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Moussavou, Elsa-Olivia. "A business framework for enterprise development and venture creation in Libreville, Gabon." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2611.
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Thesis (MTech (Entrepreneurship))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, [2016].The purpose of this study is to develop a business framework for enterprise development and venture creation in Libreville, Gabon. The question that guides this research is: How are hotels and restaurants created and developed in Libreville, Gabon? The level of poverty and the unemployment rate have pushed many people to become creative in finding a way to generate income. The resultant entrepreneurial activity is a key element in the potential economic growth of the country. The Gabonese Government took the initiative to promote SMEs by providing the necessary economic environment. However, from a financial perspective it appears that the majority of entrepreneurs are using their own capital to finance their business during the start-up and developing phases. The limited access to finance remains a major issue for entrepreneurs in both developed and developing countries. It is an ongoing challenge for them to acquire financial support from the available financial institutions. In order to make this study effective, a quantitative approach was followed. A selfadministered survey questionnaire was distributed to seventy owners and managers of hotels and restaurants. The findings show that the key elements which lead to the failure of SMMEs are; the limited access to finance to start up a new business, the lack of funds to maintain operating expenses during the start-up stage, the low return on investment and the mismanagement and poor understanding of the financial cycle of a start-up. Therefore this study proposes a business framework for venture creation and development so that entrepreneurs in Libreville will become educated in the correct procedures to successfully manage and grow their businesses, which will have a positive effect on the economy as more businesses become self-sustainable. SMMEs are regarded as an important means of addressing unemployment and poverty and boosting the economy of the country.
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Bekale, Be Ndong Gael. "Business strategy and organizational sustainability of selected enterprises in Libreville, Gabon." Thesis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2998.
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Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of insufficient business planning and good management of SMEs in Gabon have on SMEs’ to survive and grow. Thus, the study examined the relationship between business strategies and SMEs’ organisational sustainability in Libreville (Gabon).The study was a descriptive one which made use of positivist philosophy and adopted quantitative approach. As such a questionnaire which was designed from themes extracted from literature survey was used to gather data from a sample of 30 SMEs. The findings indicated that the lack of business strategy encountered in SMEs in Libreville lead partly to the failure or setbacks of the operation of the organisations. Most common reasons of the failure of SMEs were related to the absence of business plan, the lack of leadership, and lack of appropriate management system. The recommendations are to improve the SMEs in terms of good leadership, importance of business plan, management control system; strategic business management, organisation and employees performance. It further revealed that for the purpose of organisational sustainability, business strategies are regarded as critical aspects to consider for avoiding non-conformances while running businesses. The significance of the study is the framework to identify and optimise business strategies in order to promote successfully SMEs. The study shows the interest of owners of SMEs to set up appropriate business strategies.
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Caga, Siyabonga Macpherson. "Barriers faced by SMMEs in accessing finance." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013348.
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SMMEs have been cited as major players in economic development in South Africa and in other developing countries. In South Africa SMMEs contribute more than 52 percent towards the GDP. Subsequently, the South African government has taken various steps to encourage their growth and to improve access to finance for SMMEs. Despite this, securing finance remains a challenge in this group of enterprises. Since SMMEs have unique financial needs, commercial banks and other funders are faced with difficulties in catering for them. Banks in particular have been reluctant in financing these high-risk ventures. SMME owners as a result still prefer informal sources of finance such as personal savings, retained earnings or friends or family rather than bank loans. The study purpose was to examine the barriers that are faced by SMMEs in accessing finance. To do this a survey was conducted on 40 SMMEs operating in the manufacturing sector in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. The research findings indicated various barriers that are faced by SMMEs in accessing finance. Dominating among the barriers are those that are related to perceived risks of SMMEs by funders, including lack of collateral or business assets, lack of financial statements, excessive red tape by funders, administrative burden associated with applications as well as unfair evaluation of risks and profitability of SMMEs by funders. Other factors that were identified as barriers were those that are associated with poor business plan development, poor business training and development and source of funding. The majority of the respondents recommended that there must be better risk and profitability evaluation, easy loan repayment methods, more government support for SMMEs, flexible eligibility criteria for SMME loans and proper loan amount allocations.
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Basch, Richard J. "Capitalization Strategies for Small Business Sustainability." Thesis, Walden University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10684791.
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Over the past 15 years, privately held small businesses generated nearly two-thirds of the net job growth in the United States, yet much of what scholars know regarding the capitalization challenges faced by small businesses is limited to data from large corporations. In 2013 alone, business bankruptcies numbered 33,212, and each year approximately 10% to 12% of U.S. small businesses close. Ineffective capitalization strategies coupled with a limited understanding of funding options frequently results in unsustainable business practices. In this multiple case study, the capital budgeting theory was utilized to explore the capitalization strategies small business owners in the greater Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area employed to achieve sustainability beyond 5 years of business inception. Participants were purposefully selected based on their tenure in business, number of employees, and geographic location. Data were collected via in-person semistructured interviews with 4 small business owners, coupled with a review of financial archival documents. Data were analyzed using theme interpretation, data grouping, and word frequency tabulation. Three themes emerged: a preference for self-funded, personal capitalization; the leveraging of personal relationships as a primary educational strategy; and a general aversion to debt and high interest rates. Implementing sound capitalization strategies contributes to social change by improving the likelihood of long-term sustainability. Sustainable small businesses increase employment opportunities, wage growth, and community-based services while enhancing the overall quality of life for local families and the community.
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Jakes, Lyndabelle Virgil. "Success Strategies of Small Business Owners." Thesis, Walden University, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10751428.
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In the United States, 20% of newly established small businesses, including small businesses in the life insurance industry, fail within 2 years, and over 50% of them fail during the first 5 years. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify and explore the strategies that life insurance brokerage owners use to sustain business operations beyond 5 years. Porter’s 5 forces model served as the conceptual framework for exploring this subject matter. Owners of 3 separate small life insurance brokerage firms in Texas, who sustained their businesses beyond 5 years, participated in semistructured interviews. A secondary source of data was relevant company documents. Methodological triangulation and member checking assured the reliability and validity of the interpretations. Through thematic analysis and supporting software, 5 themes emerged: exceptional customer service, relationship-building, efficient promotional strategies, regular training of salespersons, and hiring the right employees. The application of the findings of the study could contribute to positive social change by reducing unemployment and thereby catalyzing an economic environment supporting employees, families, and communities.
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Black, Lamont K. "Essays on small business lending." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2007. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3264326.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Economics and Dept. of Finance, 2007.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-05, Section: A, page: 2094. Advisers: Eric L. Leeper; Gregory F. Udell. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 24, 2008)."
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Kasase, William K. "Business incubators in Zambia: A study of the impact on small business enterprises." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25098.
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This study tested the impact of Business Incubators (BI) in stimulating the growth of small to medium businesses in a Southern African country, Zambia. The study explores the existence, awareness, beliefs and experience in a sub Saharan context, identifying the key impact factors. The study was aimed at understanding whether the operation of business incubators would result in stimulating small to medium business enterprises the same way it does in the west. To achieve this, the study reviewed the existing literature on the subject matter and analysed the collected data using a questionnaire was analysed. The collected data was analysed using SSPS. The results of the analysis revealed that 64% of the respondents had heard about Business Incubators. This was done through a scientific research by a well selected set of interview questionnaires, from a sample size of 300 small to medium businesses. Only 19% confirmed receiving business assistance from a support initiative. 95% of the total respondents confirmed that a business incubator program would impact the growth of their businesses in many areas. The study further found that there were a few challenges with access to a Business Incubator. Prominent amount them was the restricted access to SMEs located in the cities. Secondly, the respondents bemoaned that the application procedure was complicated and needed to be simplified and translated into local languages. The research makes the conclusion that Business Incubators have a positive impact on the growth of small businesses in Zambia, based on the empirical evidence obtained during the study. The study revealed 32% of incubated businesses had reduced their operation costs. Contrary to available research, entrepreneurs who had received support from Business Incubators employed fewer employees than those that did not. The study therefore, questioned how business incubators increased the probability of the long term survival of the enterprise.
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Kouadio, Gbogbo Nina Marie-Laure. "Difficulties experienced by small businesses in accessing finance." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018633.
