There is consensus that Small to Medium Enterprises (SME) exports play a critical role in the development of economies. It has been widely acknowledged in empirical research done around the world that small businesses make a significant contribution to economic development, employment, competitiveness and the reduction of regional disparities. However, empirical literature gives conflicting evidence on the determinants of export performance among SMEs. The study contributes towards the debate on SME exports by: (i) investigating the variables that determine export performance among SMEs in Zimbabwe (ii) establishing the competi-tiveness of Zimbabwe’s exports and (iii) ascertaining the major constraints faced by SME ex-porters in Zimbabwe The researcher gathered data from 120 SMEs and 10 institutions in Zimbabwe for the period 2009 to 2015. SME samples were chosen from Harare, Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East provinces while all 10 of the institutions were chosen from Harare province. Convenient non-probability sampling method was used to select SMEs while stratified sampling technique was applied in the selection of institutions. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed. For the quantitative approach, panel data ordinary least squares method was used in the form of the gravity model of trade. Export intensity (used as a measure of exports) was regressed against support institutions, business ownership, research & development, educational years, use of export processing zones, product type, export years, firm size, firm age, gender, distance from trading partner, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of trading partner, and GDP of Zimbabwe. The random effects estimation method was used, basing on results from the Durbin-Wu-Hausman test. The null hypothesis was based on the premise that the variables under study do not determine export intensity of SMEs in Zimbabwe. Other null hypothesis were that the major constraint faced by SME exporters in Zimbabwe is not access to finance and that Zimbabwe’s exports are not competitive in the mining, agricultural and manufacturing sectors. The revealed comparative advantage index was computed to measure the competitiveness of Zimbabwe’s exports.For the qualitative approach, the study used the triangulation method which involved combining and utilising the questionnaire, interviews and focus group discussions. The results from the study indicated that following variables increased export intensity of Zimbabwean SMEs; business ownership, use of export processing zones, export years, firm size, and GDP of trading partner. The following variables have an inverse relationship with the export intensity of Zimbabwean SMEs: gender, distance from trading partner and research & development. The results also indicated that these further variables do not determine the export intensity of SMEs in Zimbabwe: support institutions, years of education, product type, firm age and GDP of Zimbabwe. The major constraint faced by exporting SMEs in Zimbabwe is limited access to finance. Zimbabwe is competitive in the agricultural and mining sector exports, but not in manufacturing sector exports The policy implication of the findings is that SME support needs to go beyond support institutions when it comes to SME export promotion. Further SMEs in the agriculture and mining sectors need to be promoted for export growth since Zimbabwe is competitive in these sectors. However the manufacturing sector cannot be ignored, since many economies have developed due to exports of manufactured products and a country needs to have balanced export growth in both primary and manufacturing sectors. In order to have motivated, career SME exporters, entrepreneurship education should begin from primary school right up to university so as to improve entrepreneurial aspirations, attitudes and behaviour in the long run.

A report on a research study presented to the Department of Social Work School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Social Work in the Field of Social Development, March 2017 / Poverty is one of the biggest challenges that the global community is struggling with. In attempting to address poverty, there has been a tilt towards a microenterprise approach to social development mostly in the global South. The purpose of the study was to explore the role of microenterprises in poverty alleviation and how microenterprises can be optimised as a strategy for poverty alleviation. The primary aim of the study was to explore ways in which microenterprises are contributing to the reduction of household poverty in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. This was a qualitative study and a multiple case study design was employed. A semi-structured interview schedule was used during interviews with nine participants who had either gone through entrepreneurship or technical skills training and two key informants were selected based on their expertise in enterprise development. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants and thematic analysis was applied to analyse the collected data from all participants. The major findings of this study were that microenterprises have a pivotal role in ensuring basic sustenance, for example basic needs like rent, food, health care and education. All the participants had received business training, however, there still is a disjuncture between business knowledge and application. Challenges that affected participants in the study included lack of machinery, access to credit and lack of a market for their products as indicated in the findings of the study. The participants expressed that microenterprises are a step towards breaking the poverty cycle. The main findings of this study are that microenterprises as a tool in poverty alleviation manages only to afford people basic sustenance, however, it cannot alone be the panacea for poverty reduction, hence it should be seen amongst other interventions in social development. / XL2018

