME growth thus far. / Business Management / D.B.L.