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Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) significantly contribute to the growth of the economy and the employment sector. However, it is indicated that SMEs lack access to the financial products and services that are critical to their growth. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the difficulties experienced by small businesses in accessing finance. An online questionnaire survey was considered an appropriate measurement method for this study. The targeted population of the study included all small businesses operating in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole. Thus, some 208 companies were identified as part of the study sampling frame. A total number of 66 questionnaires were returned out of the 208 targeted companies - giving a response rate of 29 percent. The quantitative data were processed using a STATISTICA program, leading to appropriate descriptive statistical analyses, including frequencies, means, medians and standard deviations. In order to obtain a better understanding of the difficulties experienced by small businesses in accessing finance, hypotheses were also formulated and a t-test was used to establish the statistical significance of certain demographic variables and company characteristics regarding the problems experienced by small businesses in accessing finance. The results of the empirical study revealed that the major difficulties faced by small businesses in their access to finance were the lack of collateral and security, the high cost of borrowing interest and the delay in feedback from the financial institutions. Further, by testing the hypotheses, it was also revealed that the ethnic group of the applicant, the total years of business experience of the applicant and the annual turnover of the business have an impact on the access to finance. Based on the relevant literature study and the empirical results, recommendations were made in order to address the identified problems. However, the unavailability of an exhaustive small business database in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole did not allow the research to draw on a larger representative sample. Thus, this limitation has impeded in-depth statistical analysis that would have allowed the research to obtain more accurate findings. Further studies could investigate the reasons why in many cases financial institutions reject the funding of small businesses.
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Van, Do Thang. "Finance provision and small business sector in transition economy." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.438506.
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Patraporn, R. Varisa. "Complex transactions race and relationships in small business finance /." Diss., Restricted to subscribing institutions, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1467887401&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=1564&RQT=309&VName=PQD.
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Montoriol, Garriga Judit. "Relationship lending and small business finance: empirical relationship lending and small business finance: empirical analysis of cost of capital, credit rationing, and firm performance." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/7344.
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Aquesta tesis investiga les fonts de valor de la banca relacional per les empreses. Després d'un primer capítol introductori, el Capítol 2 revisa les contribucions més rellevants en la literatura de la banca relacional. El Capítol 3 adreça la pregunta si la banca relacional és compatible amb la competència bancària, usant dades d'una enquesta a petites empreses d'Estats Units. El resultat principal és que les tecnologies de banca relacional poden ser usades en les mercats bancaris més competitius sempre i quan les empreses es comprometin a demanar prestat de un sol banc. El Capítol 4 proposa una estratègia empírica per tal de discriminar entre les prediccions teòriques oposades de tenir una relació banc-empresa exclusiva: estimar l'efecte diferencial en el cost i la disponibilitat del crèdit segons el grau de competència bancària. El Capítol 5 estudia l'efecte de la banca relacional en la rendibilitat de l'empresa. Pels dos últims capítols s'utilitzen dades de panel de 70,000 petites i mitjanes empreses espanyoles (1993-2004). Els resultats són consistents amb la visió que els bancs s'apropien majoritàriament del valor generat en les relacions properes amb les empreses sempre i quan no s'enfrontin a la competència d'altres prestadors.This thesis investigates the sources of the value of lending relationships to the borrowing firm. After a first introductory chapter, Chapter 2 reviews the most relevant contributions to the relationship lending literature. Chapter 3 addresses the question of whether relationship lending is compatible with banking competition, using a survey of small firms in the United States. The main result is that relationship lending technologies are used in the most competitive banking markets as long as firms commit to borrowing from a single lender. Chapter 4 proposes an empirical strategy to disentangle the opposite theoretical predictions of exclusive bank-firm relationships: estimate the differential effect on cost and availability of credit depending on banking market concentration. Chapter 5 studies the effect of relationship lending on firm performance. For the last two chapters we use a panel dataset of 70,000 small and medium Spanish firms (1993-2004). The results are consistent with the view that banks appropriate most of the value generated through close relationships with its borrowers as long as they do not face competition from other lenders.
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Bartz, Wiebke [Verfasser]. "Selected Essays on Small Business Economics and Finance / Wiebke Bartz." Frankfurt am Main : Frankfurt School of Finance & Management gGmbH, 2016. http://d-nb.info/1112149392/34.
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Musara, Mazanai. "The role played by business development services providers (BDSs) in improving access to finance by start-up SMEs in the Buffalo City Municipality." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/359.
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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.
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Griner, Charles H. "Small Construction Business Owners' Strategies for Employee Retention." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7871.
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Thirty-four percent of people in the United States of America work for businesses that employ fewer than 100 people. However, many small business owners lack the strategies necessary to retain their valuable employees. Businesses that fail to retain valuable employees are as much as 28% less efficient. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies small construction business owners use to retain their valuable employees. Contingency theory provided the conceptual framework. The participants were three owners of three small businesses in the construction industry located in Mississippi which implemented successful policies and procedures to retain their employees. The data sources for this study were semistructured interviews, financial statements, newspaper articles, websites, and social media. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Three themes morphed to include challenging employees and reward them accordingly, mitigating unplanned turnover, and treating employees and others fairly. Potential implications for positive social change are that increased profits among small business owners may enable them to provide better benefits and pay and incentive increases to their employees. Small business owners with increased profits may also be better equipped to participate in community-based charitable organizations.
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Nwabueze, John Chidi. "Strategies to Sustain Small Accounting Businesses for Longer Than 5 Years." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7172.
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Small businesses represent over 99% of all United States businesses and are engines of economic growth and job creation. In 2018, the Small Business Administration estimated that a total of 30.2 million small businesses employed over 58.9 million workers. Small businesses are known to face significant challenges, and most fail within 5 years of startup. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that owners of small accounting businesses used to sustain their organizations for longer than 5 years. The population in this study consisted of 5 owners of small accounting businesses in Michigan. The conceptual framework for the study was human capital theory. Data were collected through face-to-face, semistructured interviews and review of documents. The analysis of collected data yielded themes that included market research and competitive analysis, excellent customer service, passion for accounting and arduous work, and retention of skilled and competent employees. The findings of this study may be applied to bringing about positive social change by enhancing small business owners' competence and promoting business growth. Additionally, the use of the results of this study may promote economic activities and sustainability by stimulating job creation and reducing unemployment.
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Chukwuma, Ike. "The Impacts of Credit on Small Business Financing in Florida." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4610.
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In the United States, small businesses represent 99.7% of firms that provide employment and account for over 50% of all private sector employment. Nevertheless, the rationing of small business borrowing is an indicative of acute credit constraints emanating from poverty, lack of collateral, lack of cosigners for bank loans, high administrative fees associated with processing credit loans, and information asymmetry along with other socioeconomic factors. In a 4-year study from 2004-2008, it was determined that small businesses suffer tremendously from credit rationing. The purpose of this study was to determine the induced effect of loan guarantee scheme, collateral, and leverage on credit rationing. The seminal work of Stiglitz and Weiss served as a framework for the study. The research questions were developed to inquire the relationship (influence) of loan guarantee scheme on credit rationing while controlling for collateral and leverage. Data on small businesses were collected from the Small Business Administration and the National Survey of Small Business Finances websites. Collected data (n = 1,072) of small business firms in Florida for 2015 were analyzed through applying multiple regression methodology. The study results indicated that small business participation in loan guarantee scheme had a significant influence on credit rationing when the confounding effects of collateral and leverage were statistically controlled. The findings of this research could lead to positive social change by providing small businesses with loan guarantee scheme, a government subsidy that eliminates the need for credit rationing.
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Kemp, John Morne. "The development of best practice guidelines that will assist small businesses planning." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016153.
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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.
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Canales, Rodrigo (Rodrigo J. ). "From ideals to institutions : institutional entrepreneurship in Mexican small business finance." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/44810.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2008."June 2008."
Includes bibliographical references.
Through a combination of in-depth research and unique loan-level data, this dissertation explores the mechanisms of intentional institutional change. It argues that current accounts of institutions and institutional change require but do not provide a systematic understanding of the role of individuals in processes of change. It then uses two in-depth case studies to explore the mechanisms through which individuals can initiate institutional change. One case is the activation of the small business credit market in Mexico. The second is the expansion of micro credit in the country. Through these cases, the dissertation proposes that, contrary to conventional thinking, institutional change is not rare because institutional entrepreneurs are scarce. In fact, they are quite prevalent. Rather, what is scarce is the required combination of an opportunity for change, individuals who can recognize this opportunity, have the capabilities and skills to pursue it, and are situated in the right structural position to drive a change process. It further argues that successful institutional entrepreneurs are usually situated in positions of middle management, which provide the right balance between a motivation to experiment, access to sufficient resources, and discretion to diverge from norms. Additionally, institutional entrepreneurs tend to have mixed backgrounds with diverse professional trajectories, which allow them to detect opportunities, cross borders, and learn the different languages required to brokerage experimental efforts.
by Rodrigo Canales.
Ph.D.
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Engo, Jean Marc Mezui. "Economic valuation of protected areas : the case of the Lope National Park in Gabon." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80780.
