FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE LONG‐TERM SURVIVAL OF MICRO,SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN ETHIOPIA

There is an increasing recognition of the potential importance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for employment, income and poverty reduction in Ethiopia. Although the MSME sector contributes significantly to the national economy, the high failure rate among well established small businesses and enterprises is a matter of major concern. A random sample of 500 small businesses and enterprises selected from five major cities in Ethiopia were followed up for 6 years in order to assess the impact of influential factors that affect the long‐term survival and viability of small enterprises. Hazard ratios estimated from the Cox Proportional Hazards Model were used to quantify the impact of key predictors of survival. Businesses that ceased operation were characterised by inadequate finance (61%), low level of education (55%), poor managerial skills (54%), shortage of technical skills (49%), and inability to convert part of their profit to investment (46%). The study shows that participation in social capital and networking (iqqub schemes) was critically helpful for long‐term survival. Businesses that did not participate in iqqub schemes regularly were found to be 3.25 times more likely to fail in comparison with businesses that did. Results of the study have implications that could be used for developing policy initiatives that are aimed at fostering long‐term growth in small businesses and enterprises.     

Customers’ Continuance Intention to Use Mobile Banking: Development and Testing of an Integrated Model

The Review of Socionetwork Strategies - Drawing upon the technology acceptance model and trust theory, the present study develops a model to examine the effects of antecedent variables in...     

Developmental Constraints Adversely Affecting New Entrants Into the Construction Industry of the Limpopo Province of South Africa

Although political transformation has occurred in South Africa in April 1994, the pace at which economic transformation has occurred has been slow. A review of the literature has shown that economic transformation has been slowed by an acute shortage of technical skills among Black South Africans working in business, government, and industry. A case in point is the construction industry of Limpopo Province of South Africa in which emerging contractors have failed to compete adequately with well-established contractors in the construction industry due to shortage of technical skills, capital, and lack of access to markets. The study is based on a random sample of 104 emerging contractors operating in the Province of Limpopo. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analyses was used in the study in order to identify and quantify key obstacles to growth and development in emerging contractors. Eigen values estimated from factor analysis showed that the viability of emerging contractors in the construction industry of Limpopo Province was significantly influenced by three factors （lack of entrepreneurial skills, lack of capital, and lack of transparency in the award of construction tenders）. Based on results obtained from multilevel analysis, differences among the five districts of Limpopo Province accounted for 13.18% of the total variation in viability. Differences in entrepreneurial skills between viable and non-viable businesses accounted for 33.49% of total variation. Findings of the study show that entrepreneurial skills are no less important than financial capital for ensuring viability in emerging contractors currently operating in Limpopo Province. The study has also found that the fundamental principles of good governance such as transparency and accountability are not adhered to in the administration and award of government tenders, and that this predicament was working to the detriment of emerging contractors in the province.