This study investigates the relationships between cash management and growth of informal businesses in Uganda. Whereas anecdotal evidence has for some time revealed that informal businesses in Uganda are faced with the challenge of cash management, no specific studies have been conducted to investigate how this relates to the growth of businesses where evidence has also indicated that most of these businesses do not exist for very long. In particular, the study assesses and explores the growth levels of informal businesses in terms of sales volume, growth in employment and length of existence. The study investigates the various ways in which informal businesses manage their cash and investigates the various internal and external factors that moderate cash management and the growth of the informal businesses. Furthermore, the study proposes a possible framework to manage cash in informal businesses and makes recommendations to informal business owners and managers on how to effectively manage cash in order to stimulate business growth. In order to investigate the relationships between the variables, an empirical investigation was undertaken. Based on the literature review, the primary objective of the study was formulated to investigate the relationships between cash management and growth of informal businesses amidst the external and internal environment in Uganda in order to suggest a framework for effective management of cash by informal businesses that would enhance their growth. A positivistic research paradigm was adopted in this study. A sample of 383 informal businesses was drawn from the five divisions of Kampala district namely; Central, Kawempe, Makindye, Nakawa and Rubaga. To ensure validity and reliability, EFA and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient were computed. Six hypotheses were developed to test the relationships between cash management and growth of informal businesses. The empirical results revealed that there is a significant relationship between cash management and the external environment in which informal businesses operate, a significant relationship between the external environment and the growth of informal businesses and a significant relationship between cash management and growth of informal businesses where the external environment will have a moderating influence on the relationship. The empirical results did not establish a significant relationship between cash management and the internal environment in which informal businesses operate, the internal environment and growth of informal businesses and cash management and growth of informal businesses where internal environment will have a moderating influence on the relationship. The results of this study show that the growth of informal businesses is largely hampered by poor cash management practices and challenges such as the lack of cash planning, lack of cash forecasting and budgeting, lack of financial controls and reporting, the tendency to invest largely in short-term assets which limits their profitability, the employment of less competent and skilled staff and lack of formal accounting information systems. The magnitude of the impact of these is accelerated by the external environment such as competition and the legal and regulatory environment which put pressure on the little cash resources owned by these businesses. Based on the study results, several strategies based on individual cash components of cash planning, cash forecasting and budgeting, financial controls and reporting, short-term investment of cash surplus, competence and skills of staff and accounting information systems were recommended for implementation. It was further recommended that these strategies should be implemented while giving due attention to the external environment if informal businesses are to effectively manage cash and enhance their growth.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:27054 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Nuwagaba, Geoffrey, Struwig, Miemie |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Doctoral, PhD |
| Format | xxi, 320 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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