The purpose of this research is to propose metrics to evaluate the user interface factors that impact on the user experience of Software Accounting Applications (SAAs) used to support the accounting business activities in Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) operating in developing countries. The research commences by outlining the conceptual background that introduces the study. In the introductory chapter, the problems together with the objectives that motivate the significance of the study are presented. In the same chapter, the overall research focus and how each of the research questions are treated to accomplish the intended goals are defined. In Chapter 2, the typical accounting business activities for SMMEs operating in developing countries are investigated. Findings from the preliminary survey revealed that Pastel accounting is the commonly used SMME accounting application used in developing countries. Inventory management, cash book processing, preparation of financial statements, customer and supplier documents processing are revealed as the most prevalent SMME accounting activities. This chapter highlights the problems that inhibit the implementation and the delivery of full benefits of using these SAAs. After indentifying the SAA problems, user experience aspects of the SAA are addressed in Chapter 3. User experience (UX) is defined and existing UX evaluation criteria are discussed. The findings form the basis for choosing the applicable criteria for evaluating the User Interface (UI) factors impacting on the UX of Pastel accounting. The proposed user experience evaluation metrics are described in Chapter 4. A discussion on how the metrics are implemented and what UI aspect they measure is presented. The research design and methodology followed is discussed in Chapter 5. The chapter outlines the possible research philosophy, strategy, methods and data collecting methods. A choice is made about the appropriate approach to answer the stated research questions to satisfy the intended overall research objective. A phenomenologist, qualitative inductive approach is adopted in the study. A contextual inquiry case-study strategy is chosen as applicable to this research. Data is collected using expert reviews, user observation and subjective questionnaires. After the choice of the research techniques, the case study results are presented and analysed in Chapter 6. It is found that Pastel UI is attractive and the users are happy with the visual design of the application. The major factors that impact on Pastel accounting are its lack of 4 feedback and its complexity which makes it difficult for first time users to use the application and the paucity of the help function. After the observed findings, the conclusions and recommendations of the research are presented in Chapter 7. It has been concluded that Pastel accounting UI fails to captivate a positive user experience for first-time users; the users do not find the expected help from the Help function and are often left wondering about the status of the system and the outcome of their actions on a task. Recommendations on how designers would make Pastel user interface more helpful, easy to use, and provide adequate feedback are presented in Chapter 7.

Governments all over the world cannot downplay the economic role of small businesses. It is accepted world-wide that this sector of the economy alleviates unemployment, creates wealth, encourages innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit. Various factors, both internal and external, make it difficult for small businesses to reach their true potential or realise their objectives. Internal factors would refer to areas such as lack of financial acumen, operational management expertise and marketing skills. External factors such as the business environment, competition, legislation, commercial institutions, amongst others, also contribute to the downfall of small businesses. The support that small businesses require is vital at the start-up phase of the business as it lays a solid base from which to proceed. The research emanates from a high failure of Small Black Businesses in the country, with the focus being on the Buffalo City Municipality (BCM). This section of the business community has a vital role to play in the well-being of this region. According to the South African Cities Network, BCM has a high rate of unemployment. The success of Small Black businesses in the area could offer many opportunities for productive people who would otherwise be condemned to unemployment. The literature review revealed a plethora of factors that hinder the success and development of small businesses. It has therefore become important to research these factors and come up with recommendations that are going to assist small businesses and society at large. There is an outcry against insufficient government support in assisting small businesses. Due to the research being qualitative in nature, date collection was by means of a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed in such a manner as to provide responses that would assist in addressing the challenges faced by small businesses. Data analysis entailed its transcription in order to allow the researcher to make notes. The next step was to do a preliminary data analysis in order to highlight emerging issues, identify relevant data and to give direction for seeking more data. A summary all the issues was subsequently prepared for interpretation. The study revealed that the problems experienced by small businesses are both internally and externally influenced. Small businesses have it within themselves to manage and control the internally influenced problems, contrary to the externally influenced factors. The study recommends additional governmental support in terms of providing skills development, financial support, removal of red tape, eradication of corruption and so on. Commercial financial institutions also have a vital role to play by removing some of the requirements that make it difficult for small businesses to access funding.

