- Title
- Factors that influence business success in the Schauderville, Korsten and Gelvandale township areas of the Nelson Mandela Bay
- Creator
- Fisher, Theo Andre
- Subject
- Success in business -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Subject
- Small business -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality -- Management Economic development -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality
- Date Issued
- 2018
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MBA
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/21938
- Identifier
- vital:29803
- Description
- Presently, all South African businesses, including South African township small businesses, are required to be agile, innovative and highly adaptive in order to survive in a tough retail-trading environment. The reasons for having to adapt their strategies are due to the poor economic conditions and political uncertainty that South Africans are currently experiencing. Businesses owners are facing various challenges and have to mitigate and even eliminate numerous negative influences that potentially impede the growth and the sustainability of their businesses. The purpose for undertaking this research study was to establish a deeper understanding of township small businesses that operate in the township setting in South Africa. Many residents of the Schauderville, Korsten and Gelvandale townships areas in the Nelson Mandela Bay are unemployed. Some unemployed residents and those who were retrenched due to the tough South African economic environment started their own businesses, with the expectation of earning a sustainable income. However, the majority of these businesses were not able to establish themselves successfully. The question addressed in this study was therefore: what factors influence the success of small businesses in the Schauderville, Korsten and Gelvandale townships situated of the Nelson Mandela Bay? Thereafter, the researcher recommended strategies that the township small business owners should implement to improve their chances of operating more successful businesses. The selected factors that could negatively impact township small business success are mentioned below. The influencing factors that were discussed are: Competition; The formal and informal education levels of business owners and the township communities; The unemployment rate of township dwellers; Crime; and the disposable income levels of township communities. The research findings indicate that the majority of the township small businesses are influenced by the mentioned factors, especially crime. This conclusion was made after a sample of 50 respondents had completed structured interview questionnaires and after the results of the questionnaires had been analysed. This research study targeted township small business owners who operate in the Schauderville, Korsten and Gelvandale townships of the Nelson Mandela Bay. The researcher’s intention was to assist the township small business owners with strategies to mitigate the influences that competition (from locally owned township small businesses, foreign shopkeepers and township shopping malls), formal and informal education levels, unemployment, crime and disposable income levels of township communities have on their small businesses. In conclusion, the results of the research study show that the small business owners, together with government, should implement the recommendations that were made by the researcher in order to improve the success rate of their township small businesses. More vibrant and successful township small businesses will ultimately lead to better job opportunities and eventually to a flourishing South African economy.
- Format
- xi, 129 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economics Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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