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Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2010.The purpose of this study was to estimate the economic value of the Lopé National Park in Gabon. The creation of the Lopé National Park (LNP) in 2002 aimed at answering international engagements of Gabon as regards conservation of the biodiversity. To be able to value this protected area, an economic valuation technique called the Total Economic Value was applied. Total economic value (TEV) is a valuation method which attempts to estimate monetarily some tangible and intangible environmental benefits. After a brief presentation and an overview of legal aspects of the LNP, two management scenarios were considered: a scenario „with the Lopé National Park‟ and a scenario „without the Lopé National Park‟. The former scenario takes in account the establishment of the park whereas the latter suggests the non-establishment of the park. A set of hypotheses was set to perform the valuation. Furthermore, the data used in this study was based on primary research and various telephone interviews to confirm their validity. Based on various valuation techniques, selected tangible and intangible ecosystem benefits classified as direct use values, indirect use values, option values and existence values were quantified. The result of this study shows that the economic value of the scenario with the Lopé National Park produces a higher economic value than the scenario without the Lopé National Park. In other words, the decision to establish a protected area is a justifiably sound economic decision as it creates social welfare at local, national and international level. It is important to note that this valuation exercise is incomplete as this study does not take into account all the environmental benefits generated by any forest ecosystem due to the difficulty in valuing its intangible nature.
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Cohen, Melissa. "Crowdfunding as a Financing Resource for Small Businesses." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3757.
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Although small businesses borrowed $1 trillion in 2013 from traditional lenders, 35% of small business owners were unable to obtain adequate financing and subsequently sought alternative sources such as crowdfunding. Guided by the pecking order theory, the purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore how 6 small business owners in Tennessee successfully used crowdfunding to start, grow, or sustain their businesses. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of crowdfunding project data on the internet platform including the project description, target goal, amount achieved, number of backers, and locations of the funders. Data were inductively analyzed, first into coded phrases, then categories, and finally emergent themes. Findings revealed that these small business owners tapped into a strong social media network of potential funders for increased funding opportunities. They also advocated that project descriptions consist of high-quality project content and videos, 9 to 11 reward levels, and valuable rewards to entice funders to contribute to the campaign. These small business owners also noted that they devoted more time than originally anticipated during the planning, execution, and fulfillment phases, and they all faced preliminary transaction, fulfillment, and shipping costs when using crowdfunding. The risks included not receiving any funding, negative customer feedback, and poor reputation. These stories have implications for positive social change by illuminating the necessary resources to establish a successful business through employment of a social change mechanism. With funding for growth, the small business owner, family, and local community will promote economic prosperity.
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Hill, Denys Alan. "A chaos related investigation into small manufacturing business financial decision-making dynamics." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1999. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/4383/.
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Despite the fact that small manufacturing businesses are still the core of manufacturing in the UK very little is known about their financial dynamics. This thesis investigates these activities from a chaos and chaos theory related standpoint. Since chaos treats dynamic situations, and businesses are intrinsically dynamic, a reasonable expectation is that the one is relevant to the other. However as the research progressed, into detailed appraisals, it became evident that initial, optimistic expectations regarding their relevance were ill-founded. Therefore a conclusion is reached that chaos and chaos theory, despite a voluminous literature, have little relevance to financial decision-making in small manufacturing businesses. The greater part of chaos literature relates to various branches of mathematics, the physical and life sciences. Economics occupies third place. Paucity of references to small manufacturing businesses justifies attempts, such as this, to bridge the gap between them and chaos by explanatory and, interpretative research. Chaos is the main artery, one of two main divisions. It is sub-divided into chaos, the condition, chaos and related theories, and chaology, the techniques. The other main division comprises first an extended study of small manufacturing businesses, which have many, sometimes difficult-to-quantify, financial variables, and secondly hands-on experience as an owner/manager. Evaluating the two, by comparing and contrasting, was intended to be central to the thesis. Instead it became apparent that no there is no pre-existing agreement on key factors. Formulating working definitions ameliorates the problem and allows the evaluation of chaos, in the context of varied financial success in small manufacturing businesses, as well as other theories, to proceed. The financial information needs of their decision-makers, typically owner/managers focus the evaluation. Contributions to knowledge are two. First is finding chaos to be only marginally relevant. Secondly, at the end of the research when considering chaological techniques, a chain of thought is triggered which leads to a novel, technology-basesd mall manufacturing business financial information technique. Small business computerised accounting, and factory loading systems, image processing, (in which hands-on experience, mentioned in the study was gained), pattern recognition, shape analysis and artificial intelligence are combined in the technique.
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Lepolesa, Gerard. "Credit guarantee schemes and the support of small businesses in Lesotho." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5544.
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Thesis (MDF (Development Finance))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are regarded as core drivers of private sector development in many countries. By their nature, SMEs encounter enormous problems, ranging from usage of appropriate technology, access to raw materials, lack of skills, etc. However, access to finance is frequently cited as the most prominent problem facing the SMEs. Access to finance is defined as the easiness to access credit from financial institutions and the costs associated with accessing credit from such institutions. This study focuses on credit guarantee schemes as one of financial instruments commonly used to encourage banks to provide credit to small businesses and first time borrowers. Specifically, we review the performance of the two schemes initiated by the Government of Lesotho through assistance of the donor community. The first scheme (Comprehensive Export Finance Scheme) was administered by the Central Bank of Lesotho through Lesotho National Development Cooperation between 1988 and 1996. The second scheme (Facility for small-scale financing scheme) was funded by United Nation Capital Development Fund, United Nations Development Programme and Lesotho Government. The latter was operated by Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO), Women in Business and Lesotho Council of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) between 1992 and 1997. We analyse the performance of these schemes in relation to their diversification and outreach objectives. We also compare these schemes in terms of the design features and operational issues as per global best practices. Further, some of the factors that affected effectiveness of the two schemes under consideration and the overall financial intermediation process in Lesotho are outlined. One of the findings of this study is that generally the two schemes failed to achieve the intended objectives as a result of a number of problems. Apart from the deficiencies of the scheme itself, problems in the business and financial sector affected the performance of these schemes. A striking common feature of these schemes is that they concentrated in few sectors. We also observed a general negligence by the banks in relation to screening and monitoring as a result of low risk exposure. In retaliation of poor due diligence by the banks, and a resultant high default rate by borrowers, guarantors repudiated claims and this led to the eventual erosion of the credibility of the schemes, and ultimate deterioration of guarantor lender relationships. From the findings, we have concluded that the schemes should be designed and be operated according to global best practices. For example, risk exposure should be shared in such a way that all the three parties, that is guarantor, lenders and borrowers, are exposed to some degree of risk. At the same time, where defaults occur, we recommend a speedy processing of claims by the guarantor, and that loan loss recovery activities are continued even when claims have been paid. We also make some recommendation in respect of the financial sector and business sector respectively. For the financial sector the recommendations include the establishment of credit bureaus and a National Identification System so that financial institutions can isolate good clients and price products accordingly. In respect of the business sector, key recommendations include the improvement of basic infrastructure, decentralisation of key support services to the districts, linking smaller entrepreneurs with large foreign firms, and increasing vocational and technical training in Lesotho.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kleinsake word in baie lande as die vernaamste dryfkrag van groei in die privaatsektor beskou. Vanwee hulle aard ondervind kleinsake egter 'n wye reeks probleme, wat strek van die benutting van gepaste tegnologiee en die toegang tot natuurlike hulpbronne tot die beskikbaarheid van die regte vaardighede. Toegang tot finansiering word dikwels as die mees belangrike probleem van klein sake beskou. Dit word gesien as die toeganklikheid van finansiele instellings vir krediet aan kleinsake en die koste van sodanige finansiering. Hierdie studie plaas die klem op kredietwaarborgskemas as een van die finansiele instsrumente om banke aan te moedig om krediet aan kleinsake en sakebeginners toe te staan. Binne die konteks van Lesotho kyk ons na twee sodanige skemas, geinisieer deur die regering van Lesotho, in samewerking met buitelandse donateurs. Die eerste skema (die "Comprehensive Export Finance Scheme") is gedurende die jare 1988 en 1996 deur die Central Bank of Lesotho geadministreer, in samewerking met die Lesotho National Development Corporation. Die tweede skema (die "Faculty for Small-Scale financing") is geborg deur die UN Capital Development Fund, die UNDP en die regering van Lesotho. Dit is geadministreer deur die Basotho Enterprise Development Corporation (BEDCO), "Women in Business" en die Lesotho Council of NGOs en was aktief gedurende die jare 1992 en 1997. Die studie ontleed die werking van kredietwetskemas met die oog veral op hul dekkingswydte en trefkrag. Daar word ook gekyk na die aard en operasionele besonderhede van die skemas, teen die agtergrond van wereldwye praktyke. Ten derde word gekyk hoe die skemas ingepas het by die breer finansiele proses van Lesotho. Die studie toon dat albei skemas, vanwee 'n hele reeks faktore, in hul oogmerke gefaal het. Afgesien van 'n reeks tekortkominge van die twee skemas self het probleme in die sakemilieu en die finansiele sektor hul werking nadelig beinvloed. Een van die tekortkominge van die skemas was 'n te eng fokus op slegs enkele sektore. Daar was ook 'n gebrek aan deeglike voorondersoeke en monitereing, o.a. as gevolg van 'n lae risikoblootstelling aan die kant van die banke. Een van die gevolge van die beperkte aandag van banke en die hoe mislukkingskoers van kleinsake was 'n toenemende onbereidwilligheid van die skemas om eise te erken. Dit weer het die geloofwaardigheid van die skemas in gevaar gestel en verhoudings tussen die uitleners (banke) en waarborgvoorsieners vertroebel. Die ondersoeke kom tot die slotsom dat die skemas volgens die beginsels van internasionale skemas van die soort hersien behoort te word. Dit sluit in die behoorlike deling van risikos (tussen lener, uitlener en waarborgverskaffer). Dit behoort ook 'n spoediger afhandeling van eise in te sluit. Die studie maak ook enkele voorstelle gerig op die wyer finansiele en sakesektor van Lesotho, soos bv. die noodsaaklikheid van "kredietburo's" en 'n nasionale identifikasiestelsel. Op 'n nog wyer vlak word verwys na die belangrikheid van 'n beter kommunikasie-infrastsruktuur, die desentralisasie van ondersteuningsdienste, nouer skakeling tussen klein sake en groter ondernemings asook beter tegniese- en sakeopleiding.
