1,720,970 research outputs found
The impact of necessity entrepreneurship on the survival of hair salons in Mangaung metropolitan area
Get PDFThesis (MPhil: Business Administration)--Central University of Technology, 2023Despite the South African government’s effort to reduce unemployment, joblessness continues to increase. Some jobless people establish their own businesses in the face of adversity. Out of necessity and desperation, jobless people venture into establishing their own businesses despite the fact that they might not have the relevant resources. Often they lack funds. They venture into own business to accumulate money for survival purposes. One such business that has proliferated out of necessity are small hair salons. Many see this as quick and easy to initiate and run. However, no empirical evidence has been confirmed yet to substantiate the rationale for establishing hair salons and the impact thereof on the survival of the business.
The objective of the study was, therefore, to establish whether hair salon owners start their businesses out of necessity or opportunity in the Mangaung Metropolitan area.
Drawing from a positivist approach, this study adopted a quantitative research design with a sample size of 144 salon owners. A structured questionnaire with standardised questions was used to collect data. The findings show a statistically significant relationship between necessity entrepreneurship and business creation, business stakeholders and business creation business stakeholders and business survival and a minimal relationship between necessity entrepreneurship and business survival. The study concludes that necessity entrepreneurship is moderately related to business survival. The main recommendation is that necessity entrepreneurs need relevant information on small service business to achieve success. It is also recommended that government establish programs to support SMMEs by supporting innovation in small businesses and tax transparency
Psychological contract breach and the routes to counter-productive work behaviour amongst academics
Get PDFThesis (MCom)--Stellenbosch University, 2020.ENGLISH SUMMARY : The high prevalence of counter-productive work behaviour among academics in
institutions of higher learning in South Africa is widely reported. As such, studying its antecedents is critical. Knowledge of the antecedents of counter-productive work
behaviour among academics can empower human resource managers to address it
more effectively. The problem, however, is that there is relatively little research into
the circumstances that lead to counterproductive work behaviours among academics.
Furthermore, previous research does not seem to have adequately addressed one of
the most important underlying sources of counterproductive work behaviour, namely
psychological contract breach.
Using psychological contract breach as a focal point, the objective of the current study
was, therefore, to examine the sources and psychological mechanism that could
explain why academics engage in counter-productive work behaviour. Specifically, the
study examined the influence of academics’ perceptions of psychological contract
breach on counter-productive work behaviour; through three routes, namely, the stress
reaction route - with variables such as occupational stress and negative emotions; the
injustice route - with variables such as justice perceptions and affective commitment
and, the retaliation or revenge route – with the variable of feelings of retaliation.
Conscientiousness was included as the only personality variable.
The study used a non-probability sample of n=188 full-time academic staff members
from three selected pubic higher education institutions in the country. An ex post facto
design was chosen to test the hypothesised relationships, and data was collected
using a questionnaire. Counter-productive work behaviour was measured with the selfreport
deviance scale (Robinson & Bennet, 1995). Negative affect was assessed by
the Emmons Mood indicator (Dinner & Dimmons, 1984), while occupational stress was
measured using the Job Stress Measure (Sakketou et al., 2014). Organisational
justice subscales of procedural and distributive justice (Le Roy et al., 2015) were used
to measure justice perceptions. Affective commitment used the Allen and Meyer’s
(1996) affective commitment scale, while the psychological contract breach used five
items developed by Robinson and Morrison (2000). Revenge scale (Wade, 1989) was
used to measure feelings of revenge and, lastly, Conscientiousness items were taken
from the Big Five Inventory (John et al., 2008).
Items, as well as exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine
the psychometric properties of the instruments. Structural Equation modelling (SEM)
was used to test the structural model fit, with good model fit obtained after the model
was modified to include three additional pathways. The results indicated that negative
affect and feelings of retaliation have a statistically positive effect on counterproductive
work behaviour, whereas conscientiousness was negatively related to
counter-productive work behaviour. Occupational stress and organisational justice
positively showed a positive and negative relationship with negative affect,
respectively. The results also show that negative affect and affective commitment have
a positive and negative effect on feelings of retribution, respectively. Psychological
contract breach emerged as a predictor with a statistically negative relationship with
perceived organisational justice, while organisational justice perceptions showed a
statistically positive relationship with affective commitment. Support was also found
for the influence of negative affect on psychological contract breach. No support was,
however, found for the following hypotheses: The statistically negative influence of
affective commitment on counter-productive work behaviour, the statistically positive
effect of psychological contract breach on occupational stress and, lastly, the
statistically positive relationship between psychological contract breach and feelings
of retaliation.
