Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'New business enterprises – Canada – Finance'

The research problem addressed in this study was to provide a planning guideline for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME’s) to assist them to plan more effectively and be sustainable in their businesses. A guideline for planning is needed, as planning is one of the most difficult activities a business owner needs to undertake. Yet it is essential to do because, before taking action, you must know where you are going and how to get there. Well-developed plans can assist the business owner to interest banks and/or investors to invest in the business, guide the owner in operating the business, give direction to and motivate employees, and provide an environment to attract customers and prospective employees. To become an effective business owner, one must look ahead. Planning, which is the process of setting objectives and devising actions to achieve those objectives are imperative to be sustainable in business. The findings of the literature survey clearly highlights the reasons why a business owner needs to plan and provide a guideline how to plan. It was found in the empirical study that Standard Bank rate the SMME market as a very valuable part of their business. The SMME market has a benefit to various departments within the bank, not only the SMME business market. The empirical study also found that not every entrepreneur that holds a business plan is successful. Many reasons for this exist. One aspect that was identified, is that the wrong idea was implemented. The empirical study revealed that in all respondents agreed that planning forms an integral part of the entrepreneurs business. The empirical study found that a business plan will assist the entrepreneur to be sustainable in their business, only if a thorough feasibility study was conducted. The respondents agreed that the feasibility study, will either support or contradict the assumptions made in the business plan, this will assist the entrepreneur to decide to either continue or end the business activity. It was found that the entrepreneur, with especially a financial expert should be involved when a business planning is undertaken. Other experts in the various business arenas should also be requested to assist with the setting up of the business plan.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are very important to employment creation, poverty alleviation and the sustainable economic development of a nation. Encouraging SMEs, especially start-ups is crucial for sustainable economic growth. However, the failure rate of start-up SMEs in South Africa is one of the highest in the world. In reviewing the literature of the causes of the failure of start-up SMEs, access to finance emerged as a prime challenge. Start-up SMEs find it very difficult to obtain external finance from commercial banks and venture capitalists. The national and provincial governments in South Africa have realised that access to finance is a major constraint to the growth and survival of start-up SMEs and have put in place certain measures to improve access to finance by start-up SMEs. One of the primary measures put in place by government to improve access to finance by start-up SMEs is the provision of Business Development Service by some government agencies. This research investigates the role of Business Development Services Providers (BDSs) in improving access to finance for start-up SMEs. Questions arise as to why the failure rate of start-up SMEs is high in South Africa despite all these government measures aimed at assisting start-ups to access finance. Empirical research was conducted to investigate the role of BDS in improving access to finance by start-up SMEs. The instrument used for data collection was the self-administered questionnaire. The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, T-test, ANOVA, correlation and regression analysis. The Cronbach‟s alpha was used as a measure of reliability. The results of the study revealed that: Access to finance is still a major problem hindering the survival of start-up SMEs. There is a lack of awareness of BDS providers and their services by the majority of start-up SMEs. There is a significant positive relationship between the use of BDS by start-up SMEs and success in accessing finance. Start-up SMEs that are aware of BDS do make use of the services. The results suggest that BDS are important to improving access to finance by start-up SMEs. However, there is a need to build awareness and encourage the use of BDS by start-up SMEs to improve their access to finance and ultimately increase their chances of survival.

It is widely believed that small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs"), acting as a source of innovation and job creation, play a key role in the economy of Canada.
The legal framework which regulates SMEs' activities is vast. This thesis focuses on the legal framework and most important aspects of three critical areas: financing, taxation and international trade.
After describing and interpreting the legal framework of these areas and the information obtained from public and private institutions which are considered key in these issues, this thesis presents conclusions in relation to the question of how and in what way, if any, the current legislative and regulatory framework relating to SMEs contributes to the growth and prosperity of SMEs and to the importance of such a framework to SMEs' success and growth.

