Over the past few years there has been an explosion of appetite for entrepreneurship, more particularly from women. Given the numerous barriers faced especially by women entrepreneurs today, there is a pressing need to initiate empowerment programmes to enable them to succeed in their endeavours. There is a need to empower women economically and to create employment opportunities and income generating activities to enable them to survive, prosper and provide support for their families. For the development of women–to–women business potential, women entrepreneurs require support in the form of training in strategic business development, access to credit funds, assistance with marketing skills and product design and development. Starting a firm of one's own may be one way for women to avoid the 'glass ceiling' that has sometimes been argued to exist in established organisations, providing one attractive way for entrepreneurial women to realise their full potential. Small business owners have more freedom to plan their personal schedules and to jungle them to suit their work and family demands which is often an important consideration for women. Entrepreneurs must be flexible and creative to meet the challenges which come along with running their businesses. The importance of a strong, entrepreneurial vision that can lead towards a successful enterprise is often underestimated. Women are disadvantaged by their lower levels of financial literacy and awareness. Access barriers are significant. Opportunities for financial services companies who can provide affordable, appropriate and accessible products to meet the needs of self–employed women are thus limited. Women entrepreneurs are still to overcome key challenges like access to training in international trade issues, operations management and marketing, as well as access to good mentors and mentorship programs. The study concludes that women confront barriers because of their gender and the author or investigator cites previous research that argues that these barriers are a result of socialisation practices, educational experiences, family roles, and networking. Government and all other relevant stakeholders should promote public awareness and ensure that resources for programs to foster entrepreneurship are decentralised. Women entrepreneurs should examine the role that the education system could play in developing entrepreneurial skills and attitudes. In Ekurhuleni region there is an increasing number of women who are required to steer their own businesses, and many are struggling to achieve success. This paper explores women entrepreneurship in the construction and engineering sectors. According to the responses obtained from the study, there are specific skills that entrepreneurs must posses in order to operate and succeed in construction and engineering industries within the Ekurhuleni region and these are communication skills, administration skills, financial skills and interpersonal skills. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Worldwide, entrepreneurship is seen as one of the most important solutions to unemployment, poverty and low economic growth. The creation of new ventures and the growth of existing businesses are vital contributing factors to any economy. Women outnumber male entrepreneurs, which have led to a renewed focus on gender entrepreneurship and the development of appropriate interventions for gender–specific groups across the globe. In South Africa, women make up just less than 50% of the entrepreneurial population. There is therefore, considerable scope to improve the number of women entrepreneurs in the economy and the level at which they operate. Literature review in this study highlighted that female business ownership is concentrated primarily in the service industries where businesses are relatively smaller in terms of employment and revenue, as opposed to the technology, construction and manufacturing sectors. Women entrepreneurs want to expand their businesses as much as male entrepreneurs but women have a hard time in obtaining external financing and credibility as business owners. The objective of the study was to explore white and black women entrepreneurs in the Carletonville and Soweto areas and to provide practical recommendations to ensure successful women entrepreneurship in the country. This study had a total of 58 black and white women entrepreneurs that were motivated by factors like the need for independence, confidence in the product/service offered, self– fulfillment and the need for a challenge into owning a business. A typical woman entrepreneur in this study is between the ages 40 to 59 years, is married with an average of one to two children. The woman entrepreneur is fairly educated with an education level of matric and a diploma. But her business is micro or very small with an annual turnover of R50 000 to R500 000. Participating women entrepreneurs are faced with obstacles such as inequality of access to credit, awareness and access to business support, risk averse, lack of focused women entrepreneurship policies from regional municipalities and government, lack of education and training in their business start–up phase. They are faced with obstacles such as awareness / access to business support, gaining acceptance and respect of people, liquidity and other financial problems and lack of timely business information in running their businesses. Women entrepreneurs in this study declared that they need support on factors such as business advice, information, counselling, mentoring, marketing support and women entrepreneurship specific based policies to enhance women entrepreneurship in the areas of Soweto and Carletonville. The study also conducted t–tests to compare white and black women entrepreneurs in the Carletonville and Soweto areas. The t–tests focused on motivational factors to self– employment, obstacles to business start–up and obstacles faced in current business operations. The t–test in this study revealed that black women entrepreneurs rated the following motivating factors: desire to wealth, the need for independence, need for flexible work schedule, need for a challenge, self–fulfillment, to develop my hobby, insufficient family income and ensure high job security more positively than the white women entrepreneurs. In addition, the t–tests also revealed that black women entrepreneurs are affected more than the white entrepreneurs by fear of failure and their perceived inequality of access to credit in their business start–up. Furthermore, black women entrepreneurs, in running their businesses are severely affected by family pressures in relation to gender roles and a lack of awareness of or access to business support more than the white women entrepreneurs. This study offered recommendations such as exposing women in entrepreneurship at a tender age, increasing access to finance and the establishment and enhancement of women entrepreneurs’ organisations like SAWEN, BWASA, and SAWIMA amongst others. The women entrepreneurs’ organisations should embark on campaigns and intensify their marketing strategies amongst others. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Over the past few years there has been an explosion of appetite for entrepreneurship, more particularly from women. Given the numerous barriers faced especially by women entrepreneurs today, there is a pressing need to initiate empowerment programmes to enable them to succeed in their endeavours. There is a need to empower women economically and to create employment opportunities and income generating activities to enable them to survive, prosper and provide support for their families. For the development of women–to–women business potential, women entrepreneurs require support in the form of training in strategic business development, access to credit funds, assistance with marketing skills and product design and development. Starting a firm of one's own may be one way for women to avoid the 'glass ceiling' that has sometimes been argued to exist in established organisations, providing one attractive way for entrepreneurial women to realise their full potential. Small business owners have more freedom to plan their personal schedules and to jungle them to suit their work and family demands which is often an important consideration for women. Entrepreneurs must be flexible and creative to meet the challenges which come along with running their businesses. The importance of a strong, entrepreneurial vision that can lead towards a successful enterprise is often underestimated. Women are disadvantaged by their lower levels of financial literacy and awareness. Access barriers are significant. Opportunities for financial services companies who can provide affordable, appropriate and accessible products to meet the needs of self–employed women are thus limited. Women entrepreneurs are still to overcome key challenges like access to training in international trade issues, operations management and marketing, as well as access to good mentors and mentorship programs. The study concludes that women confront barriers because of their gender and the author or investigator cites previous research that argues that these barriers are a result of socialisation practices, educational experiences, family roles, and networking. Government and all other relevant stakeholders should promote public awareness and ensure that resources for programs to foster entrepreneurship are decentralised. Women entrepreneurs should examine the role that the education system could play in developing entrepreneurial skills and attitudes. In Ekurhuleni region there is an increasing number of women who are required to steer their own businesses, and many are struggling to achieve success. This paper explores women entrepreneurship in the construction and engineering sectors. According to the responses obtained from the study, there are specific skills that entrepreneurs must posses in order to operate and succeed in construction and engineering industries within the Ekurhuleni region and these are communication skills, administration skills, financial skills and interpersonal skills. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

