STRATEGIC PLANNING DIMENSIONS IN SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMEs) IN SOUTH AFRICA: THEIR RELATIVE IMPORTANCE AND VARIATIONS IN SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the strategic dimensions of SMEs and how each dimension is rated by owners and managers of SMEs. The other objective of the study was to ascertain if differences in strategic planning practices existed with respect to demographic variables namely gender, age and position in the organization. It was found that the main dimensions of strategic planning are mission and vision, environmental scanning, employee participation in the strategic planning process, time horizon of strategic planning, implementation incentives, evaluation and control, formality of strategic planning and source of information about the environment. It was also found that mission and vision, formality of strategic planning and evaluation and control were the most valued factors. No significant statistical difference existed among owners and managers of different age, gender and positions in strategic planning practices. The value of the study is that it offers various dimensions of strategic planning that SMEs can implement to be competitive and sustainable

MISSION AND VISION, ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING AND FORMALITY OF STRATEGIC PLANNING AS PREDICTORS OF THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SMES) IN THE GAUTENG PROVINCE OF SOUTH AFRICA

Faced with volatile business conditions and the hyper competitive market environment, SMEs are continuously focusing on finding ways to improve their performance. This paper attempts to establish the effect of mission and vision, environmental scanning and the formality of the strategic planning process on the performance of SMEs. A quantitative research approach was pursued through a self-administered survey questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to analyse the data. The main findings of the study suggest that, the mission and vision statements, environmental scanning and the formality of strategic planning have a positive effect on the performance of SMEs. The formality of strategic planning emerged as the factor with a stronger impact on SME performance than environmental scanning and mission and vision. The study provides some practical insights for SMEs for improving their performance in line with the identified effect of these three factors. Ultimately, improving their performance along these factors is set to reinforce SME sustainability and which will further stimulate their profitability

An Assessment of the Influence of Selected on the Performance of Small to Medium Sized Family Owned Businesses in the Zimbabwe Retail Sector

Objectives: The study attempted to assess the factors that are affecting business performance of small to medium sized family owned businesses in the Zimbabwean retail sector. The objective was to establish the effect of innovation, management skills, succession planning and corporate governance on family owned SMEs in Zimbabwe. Prior Work: The study sought to complement other previous studies that were carried out in other different contexts by producing evidence on the same phenomenon from a developing country context. Approach: The study adopted a quantitative approach. A self-administered survey was conducted to collect data that was analysed using descriptive, correlation and regression analyses. Results: The results showed that the most significant factors affecting business performance in order of predictive power were innovation, proper management skills, succession planning and corporate governance. Implications: The findings have implications to family business managers and owners in Zimbabwe who are encouraged to be innovative, properly manage, practise succession planning and be guided by business morals in managing their enterprises. Value: Whilst the factors ensuring the success of Small and Medium sized enterprises have extensively been examined, there is dearth of research on family business success factors especially in a developing country like Zimbabwe. JEL: M10 SMEs, family business, innovation, succession planning, corporate governance.   &nbsp

The effectiveness of selected financial inclusion strategies: Evidence a developing country

The global, regional and national level policy makers are increasingly embracing financial inclusion as an important priority for fostering economic and social development. Likewise, policy makers in Zimbabwe have identified financial inclusion as a pillar of re-invigorating the struggling economy. This realisation has culminated in the formulation of various strategies aimed at promoting financial inclusion. However, the effectiveness of these strategies is not well known, knowledge about the adopted strategies is needed so that informed policies can be crafted. Against this backdrop, a quantitative study was designed to establish the effectiveness of financial inclusion strategies which include National Micro finance Policy, Post Office Savings Bank loans, mobile financial services, Agency Banking, Shared Infrastructure Network, Insurance policy provisions. Using data from 118 Micro, Small to Medium enterprises owners/managers operating in Mashonaland East, the results show that National Micro finance Policy, Post Office Savings Bank loans, mobile financial services have statistically significant and positive effects on financial inclusion. The other three strategies: Agency Banking, Shared Infrastructure Network, and Insurance provisions showed a negative effect on financial inclusion. &nbsp

The Influence Of Market Related Mobile Activities On The Acceptance Of Mobile Marketing And Consumer Intention To Purchase Products Promoted By SMS In South Africa

There is an increasing attention being accorded to mobile marketing activities in recent business management literature in the past decade as both academicians and practitioners recognize that mobile activities have potential influence on mobile marketing acceptance and customer purchase intention. Notwithstanding this, there is dearth of research on the same in the African context. In view of this development, the purpose of this research paper is to investigate the extent to which mobile marketing activities influence customers’ mobile marketing acceptance and their purchase intention in South Africa. Five research hypotheses are postulated and using data collected from mobile marketing activities partakers, the hypotheses are tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach (Smart PLS). Managerial implications of the findings are discussed and limitations and future research directions are indicated