In seeking to account for variation in the performance of new and small firms entrepreneurship theory has experienced a shift away from approaches which attribute success to personal characteristics in favour of approaches emphasizing the social context of resource acquisition and mobilization. This study develops and tests a new theoretical model concerning relations between vision, support and new venture performance based on Sooklal's (1991) grounded theory of visionary leadership. In doing so, it addresses theoretical and methodological weaknesses associated with past efforts. Four stages of data collection were required to execute the study. Phases One and Two were used to develop the instrumentation for measuring entrepreneurial vision. Phase Three was a small-scale pilot study. Phase Four, the main component of the study, was utilized to test the research hypotheses. This final phase entailed semi-structured interviews with a random sample of 50 Newfoundland firms incorporated in 1993. Employing Wold's method of Partial Least Squares analysis, five of the nine hypotheses concerning relations amongst seven theoretical constructs were statistically significant. In general, there was strong support for the contribution of both vision and support in the theoretical model. Higher performance were found to be positively influenced by both vision reach (i. e. the "ambitiousness" of the vision) and the strength of received support. Increased support strength was associated with greater vision reach and greater diversity of value-based (i. e. without expectation of reciprocal benefit) and convenience-based (i. e. relationships based on economic exchange) supporters. Contrary to expectations, visions that focused on either internal or external dimensions were associated with greater insider and outsider supporter diversity. The relative importance of predictor constructs in the model was substantially different for urban versus rural firms. Overall, the model was found to possess useful predictive power. The results of the study indicate that vision and supporter diversity play an important role in the strength of support received by start-up entrepreneurs and that both entrepreneurial vision and the strength of received support contribute to new venture performance. In developing the measurement model for the research, many of the indicators for the theoretical constructs were either adapted from other disciplines or newly developed in the absence of pre-existing measures of vision and to overcome weaknesses associated with past "network" studies of support. This measurement model was found to possess satisfactory validity and provides a substantial base upon which further advancements can be made. Practitioners stand to benefit from the predictive power of the model and the insights the model provides concerning performance-enhancing start-up activities beyond the business plan.

A great deal of taxpayers’ money has gone to a lot of SMME development initiatives. Despite this effort over the past 17 years, South Africa (SA) lags behind other developing countries, in promoting the growth and sustainability of SMMEs. The impact and achievements of government initiatives have fallen disappointingly short of aspiration (Business Development in South Africa. 2009. Occasional paper). Aims and Objectives: •To evaluate and reflect on the OR Tambo District Municipality SMME funding model and establish whether it has made the desired impact. •Determine if funds that have been channelled by the SA government to SMMEs for business expansion, start-ups, grants, and special industry development have yielded quantifiable results and •Assess the private funding institutions in assisting destitute entrepreneurs in the OR Tambo District municipality. Research methodology: The study was conducted using qualitative research and a questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. The researcher was able to get valuable information on stakeholders in the SMME sector. The stakeholders (SMMEs and funders), formed the core research sample. Results: findings suggest that the OR Tambo Municipality has a funding gap and the current funding model both from public and private funders is not effective in developing SMMEs in the municipality. The overwhelming majority of SMMEs agreed that there is a funding gap between funders and enterprises that seek funding in the ORTDM. “Financing gap” terminology, Underhill Corporate Solutions (UCS) (2011:52) defines it as, ‘a sizeable share of economically significant SMEs cannot obtain financing from banks, capital markets or other finance suppliers.’ About 90 percent of the interviewed SMMEs agreed that there is huge funding gap and 10 percent disputed this and said that there is no funding gap; rather, it’s a funding mismatch between the funders and SMMEs which needs to be tackled by all SMMEs stakeholders. The funding model needs to be revamped so it can also be accessible to start-ups, the unemployed, people with less business management experience and limited skills, and to all sectors of the economy. Various recommendations and suggestions for further research are made based on the research findings. Conclusion: The study has shown that the current SMME funding model is not effective and does not assist in developing SMMEs in ORTDM. The research findings depict the funding plight of SMMEs in South Africa; the SMME plight in ORTDM is more real than imaginary. 