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018. / The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of internal controls on sustainability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Harare’s Central Business District (CBD), Zimbabwe. The question at the core of this research is: to what extent do internal controls influence the sustainability of SMEs in Harare’s Central Business District, Zimbabwe. SMEs are perceived to be of paramount importance for the economic affluence of countries the world over, mainly because of their pronounced benefaction and contribution to livelihoods of the dwellers of a country and the gross domestic product (GDP). SMEs have been credited for playing a leading role when it comes to innovation, significant export revenue, custom-suited goods, services provision to society, employment opportunities, and social contribution. This can also be attributed to SMEs operating in Zimbabwe despite the volatility of the Zimbabwean economy. The Zimbabwean business environment, in general, is constantly changing. The changes can be attributed to an eruptive economic environment and unstable political atmosphere. The resultant effect is the departure of larger businesses and investors from the country. Generally, this leaves a great opportunity for SMEs not to be subjected to stiff competition from larger businesses. SMEs are indeed enjoying this space, braving the conditions to start up; however, their operations are short-lived. For SMEs to brave the fortuity of such an unpredictable environment, a system of internal controls must be in place. Research has placed emphasis on internal controls and sustainability of large organisations, while little to no attention has been given to SMEs. The little research on internal controls and sustainability in the context of SMEs has mostly been done in developed countries. Despite this, internal controls and sustainability have not been extensively implemented in the context of developing countries. The need to determine the influence of internal controls on sustainability of SMEs underlines this research. This report adopted a positivist philosophy that entailed utilizing a survey questionnaire to collect data from 150 SMEs operating in Harare’s CBD, Zimbabwe. The sample was further split into Active SMEs and Dormant SMEs (the control group). Data were analysed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25 to spawn statistical and descriptive results. To determine reliability of data, Cronbach’s alpha value was employed. The results indicate SMEs are not implementing controls as they ought to and those SMEs that have controls in place do not ensure that they are adhered to effectively and efficiently in order for them to achieve their desired objectives.

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development

Thesis (D. Tech. (Business Administration )) - Central University of Technology, Free State / The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which certain selected factors serve as drivers of innovation in small accommodation businesses (SABs) in two developing economies in Southern Africa namely South Africa and Zimbabwe with the ultimate aim of assisting policy makers and support agencies in formulating innovation oriented strategies for the sector. Two samples were randomly selected from SABs in Zimbabwe and South Africa- two neighbouring Southern African countries. Parametric tests which include t-tests and one-way ANOVAs as well as Bonferonni tests as post-hoc measures were used to test whether SAB propensity to engage in different dimensions of innovation differs by gender; firm size, owner-managers’ years of experience and level of education respectively. Pearson Product Moment Correlations were employed to assess the relationships between market orientation, learning orientation and innovation while Chi-square tests were performed to establish the inter-relationships between independent demographic variables, namely age, gender, education and work experience. In order to investigate whether there are any significant interaction effects between the age of the respondents and their experience in the accommodation sector on each of the five innovation measures, a series of two-way ANOVA tests were performed. Lastly, regression analysis was used to determine the relative efficacy of market orientation (MO), learning orientation (LO) and country in predicting innovation in a business. The results demonstrate that unlike firm size, gender and level of education, which have no association with innovation, there is a strong association between market orientation, learning orientation, owner/managers age and experience and innovation in the two countries. This positive association implies that SABs that are committed to, listen attentively to and learn proactively about their customers’ needs and expectations are better inclined to engage in all the different dimensions of innovation (product/service, process, marketing and organisational) than their counterparts who do not engage in these activities. Among other drivers of innovation, market orientation emerged as the main predictor implying that SABs that invest more in marketing tend to be better innovators than those that invest in learning irrespective of their country of operation. The study also revealed that younger owner/managers of SABs tend to be more innovative than their older, experienced counterparts. The study makes an important contribution to literature on the drivers of innovation in small accommodation businesses in developing economies by dispelling firm size, gender and level of education which were regarded as drivers of innovation across industries previously. Practice and policy wise, the study led to the development of a conceptual framework for investigating how best to drive innovation in local SABs in order to make them more competitive, survive and grow in the face of competition from large accommodation businesses that often happen to be multinational.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of a Doctor of Technology: Business Administration Degree, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2014. / The study assesses the impact of trade and economic liberalisation policy reforms on the operations of selected manufacturing small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zimbabwe, and then compares the findings with experiences from South Africa’s SMEs. Motivation for the study was premised on two fronts. Zimbabwe and South Africa are currently faced with high unemployment rates (80% for Zimbabwe and 25% for South Africa). It therefore follows that job creation and poverty alleviation are the two pressing challenges facing the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa. Secondly, the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa have identified SMEs as the engines of economic growth with a special focus on addressing the twin challenges of unemployment and poverty alleviation. The roles and hopes bestowed on SMEs calls for a thriving and vibrant SME sector. On the other hand the adoption of trade liberalisation policies in the two countries has led some analysts to cast doubts on the ability of SMEs to withstand the fierce competition from established Multi-National Corporations and cheap imports. Employing a combined qualitative-quantitative approach, the study finds that trade and economic liberalisation policy had a negative impact on the operations of manufacturing small to medium enterprises in both Zimbabwe and South Africa. Cash-strapped SMEs have been strangled by resource-rich Multi-National Corporations. So dire is the situation that in the absence of significant government intervention, SMEs face an uncertain future. Compounding the matter is the fact that most SMEs in two countries are not involved in exports due to lack of knowledge and resources. The innovativeness ability of most SMEs remains very low. The study does not find significant differences on the impact of trade liberalisation policy reforms between SMEs in Zimbabwe and those in South Africa. It is recommended that the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa need to introduce incentives to encourage SMEs to export and thus employ more people. Governments in Zimbabwe and South Africa need to factor in the transfer of technology to SMEs as one of the clauses when they negotiate the entry conditions of MNCs. In addition, the governments in Zimbabwe and South Africa must reintroduce tariffs in certain critical sectors of the economy to curtail cheap imports. It is cautioned that failure to protect SMEs could jeopardise the survival of most SMEs in Zimbabwe and South Africa, translating into increased unemployment, poverty and unequal wealth distribution.