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Schofield, Robin Marie. "Relationship Between Bootstrap Financing, Number of Employees, and Small Business Success." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/471.
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Small business entrepreneurs face high failure rates, yet the success of local, state, and national economies relies on the success of small business. With a lack of capital commonly cited as a reason for failure, entrepreneurs must find ways to predict business survival. Grounded in pecking order and enactment theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the efficacy of bootstrap financing and numbers of employees in predicting business survival, measured by the business age. The research question was answered by using a predictive correlational quantitative research method with a cross-sectional survey design. The central question was whether the amount of bootstrapping financing, measured by a bootstrapping survey, and numbers of employees significantly predicts firm success, measured by firm age in years. Study participants (n = 111) were owners of small businesses in the state of New Hampshire who had been in business for a minimum of 5 years. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicated that bootstrap use and number of employees did not significantly predict business survival. Results indicate support for the pecking order theory of financing with minimal evidence of entrepreneurs enacting their environment. The majority of entrepreneurs surveyed used at least one method of bootstrap finance to support the business. Bootstrapping methods with the highest rate of use were offering the same conditions of all customers, negotiating the best payment terms with suppliers, and buying used equipment over new equipment. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide New Hampshire small business entrepreneurs with information for making informed financial decisions and creating financial models.
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Basch, Richard. "Capitalization Strategies for Small Business Sustainability." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4500.
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Over the past 15 years, privately held small businesses generated nearly two-thirds of the net job growth in the United States, yet much of what scholars know regarding the capitalization challenges faced by small businesses is limited to data from large corporations. In 2013 alone, business bankruptcies numbered 33,212, and each year approximately 10% to 12% of U.S. small businesses close. Ineffective capitalization strategies coupled with a limited understanding of funding options frequently results in unsustainable business practices. In this multiple case study, the capital budgeting theory was utilized to explore the capitalization strategies small business owners in the greater Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area employed to achieve sustainability beyond 5 years of business inception. Participants were purposefully selected based on their tenure in business, number of employees, and geographic location. Data were collected via in-person semistructured interviews with 4 small business owners, coupled with a review of financial archival documents. Data were analyzed using theme interpretation, data grouping, and word frequency tabulation. Three themes emerged: a preference for self-funded, personal capitalization; the leveraging of personal relationships as a primary educational strategy; and a general aversion to debt and high interest rates. Implementing sound capitalization strategies contributes to social change by improving the likelihood of long-term sustainability. Sustainable small businesses increase employment opportunities, wage growth, and community-based services while enhancing the overall quality of life for local families and the community.
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Derrocks, Velda Charmaine. "Credit risk management in development finance institutions and SMME sustainability." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14862.
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Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) make a significant contribution to the South African Economy. Regardless of size, these businesses have the ability to create employment, make a generous contribution to tax collections, uplift communities and serve as a beacon of hope for those trapped in the cycle of poverty and unemployment. However, SMMEs lack access to much-needed financial resources that are critical for their growth. Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) aim to bridge the gap between the SMME’s financial needs and the development of the respective SMME businesses, by providing funding to entrepreneurs with potentially viable businesses and ideas. Debt funding to these SMMEs are based on sound commercial lending principles that take various non-quantitative variables into account. The sustainability of SMMEs is a primary concern to all participants in the economy, as it is known that SMME failure rates are high Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact that the credit risk management practices of DFIs have on the sustainability of SMMEs, by examining a case study of a typical DFI. An electronic questionnaire survey was considered as an appropriate measurement method for this study. The targeted population of the study included SMMEs in the Eastern Cape that are Trust for Urban Housing (TUHF) clients and 23 SMMEs were identified as part of the study sampling frame. A total number of 14 questionnaires were returned out of the 23 targeted SMMEs - giving a response rate of 61%. The quantitative data was processed using the STATISTICA program, leading to appropriate descriptive statistical analyses. In order to better understand the impact of credit risk management practices on the sustainability of SMMEs, a hypothesis was formulated and linear regression analysis was used to establish the statistical significance of certain credit risk principles and sustainability characteristics. The results of the empirical study revealed that credit risk management practises do impact on the sustainability of SMMEs. Further, by testing the hypothesis, it was also revealed that certain sustainability variables are regarded as more important than others.
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Zhang, Song. "Impacts of relationship banking and capital market concentration on small business finance." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2016. http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/811005/.
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Small business is important to U.S. economy. However, they are difficult to obtain external finance. Since 1990s, deregulations happened in the U.S. banking market and affected small business finance greatly. Relationship banking is an effective lending technology for small business finance. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate the nature of relationship banking and its impacts by using the data from U.S. Survey of Small Business Finances 1993, 1998 and 2003. The survey is led by U.S. Federal Reserve Board and it is representative and comprehensive for U.S. small business finance. The thesis contains three pieces of empirical research on small business: 1. Investigation on the impacts of relationship banking and banking market concentration on capital structure. Findings: relationship banking has favourable impacts on the availability of external finance for small firms. 2. Examination on the primary banking relationship switching behaviour and its impacts on loan terms. Findings: such switching behaviour decreases loan approval rate, increases borrowing cost and lengthens loan maturity. 3. Investigation on the determinants of communication in person approach with primary banks and its impacts on small business finance. Findings: ‘soft information’ transmission strengthens the banking relationship, reduces the borrowing costs and improves the availability of finance. The contributions to the existing knowledge regarding small business include: 1. First to investigate the reverse financial life cycle effect of relationship banking on small business’ capital structure; 2. First to examine the impacts of “switching behaviour” on certain terms of loan deals; 3. Frist to capture the beneficial effects of soft information communication on banking relationships, borrowing costs and discouraged borrowing. This thesis sheds lights on policy agenda/debate as follows: 1. Government would be wise not to increase banking market competition. 2. Encouragement from the policy aspects on the innovative information technologies making soft information transmission computerized is meaningful.
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NWABUEZE, SCHOLASTICA. "Strategies for Small Energy Consulting Business Survivability." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7173.
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Small businesses are critical to economic development. Small businesses create job opportunities and training and innovative products and services, but they encounter significant challenges and many fail in the first 7 years due to lack of sustainable strategies. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies owners used to sustain small energy consulting businesses for longer than 7 years. The population in this study consisted of 5 senior executives of a small energy consulting firm in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The conceptual framework for the study was the transformational leadership theory that deals with vision and empowerment aimed at increasing both employee effectiveness and well-being to positively aid employee outcomes, commitment, role clarity, and prosperity. Data were collected through face-to-face semistructured interviews and a review of company documents. After data analysis using thematic analysis and methodological triangulation, 7 themes emerged: functional vision, planning, skilled human resources, match approach to strategy, create market share, good leadership, and staying in tune with innovation. Implications of this study for social change include the potential for small energy consulting businesses to improve in the quality of life in the local environment by playing a vital role in the culture and economy of the community. Implementing the strategies may result in improving a firm's profitability and sustainability and contributing to social change for the local communities by reducing unemployment, offering competitive compensation, providing improved working conditions, and improving work-life practices.
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Mitchell, Mark Anthony. "Small Service Business Strategies to Win Open Federal Competitive Contracts." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7316.