70 percent of SMMEs expressed less confidence in government SMMEs agencies in terms of assistance. The bigger portion of SMMEs felt that the funds channelled to government agencies were not providing significant assistance in developing SMMEs in ORTDM. Recommendations: The conclusive response from the sample, reflect structural challenges in the current funding model. About 70 percent of funding institution`s officials said “yes”, the low yield on SMME growth is a matter of funding. The funds which were meant to fund SMMEs for one reason or the other do not reach SMMEs which are looking for funding. Hence the funds channelled in the sector in the last 17 years have not yielded the desired results. 40 percent interviewed government officials conceded that there is serious political meddling in funding SMMEs in the whole province and ORTDM could not be an exception to this rule. 80 percent of interviewed SMMEs in ORTDM said funding was their main problem, and the other 20 percent indicated that their problem was not a matter of funding. The public and the private sector must revise the current funding model or devise another funding model that will: •bridge the existing current funding gap, •distribute the SMME allocated budget and achieve maximum efficiency in budget allocation.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African population involves huge numbers of young people. The majority of these young people are unemployed and unable to make a living as a result of the inability of the economy to absorb them into the labour market. Other young people attempt to make a living through entrepreneurship. However, the participation of young people in entrepreneurship is very low. Young people face many challenges associated with lack of funding and business development support services, technical skills and development. The problems facing the country substantially caused socio-economic challenges resulting in a shrinking economy. This translated into an inability of both the private sector and government to create and sustain jobs. The government of South Africa established the National Youth Development Agency (here called the Agency) with the mandate to reduce poverty by making sound investments. This facilitates opportunities for young people to acquire skills, promote creation of jobs or pursue meaningful self-employment opportunities through various enterprise development initiatives. The agency developed the Enterprise Development Finance Programme as an economic development approach. The agency provides access to financial and non-financial services to the previously disadvantaged youth in a sustainable manner that improves and promotes sustainable livelihoods for the low-income groups. The study evaluates the effectiveness of the EDFP. The public and private sector offers different programmes aiming at equipping aspiring and established entrepreneurs with skills, knowledge, and motivation to enable business development and growth in the country. However, the challenge is that many do not have entrepreneurial minds. Those who have entrepreneurship knowledge do not know about the programmes, or the programmes are not easily accessible particularly to people in the rural areas. In addition, these programmes are not co-ordinated and as result we are not in a position to tell immediately as to who is doing what and where. This also makes it difficult to identify gaps and to maximise the impact of the programmes. There is a need to audit all programmes aimed at improving the economic development of the country. The government of South Africa must instil a culture of entrepreneurship at all levels to promote and nurture entrepreneurship skills. Vigorous entrepreneurial activity and innovation is needed to alleviate high unemployment levels through a combination of improved quality education and skills development. Promotion and support of entrepreneurship should form an important component of policy options considered to increase economic growth for the long term. The Economic Development Finance programme provides SME and microfinance funding which is seen as an important strategy for economic growth. Education and skills development is an important tool that supports the culture of entrepreneurship, as it contributes to the success of businesses. The private and public institutions should intensify their involvements and consider both financial and non-financial support for youth enterprises and entrepreneurs equally. The support for entrepreneurship should be holistic and cover funding, technical training, training in business and financial management, and business linkages.

The following study is about business angels financing small business start-ups. It explores the aspect of starting up an entrepreneurial venture in which the entrepreneur seeks to secure start-up finance from lenders, raising the various issues that are known to characterise this engagement between the entrepreneur and the lender. Using the phenomenological paradigm, the study seeks to determine the awareness of small scale financing by entrepreneurs in South Africa, to determine the most commonly used source of start-up business funding in South Africa, to assess the extent to which business angel financing could be used to finance businesses in South Africa and to determine the factors impacting the use of business angel financing in South Africa. From these objectives, the study will also seek to determine the extent to which business angel networks could facilitate the financing of business start-ups. Small businesses invariably come up in different policy spheres as the main avenues to social and economic construction across national and regional lines. The importance of a successful business start up to a growing economy should not be underestimated. In line with this is the particular factor of gaining access to start up capital, which continues to emerge as a leading contributor to the success or failure of business start ups. Studies continue to verify