The study sought to investigate the performance measurement practice of retail Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Zimbabwe and to develop a performance measurement framework for monitoring and managing the performance of retail MSMEs in developing countries. The performance measurement framework may enhance the chances of success and survival of these retail MSMEs. The framework was developed based on a review of the literature and an empirical study. Questionnaires were administered to 373 owner/managers of which only 189 responded. Interviews were held with 20 senior employees in the accounts/finance departments of MSMEs. Stratified random sampling was employed to select the 20 senior employees interviewed. Interviews were also held with eight (8) owner/managers who were purposively selected from the 189 MSMEs who participated in the study. It was established that most of the MSMEs do not measure the CSFs identified from the literature review. The study identified innovation, management of costs, and management of customers, management of competitors, market scanning, employee motivation, and management of regulators as the factors that need to be measured and monitored if MSMEs are to succeed. The performance measurement framework which emerged from the study focused more on measurement of non-financial performance rather than financial performance. Most owner/managers interviewed indicated that the proposed performance measurement framework can be used to enhance the performance of MSMEs. The study recommends that a confirmatory study such as structural equation modelling should be carried out in order to test the cause-effect relationship between the CSFs identified in this study. The study also recommends a longitudinal study where the researcher will assess the performance measurement practices of the retail MSMEs over time rather than relying on the perceptions of owner/managers and employees of the MSMEs. Keywords: Critical success factors, MSMEs, performance measurement, / Management Accounting / D. Phil. (Management Accounting)

