The research problem addressed in this study is the determination of the critical success factors for SMEs in e-commerce. To achieve the objective, an integrated list of critical success factors, gathered from practitioner- and academic literature, had to be identified. The integrated list was developed through the following sub-processes: · The first consisted of a literature survey of the sources and the identification of critical success factors, which lead to insights into the role of critical success factors in strategic management and the objectivity of the CSF identification process. The second comprised surveying the literature dealing specifically with the unique characteristics of SMEs, to identify factors that are critical to the survival and growth of SMEs. · The third consisted of a survey of the academic and practitioner literature dealing with critical success factors in e-commerce, in order to develop an integrated list of critical success factors for SMEs in ecommerce. The integrated list that emerged from the literature study consisted of the following seventeen critical success factors: 1. Target the right customers 2. Involve all stakeholders 3. Provide access to all customer information 4. User-friendly web design 5. Let customers help themselves 6. Offer online and offline assistance to customer enquiries 7. Deliver personalized service 8. Foster online community 9. Top management support 10. Technical infrastructure 11. Security and control of the e-commerce system 12. Promotion of site 13. Financial planning and control of project 14. Loyalty 15. Development of a business plan 16. Branding of the site 17. Shipping and fulfilment The integrated list was used as the basis for the compilation of a survey questionnaire to identify the eight most critical success factors for SMEs in ecommerce. The survey questionnaire was sent to SMEs that are members of the Port Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have a website and comply with the criteria for SMEs. The empirical study identified the eight most critical success factors for SMEs in e-commerce and indicated strong concurrence with the unique characteristics of SMEs.

‘Humanitarian Engineering’ (engineering to support society) is an initiative that has seen considerable growth in recent years within Australasia and North America and more recently within the UK. It is however still in a nascent phase, and is without a clear global definition. Entrepreneurship on the other hand is well established, understood and has been researched globally for several decades, although still presents conflicting views of what it means to be entrepreneurial. Entrepreneurship does not, on the surface, appear to share obvious connections with humanitarian engineering, however, when considering the researched characteristics of entrepreneurial individuals such as creativity, perseverance and risk taking and characteristics shown by humanitarian engineers, similarities can be seen. The purpose of this research is to develop a clear definition for the term ‘Humanitarian Engineering’ and to investigate rigorously the relationship between entrepreneurial characteristics and the characteristics of those studying humanitarian engineering; both qualitative and quantitative data will be used. Qualitative data are gathered from individuals engaged in humanitarian engineering and provides insight into the definition of humanitarian engineering in a UK context. The primary quantitative research method is an updated version of Gasse and Tremblay’s (2006) Entrepreneurial Characteristic Inventory that measures the 11 recognised entrepreneurial characteristics. This allowed the author to compare and contrast these characteristics as demonstrated by students studying general engineering, humanitarian engineering and enterprise. The quantitative results show that seven of the 11 entrepreneurial characteristics measured are significantly higher in humanitarian engineering students compared with the general engineering students. Nine of the eleven characteristics measured are significantly higher in enterprise students compared with the humanitarian engineering students. Entrepreneurial characteristics are important within engineering, due to the economic impact and association with competencies listed within UK-SPEC to meet Chartered Engineer status but engineers are often the least engaged with entrepreneurial support packages in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This research shows that engagement in humanitarian engineering activities by graduates can act as an indicator for employers of engineers, during the recruitment process, to the existence of these desired entrepreneurial competencies. Further impact of this research is the potential targeting of students within HEIs for enterprise support mechanisms to increase venture start-ups and enhance the relationship between engineering faculties and the enterprise agenda.

D.Ed. / The University of Venda is situated in an educationally disadvantaged environment. The study skills training programme was introduced in the Faculty of Humanities, Management Sciences and Law Foundation Programme to enhance students’ academic performance through structured interventions incorporating learning strategies, effective time management, and self-concept enhancement, among other skills. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the study skills training programme for disadvantaged students in the Foundation Programme at the University of Venda, and to modify the current study skills training programme based on the findings of the research. Comparison was done between students exposed to the study skills training programme (experimental group) and those students that were not exposed to the programme (control group). The comparison focused on study habits, attitudes, study methods as well as academic performance of both groups. The study was completed in two phases. In the first phase, quantitative and qualitative data were collected through the mixed methods sequential explanatory research design. The researcher first collected and analysed the quantitative data. The qualitative data were collected and analysed second in the sequence and helped to explain the quantitative results obtained earlier. The Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes (SSHA) and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) were used to collect quantitative data. Qualitative data collection was done by means of focus group as well as individual interviews. The results indicated that the academic performance of the experimental group was lower as compared to that of the control group. The current study skills training programme did not do enough in raising the motivational levels of students in the Foundation Programme (experimental group). One would therefore conclude that there were some deficiencies in the programme. The control group appeared to be a better group academically compared to the experimental group. The main determinant therefore appears to be potential rather than training. The literature review has yielded important information regarding the enhancement of academic performance of students. For example, it was noted from the literature that the use of a particular learning approach (strategy) should be linked to the learning context as well as the type of learning task.

Home-based and residential-based businesses have become a very visible feature of some main road arteries into and out of suburbs of most big cities in South Africa. Previous residential zoned properties are being used to such an extent for business purposes that certain main routes into cities has virtually lost its residential character. Home-based businesses is not new to South Africa. Some 1,8 million people run some form of business from home. However, the purchase or rent of a residential property and then re-zoning it for business use in some specific areas seem to be a new phenomenon. Preliminary interviews with entrepreneurs and small business owners of these residential-based businesses would indicate that it is an alternative location to shopping centres/malls and office parks. They are often harassed by landlords and/or cannot afford the rentals charged or cannot comply with certain aspects of the lease agreement. The study is an exploratory research into this phenomenon and is supported by a proper literature study as well as an empirical study. The literature reviews the concepts of entrepreneurship and small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME's) as a starting point for this study. This sector is a vital contribution factor for any economy and one of the most important strategic decisions that must be made by these small business ventures is the location-decision. All the theories and factors of location in the literature reveals this important decision and the different types of location for SMME's are explored, with emphasize on the newest phenomenon, residential-based businesses. The empirical part of the study consisted of a questionnaire that was completed by means of personal interviews on a sample in the greater Pretoria Metropolitan region. The objective of this study was to find the reasons for this very visible development in suburbs and to investigate whether this is an effective alternative location for SMME's. The research findings indicated the reasons and advantages of residential-based businesses as well as the possible problems and disadvantages of this location-decision. The three factors identified as advantages of this location-decision are the location and growth advantages, the cost advantages and personal advantages. The three disadvantage factors are some personal disadvantages, local authorities' rules and regulations and some management disadvantages. Proper recommendations are being made on how to run and manage such a residential-based business and the paper will therefore not only be of value to entrepreneurs and SMME's wanting to make this important location-decision, but also to town planners at the city councils for future strategic planning. / Thesis (D Com (Business Management))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Business Management / unrestricted

The last decade of the twentieth century saw a proliferation of publications that use jazz as a metaphor for corporate management, arguing that in the contemporary knowledge economy, jazz is superior to the symphonic model that governed mid-century factory floors. As the literature on the jazz metaphor, and organizational improvisation more broadly, continued to develop into the twenty-first century, another managerial methodology became widely adopted by entrepreneurs: agile. While agile is yet to be fully theorized as an improvisatory practice, agile shares several core tenets with the models promoted by organizational improvisation scholars, including the use of small teams, an emphasis on feedback, and an openness to change. In this dissertation, I argue that agile methods, and the adjacent lean methodology, are inherently improvisatory and that understanding them as improvisatory offers opportunities not only for their deployment within growing businesses, but also for adoption at-scale in large corporations. I draw on an array of disciplinary perspectives, including management science, organizational studies, musicology, and critical improvisation studies, as well as a wide range of sources, from peer-reviewed journal publications to trade manuals. Each chapter builds upon the former: a substantial and critical review of the jazz metaphor literature is followed by a dissection of its main themes under a musicological lens; after securing the foundations of organizational improvisation, the next chapter reveals the improvisatory nature of agile and lean startup practices and links them to concepts discussed within the jazz metaphor literature. Drawing on insights from large-scale improvisatory musical practices, the final chapter reveals how improvisation, as a set of practices shared between corporate management and agile methodologies, provides avenues for agile to be scaled up as startups grow or for its widespread adoption within established companies.