that the most common challenge faced by most emerging entrepreneurs is start-up capital, either in the lack of this capital, the unfavourable conditions surrounding its availability, the lack of assets to serve as collateral for its use or the ambiguous flow of crucial information between lenders and providers of finance in the funding relationship (Abor and Biekpe, 2006: 69;Hernandez-Trillo, Pagan and Paxton, 2005: 435, ISPESE, 2005: 7, CDE, 2004: 5; Musengi 2003: 11). Roger Sorheim (2005: 179) refers to business angels as private individuals who offer risk capital to unlisted companies that are struggling to obtain start up capital to finance their business ideas. Business angels are further defined as high net-worth bearers of substantial private capital who predominantly invest in the early stage of high risk high potential return business ventures with a positive further growth potential. Business angel finance is typically a ‘once-off’ early stage form of small firm financing compared to the more frequent later stage venture capitalist funding. Studies show that business angels represent an underutilised wealth creation mechanism when it comes to small firm start-ups as most business angels contribute expertise in addition to finance to the start-ups they get involved in. This brings valuable business insight to the commercialisation of a good business idea. The business angel network exposes a range of potentially viable business prospects to willing investors by facilitating the flow of information about entrepreneurs and their businesses, thereby eliminating ambiguity, information asymmetry and transaction costs (Aernoudt and Erikson, 2002: 178; Van Osnabrugge and Robinson, 2000:374; Macht, 2006:1; Ehlrich, De Noble, Moore and Weaver, 1994:70; Sorheim, 2005:179). To achieve a holistic approach to a phenomenon which appears to be relatively new in South African business circles, the study will follow a qualitative approach in which two categories of populations will be used, one of small business operators and the other of business angels in South Africa. In the study, 20 small business operators and five business angels in Grahamstown will be approached using the convenience and snowballing sampling methods respectively. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews will be used as a data collection method and content analysis will be used as a data analysis tool (Collis and Hussey, 2003:156, Driver, Wood, Segal and Herrington, 2001:32, National Small Business Act ). There has been very limited research on business angels in the South African context, therefore the study would significantly contribute in entrepreneurship, government and small business development circles as it brings about attention to what the researcher predicts is an underutilised business start-up financing option.

Moral Hazard and the Agency Costs thereof have long been accepted arguments in venture finance theory and have therefore long been accepted shortcomings in the venture capitalist / entrepreneur relationship. In psychological experiments ??? including economic ??? it has been shown that human beings prefer to act in a reciprocal manner that reduces any inequity in a relationship. Humans who expect to receive an unfair and inequitable position in a relationship, will take steps to rectify that position. Specifically, if a venture capitalist expects the entrepreneur to unfairly extract private benefits from the investee company post investment by the venture capitalist, then he or she will impose costly controls and monitoring mechanisms in place to prevent that. All relationships that impose controls and monitoring mechanisms are inefficient, as opposed to Advising the investee which draws upon the skills of the venture capitalist and is generally efficient. The venture capital industry is comprised of intelligent and professional people who can recognise inefficiency easily. Indeed, this is how they make poorly managed companies into profitable trade sales or IPO???s. The online survey completed for this thesis poses questions that attempt to show that venture capitalists and entrepreneurs are not locked in an antagonistic relationship where each merely acts in a self interested way. This thesis concludes that venture capitalists and entrepreneurs do work in a reciprocal relationship recognising the substantial efficiency gains to be made by doing so.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Venture capital is a major source of funding for the entrepreneurial community and usually focuses on the early stage, more risk orientated business endeavours. This study explores and identifies the investment criteria used by South African venture capitalists in their venture screening and evaluation process and compares these criteria with the results obtained in similar studies abroad. By identifying the criteria that are deemed as important, venture capitalists can enhance their decision-making process and entrepreneurs can adjust their preparation for venture capital application to maximise their success rate. By alerting entrepreneurs of these criteria, some potentially flawed proposals can be corrected beforehand, hence enhancing the venture capital process for both the venture capitalist and the entrepreneur. By making use of a questionnaire, data was gathered from a population of 16 identified South African venture capitalists, of which 75% replied. The most important criteria was identified by evaluating the mean ratings assigned to them and was found to be, the entrepreneurs honesty and integrity, a good expected market acceptance and a high IRR. The data was further analysed using the Friedman two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) by ranks test, the Sign test and factor analysis. It was found that the South African venture capitalists, just like their overseas counterparts, rate the entrepreneur and management team, as the most important category of criteria when evaluating new projects for investment. In addition, two lists of factors were identified by using factor analysis to reduce the criteria obtained from the questionnaire.