In der Arbeit werden verschiedene Ansätze zur Erfassung von Unternehmenskultur betrachtet. Darauf aufbauend wird ein eigenes Messinstrument entwickelt, mit dem der Zusammenhang von Aspekten der Unternehmenskultur und des Unternehmenserfolgs erklärt werden soll. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird im Besonderen ein kurzer Überblick über die Operationalisierung und das Untersuchungsdesign gegeben.

This study explored the processes of innovation among innovative rural manufacturing SMEs by using the narratives of the owner/mangers of case study firms and other actors involved in the innovation process. This was consistent with the ontology of critical realism that was selected which entailed the use of case study method as a tool for data collection. This study makes a number of incremental rather than radical contributions to innovation theory and our understanding of innovation among rural Manufacturing SMEs. The results of this study shows the importance of opinions of owner/managers in the measurement of innovation considering that the majority were either unaware of the need to register their innovation and the lack of support organizations in rural areas who can advice SMEs on the need for patents and the registration process. Regarding the characteristics of innovation in rural areas, the results showed that rural innovative SMEs are likely to be relatively strong in innovations where effects of scale are not yet important but where they can make use of their flexibility and proximity to market demand. The results of this study showed that SMEs received ideas for their innovations from various sources located both within and outside the case study area. The firms then used different approaches to develop their innovations including internalised design and externalised manufacturing, externalised design and internalised manufacturing, and internalised both design and manufacturing. Lastly, rurality did not appear to constrain the processes of innovation since SMEs had developed strategies that enabled them to adapt and adjust to their rural environment in order to remain innovative.

