Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are a definitive driving force of economic
stability in the marketplace due to the number of jobs created by the small and medium
sized business sector and there is a positive influence on a country’s national economy.
While a considerable amount of research focuses on SME sustainability, empirical tests
on the factors influencing sustainability of SMEs have not been piloted and researched
to the completest prospective.
The primary purpose of this study was to identify the determining factors that influence
the sustainability of selected small and medium-sized enterprises.
The empirical investigation was conducted among 135 SME owners and/-or managers
in the Potchefstroom area of the North West province of South Africa. The methodology
included the sampling procedure, data collection, questionnaire development and
statistical techniques later used due to the nature of responses. Results were analysed
with regard to the descriptive statistics and correlations between questions included in
the questionnaire.
The results of this study concluded that there are certain factors considered as
important contributors for SME sustainability. The importance of this study is the
contribution of a sustainability framework which will aid SMEs in the management of
sustainability within their enterprises. The further development of a SME programme to
equip the management members could be derived from the results in an attempt to
ensure the encouragement of this very important commercial driver of the economy. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/10817 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Wiese, Johannes Stephanes |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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