The Impact of Corporate Branding Dimensions on Firm Performance: Evidence from the Zimbabwean Petroleum Industry

Objectives: The study sought to establish the impact of corporate branding dimensions (mission statements, corporate visual identity and identity review on the performance of petroleum firms in Zimbabwe. Prior Work: The study sought to complement other previous studies that were carried out in other different contexts by producing evidence on the same phenomenon from a developing country context. Approach: The study adopted a quantitative approach. A self-administered survey was conducted to collect data that was processed by SPSS version 21. Data analysis techniques namely descriptive, correlation and regression were used to analyse the data. Results: This study has shown that in a developing country context, mission statements, corporate visual identity and identity review impact significantly on performance. On the other hand there is no statistical evidence to support that corporate culture and corporate communications are predictors of firm performance.   Implications: The findings of the study if taken seriously can provide some invaluable insights to managers of petroleum companies in developing countries and other parts of the world about how they can leverage on corporate dimensions to ensure firm performance. Value: The study sought to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on corporate branding by developing a comprehensive conceptual framework of corporate branding and performance, a research area that has not being exhausted in a developing country context

Job Related Outcomes in Relation to Servant Leadership

The study sought to ascertain the impact of servant leadership on teamwork, work spirituality, organisational citizenship behaviour and organisational commitment among retail employees in Zimbabwe. The results reveal that servant leadership positively predicts the retail employees’ teamwork spirit, work spirituality, citizenship behaviour and organisational commitment. The academic contribution of the study is the development of a servant leadership model for the retail sector in Zimbabwe. The study provides invaluable insights to retailers on how servant leadership could be utilised in order to ensure positive job outcomes among their employees

Predictors Of Customer Loyalty To Mobile Service Provider In South Africa

In spite of the increasing research on consumer behaviour, there is a dearth of studies that have investigated the influence of mobile provider service quality in customer satisfaction regarding customer trust and loyalty in the African mobile communication context. Therefore, this study examines the relationships using a data set of 151 mobile service clients in Gauteng Province of South Africa. All the posited five hypotheses are supported. The results indicate that the relationships between mobile service quality-customer satisfaction, customer satisfaction-customer trust, customer satisfaction-customer intimacy, customer trust-customer loyalty, and customer intimacy-customer loyalty are positive in a significant way. The research paper discusses both academic and managerial implications of the results and future research directions are suggested

Assessing the impact of the predictors of Organisational citizenship Behaviour in the Hospitality Industry in Zimbabwe

The importance of Oganisational citizenship behavior (OCB) is widely acknowledged by many practitioners and academicians in Zimbabwe and the world over. However, there is generally limited literature on OCB in Zimbabwe as there are few studies that were carried out especially on the Zimbabwean hospitality industry.  To address this dearth of published studies, the current study attempts to examine the factors that influence OCB. The conceptualised model and four hypotheses are empirically validated using a sample of 200 non-managerial hospitality industry employees who were randomly selected from three identified categories of hotels which were stratified according to the hotel star rating (3, 4, and 5 star hotels categories). The data were analysed using descriptive, correlation and regression analyses. The results indicate that the individual, organizational and leadership characteristics are significant predictors of OCB. However, task characteristics emerged as an insignificant factor to OCB. The findings have implications to hospitality management in Zimbabwe who are advised to make efforts of ensuring proper individual, organizational and leadership characteristics among employees and management so as to enforce OC

The Determinants Of Stock Market Participation: Evidence From Individual Investors In Zimbabwe

The participation of individual investors at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) is very low.  The reasons for the low participation rate are not well known. It is from this background that this study sought to understand the impact of selected factors namely trust, awareness, transaction costs, perceptions, cognitive skills, and access to internet on individual participation at the stock market. The study also sought to establish if there are statistical differences of opinion among respondents of different age and educational backgrounds about the effect of the stated factors on stock market participation. Using data collected from stock broking managers, asset managers, fund/investment managers, regulators, and investment/research analysts, the regression analysis results show that with the exception of trust the remaining five factors are significant predictors of stock market participation by individual investors. The results further reveal that no significant differences are found among male and female respondents’ views that trust, transaction costs, cognitive skills and perceptions are important factors in influencing their stock market participation but for awareness and access to internet a significant difference is found in their perceptions. Further analysis finds that there are no statistical differences in the effect of awareness, transaction costs and cognitive skills whatever the educational background of a respondent but respondents perceive that trust, access to internet and perceptions differ in their effects on respondents with different academic qualifications. The study adds to the literature of stock market participation in developing countries. It provides useful insights to stock market practitioners to devise strategies that enforce an improved participatio