Taking cognisance of the increasingly important role that copreneurial businesses play in national economies, the unique challenges that they face, and the lack of research attention given to such spousal teams, the purpose of this study was to contribute to the more effective functioning of copreneurships in South Africa by identifying the factors that impact on their success. Consequently, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the factors that influence the Perceived success of copreneurships in South Africa, as well as the conditions required for the effective and harmonious functioning of such spousal partnerships. This study seeks to incorporate previous findings and studies on team effectiveness and spousal relationships into a comprehensive conceptual model. After conducting a comprehensive literature study, as well as examining the different teamwork models proposed and the study by Farrington (2009), it became clear that successful teams have validated their proficiency with regard to two types of factors, namely, relational-based and organisational-based factors. Within these two categories of factors, 14 independent variables were identified and hypothesised to influence the measures of effectiveness of copreneurships, namely the dependent variable Perceived success; and the intervening variable Financial performance. All of the factors in this study were clearly defined and operationalised. Reliable and valid items sourced from Farrington’s (2009) measuring instrument, as well as several measuring instruments used in other studies, were used in the operationalisation of these factors. In addition, several items were self-generated from secondary sources. Respondents were identified using the convenience snowball sampling technique, and a structured questionnaire was made available to them. The data gathered from the 380 usable questionnaires was subjected to various statistical analyses. The validity and reliability of the measuring instrument was confirmed by means of an exploratory factor analysis, and Cronbach-alpha coefficients were calculated for this purpose. The original intervening variable Financial performance could not be confirmed as originally intended in the conceptual model. Instead, Financial performance split into v two separate variables which were named Financial performance and Growth performance. The original dependent variable Perceived success was confirmed by the factor analyses. The relational- and organisational-based factors could not be confirmed as originally intended in the conceptual model. Instead, seven new relational- and seven new organisational-based factors emerged, and where necessary these factors were renamed. The primary statistical procedure used to test the significance of the relationships hypothesised between the independent and dependent variables in this study, was Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Owing to the sample-size restrictions, the conceptual model could not be subjected to SEM as a whole. Instead, seven submodels were identified and subjected to further analysis. The following independent variables were identified as influencing the dependent and intervening variables in this study: • Spousal relationship • Commitment to spouse • Equal status • Commitment to the business • Emotional attachment • Non-family involvement • Personal needs alignment • Leadership • Competencies • Internal context In order to investigate the influence of the various demographic variables on the intervening and dependent variables, an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Multiple Linear Regression analysis and t-tests were performed. How leadership occurs in a copreneurial business, the tenure of the business, the location of the business, the status of the copreneurship, the level of spousal involvement in the business and the vi number of employees were found to have an influence on the intervening and dependent variables of this study. By empirically investigating copreneurships, this study has added to the limited amount of family business literature on these complex partnerships. By way of the conceptual models developed in this study a significant contribution has been made towards understanding the factors influencing the success of copreneurships. As a result, this study presents recommendations and suggestions to assist couples in managing their copreneurships in such a way as to nurture their marriage relationships and at the same time enhance the performance of their businesses.

The high failure rate among small businesses in South Africa has created an urgent need to identify strategies that will improve their levels of performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the entrepreneurial orientation of small businesses in the Eastern Cape and their level of business success. Entrepreneurial orientation was assessed in terms of the 5 dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation, namely Innovativeness, Proactiveness, Competitive aggressiveness, Risk-taking and Autonomy. Business success was assessed in terms of profitability and growth. A literature overview was firstly conducted. The nature and importance of small businesses were described, and the important contributions they make to economic growth, job creation and innovation, as well alleviating poverty and redistributing income were highlighted. The various challenges faced by small businesses were also discussed. Among these challenges, the lack of entrepreneurial orientation was specifically highlighted as a major barrier to small business success. The nature of entrepreneurial orientation and the five dimensions thereof were described. A theoretical framework was proposed illustrating the relationships between the 5 dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation and business success that were to be empirically tested. A positivistic research paradigm was followed and a quantitative approach was implemented. Convenience sampling was used and a total of 350 questionnaires were distributed to small businesses in the Eastern Cape; 317 usable questionnaires were yielded. A measuring instrument was developed based on reliable and valid items from existing studies. Statistical techniques including descriptive statistics, Pearson's product moment correlations, Structural Equation Modelling and an Analysis of Variance were performed on the gathered data. Demographic data relating to the gender, age and race of the respondents, as well as data relating to the number of employees, the tenure of the business, and nature of industry in which the small businesses operate, were collected. An exploratory factor analysis was undertaken, and Cronbach‟s alpha coefficients were calculated to assess the validity and reliability of the measuring instrument. The independent variables, Innovativeness and Proactiveness, could not be confirmed by the factor analysis and a new dimension emerged which was named Proactive innovativeness. As a result of the factor analysis the operational definitions were rephrased. The Cronbach‟s alpha coefficients reported were all greater than 0.7, deeming the scales measuring the various dimensions reliable. Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarise the sample data, and Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients were established to investigate the associations between the variables. Significant positive correlations were reported between all of the variables. SEM was performed to determine the significance of the relationships hypothesised between the independent and dependent variables in this study. The results of this study showed that the independent variables Competitive aggressiveness, Proactive innovativeness and Autonomy have a significant positive influence on the dependent variable Business success, while Risk-taking was found to have a significant negative influence on Business success. Furthermore, the results showed that Proactive innovativeness was higher in larger-sized small businesses, Autonomy was reported to be higher in small businesses where the owner was in possession of a tertiary qualification, and Risk-taking was found to be higher in small businesses owned by people of colour than in businesses owned by White respondents. In a business environment where change is constant, small business owners need to be able to adapt their operations and strategies to these changes and the consumer demands these changes may bring. Small business owners need to be able to strategically reinvent their businesses if they are to survive over the long term. The level of entrepreneurial orientation has been identified as having a positive influence on business success. The more small businesses implement Proactive innovativeness, Competitive aggressiveness, calculated and cautions Risk-taking and Autonomy, the better the chances are that they will be successful

Given the rapid inflow of African immigrant entrepreneurs into South Africa, as well as the lack of understanding and research attention given to African immigrant entrepreneurial orientation, the failure rate of their businesses in South Africa is very high. The purpose of this study is to contribute to more effective and robust African immigrant entrepreneurship in South Africa by investigating the impact of African immigrant entrepreneurial orientation on business performance. With this purpose in mind, the primary objective of this study is to establish the level of entrepreneurial orientation of African immigrant-owned small businesses in the Eastern Cape Province, and to determine the influence of this orientation on business performance. This study sets out to pull together previous findings and theories on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, and business performance, to find support for the theories on the determinants of entrepreneurial orientation in the literature, and to combine these findings into a simple model. An overview of small businesses was first conducted, in which the nature of small businesses and African immigrant-owned small businesses was taken into consideration, as well as the role small businesses play within the economy and the different challenges small businesses face. The dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation were discussed. These included Innovativeness, Pro-activeness, Risk-taking, Competitive aggressiveness, and Autonomy. Business performance was discussed and was measured in terms of financial and non-financial measures. The resource based view was also discussed and human, social, and financial capitals were taken into consideration. A proposed theoretical framework was established to show the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and business performance of African immigrant-owned small businesses and this was later tested by developing a hypothesis. A structured questionnaire was developed and data was collected through these self-administered questionnaires. They were made available to the respondents by a means of the snowball technique and data was collected from 218 respondents. Each construct was defined and operationalised. This was done by using themes from previous studies, as well as self developed themes. Cronbach‟s alpha coefficients were used to confirm reliability and validity of the measuring instruments. Completed questionnaires were subject to different statistical tests. A descriptive analysis was carried out, as well as an exploratory factor analysis, multiple regression and an analysis of variance. The findings of this study showed that Innovativeness has a negative relationship to Business performance whilst Competitive aggressiveness, Proactiveness, Risk-taking, and Autonomy have a significant positive relationship to Business performance. Furthermore, the findings established that Financial capital has a significant relationship to Competitive aggressiveness, Innovativeness, and Proactiveness, whilst there is no relationship to Risk-taking and Autonomy. In addition, it was established that there is a significant relationship between Human capital and Competitive aggressiveness, Proactiveness, and Autonomy, whilst there is no relationship to Innovativeness and Risk-taking. Moreover, the study also showed that a relationship exists between some selected demographic variables of the African immigrant-owned small business and entrepreneurial orientation, as measured by Innovativeness (H1a), Pro-activeness (H1b), Risk-taking (H1c), Competitive aggressiveness (H1d) and Autonomy (H1e). An exception was the demographic variable, the Level of education, which was not found to be as stipulated in the hypothesis. In the context of this study, it was found that 62% of change in African immigrant-owned small business performance is affected by entrepreneurial orientation while other factors accounted for the remaining 38%. Management should revisit its entrepreneurial orientation capabilities and determine whether these are delivering values. This will require a review of policies and procedures in addition to benchmarking these activities to identify whether the business is committing an unwarranted and misplaced amount of resources to a given entrepreneurial orientation activity. Blind pursuit of the uniform implementation of an entrepreneurial dimension is not an effective way for African immigrant-owned small businesses to create an advantage.