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Despite policies for U.S. federal agencies to use open competitive procedures that increase small business participation in federal contracting, some small businesses do not win open competitive federal contracts. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies some leaders of small businesses in the service industry have used to win open competitive U.S. federal contracts. The conceptual framework for this study was agency theory. The participants in this study were 6 leaders of small businesses in the state of Washington who successfully implemented strategies to win open competitive U.S. federal contracts. Data were collected through face-to-face, semistructured interviews and a review of company documents. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-phase cycle of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding the data, resulting in the 3 key themes: opportunity identification strategy, requirements strategy, and bid submission strategy. The findings indicated that leaders of small businesses win U.S. federal contracts by identifying contracting opportunities that meet their business model and risk tolerance, strengthening their knowledge of contract requirements, and increasing their participation in competitive public procurements. The implications of this study for positive social change include the potential for leaders of small businesses to lower the unemployment rate through the creation of jobs, increased innovation, and contribution to the economic growth of the local community.
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Babalola, Oluwanifesimi Omolade. "Development finance in small and medium enterprises in Matjhabeng Municipality." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020215.
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It has been generally accepted within the developed and developing countries of the world that SMES contributes significantly to employment creation as the world population increases and that it also contributes to the economic growth of the areas they are situated in. Finance is the blood (life) of any business, for a business to be successful it needs steady successful access to funds and post financial support which leads to actualization of ideas, leads to investment and expansion, improves access to market amongst others. This is why the impact of development finance can never be over emphasized. The aims of the study are: To understand the extent to which small and medium businesses are supported through the availability of financial assistance in Matjabeng Municipality. To establish the survival rates of businesses that has been funded and or supported and whether they are or not sustainable. In achieving the aims and objectives of the research, the researcher looked at development funds both from the supply side and the demand side. The supply side which involved semi structured interviews with consultants of government parastatals (the FDC and DETEA) who are involved in financing Small Medium Enterprises in Matjhabeng municipality. The demand side involved administering of questionnaires to Entrepreneurs in the municipality who are registered with the Local Economic Department (LED), which led to the acceptance of the hypothesis of the research that development finance actually helps in the growth of small medium enterprises but in conjunction with post financial support such as bookkeeping, accounting, monitoring and evaluation. The researcher also discovered some findings amongst others which includes: The most effective ways entrepreneurs heard about funding in the municipality are through the media and word of mouth. Most of the entrepreneurs that received some type of funding are startups. More entrepreneurs that had access to funds also got some post financial business support. Financial assistance to entrepreneurs yielded improvements after respondents received financial assistance, the range of goods offered was improved and more jobs were created, entrepreneurs were able to obtain better business premises either by renting or buying and entrepreneurs had access to better equipment. Some of the recommendations of this study includes; The municipal government should help small and medium enterprises in the municipality by linking them to new markets. Effective monitoring and evaluation systems should be put in place by development funders and non-financial support services. Entrepreneurial skills development should be provided by the public and private agencies by organizing workshops for aspiring entrepreneurs in order to expose them to business opportunities that are sustainable and viable.
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Abor, Joshua. "Capital structure and financing of SMEs : empirical evidence from Ghana and South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/21522.
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Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is made of stand-alone essays on the capital structure and financing of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana and South Africa. Chapter Two reviews issues on SME development in Ghana and South Africa. Chapter Three compares the capital structures of large, quoted firms and SMEs in Ghana. The results show that quoted firms exhibit higher debt ratios than those of SMEs. The results suggest that age, size, asset structure, and profitability of the firm affect the capital structures of quoted firms and SMEs. For the SME, it is evident that level of education and gender of the entrepreneur, industry, and location of the firm are also important in explaining their capital structure. Chapter Four examines the determinants of bank financing of SMEs in Ghana. The results reveal that bank financing accounts for less than a quarter of SMEs’ debt financing, with short-term bank credit representing the greater proportion of bank finance. The results show that age, size, asset tangibility, and growth of the firm have positive associations with long-term bank debt, while profitability is negatively related to long-term bank debt. The short-term debt indicates a positive relationship with size, but negative relationships with profitability, and growth. Chapter Four also investigates the awareness and use of various financing schemes available to the Ghanaian SME sector. The results reveal low awareness and usage levels of these financing initiatives. Chapter Five explores the determinants of Ghanaian small and medium sized non-traditional exporters’ (NTEs) choice of formal/informal finance. The results show that NTEs depend on formal financing sources with bank finance representing the greater percentage of NTEs’ financing. The results suggest that, newer firms depend more on formal finance and less on informal finance. The results show positive relationships between formal finance and size, and growth of the firm. Chapter Six assesses how corporate governance affects the performance of SMEs in Ghana and what the implications are for financing opportunities. The results reveal that better corporate governance structures lead to better performance of SMEs. The paper concludes that the adoption of good corporate governance structures could lead to better management decisions and enable SMEs to attract financing resources. Chapter Seven examines the relationship between agency factors and the capital structure of quoted SMEs in South Africa. The results indicate that firms with one institutional blockholder are able to monitor the opportunistic behaviour of management more effectively than those with more than one institutional blockholders. Chapter Eight looks at the financial market and financing choice of SMEs and large firms in South Africa. The results indicate that developments in the financial market affect both longterm debt/equity and short-term debt/equity decisions of large firms. However, for SMEs, it is the long-term debt/equity decision that is affected by the financial market. The final essay examines the effect of debt policy on the performance of SMEs in Ghana and South Africa. The results indicate that long-term debt and total debt ratios negatively affect performance of SMEs. These findings have important implications for policy-makers, entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis bestaan uit losstaande essays oor die kapitaalstruktuur en finansiering van kleinen middelgrootte-ondernemings (KMO's) in Ghana en Suid-Afrika. Hoofstuk Twee kyk na kwessies oor KMO-ontwikkeling in Ghana en Suid-Afrika. Hoofstuk Drie vergelyk die kapitaalstrukture van groot genoteerde maatskappye en KMO's in Ghana. Die resultate dui daarop dat genoteerde maatskappye groter skuldverhoudings as KMO's toon. Hierdie resultate wys ook dat ouderdom, grootte, batestruktuur en die winsgewendheid van die maatskappy die kapitaalstruktuur van genoteerde maatskappye en KMO's beïnvloed. Dit is vir die KMO voor die hand liggend dat die opvoedingsvlak en geslag van die entrepreneur, die bedryf en die ligging van die maatskappy ook belangrik is om die kapitaalstruktuur daarvan te verduidelik. Hoofstuk Vier ondersoek die bepalende faktore vir bankfinansiering vir KMO's in Ghana. Die resultate toon aan dat bankfinansiering rekenskap gee van minder as 'n kwart van die KMO se skuldfinansiering en dat korttermynbankkrediet die grootste gedeelte van die bankfinansiering verteenwoordig. Die resultate toon aan dat ouderdom, grootte, die tasbaarheid van bates en maatskappygroei op 'n positiewe verwantskap met langtermynskuld dui, terwyl winsgewendheid 'n negatiewe verband met langtermynbankskuld het. Die korttermynskuld toon 'n positiewe verwantskap met grootte maar 'n negatiewe verwantskap met winsgewendheid en groei aan. Hoofstuk Vier ondersoek ook die bewustheid en gebruik van verskeie finansieringskemas wat aan die Ghanese KMO-sektor beskikbaar is. Die resultate bring 'n lae bewustheid en gebruiksvlakke van hierdie finansieringsinisiatiewe aan die lig. Hoostuk Vyf verken die bepalende faktore van die Ghanese klein- en middelgrootte nie-tradisionele uitvoerders (NTU's) se keuse van formele/informele finansiering. Die resultate toon aan dat NTU's op formele finansieringsbronne staat maak en dat bankfinansiering die grootste persentasie van die NTU's se finansiering uitmaak. Uit die resultate kan afgelei word dat nuwer maatskappye meer op formele finansiering staat maak en minder op informele finansiering. Die resultate dui op 'n positiewe verwantskap tussen formele finansiering en grootte, en die groei van die maatskappy. Hoofstuk Ses evalueer die invloed van korporatiewe bestuur op die prestasie van KMO's in Ghana en watter implikasies dit vir finansieringsgeleenthede inhou. Die resultate toon aan dat beter korporatiewe finansieringstrukture by KMO's tot beter prestasie lei. Hierdie essay kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat die aanvaarding van goeie korporatiewe bestuurstrukture tot beter bestuursbesluite kan lei en KMO's in staat kan stel om finansieringsbronne te lok. Hoofstuk Sewe ondersoek die verwantskap tussen agentskapfaktorering en die kapitaalstruktuur van genoteerde KMO's in Suid-Afrika. Die resultate dui daarop dat maatskappye met een institusionele blokhouer die opportunistiese gedrag van bestuur meer doeltreffend kan monitor as dié met meer as een institusionele blokhouer. Hoofstuk Agt kyk na die keuses wat KMO's en groot maatskappye in Suid-Afrika ten opsigte van finansiële markte en finansiering maak. Resultate toon aan dat ontwikkelings in die finansiële mark besluite oor die langtermynskuld/aandelekapitaal sowel as die korttermynskuld/aandelekapitaal van groot maatskappye beïnvloed. By KMO's is dit egter besluite oor langtermynskuld/aandelekapitaal wat deur die finansiële mark beïnvloed word. Die laaste essay ondersoek die uitwerking van skuldbeleid op die prestasie van KMO's in Ghana en Suid-Afrika. Die resultate toon aan dat langtermynskuld en totale skuldverhoudings die prestasie van KMO's negatief beïnvloed. Hierdie bevindinge het belangrike implikasies vir beleidmakers, entrepreneurs en die bestuurders van KMO's.
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Mathe, Thabelang. "Deriving value from IT investments within botique hotels: a Buffalo City case study." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1000975.
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Even though many organizations invest in IT, the value that IT is expected to contribute is still not clearly understood. Researchers agree that IT has become a crucial element to business operations and business existence. However, while there is continued investment in new information technologies and systems, organizations are not certain whether significant value is derived from IT investments. The failure to realize good return on IT investments is ascribed to a lack of understanding of IT by organizations and also the failure by organizations to align IT strategies with business strategies. The lack of alignment leads to the failure to match the right IT to the correct task, which leads to the poor application of systems and poor allocation of human resources to tasks. Therefore, organizations such as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in particular Boutique Hotels, are noted for their failure to derive better IT value. Their unique characteristics are understood to be influential in the way IT is used and managed by affecting the delivery of value from technology. In order to enable Boutique Hotels to derive more value from IT, the IT governance frameworks, Val IT and CobiT (ITGI, 2007), were examined as these integrate good practices to ensure that an organization‘s IT supports the business objectives. In addition, the Task Technology Fit (TTF) (Goodhue and Thompson, 1995) and Gap Analysis (Heeks, 2001) theories were highlighted as these prescribe the platform ideal for more value to be derived from IT. The current status of Boutique Hotels in Buffalo City was assessed through the use of questionnaires and interviews. The collected data was analyzed and resulted in the development of a model that can be used by Boutique Hotels in order to derive more value from IT and to maximize the use of IT.
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Wallace, Thomas Henry. "Capital constraints to the acquisition of new technology by small business in high technology industries." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/30347.
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Arubayi, Odamaro Damis Feyisayo. "An evaluation study of technoserve's small business training probramme in Swaziland." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/6432.
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Mbundwini, Gracious Nomfuneko. "Complexities of accessing finance from government institutions and its agencies." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/11772.
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Purpose: with the recent establishment of Small Business Development department, the ministry is tasked and will be responsible for ensuring that the business environment is enabling for new Small to Medium businesses. The real issue and the point of interest in researching this particular dissertation is the available literature around the issue of the SME sector which indicates that new SMEs in South Africa do not move from the first stage (existence) to other stages such as survival, success, take off and resource maturity. The study seeks to inaugurate two specific challenges (difficulties in accessing finance and to examine if there is sufficient non-financial SME incubators and mentorship programs post funding allocation). The area of study focused on SMEs that are concentrated in highly populated areas of Gauteng. 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. This was done through the use of questionnaires to businesses, government funders and incubators. Results: when posed with a question of the start-up capital, a mere 17% responded to having obtained financial assistance from government institutions, 20% from friends and family while a massive 60% indicated they have used own capital to start businesses. When the researcher posed the question of the reasons that often leads to failure, approximately 23% of businesses mentioned lack of working equipment as the core reasons for the business failure while 17% indicated that lack of business opportunities or rather contracts of supply from government departments as the main impeding factor which resulted to failure. In terms of the availability of incubators, approximately 67% of respondents indicated that there were no business incubators available in their areas of business. Approximately 57% of businesses mentioned the inability to obtain loans from government funding institutions was the major business constraint that often leads to failure. The researcher posed a question to business incubators personnel that participated in the study to gain perspective as to why do they think SMEs fail within the first year of operation. Approximately 40% of respondents alluded that, barriers to entry by big corporates in South Africa force Small and Medium Enterprises out of businesses. Other participants added that the South African government procurement system does not provide opportunities to small businesses due to lack of experience. All government funding institutions participants mentioned that in most cases SMEs finance applications are rejected due to the fact that businesses fail to present viable business proposals that show the ability for business to remain operating for a long time Implications: The above analysed study findings indicate that there is a huge gap between small businesses and government funding institutions in terms of the awareness of the available financial support to SMEs. From the government perspective, it was indicated that businesses submit business plans that are not viable. There needs to be the middle ground where business plans compilation support currently provided by SEDA awareness should be spread across SMEs operating in the highly populated areas of Gauteng. Recommendations: Access to finance is a major constraint hindering the growth and success of small enterprises. The South African government has established a number of financial support programmes aimed to assist SMEs. With these financial support programmes, most of the SMEs are unsuccessful due to the fact that they cannot easily access those funds and as a result they remain stagnant for a very long time or end up shutting down. Conclusion: The effect of credit rationing is the potential loss of opportunity and or reduction in the scale of a business, neither of which is a desirable outcome. At the most fundamental level, there are lost opportunities for the borrower and the lender. There are implications for the wider economy also. SMEs are a key source of innovation, competition and choice.
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Tabot, Enow Samuel. "The working-capital management practices of small medium and micro enterprises in the Cape Metropole." Thesis, Cape Peninisula University of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/2064.
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Thesis (MTech (Cost and Management Accounting))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015.The broad aim of this research was to investigate the working-capital management practices of Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in the Cape Metropole. The study was motivated by a lack of research on the workingcapital management practices of SMMEs. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire that comprised closed-ended questions. The findings of the study indicate that most SMMEs manage their cash effectively; however only a minority hold cash for speculative purpose, invest their surplus cash profitably and use computers to manage cash. By contrast, only a minority of the SMMEs sell on credit. Of those that do, only a minority review their credit criteria annually, send reminders to debtors, charge interest for delayed payment, send prompt statements and use computers to manage their receivables. Likewise, only a minority of the SMMEs purchase on credit. Of those that do, a majority pay promptly to take advantage of discounts and thus only a minority settle their accounts on the last date allowed. Interestingly, most of the SMMEs that purchase on credit use computers to manage their payables. Only a minority of the SMMEs perceive a lack of skills, resources, personnel and time as factors that inhibit them from managing their workingcapital effectively. The findings of this study provide invaluable insights on the weaknesses in the working-capital management practices of SMMEs, which could be used to inform future endeavours of the Government when establishing interventions meant to improve the survival rates of these entities. The findings may also assist SMMEs to gauge and review their working management practices, particularly their receivables and payables, with a view to optimising the benefits derived from these components of working-capital.
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Nel, Bernardus Gerhardus. "Die oorweging van die lewensvatbaarheid van 'n kleinsake-onderneming in die praktyk : 'n konsepsuele model." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/8581.
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Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 1994.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research attempts to give an alternative conceptual model according to which potential small business owners should construct market and financial viability studies for proposed new small enterprises. A study was made of the theoretical requirements prescribed for market and financial viability. This theoretical requirements were compared to the extent in which data is presented in practice to financial institutions to meet their own viability requirements. Primary data was collected from the subsidiary companies of ABSA Bank and small business owners in the Cape Peninsula. The final analysis suggests that very few small business owners conduct thorough market or financial viability studies during start up or during the different growth phases of their businesses. They rely mostly on banks and other financial institutions for guidance. A suggestion is made that financial institutions conduct their own research to determine whether their requirements for market and financial viability are still viewed as realistic by small business owners.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsing poog om 'n alternatiewe konsepsuele model weer te gee waarvolgens potensiele kleinsake-eienaars mark- en finansiele lewensvatbaarheidstudies vir voorgenome nuwe klein ondememings behoort uit te voer. 'n Studie is van die voorgeskrewe teoretiese vereistes vir mark- en finansiele lewensvatbaarheid gedoen. Hierdie teoretiese vereistes is vergelyk met die mate waartoe sulke data wel deur kleinsakelui aan finansiele instansies aangebied word om aan hulle eie lewensvatbaarheidvereistes te voldoen. Primere data is versamel by die filiale van ABSA Bank en kleinsake-eienaars in die Kaapse Skiereiland. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat baie min kleinsake-eienaars wel deeglike mark- en finansiele lewensvatbaarheidstudies doen gedurende die aanvang van hul besighede of gedurende die onderskeie groeifases van hul ondernemings. Hulle steun meesal op banke en ander finansiele instellings om leiding te verskaf. Daar word voorgestel dat finansiele instellings ook navorsing doen of die vereistes wat hulle stel vir lewensvatbaarheid, nog steeds as realisties deur kleinsakelui beskou word.
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Alhabashi, Khaled. "Financing for small and medium enterprises : the role of Islamic financial institutions in Kuwait." Thesis, University of Gloucestershire, 2015. http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/3428/.
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Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the growth of the economy and have become a major concern for government and policy makers in developed, as well as in developing countries. Given the stated importance of SMEs in generating economic growth in Kuwait, it is essential that SMEs have access to sources of finance. However, access to finance is one of the major constraints to SME development, and is frequently mentioned in the entrepreneurship literature. This study aims to evaluate how Islamic financial institutions can support SMEs in Kuwait. The study adopts a qualitative approach that was articulated through a case study design. The case here is the phenomenon of SME financing as enacted by two organisational forms. This research uses two comparative cases; the cases are formed around the nature of the financing organisations in Kuwait and the interaction of SME owners with these organisations. Twenty face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of three different groups: SME owner-managers, managers of financial institutions, and Sharia board members to explore their opinions and perceptions with regard to the role of Islamic finance for SMEs. The main findings indicate that, in Kuwait, access to finance remains a principal challenge for SMEs. Furthermore, collateral is one of the main problems they face when obtaining finance from Islamic banks. The findings suggested that without government support, the banks would not be able to finance SMEs, and therefore, specialised SME finance institutions were more compatible than other Islamic banks with small and medium enterprises. In addition, the study showed that Islamic finance instruments were more suitable than commercial instruments. It also showed that integrating zakat, charity, waqf, and qard hassan would be helpful to the SME sector in Kuwait. The findings add to the understanding of the role of Islamic finance and contribute to knowledge about SME development, using Islamic finance methods, in Kuwait. This could encourage the government to adopt related policies in order to improve access to finance for SMEs.
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Jakes, Lyndabelle. "Success Strategies of Small Business Owners." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4967.
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In the United States, 20% of newly established small businesses, including small
businesses in the life insurance industry, fail within 2 years, and over 50% of them fail during the first 5 years. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify and explore the strategies that life insurance brokerage owners use to sustain business operations beyond 5 years. Porter's 5 forces model served as the conceptual framework for exploring this subject matter. Owners of 3 separate small life insurance brokerage firms in Texas, who sustained their businesses beyond 5 years, participated in semistructured interviews. A secondary source of data was relevant company documents. Methodological triangulation and member checking assured the reliability and validity of the interpretations. Through thematic analysis and supporting software, 5 themes emerged: exceptional customer service, relationship-building, efficient promotional strategies, regular training of salespersons, and hiring the right employees. The application of the findings of the study could contribute to positive social change by reducing unemployment and thereby catalyzing an economic environment supporting employees, families, and communities.
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Feakins, Melanie. "Access to capital for small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland : banks, decision and economic development in post-socialism." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.273159.
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Guy, Tywon. "Strategies to Improve Small Business Sustainability." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7386.
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Small businesses are considered the backbone of the U.S. economy with significant contributions in the areas of job creation and economic development. However, 79% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years. This multiple case study aimed to explore strategies and knowledge of resources that owners of small businesses used to sustain business operations for longer than the first 5 years. The population included 5 minority owners of small businesses in Texas. Chaos theory formed the conceptual framework. The data collection process included semistructured interviews, member checks, field notes, company artifacts, and archival documents. Data were analyzed using Yin's data analysis steps of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and concluding. Three themes emerged from the analysis: effective management of the business environment, effective planning, and business owners' skills and knowledge. The U.S. Small Business Administration, local chambers of commerce, and owners of small businesses may benefit from the findings of this study by gaining an understanding of successful minority owners of small businesses' implemented strategies that enable business success and profitability. The implications of this study for positive social change include identifying sustainable strategies minority owners of small businesses can use to advance business growth, increase financial security, achieve employee job sustainability, and potentially stimulate the local community with job creation.
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Yang, Jun. "Essays on Corporate Finance and Banking." Thesis, Boston College, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108023.
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Thesis advisor: Philip E. StrahanIn the first essay of this dissertation, I study the information synergies between deposit-taking and lending activities of large banks. I use the influx of Chinese international students into US universities to identify a local deposit shock. I find that banks that are more exposed to this shock increase their local credit supply in small business loans, but not mortgages. The results support the notion that deposit can be informative: it conveys signals about local economic activities. Such information affects banks expectation about future local demand and thus banks’ lending decisions. The second essay investigates the relationship between banks geographic concentration and liquidity risk management. I find that geographic concentrations measured on different sides of banks’ balance sheet have opposite effects on banks’ liquidity risk management behaviors during the 2007-2009 liquidity crisis. The overall results are consistent with the view in the literature that geographic concentrated banks invest more in soft information production
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018
Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management
Discipline: Finance
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HoJun, Ji. "Financial Vulnerability of Small Business Owner-Manager Households." The Ohio State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1343612456.
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Mynhardt, Tertius Mader. "A lifeline for Small Business in South Africa: An evaluation of section 12J, Venture Capital Incentives." Master's thesis, Faculty of Commerce, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32927.
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This dissertation seeks to answer two questions. In the main it aims to answer does the section 12J venture capital incentive advance government's original stated intention of incentivizing the provision of equity funds to the SME sector. Based on the outcome of the primary research question the secondary question seeks to answer whether section 12J should be extended beyond 2021. In seeking to answer these questions the dissertation critically evaluates the section 12J legislation, researches the venture capital industry in South Africa including section 12J venture capital companies and investigates the role and success of targeted tax incentives in South Africa. The VCC incentive targeted start-ups and SME's generally considered high growth and high-tech, or junior mining and exploration companies. SME's, especially entrepreneurial businesses, have the potential to be a catalyst for economic growth and job creation. Inter alia, access to finance is stunting the development of the SME sector with up to 70% of SME's failing due to a lack of funding. Venture capitalists can provide equity finance, management and technical support that could reduce some of the high risks associated with SME's. The advantage of equity finance is that it allows the SME's to better weather economic downturns and reinvest cash surpluses instead of servicing debt. In the main, whether the section 12J tax incentive is successfully advancing government's original intention still remains to be seen. Although there has been significant uptake of the regime and evidence to suggest that jobs are being created and meaningful investments are occurring, it still needs to be assessed to what extent the jobs and investments would have occurred even without the incentive. There also remain some short-comings to the design of the incentive and uncertainty to the regime which affects the sustainability of VCC's and the type of investments being made. The VCC industry has evolved to be more conservative, investing into asset-backed businesses and generally providing more growth capital, meaning that start-ups and other industries such as high growth technological companies are benefitting to a lesser extent. As such, government's intention to provide equity finance to start-ups and high growth industries appears to not be being addressed. Due to the late uptake of the regime, it is further unlikely that sufficient data would be available to analyze the incentive before 30 June 2021, the current sunset date. For these reasons, it is the writer's view that Treasury should appoint an external research organisation to prepare a thorough analysis of the incentive and whether it should be extended, but in any event, as a minimum the incentive should be extended for at least another six years (to make up for the years from its introduction to the year it began to show significant uptake, i.e. 2009 to 2015). Alternatively, the section 12J incentive should not be extended but rather replaced with a similar incentive taking into account the recommendations made in this dissertation.
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Maritz, Anna-marie. "Development of a critical success factor assessment for small organisations." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/49694.
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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Small businesses are the traditional source of local and national economic growth. Small businesses in South Africa absorb almost half the people formally employed in the private sector and contribute nearly thirty seven percent to the country's gross domestic product. Unfortunately small businesses also have the reputation of a high failure rate some literature quote figures as high as sixty six percent of all small businesses within the first six years of their existence. An Australian survey indicated that nearly sixty five percent of all business failures were caused by controllable factors, which implicates that the use of consultants, or simply better management of the small business, could have prevented the failure. This study explains why small business owners are so reluctant to make use of outside consultants and looks into the most common causes of small organisation failure. This research project is designed as an incremental development study, where an existing model is adjusted to focus on a smaller nische market. A consulting model, developed to use in large organisations, was evaluated by identifying the problem areas that most often cause small organisations to fail and then comparing them to the areas addressed in the existing model. The conclusion reached was that although this model will definitely help small business owners to improve their businesses, it doesn't address the mest common causes of small business failure and adjustments is needed to customise this product for the small organisation. Based on the available data on the most common causes of small organisational failure, a new model is developed, which addresses the specific causes of small organisation failure. The new model gives examples of what would be in place in an organisation where the relevant critical success factor is successfully implemented as well as examples of what the situation will be if the relvant factor is absent. The small business owners evaluate themselves on a scale of one to ten. The model has a dual purpose, firstly to create an awareness with the owner of the full spectrum of factors that need to receive attention in a small organisation, and secondly to give a benchmark against which progress on each of the critical success factors can be measured.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Klein besighede vorm die ruggraat van die Suid Afrikaanse ekonomie, met byna sewe-en-dertig persent van die Bruto Nasionale Produk (BNP), wat aan klein besighede toegeskryf kan word en as werkverskaffer aan bykans die helfte van alle werknemers wat formeel in diens is van die private sektor. Ongelukkig het klein besighede ook die reputasie van 'n groot mislukkingskoers met mislukkings so hoog as ses-en-sestig persent van alle klein besighede in die eerste ses jaar van die ondernemings se bestaan. 'n Australiese studie het getoon dat ongeveer vyf-en-sestig persent van die oorsake van klein besigheid mislukkings aan beheerbare faktore toegeskryf kan word. Met ander woorde hulp van konsultante, of bloot beter bestuur van die klein besigheid, kon die mislukking verhoed het. Hierdie werkstuk kyk na redes hoekom konsultante so min deur klein besighede gebruik word en na die mees algemene oorsake van klein besigheid mislukkings. Die werkstuk neem die vorm aan van 'n inkrementele ontwikkeling studie waar 'n reeds bestaande evaluasie model, aangepas word om te fokus op 'n kleiner nismark. 'n Konsultasie model, wat ontwikkel is vir gebruik in die diagnostiese fase van die konsultasieproses vir groot besighede, is ondersoek en daar is gekyk watter van die mees algemene faktore vir klein besigheid mislukking in hierdie model aangespreek is. Die gevolgtrekking was dat alhoewel die model definitief klein besigheids eienaars sal help om hul organisasies te verbeter, dit meeste van die oorsake vir mislukking in klein besighede nie direk aanspreek nie, en dat aanpassings van die model nodig is. Gebasseer op reeds bestaande navorsing oor die oorsake van klein besigheid mislukkings, is 'n nuwe model ontwikkel, wat spesifiek gerig is daarop om die mees algemene oorsake van mislukking aan te spreek. Die hersiene model gee voorbeelde van wat in plek sal wees in 'n organisasie waar die kritieke suksesfaktor suksesvol geimplementeer is asook voorbeelde van hoe die situasie daar sal uitsien indien die relevante faktor afwesig is. Klein besigheidseienaars evalueer hulself op 'n skaal van een tot tien. Die doel van die model is tweeledig, eerstens om die eienaar attent te maak op die volle omvang van faktore waaraan aandag gegee moet word, en tweedens om 'n riglyn te bied waarteen vordering op elkeen van die kritieke sukses faktore gemeet kan word.
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Shallow, Kishore Nalin. "Strategies for Effective Financial Management in Vincentian Small Businesses." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4174.
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The lack of strategies for effective financial management has been an impediment to the survival and growth of many small businesses in Saint Vincent (St. Vincent), an island in the Caribbean. Inadequate adoption of strategies by small business owners is a prime contributing factor to small business failure. The purpose of this research was to identify strategies that small business owners use for effective financial management. Institutional theory served as the conceptual framework for this multiple case study. Participants consisted of 4 St. Vincent small business owners who had demonstrated effective financial management strategies in the operation of their businesses. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews and a review of documentation, which was complemented by the use of member checking to strengthen the credibility and trustworthiness of findings. Three themes emerged through thematic data analysis: (a) strategic accounting practices, (b) set patterns, and (c) financial planning. Prudent accounting practices and sound financial planning are to be standard adoption by small business owners to have effective financial management. A conclusion, based on study findings, is that identification and implementation of effective financial management strategies may increase small business success, potentially resulting in growth in the number of small businesses in St. Vincent and an improved economy. Subsequent positive social change for Vincentians may include poverty reduction, lower unemployment, and a diminished crime rate.
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Olorunshola, Yemisi Christianah. "Small Business Sustainability Strategies in the Maritime Industry in Lagos, Nigeria." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6933.
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Small business enterprises (SBEs) are major contributors to national job creation and employment, but small businesses face a myriad of challenges which lead to their failure before 5 years of operation. Some small business owners lack the skills to create strategies that will lead to long term business survival. Porter's 5 forces competition was used as the conceptual framework for this multiple case study. The purpose of the study was to explore the strategies Nigerian SBEs use to sustain their first 5 years of operation. Semistructured interviews served to collect data from the chief executive officers of 2 SBEs in the maritime industry in Lagos, Nigeria. Data analysis entailed the use of qualitative analysis to capture and organize data and identify emerging themes. Some emerging themes included the securing of the necessary finances, the ability to respond to the effects of government policy, and providing excellent customer service. The implications of this study for social change include the mitigation of the negative effects of business failure on the people of the host community. Small business owners and leaders, partners of small business owners, and policymakers might benefit from this research by deploying the findings to appropriate business domains.
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Musengi, Sandra. "The role of bank finance in small firm growth : a case study." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2003. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/2317/1/MUSENGI-MCom-TR03-75.pdf.
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Anamege, Tony Emeka. "Capital Financing Strategies of Small-Scale Contractors in Nigeria." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6391.
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Small-scale contractors in Nigeria, as small business owners, face challenges accessing external sources of capital financing. Inadequate sources of working capital is one of the major reasons for poor business performance and failure. A multiple case study approach was used in this study to explore how small-scale contractors obtained capital financing to grow their businesses. The study population included small-scale contractors in the construction industry in Nigeria. Credit rationing model was chosen as the conceptual framework for the study. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data from 5 participants. Data analysis included thematic coding of the data using qualitative data analysis computer software. The 2 themes that emerged from data analysis were as follows: sources of small-scale contractors' financing and constraints of sourcing small-scale contractors' capital financing. This study could contribute to positive social change by stimulating the local economy through local capital formation, jobs creation, improved tax revenues for local authorities, and enhancement of the quality of life of those living in Nigeria.
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Gorman, Gary G. "Lending to knowledge-based businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/2639.
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Knowledge-based businesses (KBBs) have the potential to make a significant contribution to peripheral regions with marginal economies, such as Newfoundland and Labrador. However, traditional lending approaches generally emphasize tangible collateral and historical performance. As a result, new knowledge-based firms, whose assets are primarily intangible, experience difficulty with access to financing. Financial institutions have responded by implementing specialized approaches to address the needs of KBBs. This exploratory study is designed to increase our understanding of institutional lending to KBBs, particularly at the start-up stage. Following a review of the literature a research framework was developed to explore the demand-side perspectives of entrepreneurs and the supply-side perspectives of lending institutions. A mail survey to entrepreneurs was employed to determine the roles played by chartered banks and government agencies in financing KBBs and to ascertain entrepreneurs' perceptions of financial institutions. Results indicate KBBs experience greater difficulty obtaining financing from chartered banks. Further, KBBs perceive banks to follow traditional risk assessment processes, emphasizing collateral. Findings suggest efforts by banks to cater to KBBs have been less than successful. Supply-side data were obtained from interviews with senior managers in banks and government agencies and from business plan reviews and follow-up interviews with account managers. Simultaneous verbal protocols were used to examine risk assessment processes in six banks and four government agencies. Hypothetical business proposals were presented to account mangers for initial review and subsequent due diligence. Data obtained at two stages of assessment were analyzed using consensus analysis, multidimensional scaling, hierarchical clustering, and standard multivariate techniques. Findings confirm chartered banks have establishcd specialized approaches to deal with KBBs. However, there is no evidence to indicate any differential effects on KBBs as a result of identified organizational variables. There is evidence among specialized account managers of differences in risk assessment of KBBs and of a common lending culture that reflects the needs of KBBs. Evidence of a common lending culture is also evident among traditional bankers and among government agencies that share an economic development mandate. Findings also confirm chartered banks are more concerned with financial aspects of the proposed ventures and perceived higher levels of risk than government account managers. Overall, findings provide important insights into institutional lending and have significant implications for theory, management practice and public policy. This study is one of very few to explore lending and borrowing from the perspective of KBBs and from the perspective of government agencies. Study validity is enhanced considerably by reviewing lending decisions in context and with reference to specific proposals. The use of cultural consensus theory to examine loan evaluation and risk assessment represents a significant contribution to understanding theory on lending to KBBs. Lending practices of chartered banks, while evolving to meet the needs of KBBs, have not met expectations and may need to be reexamined. Entrepreneurs in KBBs are advised to seek out KBB specialists to enhance the likelihood of obtaining financing. Government should take steps to ensure expertise is available to deal with KBBs and to encourage financial institutions, especially banks, to extend efforts to provide specialized assistance to the KBB sector. Finally, additional research is needed to confirm findings from this study and to increase their generalizability.
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Ma, Io Leong. "A study on small business planning : residential home care for elderly in Macao." Thesis, University of Macau, 2003. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b1636245.
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