This thesis analyses the ways of strengthening Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey and promoting entrepreneurship in the light of the current EU policies from a holistic approach. Analyses of theoretical framework and exploring the structure of SMEs, existing support policies and the future strategies of both European Union and Turkey are the major stages of this study. This thesis makes critical evaluation of SME policies in Turkey by pointing out their weaknesses, which are supported by the results obtained from the case study conducted on SMEs in Adana. This study also attempts to develop some recommendations in order to eliminate shortcomings of SME policy in Turkey. The main idea of this thesis is that a long term strategy, which should be developed in order to promote entrepreneurship and support Turkish SMEs requires reassessment of the policies and developing effective measures in wide range of policy domains such as, R&amp / D, technology, labor markets, financial markets, education and social policies.

Venture capital (VC) has been accepted to play an important role in encouraging of entrepreneurship, maintaining technological improvement and, urban and regional development in the country besides providing financial support for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) with high growth potential. This thesis analyzes the reasons of the limited venture capital investments in Turkey and the measures that should be taken in order to increase both the effectiveness of VC in maintaining urban and regional development and VC investments to SMEs. Furthermore, VC is emphasized to be an important model that can be efficient in solving the financing, management and technical problems of SMEs with high growth potential. In order to analyze the problems, a field research was conducted. Research consists of two parts. In the first part, the questionnaire was conducted with 100 SMEs in Ankara that are active in OSTIM so as to reveal the general characteristics of SMEs and the funds they use to solve their financial problems in start-up and expansion stages. SMEs are generally family run firms that have limited capital and whose owner is also the manager in the firm. Equity capital is the most important source that is used in the start-up and expansion stages by the firms. The rate of usage of subsidies like investment and export incentives and technology development support, credit guarantee fund and venture capital by these firms is low. Lack of knowledge, insufficiency of qualified staff and bureaucratic barriers are the most significant reasons of this situation. In the second part, interviews with venture capitalists or managers of 3 important VC firms that are active in Turkey come up. These interviews aimed to reveal the goal of VC firms, evaluation process of the applications and VC firms&rsquo / expectations from SMEs. VC firms face difficulties with the projects with no growth potential. Moreover, applicant firms do not have adequate staff and supplies in order to prepare the financial information for the application process, and this happens to be a crucial problem. According to the results of the field research, some suggestions are tried to be put forward in terms of the achievement of a more effective use of VC system in Turkey. In this regard, firstly, efficiency of subsidies-particularly institutions that provide R&amp / D supports- should be increased. Secondly, Credit Guarantee Fund should be strengthened in order to provide more entrepreneurs with guarantee support. And finally, establishment of a center that is to provide consultancy for applicant firms in their project development and application periods is suggested.

This thesis analyses the utilization of intellectual property rights (IPRs) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), their contribution to economic and technological development and policies to be implemented for the SMEs to make more use of the system in order to reach a desired level of growth. Small and medium-scaled enterprises constitute more than 90 % of all firms almost all over the world and a substantial proportion of employment and turnover. This fact bares the necessity for the SMEs to make more use of the intellectual property rights system which is one of the components of innovation and technological growth, in order to achieve the desired level of economic and technological development. This paper discusses the existing and possible contribution of the IPRs obtained by SMEs to economic and technological development and the policies to be implemented in order to encourage intensive utilization of the system by the SMEs. The results of surveys previously carried out both in Turkey and abroad are incorporated within the results of a survey which was organized in the context of this thesis among 86 enterprises in 12 organized industrial zones all over Turkey. The latter survey measures the IPR utilization of the SMEs and the reasons behind under-utilization. Among the firms studied, 60 % of them are R&amp / D performers, 34 % have a distinct R&amp / D department while 56 % of them reported to have developed a new product, process or design. However only one third of these innovative firms have had an IP application and the percentage was even lower with IPR supports / only 2.3 % of the firms applied for IPR supports. The main reason for this underutilization of both IPRs and IPR supports was found as lack of awareness. Policy proposals were tried to be put forward depending on the findings of the survey and raising awareness was defined as the most important measure to be taken.