Ph. D. (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector has been receiving increased global attention from governments, researchers and management practitioners in both developed and developing nations as a vehicle for economic growth. The Zimbabwean SME sector has been on record as minimising the impact of the economic challenges on the economy thus proving the strategic role played by the SME sector in improving economic growth. Therefore, the Zimbabwean government has high hopes of resuscitating the economy through empowering the SME sector. However, the sector is inundated by challenges that have retarded its effectiveness in achieving the government’s expectations. Some key limitations and challenges include short life span of the SMEs, entrenchment of archaic business practices, lack of financial capitalisation and the failure to adopt a supply chain perspective of business. Although several solutions to the problem have been proposed and implemented, one solution that has not been fully tested relates to how people-centred knowledge management systems (KMSs) can be harnessed to improve the performance of SME supply chains in Zimbabwe. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between people-centred KMSs, knowledge sharing and supply chain performance (SCP) in the Zimbabwean SME sector. The study adopted a quantitative research method in which a survey design was implemented in collecting the data that were used to test the relationships on people-centred KMSs (i.e. communities of practice (CoPs), innovation management, organisational culture and social capital); knowledge sharing and SCP (i.e. time-related performance (TRP), cost-related performance (CRP), responsiveness-related performance (RRP) and operation quality-related performance (OQRP). A structured survey questionnaire was designed using measurement scales adapted from extant literature and it was administered to a sample of 580 SME owners, managers and employees who had some prior understanding of knowledge management, information technology and supply chain management. The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25.0 and the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) Version 25.0 statistical software. The data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The statistical techniques used included measures of central tendency, cross-tabulations, factor analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, path analysis and structural equation modelling. The results of the study showed that SME employer qualifications (Kendall-tau = 0.88; p=.000), work experience (Kendall-tau = 0.86; p=.001) and nationality (Kendall-tau = 0.79; p=.010) as well as SME business sector (Kendall-tau = 0.89; p=.000) can be used to predict SME life span in the Zimbabwe SME sector. The results also showed significant relationships between three people-centred KMSs, namely, CoP (β=0.639, t=9.656, p=0.000), innovation management (β =-0.337, t=-8.578, p=0.000) and organisational culture (β=-0.261, t=-4.083, p=0.000) and knowledge sharing. The relationship between social capital and knowledge sharing was insignificant (β=-0.076, t=0.177, p=0.859). Significant relationships were also realised on knowledge sharing and three process-based SCP sub- factors, namely, TRP (β=0.231, t=4.717, p=0.000), CRP (β=-0.082, t=-2.015, p=0.044) and RRP (β=-0.177, t=-3.621, p=0.000). No relationship was found between knowledge sharing and OQRP (β=-0.076, t=0.049, p=0.254). Moreover, knowledge sharing was found to have a full mediation effect on people-centred KMSs and process-based SCP while no mediation effect was found with network-based SCP. The study makes substantial contributions to the existing body of knowledge. Theoretically, it provides in-depth insights of people-centred KMSs in SME SCP for developing countries such as Zimbabwe, which is an under researched area, thus expanding extant literature on the subject. From a knowledge management perspective, the study proposes the utilisation of SMEs’ socio-demographic factors to predict SMEs’ continued existence, thereby enabling financial institutions to offer financial assistance to such businesses with confidence. For governments in developing countries, the study suggests that specific attention should be directed to knowledge-based supply chains that adopt people-centred KMSs and process-based SCP to consider them as a possible alternative in addressing performance challenges in SME sectors.

This study concerns the contribution that the church can make to small businesses in Zimbabwe through the development of an appropriate holistic training programme for entrepreneurs. Through a case study on the situation in Masvingo undertaken through participant observation and interviews with various role players, this thesis first identifies the fundamental reasons that lead to the lack of viability of the small businesses in Zimbabwe. To develop a response for the church, this study adopts a three pronged approach. Firstly, the theological basis for freedom is laid through a reading of four biblical stories: the creation story, the Exodus story, the prophets' story and the Messianic story. It is argued that these stories can influence and challenge the church to be meaningfully engaged in a freedom centred development process that can foster the freedoms and values that small businesses need in order to grow and flourish. Secondly, Amartya Sen's theory of freedom as development was engaged in a bid to find an interface between economic and development theory and the theological vision of freedom for socio-economic freedom in Zimbabwe. Thirdly, having established a linkage between a theoretical and a theological essence for freedom the research then examined the role the church can play in enhancing the freedoms for the operators of small businesses in Zimbabwe. The study suggests a freedom-centred entrepreneurial training model that is based on Paulo Freire's dialogical education model. A formal proposal of the key elements of such a training programme is explored. The study recognises that the socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe continues to deteriorate so rapidly that all research seems out of date; but it has proceeded with the hope that when the economic situation improves this study would become an important tool through which the church can begin to contribute to development and the revival of small businesses in Zimbabwe. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

This study to meant to determine the extent to which the Zimbabwean women in the small-scale business sector depended on their social capital to make it. The primary question of the study was: What is the significance of social capital in determining the success or failure of women’s businesses in Zimbabwe? Methodologically, the study followed the constructivist approach, which aimed at obtaining detailed and thick in-depth descriptions from the women who are socially a vulnerable group. It followed the qualitative research design; whose characteristics were dependence on the narratives of the discussants to explain phenomena. Non-probability sampling was preferred, and the sampling techniques used were mainly purposive. The sample comprised 21 participants, drawn from a population of women in small scale businesses in Glen Norah A, Glen View 1 and Highfield in Harare. The researcher used focus group discussions and individual interviews for data collection. Data was analysed thematically. The key findings were that women were dependent on their bonding and linking social capital to succeed (or fail) in business. Thus, such findings constitute some of the major contributions of the study to the commonwealth of knowledge. In particular one contribution is that women’s business development in the small-scale informal sector follows a particular lifecycle where different types of social capital are required. The findings led to the recommendations that women must be recognized as key players in economic development, and should be assisted at nascent stages so that their participation in economic development can be more robust and visible. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)