With the focus on psychological contract breach as an underlying source of various
psychological reactions, this study contributes to the literature on the reasons for
counter-productive work behaviour among academics in South Africa.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Daar word wyd berig oor die hoë voorkoms van teenproduktiewe werksgedrag onder
akademici in hoëronderwysinstellings in Suid-Afrika. As sodanig is die bestudering van toonaangewende studies oor die onderwerp van kritieke belang. Kennis oor die
determinante van teenproduktiewe werksgedrag onder akademici kan menslike
hulpbronbestuurders bemagtig om dit meer effektief aan te spreek. Die probleem egter
is dat daar relatief min navorsing bestaan oor die omstandighede wat aanleiding gee
tot teenproduktiewe werksgedrag onder akademici. Verder blyk dit dat vorige
navorsing nie genoegsame aandag gegee het aan een van die belangrikste
onderliggende bronne van teenproduktiewe werksgedrag nie, naamlik sielkundige
kontrakbreuk.
Met die gebruik van sielkundige kontrakbreuk as fokuspunt, was die doel van die
huidige studie dus om die bronne en sielkundige meganismes te ondersoek wat kan
verklaar waarom akademici teenproduktiewe werksgedrag toon. Die studie het
spesifiek die invloed van akademici se persepsie van sielkundige kontrakbreuk op
teenproduktiewe werksgedrag ondersoek. Dit is deur drie roetes ondersoek, naamlik
die stresreaksie-roete – met veranderlikes soos beroepstres en negatiewe affek; die
onregverdigheidsroete – met veranderlikes soos persepsie van geregtigheid en
affektiewe verbintenis, asook die wraakroete – met die veranderlike, gevoelens van
vergelding. Pligsgetrouheid is ingesluit as die enigste persoonlikheidsveranderlike.
Die studie het gebruik gemaak van 'n nie-waarskynlikheidsteekproef van 188 voltydse
akademiese personeellede by drie geselekteerde openbare instellings vir hoër
onderwys in die land. 'n Ex post facto-ontwerp is gekies om die gehipotiseerde
verwantskappe te toets, en data is met behulp van 'n vraelys versamel.
Teenproduktiewe werksgedrag is gemeet deur die selfverslagafwykingskaal (‘selfreport
deviance scale’) (Robinson & Bennet, 1995). Negatiewe affek is beoordeel deur
die Emmons Mood-aanwyser (Dinner & Dimmons, 1984), terwyl beroepstres gemeet
is met behulp van die Werkstresmaatstaf (‘Job Stress Measure') (Sakketou et al.,
2014). Die ‘Organisational justice subscales of procedural and distributive justice’ (Le
Roy et al., 2015) is gebruik om die persepsies van geregtigheid te meet. Met affektiewe
verbintenis is Allen en Meyer (1996) se affektiewe verbintenisskaal gebruik, terwyl
sielkundige kontrakbreuk vyf items gebruik het wat deur Robinson en Morrison (2000) ontwikkel is. Wraakskaal (Wade, 1989) is gebruik om gevoelens van vergelding te
meet, en laastens is pligsgetrouheid gemeet volgens die Groot Vyf Inventaris ('Big
Five Inventory') (John, et al., 2008).
Item-, verkennende en bevestigende faktor-analises is gebruik om die psigometriese
eienskappe van die instrumente te ondersoek. Strukturele vergelyksmodellering
(SVM) is gebruik om die strukturele model te toets, met 'n goeie modelpassing wat
verkry is nadat die model gewysig is om drie addisionele bane in te sluit. Die resultate
het aangedui dat negatiewe affek en gevoelens van vergelding ʼn statistiese positiewe
effek op teenproduktiewe werkgedrag het, terwyl pligsgetrouheid negatief daarmee
verband hou. Beroepstres en organisatoriese geregtigheid het onderskeidelik ʼn
positiewe en negatiewe verwantskap met negatiewe affek getoon. Die resultate toon
ook dat negatiewe affek en affektiewe verbintenis onderskeidelik ʼn positiewe en
negatiewe effek op gevoelens van vergelding het. Sielkundige kontrakbreuk het na
vore getree as 'n voorspeller met ʼn statistiese negatiewe verwantskap met persepsie
van organisatoriese geregtigheid, terwyl persepsie van organisatoriese geregtigheid
ʼn statistiese positiewe verwantskap met affektiewe verbintenis getoon het.