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Waagkapitaal is een van die belangrikste bronne van befondsing waarvan entrepreneurs gebruik kan maak. Dit fokus hoofsaaklik op besighede in 'n vroeë besigheid lewensiklus, waar hoër risiko aan die orde van die dag is. Hierdie studie identifiseer en analiseer die beleggings maatstawwe wat gebruik word vir waagkapitaal belegging besluitneming in Suid-Afrika en vergelyk die resultate met soortgelyke studies wat reeds in die buiteland uitgevoer is. Die besluitnemingsproses vir die waagkapitalis kan ook vergemaklik word deur die identifisering van die mees belangrikste maatstawwe en terselfdertyd kan entrepreneurs dit ook gebruik vir beter voorbereiding in hul aansoek om waagkapitaal. Deur entrepreneurs se aandag op die belangrike faktore te vestig kan potensiële swak voorleggings vroegtydig gekorrigeer word, wat 'n positiewe bydrae sal lewer tot die beleggingsproses vir beide die waagkapitalis en die entrepreneur. Daar is gebruik gemaak van 'n vraelys wat gestuur is aan 16 Suid-Afrikaanse waagkapitaal beleggers, 75% het die vraelys voltooi. Deur vergelyking van die gemiddelde waardes is vasgestel dat die belangrikste maatstawwe die entrepreneur se eerlikheid en integriteit, goeie verwagte aanvaarding en aanvraag na die produk en 'n hoë “IRR” is, daarna is die data geanaliseer deur middel van die “Friedman two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) by ranks test”, die ”Sign test” en “factor analysis”. Daar is bevind dat die Suid-Afrikaanse waagkapitalis net soos sy oorsese eweknie, die entrepreneur en bestuurspan as die mees belangrikste afdeling van maatstawwe ag wanneer gekyk word na nuwe projekte vir beleggings. Daar is ook twee addisionele lyste van belangrike maatstawwe opgestel deur die aantal faktore te verminder deur faktor analise.

The thesis develops a series of field experiments on both the investor side and the startup side to understand both investors' investment preferences and entrepreneurs' collaboration preferences in the U.S. entrepreneurial financing system. On the investor side, Chapter 1 studies whether early stage investors are biased against female, Asian, and older startup founders using two complementary field experiments consisting of a correspondence test and an incentivized resume (IRR) rating experiment. Chapter 2 provides causal evidence of investors' general investment preferences for multiple startup characteristics, including both the human capital characteristics and the non-human capital characteristics, using the same experimental design. On the startup side, Chapter 3 studies whether startup founders are biased against female and Asian investors using a symmetric IRR experiment. Chapter 4 investigates how investor's human capital characteristics and funds' organizational capital characteristics affect founders' collaboration interest, which explains VC funds' performances through attraction of potential deal flows. These experiments constitute a field experimental system in the two-sided matching market, providing crucial causal evidence addressing several fundamental questions in the entrepreneurial finance literature.

This thesis comprises three essays that analyze financial and non-financial aspects of firm and industry dynamics. The first essay investigates the evolution of a cohort of entrants during their first ten years of life. The study looks at the distributions of sales, assets, employment and debtasset ratio for these firms over time and compares how these distributions change relative to distributions for incumbent firms. Entrants are smaller in terms of employees, assets and sales, but have a higher debt-asset ratio when compared with incumbents. These differences lessen over time because entrants have higher growth rates and smaller entrant firms have higher failure rates than compared to larger entrants. The second essay investigates whether long-term growth of a firm is independent of initial financial structure. I look at a panel of Canadian retail and manufacturing firms born in 1985. The analysis involves a two-part testing process. The first part tests whether firm growth exhibits initial size dependence. The growth process for retail firms exhibits initial size dependence, while the growth process for manufacturing firms does not. The second part looks at whether growth of ten-year old manufacturing firms is independent of initial debt-asset ratio. The result rejects independence with the finding that age ten conditional size of a manufacturing firm has a non-monotonic relationship with initial debt-asset ratio. The final essay examines whether Gibrat's law holds for groups of Canadian firms operating in manufacturing and retail sectors. Gibrat's law holds when firm growth and variability of growth are independent of firm size and firm growth is independent across time. Firm growth and variability of growth depend on size for each set of firms, which leads to violations of Gibrat's law. The source of these two violations is not survival bias, since the violations occur with the inclusion or exclusion of failing firms. A further violation is that negative growth persistence exists. Finally, I look at possible failure because of age effects. I examine a group of new firms with a common age and find the violations continue to occur for this group.
Arts, Faculty of
Vancouver School of Economics
Graduate

Thesis (M.M.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2016.
Alternative funding models for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are more often than not reviewed from the perspective of the entrepreneur, in line with the need for funding in each growth phase. This research addresses the problem of funding availability for SMEs by interrogating what funding models are viable from the supply side through the growth phases of a small business in South Africa. The variables employed are loan amount advanced to the small business sector, risk appetite structures and measures, such as size, product, lending rate and sector. Using individual firm data in a cross section regression framework, the results of the study indicate a positive relationship between the size of the firm and the loan amount advanced. Evidence is presented that suggests that macroeconomic factors, such as the interest rate, do not have significant influence on lending. Further, and in confirmation of previous literature, this study indicates that there is a general lack of knowledge on how to fund small businesses in South Africa, and this research contributes to the existing literature by providing insights on the alternative models used by lenders to supply funding to SMEs.
GR2018

Thesis (M.M.(Finance & Investment)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2017
This study investigated whether the financial sector (private and public) is accessible to the SME’s and entry level entrepreneurs dominated by Black and poor people. The study employed a comparative analysis method; it compared the structure of the South African financial sector to those of India and Brazil, as newly industrialised countries. The finding indicates that the South African financial sector lacked the presence of state-owned financial institutions as in the comparable NCI countries to support SMEs and entry level Black entrepreneurs. The study then recommended the creation of state-owned microfinance institutions, whose performance will determine the need of state-owned banks
GR2018

The thesis documents findings of a study conducted to develop a project based financial management system (PBFMS) whose role was viewed as a contributor to the successful delivery of projects leading to improved financial performance of small and medium construction enterprise (SMCEs). In particular, the PBFMS was viewed as a facilitator {function) for the efficient and effective conduction of the strategic management, project planning and control processes. Thus an adequate PBFMS was seen as one which, facilitates the efficient and effective delivery of projects with a view to provide enhanced enterprise performance. In pursuit of this aim, theory and practices relating to the development, operation and use of a PBFMS were investigated and analysed from both literature and field work leading to findings being reported in the thesis. In addition, the actual financial management systems of SMCEs were investigated to determine the extent to which their attributes match those of the proposed PBFMS model. The motivation for embarking on the study was brought about by three aspects observed in Botswana. Firstly, was the frequently documented poor delivery of projects, that is, for a sustained period of time, projects were being delivered beyond stipulated times, above agreed cost, and below specified quality. In some worst scenarios, projects were being abandoned at various stages execution but before completion. Secondly, the investigation was also prompted by the frequent financial failures of enterprises that were being recorded in the construction industry. Thirdly, the conduct of the proprietors of the construction enterprises was also frequently circumspect, particularly in matters relating to financial management. Thus in pursuing the study, a number of premises were made. Firstly, the financial management systems of the SMCEs were considered inadequate to fulfil their functions, that is, they were incapable of facilitating the strategic management, project planning and control process. It was also speculated that management of SMCEs were not committed to the PBFMS i.e. they did not participate, get involved and did not comply with the policies regarding the planning, developing, and operation of financial management systems. As a result, PBFMS were unable to play their role of facilitating to the successful delivery of projects for improved contribution to the financial performance of SMCEs. The second premise was that financial models available are either too generic to guide SMCEs in financial management matters or the strategic component is not linked to the operational plans to execute the strategy. For those which are meant for construction enterprises, they normally prescribe practices for project planning and control without including the strategic element and vice versa. In essence there is a gap in each of the models available for use by the SMCEs. It is the closing of this perceived gap in knowledge that the results of the thesis contribute in finding a solution to the mentioned problem. Thus the study aimed at answering two research questions: (i) Do SMCEs have adequate PBFMS that facilitate the effective delivery of projects for enhanced financial performance? and (ii) Is there a relationship between the adequacy PBFMS and poor performance of SMCEs? To facilitate the answering of these two question two hypothesis were formulated namely: Hoi: The PBFMS of SMCEs are adequate to facilitate the delivery of projects; and Ho2: The adequacy of the PBFMS is positively correlated with the performance of SMCEs. To test the two questions a research process was planned and executed in several steps. Firstly, a survey strategy using the questionnaire