List of Titles

The effect of marketing capabilities on the competitive advantage of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises in OR Tambo District Municipality, Eastern Cape

- Mpongwana, Konaye https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4105-1536

Authors: Mpongwana, Konaye https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4105-1536
Date: 2020-01
Subjects: Market segmentation , Marketing -- Management
Language: English
Type: Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/20197 , vital:45407
Description: It is usually understood that the development of technological marketing capabilities by firms provides them with immense opportunities to transform their business practices and strategies, to strategically position themselves in the market and enhance firm performance. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of marketing capabilities (Intellectual capital, marketing strategy and market orientation) on the competitive advantage of SMMEs. Prior research has that early development of marketing capabilities enables firms to achieve competitive advantage. The issue to be attended to will be to identify the connection between the incorrect marketing capabilities and failure of SMMEs, if there is any. Furthermore, a thorough investigation looking at how the reduction of failure of SMMEs can be realised by investigating the marketing capabilities of SMMEs. Quantitative research approach was used in the study, with a population of 200 SMMEs, the Raosoft calculator is also used to calculate the sample size of 100 SMMEs which were used to collect the primary data of the study. Convenience sampling method was used by the researcher. The findings also revealed that SMMEs adopt new and advanced technologies when marketing their products and services. The study recommends that SMME Owners/ Managers should consider spending a higher proportion of their time and money engaging in activities related to marketing throughout the life of their business. Therefore, it has concluded that effective deployment of marketing capabilities can lead to competitive advantage and greater performance. , Thesis (MCom) -- Faculty of Management and Commerce, 2020
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Date Issued: 2020-01

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An analysis of neural networks and time series techniques for demand forecasting

- Winn, David

Authors: Winn, David
Date: 2007
Subjects: Time-series analysis , Neural networks (Computer science) , Artificial intelligence , Marketing -- Management , Marketing -- Data processing , Marketing -- Statistical methods , Consumer behaviour
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
Identifier: vital:5572 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004362 , Time-series analysis , Neural networks (Computer science) , Artificial intelligence , Marketing -- Management , Marketing -- Data processing , Marketing -- Statistical methods , Consumer behaviour
Description: This research examines the plausibility of developing demand forecasting techniques which are consistently and accurately able to predict demand. Time Series Techniques and Artificial Neural Networks are both investigated. Deodorant sales in South Africa are specifically studied in this thesis. Marketing techniques which are used to influence consumer buyer behaviour are considered, and these factors are integrated into the forecasting models wherever possible. The results of this research suggest that Artificial Neural Networks can be developed which consistently outperform industry forecasting targets as well as Time Series forecasts, suggesting that producers could reduce costs by adopting this more effective method.
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Date Issued: 2007

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A study of the factors influencing the success of internet marketing in small South African tourism businesses

- Elliott, Roger Michael

Authors: Elliott, Roger Michael
Date: 2005
Subjects: Tourism -- South Africa -- Management , Small business -- South Africa -- Management , Internet marketing -- South Africa , Strategic planning , Marketing -- Management , Communication in management
Language: English
Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
Identifier: vital:1204 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016252
Description: The tourism sector has been identified as an industry that has the potential to make a substantial contribution to job creation, economic growth, and redressing past imbalances in South Africa as it has been recognised as an underexploited sector with considerable potential for growth. The majority of tourism enterprises fall within the definition of small businesses, which have been identified as the most appropriate enterprises through which the economic challenges facing South Africa can be addressed. Small businesses differ from their larger counterparts not only in terms of size, but also in regard to access to resources and marketing expertise. Not surprisingly, one of the issues identified as preventing this sector from reaching its full potential is access to markets. The focus of this study is to identify the primary factors driving the success of the use of the Internet for marketing in small businesses operating in the tourism sector in South Africa. If these factors can be identified, this will allow existing and emerging small businesses to access markets and retain customers more easily leading to a proliferation of these enterprises. A theoretical model was formulated from the literature in which the factors influencing the success of Internet marketing were identified. These factors can broadly be divided into generic (marketing or management) factors and Internet specific factors. The technological aspects of the Internet were not ignored, but regarded as a resource to be managed rather than an autonomous source of competitive advantage. This model was tested by making use of a large-scale empirical study. Convenience sampling was used and the data was collected from small tourism businesses (that is businesses with fewer than 100 employees) in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. The factors were identified using exploratory factor analysis and the Cronbach alpha coefficients were assessed to confirm the reliability of these scales. Structural equation modelling was used as the principal mode of statistical analysis to measure the relationships amongst the variables in the model proposed in this study. A correlation analysis was used to measure the impact of marketing objectives on the success of Internet marketing. The primary determinants of the success of Internet marketing in small businesses operating in the tow-ism sector in South Africa were identified by the empirical study as: Product champion Links Alliances Owner-manager knowledge Entrepreneurial orientation Owner-manager vision Customer orientation Marketing objectives Interestingly, one factor, Strategic planning, recorded a negative influence on the success of Internet marketing. This is possibly because the owner-manager felt that this was a redundant exercise given the dominant and pervasive influence of the owner-manager in all spheres of the business. Nevertheless, if small tourism firms consider the factors identified in this thesis as essential aspects in the use of the Internet for marketing, this will allow them to overcome one of the biggest hurdles to their prosperity, namely, the access to markets.
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Date Issued: 2005

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