- Title
- Management capacity within small and medium tourism enterprises (SMTEs)
- Creator
- Mxunyelwa, Siyabonga
- Subject
- Small business -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Management
- Subject
- Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Date Issued
- 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Doctoral
- Type
- DPhil
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/41708
- Identifier
- vital:36574
- Description
- The small to medium tourism enterprises are identified as important contributors to the growth of the local and regional economies and creates much needed entrepreneurial ventures. Universally, small to medium tourism enterprises play a significant role in the tourism sector. The small businesses are in many instances deemed to facing risk to economic environmental challenges and face uphill battles to operate their enterprises in a sustainable manner. Management of these enterprises by owners and managers seems to face challenges. This study focuses on small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, which faces the triple threat challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, and is one of the economically poorest provinces of South Africa. In an endeavour to create a trajectory for progression and development of small to medium tourism enterprises, owners and managers are required to undertake management capacity programmes to deal with the problems that confront the enterprise on a daily basis. The study examines the factors impacting on management capacity with specific focus on the small to medium tourism enterprises in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Management capacity is paramount as it builds managerial competency and has become significant to the small business economy, as these enterprises make every effort to avoid discontinuation. Management capacity improves business performance and small enterprises require help in order to have a broader understanding of issues that can be an impediment to address the challenges in the business environment. The factors that could impact on management capacity within the enterprises are the focus of this research. The eleven main factors were identified, namely skills development; reasons for starting a business; business challenges; strategic and management knowledge; business leadership; business resources, business environment; business communication; business organisational leadership; organisational strategy; and organisational information factors. Furthermore, the study examined the level of influence of these factors on the management capacity of small businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector in the Eastern Cape and investigated the relationships between these factors. A descriptive research design and a quantitative approach were considered suitable for this study. A systematic random sampling technique was utilised to choose a sample of 320 business respondents from the 2012 database of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, comprising of formally registered small tourism businesses. A total of 310 usable questionnaires was finally obtained. In this study descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Descriptive statistics were captured to highlight the owners and managers’ general characteristics and to consolidate their measurement scores. Utilising inferential statistics, the study undertook an investigation into relationships between demographic variables and business characteristics. Furthermore, an investigation of the relationships amongst the following factors: skills development; reasons for starting a business; business challenges; strategic and management knowledge; business leadership; business resources, business environment; business communication; business organisational leadership; organisational strategy and organisational information factors was undertaken. Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and both the validity and reliability of the research instrument was assessed. The research findings support an overall significant correlation between management capacity and skills development; reasons for starting a business; business challenges; strategic and management knowledge; business leadership; business resources, business environment; business communication; business organisational leadership; organisational strategy and organisational information. The study also explored the relationship between demographics and business characteristics. A significant relationship was found between business characteristics and variables in the demographic profile, namely the gender of owners/managers, educational levels, qualifications, and gross annual turnover. What follows is a summation of the most significant contributions of this research. The overview of the significance of the tourism sector in the economy and the role of small businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry of the Eastern Cape will benefit researchers and potential owners/managers who have an interest in this developing sector. The study enhances the understanding of the factors that relate to management capacity. The study has established a profile of SMTE sector in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which can play a significant role for future research. This research makes a contribution to the largely under-researched area of management capacity in small to medium tourism enterprises. Recommendations for owners/managers and consideration of future research included the following. Owners/managers need to have management skills and a strong strategic focus. Through management capacity the needs of the business will be addressed, and capacity building programmes can be tailored to maximise the benefits for owners/managers of SMTEs, thereby improving business performance and avoiding high failure rate. Managers need to be effectively trained to deal with business needs. The management of the business plays a pivotal role in the performance of the enterprise. Managers must be skilled with regards to developing strategic plans, marketing plans, and business plans, thus enhancing management capacity. Longitudinal studies can be undertaken to investigating the same factors which could impact on management capacity. It is recommended that this study be replicated across the global spectrum in order to analyse the factors that impact on management capacity of small to medium tourism businesses of other countries.
- Format
- xviii, 271 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
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Collections
NMU School for Economics, Development and Tourism
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Siyabonga Mxunyelwa_ 27 Aug.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |