The impact of failure to make payment behaviour on the profitability of South African municipal electricity suppliers.

Failure to make payments for labour remains a source of concern in the provision of municipal services in South Africa. According to literature, the tradition of failure to make payment rates from the apartheid period, when widespread civic resistance expressed itself via refusing rate paying. The research investigates the influence of South Africa's failure to make payment behaviour on municipal profitability. The random-effects model is utilised to evaluate the connection among the profitability and failure to make payments for 28 municipalities from 2007 to 2022. The findings show that failure to make payments has negative effects on profitability. Profitability is lowered by R291 with each R1000 higher number of unpaid debts written down. Furthermore, national government funds, the total number of users, and the proportion of home units getting free basic electricity all have a positively impact on profitability. These findings support the necessity for more inventive techniques to transform failure to make payment into a payment behaviour

Inventiveness as a Driver of Small and Medium-Sized Business Profitability in South Africa: A Quantile Regression Method

In South Africa, inventiveness is a critical factor in expansion and growth, and small and medium-sized businesses have been designated as tools for achieving the societal and economic objectives and innovation outlined in the National Development Plan. The aim of this research is to look at the impact of inventiveness on small and medium-sized profitability in South Africa. The quantile regression method was utilised in empirical studies to explore the influence of inventiveness on enterprise profitability across different sales stages. The research was based on data from the World Bank's business questionnaire. The research results showed that expenses on development and research had a positive and substantial influence on profitability for businesses with greater sales (fast expansion or bigger enterprises). Existing proof demonstrates that incorporating new items and services boosts profitability for businesses with low progress or tiny businesses. Based on empirical evidence, inventiveness is essential for the growth and development of small and medium-sized businesses. Smaller or low-growth businesses don't have the ability to make expenditures on R&D because of a shortage of funds, which could contribute to their low chances of surviving. Considering the significant cash investment needed for R&D expenditures, additional support could be offered to smaller businesses in less powerful sales expansion. Because of a lack of funding for R&D, smaller businesses are being driven to create new items and production procedures that do not require big financial commitments