was selected as the most appropriate method to provide a snap shot of the existence of attributes of PBFMS and to investigate associated practices relating to their development and operation. The method was considered more appropriate and effective in gathering large data in a short space of time in line with the doctoral time framework. Construction enterprises registered with Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) for building and civil work in classes A, B, C and D were surveyed. The internal quantity surveyor, estimator or accountant were requested to respond on matters relating PBFMS on behalf of the SMCEs. The sampling frame from which the SMCEs considered for study were obtained from the two government departments which work closely with PPADB, the Department of Building and Engineering Services (DBES) and Department of Roads (DR). The sample sizes for each group category (small and medium) were determined using Krajcie and Morgan (1970) table. Stratified and systematic random sampling was used to select the identity of the members to form a sample fro study from the sampling frame. The second step was to design the questionnaire to probe the three aspects identified as constituting the PBFMS namely the strategic management; project planning and control; and management commitment. Essentially the questionnaire sought to investigate the knowledge, tools, techniques, practices, opinions and attitudes of those who design, develop, operate and use the PBFMS in the SMCEs. To ensure a high quality design, the questionnaire was given to experts in the subject area to provide some comments on its suitability and was also piloted on four enterprises. Data collected was analysed using mainly the SPSS software and involved application of various statistical techniques including cross-tabs, ratio analysis, ttests and correlational tests. A total of 101 completed questionnaires were received, made up of 55% and 46% small and medium enterprises, respectively. The demographic profile of SMCEs confirmed some of the expected results, for example, majority (59%) of the respondents were owner/managers confirming the dominance of the owner in SMCEs. Majority of SMCEs (59%) were more than 9 years old, with medium enterprises being more mature (60% older than 9 years) than the small sized enterprises (49% older than 9 years). Majority (56%) of SMCEs had 10 or more employees, with medium sized enterprises having more employees (75% with 10 or more) than the small sized enterprises (42% with 10 or more). SMCEs performed more of building work alone (48%) than both building and civil work (48%) or maintenance (11%) and no enterprise performed civil work (0%) alone. Majority of SMCEs (65%) acted as main contractors as opposed to sub-contractors, though as expected sub-contracting was seen more in small (20%) than medium (10%) enterprises. Lastly, the public sector (central and local authorities) provided majority (65%) of the SMCEs jobs. However, if parastatals which are wholly owned by government were added, the public sector job market adds up to 73% (65%+8%). The testing of the major two major hypothesis resulted in the following conclusion. The results indicated that the first hypothesis was supported, that is, in a majority of SMCEs operating in Botswana the PBFMS were found to be adequate in facilitating the delivery of projects. The results were therefore not in agreement with the basic premise made at the commencement of the study. In view of the finding, it suggests that SMCEs in Botswana have adequate systems that support the efficient and effective project planning and control. Secondly, management is committed to the 'welfare' of the PBFMS in terms of complying and supporting their development and operation. However, like any human endeavour, there are weaknesses in the PBFMS, for example, they were found inadequate in facilitating the strategic management process, including lack of linking the process to the operational process in order to execute the strategy. They were also found weak in one of the most crucial process of project management; that of project control. The second major investigation showed a weak link between the adequacy of a PBFMS and performance. Secondly, the results also indicated that the SMCEs which had adequate PBFMS performed better than their counterparts. The first results were not surprising since the cause of poor performance were shown as three pillars (business environment, client/representatives and enterprise factors). However, the second results emphasise that SMCEs with adequate PBFMS posted better performance than their counterparts with inadequate systems. In this way the role of PBFMS in contributing to better performance was illustrated by the results. Some recommendations are proposed resulting from the findings and how to achieve a deeper understanding of the subject. Firstly, SMCEs should pay more attention to matters pertaining to strategic management to ensure a long-term view of their enterprises. Secondly, when a strategic plan is developed, it must be implemented through operational plans as a means of executing the strategy. Thirdly, concerted effort should made in ensuring that the projects are controlled as it is the only way to achieve sustained profitability and satisfied customers. Fourthly, as a way of providing a deeper understanding of the subject, it is suggested a longitudinal study could be undertaken to yield a more encompassing investigation than a cross sectional study which captured only one business cycle of the industry (down turn). Lastly, the study could be replicated in another industry with a similar profile like the construction industry in Botswana, for example, Namibia or/and the study could include large enterprises to provide means of comparing the different profiles of enterprises.