Thesis (M. Com. (Business Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / The purpose of this study was to examine the determinants of the financial bootstrapping strategies used by rural based small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). The study was guided by the following objectives, (1) To investigate the financial bootstrapping strategies used by rural entrepreneurs, (2) To examine the effect of the education of the owners on the financial bootstrapping strategies used by rural entrepreneurs, (3) To determine the effect of the age of the owners on the financial bootstrapping strategies used by rural entrepreneurs and (4) To investigate the effect of the gender of the owners on the financial bootstrapping strategies used by rural entrepreneurs. The research followed a quantitative research method with a descriptive research design. A sample of 104 rural SMMEs participated in the survey. Data was collected through the use of self-administered questionnaires in a survey. The participants in the study were rural SMME owners in Fetakgomo Municipality in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The study utilised the convenience and snowball sampling techniques to obtain data from the respondents. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, factor analysis, T-test and regression analysis. The Cronbach’s alpha was used to measure reliability. The results indicated that rural SMMEs have a low usage and adoption rate of bootstrapping finance. The research also found that rural SMMEs mainly utilised owner’s finance as the primary bootstrapping method. The results of the T-test showed significant differences between gender and bootstrapping methods as well as between the level of education and the bootstrapping methods used by rural SMMEs. However, there was no significant difference between age of the owners and bootstrapping methods used by rural SMMEs. Recommendations were ii proposed for the government to create an enabling environment for rural SMEs by embarking on a variety of strategies to raise awareness on the importance of bootstrapping finance. Rural SMME owners were recommended to enrol for a certificate course in financial management to sharpen their skills. Keywords: entrepreneurs’ characteristics, financial bootstrapping, rural area, SMMEs, South Africa.

Thesis (M.Com. (Business Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The aim of the study was to determine the relationships between determinants of mobile commerce adoption and the actual adoption of mobile commerce by Small and Medium Enterprises in Polokwane Municipality. The study utilised the quantitative research approach with 146 SME owner respondents from population of 261 owners using a random sampling technique. The questionnaire was developed from the empirical literature review. The determinants of m-commerce were represented by technological, organisational and environmental contextual factors. M-commerce was measured using 11 questions against all other contextual factor variables . Data was cleaned to enhance its fitness for further analysis. To attain this, normality, mean and standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis were performed. The data was found to be fit for the purpose of the study. Furthermore, the data was tested for validity and reliability and it satisfied the requirements. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA and regression analysis were used to analyse the data. ANOVA was used to test for sub-hypotheses and to make a decision on whether to accept or reject the stated hypotheses based on the significance level. Regression analysis was used to test main hypotheses. ANOVA results showed that all technological factors (perceived benefits, perceived costs, perceived compatibility), organisational factors (technology readiness), environ mental factors (customer pressure, supplier pressure, competitor pressure) and technology acceptance model factors (perceived usefulness) significantly predicted m commerce adoption. On the other hand, factors such as gender, age, level of education and perceived ease of use were not significant predictors of m-commerce adoption. Based on the above results, SMEs should improve on their handling of determinants of m-commerce as they effectively influence the adoption of m-commerce. The government also needs to boost the SME sector by introducing several measures which can expose small businesses to enabling business environment.

Thesis(M. Com.(Business Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are an important vehicle in income redistribution, poverty alleviation, employment creation and contribute to the gross domestic product of South Africa. However, SMEs in South Africa suffer from weak performance and thus a high failure rate. The main objective of this study was to investigate the impact of learning and marketing orientation on the performance of SMEs. A quantitative approach was used, while a self-administered questionnaire was also employed during the data collection process. A four section questionnaire covering demographic information, learning orientation variables, marketing orientation variables and performance variables was prepared and distributed randomly to a selected sample of 390 SME owners in Msukaligwa Local Municipality in Mpumalanga Province. A total of 181 questionnaires were returned. Descriptive statistics was undertaken to evaluate the respondents’ characteristics against the three research variables (learning orientation, marketing orientation and performance). The software used to analyse information gathered and to ensure accuracy and reliability of the study results was Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship between learning orientation and performance, and the relationship between marketing orientation and performance. The Cronbach’s alpha was used as a measure of reliability. The results of the study revealed that both learning and marketing orientation positively impact on the performance of SMEs. Recommendations to improve the marketing and learning orientation of SMEs are suggested.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation. Johannesburg, 2017 / The Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment’s (BBBEE’s) enterprise development practice is one of the tools employed by the South African government in an attempt to redress the country’s past economic injustices that are a result of apartheid’s discriminatory economic segregationist policies. This research undertook to study the perceptual impact of BBBEE’s enterprise development in mining communities, by focusing on black entrepreneurs and the support they receive from mining companies – or lack thereof – according to the BBBEE’s codes of good conduct. The support that mining companies provide to mining community entrepreneurs could have come in the form of, inter alia,business funding, business incubation, granting guarantees for business loans and business coaching. The study took apositivist approach with data collected using aquestionnaire. The research findings indicate that mining community entrepreneurs do not feel that mining companies provide business support, therefore leading to the conclusion that BBBEE’s enterprise development does not fulfil its objective of redressing South Africa’s past economic injustices by supporting black entrepreneurs. The research took a positivist paradigm in that data collection was quantitative. A positivist approach is viewed as a scientific, rational and empirical way of gathering data that is in turn used in knowledge construction (Ryan, 2006). The research design was cross-sectional because the researcher intended to study the perceptual impact of enterprise development on mining communities over a long time without having to make observations over many years. A cross-sectional study is the observation of subjects at one stage of an external intervention process to determine the impact of, for example, intervention by a third party or exposure to a third party. The population involved in this study was made up of black male and female entrepreneurs 18 years old or older, from three mining towns situated in following three provinces: Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the North West province. The research instrument was research questionnaire in the form of a five-point Likert scale. The limitation in this study was the limited population sample of 127 respondents from only three provinces, as they can’t be representative of the entire South African mining communities’ population. / MT2017

Thesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Small and Micro-Enterprises (SMEs) are considered sources of income that give people the purchasing power to meet their basic needs and improve their standard of living. Primarily, this study investigated the effects of SMEs on employment creation in Sefene Village, Limpopo Province (South Africa) with the following objectives: to determine the types, characteristics and challenges of SMEs in rural areas; to explore the management approaches for SMEs in rural areas; to examine the types and quality of employment created in rural areas; to determine the effects of SMEs on employment creation in rural areas; and to recommend measures that could enhance the effects of SMEs on employment creation in Sefene Village. The study used a literature review, interview schedule and semi-structured questionnaires. The findings of the study revealed that SMEs played a tremendous role in improving the local economic development of Sefene village. The SMEs are employment creators that have provided economic opportunities for the local people of Sefene village. In terms of employment creation, the SMEs in Sefene confronted challenges such as lack of access to finance, marketing aptitudes, markets, and lack of significant infrastructural facilities and management skills. In any case, literature and empirical data gathered at Sefene uncovered that the major challenge experienced by SMEs was a lack of access to finance. An entrepreneur can have the knowledge and skills but without funds, they are then constrained and impeded. The government institutions for SMEs ought to also target rural areas since that is where there are market potential and overwhelming poverty and unemployment. Further, the SMEs proprietors were aware of financial institutions but accessing them was a major challenge since they did not know about ways to approach them. Hence, the study has recommended that the government financial institutions needed to build relationships with the Molemole Local Municipality to extend access to their services by people who aspire to venture into SMEs. Similarly, the SMEs are major employment creators and need support from private sectors, community members, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and government institutions.