The thesis develops a series of field experiments on both the investor side and the startup side to understand both investors' investment preferences and entrepreneurs' collaboration preferences in the U.S. entrepreneurial financing system. On the investor side, Chapter 1 studies whether early stage investors are biased against female, Asian, and older startup founders using two complementary field experiments consisting of a correspondence test and an incentivized resume (IRR) rating experiment. Chapter 2 provides causal evidence of investors' general investment preferences for multiple startup characteristics, including both the human capital characteristics and the non-human capital characteristics, using the same experimental design. On the startup side, Chapter 3 studies whether startup founders are biased against female and Asian investors using a symmetric IRR experiment. Chapter 4 investigates how investor's human capital characteristics and funds' organizational capital characteristics affect founders' collaboration interest, which explains VC funds' performances through attraction of potential deal flows. These experiments constitute a field experimental system in the two-sided matching market, providing crucial causal evidence addressing several fundamental questions in the entrepreneurial finance literature.

This project focused on restaurant industry analysis, start-up requirements, planning decisions, human resource management and restaurant marketing strategies. A marketing plan has been developed for the purposes of opening Studio Thai in the near future.

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Thesis (M. Tech. (Business Admin.)) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2014 / Research by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) continuously indicate that new venture creation success rate in South Africa is disturbingly low. This situation arises despite numerous support mechanisms in place to encourage citizens to establish their own businesses. This is an indication that current approaches to encourage new venture creation are not working. New approaches must therefore be found. The goal of this study was to combine the processes of project management and entrepreneurship, two seemingly diametrically opposed management philosophies into an integrated process model that will contribute to enhancing the new venture creation process. So, at the heart of this study is the wish to assist prospective entrepreneurs in their new venture creation journey. To achieve this objective, action research design, an emerging approach to qualitative research was adopted. Specifically, the canonical action research was used. Holistically, the study can be described as applied, cross-sectional, descriptive and exploratory in nature. Through a series of iterative canonical action research cycles, a model was developed. The results suggest that despite their seemingly diametrically opposed management philosophies, an integrated project management model for new venture creation is achievable.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Little Office (TLO) is a proposed start-up that will enter the childcare industry as a provider of on-site day-care at office parks. The unique service offering that TLO will propose to the market is on-site day-care which will not only serve the employers in question, but also their employees. TLO offers organisations the opportunity to address employee productivity related to childcare, as well as to attract and retain skills, while being able to outsource the actual day-care function, which is unrelated to their core business. The service offering to the children and their parents will include a focus on educational, social, physical and emotional development. Market trend analysis indicates an increase in demand for day-care. Combined with the fact that companies are ramping up efforts to attract and retain employees, this results in a situation where the market size and market trends indicate significant opportunities for TLO. Competition is present but due to the size of the market and the core differences in the business model presented by TLO the threat of competition is not fierce. The strategy has been developed around the market analysis and by taking into account the opportunities and threats that exist for TLO. TLO’s strategy therefore serves to differentiate it from the rest of the market in terms of location of centres as well as primary target customers. Coupled with the research evidence of positive outcomes on employee performance, this suggests the concept will be welcomed by new economy organisations. The marketing strategy will aim at large businesses, office parks and government institutions. TLO will present custom feasibility studies to identified customers to establish whether the business is feasible in terms of space, number of employees with children in the organisation, requirements by parents etc. TLO’s strategy is to develop not only core service offerings but also distinctive competencies such as a lower child to carer ratio and high quality, cutting edge and innovative childcare. The various branches of TLO will be run by a central administrative hub, where most of the costs will initially be incurred. This centralised office will be run by the owner and would require administrative and qualified social worker staff. Each branch will require qualified educational staff in line with the number of children per branch. Due to the regulatory requirements inherent in the childcare industry, TLO will base their business operations around achieving compliance excellence in their business. In addition, a continuous evaluation of childcare sciences and re-evaluation of TLO’s service offering will ensure that the latest developments in childcare are addressed and thus TLO remains competitive and progressive. The business model is low risk and provides positive operating cash flow from year three. Through partnering with labour brokers and the use of intelligent placement strategies, TLO will ensure that they have the correct staff in the correct place. Combined with continual audits of performance, TLO will turn the human resources risk into a competitive advantage. The main objectives for the first three years of operation are:  To open four branches averaging 20 children per branch within the first year;  To increase the number of clients served by 100% in Year 2 and again in Year 3; and  To develop a sustainable, profitable, start-up business.