Business Management
D. B. L.

Australian state and federal governments have funded business incubators since the early 1990s, the typical purpose of this investment being to provide a nurturing environment for business start-ups while contributing to local economic development. However, this summation of the functions of business incubation does not identify an essential dichotomy concerning the goals of incubator sponsors. Business incubators depend upon a range of stakeholders (including board members, managers and tenants) for their initial establishment, and subsequently, in their ongoing operation. A review of the extant literature suggests the presence of a ‘research gap’ in the literature. This ‘gap’ indicates a failure to consider the goals, benefits and costs accruing to, or being borne by, Australian business incubator stakeholders, especially those involved in boards of management, this group, usually without recompense, providing ongoing governance, mentoring, business advice and other essential services to their incubators. The literature review provided the necessary background which allowed the researcher to develop a conceptual framework for the study acting as the foundation of the thesis. The research involves qualitative and quantitative methodology. In the first instance, a series of interviews of incubator board members, managers and tenants was completed and documented. Material derived from the interviews, along with internet sourced information, provided a qualitative data base of Australian incubation practice supporting the development of an e-mail survey that was distributed throughout the incubator industry. A series of propositions were tested using survey response material, interpretation including a descriptive investigation followed by bivariate and multivariate analysis. This study has identified a link between institutional and stakeholder theories in the business incubation sector. The findings, concerning some issues, indicate that incubator stakeholders – particularly board members and managers – are satisfied that they are achieving their goals. However, tenant respondents, possibly due to the differing goals and composition of the tenant cohort, indicate that their goal achievement expectations are not being realised.

Thesis (Master's Degree in Technology: Entrepreneurship), Durban Institute of Technology, 2003.
Over the last decade computer technology has impacted tremendously on the survival and productivity of organisations. In today's technologically advanced business environment, much emphasis is being placed on obtaining a competitive advantage through the use of computers - a commodity that has become available to almost everyone in an organisation. Increasing global competition and pressing social needs have impacted with such vigo~ that even tertiary institutions are now facing major financial constraints, thus forcing them to investigate alternative sources of income to maintain sustainability. Through the use of computer technology - searching, retrieving, sorting, producing and organising data efficiently and accurately - the belief is that many departments at the M L Sultan Campus of the Durban Institute of Technology can be converted into income-generating units that can be self-sustaining. There are many departments at the M L Sultan Campus with the relevant infrastructure and person-power to establish business units. These departments vary in the services that they provide, thus relevant information systems need to be aligned to future business units within these departments. This study focuses on a) investigating the impact of information technology and its systems on businesses; b) ensuring that information technology and its systems is looked at a~ a cost effective resource for maintaining a competitive edge and promoting business value. The interaction of business processes, people and technology will ensure successful planning and implementation of strategies within the potential business units; and c) recommending to selected departments the expected fmdings whereby they could choose to adopt these recommendations to transform themselves into business units in order to maintain a competitive edge for financial sustainability.
M

The traditional theories of development concentrated on stimulating economic growth and ignored the social aspects involved. Despite the massive injection of donor funds, the situation of the poor deteriorated. The projects in Tembisa are an example of this, as the community was not involved in the assessing of needs or designing of interventions and were only the implementers. The evaluation offers an alternative developmental paradigm that has been used with success in other similar circumstances – the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA). The SLA contends that urban communities should become planners, initiators and executors of local development in order for any transformation to occur. Urban communities have to change their behaviour and attitudes, be willing to accept change, and to take ownership of the projects. The facilitators, NGOs and government have to be willing to unlearn their traditional ways, listen, and accept that they are not the only experts in the field.
Development Studies
M.A. (Development Studies)