This dissertation focuses on how entrepreneurs learn to acquire entrepreneurial knowledge and competence, which ultimately can open doors to business success. Contemporary critics suggest that programs designed to develop general competence are not sufficiently relevant to these entrepreneurs. On the other hand, scholars and practitioners have recently noticed that external relations in formal learning networks can be a notable opportunity for learning in entrepreneurs. The aim of this dissertation is to elaborate on the processes and outcomes of government supported learning networks among entrepreneurs who work in small and medium sized enterprises. It draws on reports of four separate but interrelated research studies that author conducted. The research described in the dissertation is based on multiple theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and data sources. To gain a full understanding of the experiences of the different network participants, as well as the interactive processes within the learning network, data were collected from multiple sources: interviews, participant observation, and videotaping. The conclusions stated in appended paper 1 and 2 are primarily based on the interviews, but they are also supported by the observations and written material. Paper three focuses on the videos in combination with the interviews. Finally, to complement the qualitative research with insights regarding the relationships among trust, learning, and self-efficacy, the last paper reports the results of a quantitative survey study. The dissertation makes several major contributions to knowledge. First and foremost, by combining entrepreneurship theory and learning theory, it describes the outcomes that can emerge from formal learning networks and shows how these outcomes can have entrepreneurial consequences. Second, it suggests how the learning situation can be characterized and describes an appropriate learning environment for entrepreneurs from small and medium sized enterprises. The research also contributes to theory on how trust in formal learning networks is built and how this trust contributes to entrepreneurial learning. At the same time, it shows that the potential benefits derived from trust cannot be realized without incorporating the entrepreneur’s level of self-efficacy in the analysis. The dissertation concludes by offering suggestions for exploiting learning and business opportunities through the construction and utilization of learning networks.

This thesis investigates the processes and influential factors affecting the internationalisation of SMEs in manufacturing industries in Malaysia. Internationalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been widely researched but little is known of how and why internationalisation takes place in developing countries and this lack of evidence in the literature provides strong grounds for this study. Jones and Coviello (2005) suggest investigation of internationalisation should include the broad range of internationalisation theories, such as the Incremental and Rapid internationalisation models, Networking, Resource-based and International Entrepreneurship perspectives. These perspectives examine the awareness, process, driving forces and influential factors relevant to SME internationalisation. Therefore, the patterns and dimensions of internationalisation, including the modes of foreign entry, market selection, triggering factors, awareness of international opportunities were investigated, as were the problems and challenges faced by internationalising firms and the key drivers influencing the internationalisation process. A critical realism paradigm and qualitative method were employed. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 Malaysian experts and 54 Malaysian-based CEOs, owners, and/ or key executives from SME manufacturing industries using a semi-structured interview guide. The data was analysed with the statistical package NVivo 7 and also manually to improve triangulation of the results. The results are largely inductive and interpretive and are presented in qualitative-themes as well as some basic statistical analyses. The findings indicate that interrelated factors influence the internationalisation process of Malaysian SMEs. Various paces, a myriad of entry modes and broad market scopes determine the pattern of internationalisation undertaken. A traditional internationalisation pattern is strongly evident, although some companies exhibited rapid and born global patterns, depending on their industry, products, organisational competencies, knowledge and access to information or because of a change of management. The main drivers of internationalisation centred on key personnel and firm competencies. The study also found that while domestic and global forces motivate internationalisation, aspects of Government policy, procedures and international requirements inhibit the process. More importantly, the findings suggest that networking relationships create internationalisation awareness and provide appropriate pathways to internationalisation for manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia and this is an area where strategies could be improved. The increasing emphasis on the SME sector for enhancing economic and social development in Malaysia means they can make substantial contributions to development and understanding how to improve internationalisation strategies will increase those gains. More transparent government policies and coherence among supporting agencies as well as structured and relevant networks would assist the internationalisation of Malaysian SMEs. Currently, internationalisation processes are constrained by limited resources and difficulty in accessing assistance and supports. This study provides new knowledge and important insights that will benefit manufacturing and other industries in Malaysia and other developing countries.