Bevestiging is ook gevind vir die invloed van negatiewe affek op sielkundige
kontrakbreuk. Geen ondersteuning is egter vir volgende hipotesis gevind nie: Die
statistiese negatiewe invloed van affektiewe verbintenis op teenproduktiewe
werksgedrag; die statistiese positiewe effek van sielkundige kontrakbreuk op
beroepsstres; en laastens die statistiese positiewe verwantskap tussen sielkundige
kontrakbreuk en gevoelens van vergelding.
Met die fokus op sielkundige kontrakbreuk as 'n onderliggende bron van verskillende
sielkundige reaksies, dra hierdie studie by tot die literatuur oor die redes vir
teenproduktiewe werkgedrag onder akademici in Suid-Afrika.Master
Factors influencing survivor qualities after downsizing
Get PDFToday organisations all over the world have to cope with the ever-increasing rate of local and global change. Those in developing countries have to cope with the inefficiencies engendered by state-led economic, developmental and political strategies, such as new government regulations. These have had an impact on the management of human resources and are exemplified by an increasing adoption of strategies meant to reduce pressure on costs and margins. An increasing popular management response to these challenges has been to engage in some form of organisational restructuring such as downsizing. Often employees who remain (survivors) after downsizing are not given much attention, yet the achievement of new strategic goals depends on the survivors having positive attitudes, relentless commitment and high motivation. Research indicates that employees who are motivated and committed contribute vastly to the financial-bottom-line of the organisation. Therefore, downsizing organisations should continuously search for ways to increase such qualities among their survivors. The objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence the attitudes, commitment and motivation of survivors in a developing economy with a volatile environment. To achieve this objective, a theoretical survivor quality model was presented. In order to present the model, firstly, a literature survey on the importance of survivor quality in terms of attitudes, commitment, and motivation among survivors was conducted. Secondly, literature survey pertaining to the drivers of survivor quality was done, and thirdly, literature dealing with strategies to deal with survivor quality was surveyed. The theoretical survivor quality model was used to compile the research instrument that determined the attitudinal, commitment and motivational levels of survivors, how the three constructs are related after downsizing, as well as the factors influencing the observed levels. The questionnaire was randomly distributed among survivors in the selected manufacturing organisations in Zimbabwe. The empirical results obtained from the study showed that survivors in a developing economy with a volatile environment had moderate levels of attitudes, commitment ad motivation. Two categories of factors were identified as important in influencing these levels. They were downsizing strategy and demographic factors. The downsizing strategy factors were communication and victim support, while education, age, and number of years employed emerged as the demographic factors. The study further highlighted that older survivors with less education contributed more to the moderate levels of attitude, commitment and motivation observed. The study highlights that these variables must be taken into consideration when implementing downsizing in an economically volatile environment in order to manage survivor quality. A further point emanating from the study is that prior to downsizing, organisations should adopt effective communication strategies throughout the process. The key factors identified as influencing survivor quality in this study were integrated into the survivor quality model which can be used by other organisations in a similar context to manage survivor quality in order to increase their efficiency, effectiveness, iv and competitive advantage after downsizin
Debunking The One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Human Resource Management: A Review of Human Resource Practices in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Firms
Get PDFPublished ArticleOrientation: This article argues that the best practice approach (BPA) to HRM fails to
capture the peculiarities of HR practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The
article instead articulates the view that the different and unique traits inherent in SMEs firms
allows the firms to adopt distinct HR practices, which may not cohere with the prescriptive
one-size-fits-all view which BPA advocates.
Research purpose: The article aims to further the thesis that the long-held BPA approach to
HRM does not always apply to SME firms given their unique characteristics which renders HR
prescriptions applied in large firms invalid in SME firms.
Research approach/design and method: As a theoretical article, a systematic literature review
was conducted to draw findings and conclusions.
Main findings: The article concludes that the eclectic nature of SME HR practices complicates
the extent of generalisability of such practices across organisational settings, thus showing
that HR practices that work in SME firms cannot be applied in large firms with equal success.
Practical/managerial implications: The findings provide a platform to enhance the
understanding surrounding managing human resources in SME firms by revealing the
differences between people management in SME firms as compared to their larger counterparts.
Contribution/value-add: The article is groundbreaking as it has opened new avenues in the
quest to understand the nature and contribution of HRM in SME firms
The Influence of Selected Demographic Factors on the Choice of Marketing Communication Tools: Comparison of Foreign and Local Spaza Shop Owners in South Africa
Get PDFPublished ArticleOrientation: The continued proliferation of foreign-owned spaza shops in South African
townships presents intense competition between local and foreign owners, with evidence that
foreign spaza shop owners are more likely to use marketing communication tools than local
spaza shop owners.
Research purpose: The main purpose of this study was to compare the influence of selected
demographic variables (education, age of business and owner’s experience) on the choice
of marketing communication tools between foreigners and locals who own spaza shops in
South Africa.
Motivation for the study: This study was motivated by a lack of insight in comparing the use
of marketing communication tools between foreigners and local spaza shop owners.
Research design, approach and method: A descriptive, cross-sectional comparative research
design was adopted, where a convenience non-random sample of 236 spaza shops owners,
both foreign and local ones in the Free State Province, was analysed using four-way analysis
of variance.
Main findings: The results of the study revealed that foreign spaza shop owners are
more influenced by selected demographic factors to use marketing communication tools than
South African spaza shop owners.
Practical/managerial implications: Given that foreign owners are more influenced by
demographic factors to use marketing communication tools to outperform their counterparts,
the study highlights the need to support local spaza shop owners for continued sustainability.
Contribution/value-add: This study added knowledge by exploring untested comparison of
demographic variables influencing the use of marketing communication tools in spaza shop
businesses
Environmental Influences, Employee Resourcing Strategies and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Performance: Case of South African Small Restaurants
Get PDFPublished ArticleOrientation: Small businesses’ contribution to economic growth and employment creation
cannot be disputed in South Africa, amid operating in an environment that is highly competitive
and reports of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) high failure rates, in general. In view
of this, and to our knowledge, no known theoretical study has been conducted in South Africa
examining how certain environmental factors might influence the use of appropriate resourcing
strategies for improved small businesses’ performance.
Research purpose: This theoretical article investigates the relationships between environmental
influences, employee resourcing strategies and business performance among South African
small restaurants.
Motivation for the study: There is a paucity of literature that has explored whether a
relationship exists between the three variables among small restaurant businesses in South
Africa, justifying the need for such an investigation.
Research approach/design and method: This article, which is conceptual in nature, adopted a
systematic literature review which entails combining all existing research literature related to
the three variables so as to arrive at logical inferences.
Main findings: The research contends that a relationship exists between the three variables.
Practical/managerial implications: Small businesses need to be aware of the environmental
influences that may contribute to business failure so that they attune employee resourcing
strategies to the environment to achieve high performance.
Contribution/value add: The article contributes to extant literature on the interplay between
environmental factors, resourcing strategies and firm performance in small restaurant
businesses of emerging economies
Radio broadcasting in the era of HIV/AIDS: Can this be the magic bullet?
Get PDFPublished ArticleIn this study, we assessed the relevance and effectiveness of radio broadcasting as a strategy that
facilitates the adoption and use of safer sexual practices among students at a South African university.
Based on ethnographic data, the article highlights that the essential and critical contribution of
campus radio lies in its ability to create a social space for HIV/AIDS communication. The overall
aim of this study was to assess the relationship between exposure to radio broadcasting messages
and the adoption of safer sexual practices. Our analysis suggests that campus broadcasting can be
instrumental in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness and education
Employees’ perceptions of diversity management practices as predictors of psychological capital: A South African study
Get PDFHuman resource practitioners have recently been interested, especially within large
corporations, in diversity management and psychological capital (commonly known as
positive psychology) – making the insights from such studies inadequate and difficult to
apply in other contexts such as the small business sector. With no known empirical research
on these two areas of interest within small businesses, the purpose of this study was to
determine the impact of perceptions of diversity management practices on psychological
capital amongst employees in bed and breakfast (B&B) establishments. A quantitative design,
specifically a cross-sectional case study design, was adopted. Data were collected from a
sample of 144 B&B employees conveniently selected. The collected data were analysed using
both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study showed that there is a
significant and positive relationship between perceived diversity management practices and
psychological capital of employees. Specifically, perceived diversity management practices
in specific human resource management practices were found to influence the psychological
capital of the B&Bs employees. Given the nature of B&B establishments, in terms of attracting
diverse customers, the study recommends the need of B&B managers to implement
appropriate and fair human resource diversity management practices in order to promote the
development of psychological capital amongst employees. This study is the first of its kind to
contribute to the literature on diversity management practices and psychological capital
within B&B establishments in a developing context
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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