期刊名称:International Journal of Business and Management Studies
电子版ISSN:1309-8047
出版年度:2020
卷号:12
期号:1
页码:225-240
出版社:Social Sciences Research Society
摘要:The South African economy is in dire need of a boost as it is currently being
characterised by low growth, high unemployment and poverty. The South African
government has prioritised the development of small, medium and micro
enterprises (SMMEs) as they are capable of stimulating the economy. However,
small organisations face multiple challenges in the stringent economy. University
Business Incubators (UBIs) offer support to small organisations and supplement
their development to an extent where they may become self-sustainable in the
market. UBIs offer incubation programmes, which include a variety of services
ranging from physical facilities, general business services, management services,
networking and professional services, financial consulting services and university
services. To be successful, UBIs should create a balanced fit between their service
offerings and the needs of small organisations, as a one-size-fits-all service
offering may not succeed when considering different industries, countries and
regions. The purpose of this study was to determine the difference between the
service industry sectors, namely auto, estate agents and property management,
health care and beauty, hospitality and accommodation and professional services,
service offering requirements from UBIs. A descriptive research design was
followed, whereby a non-probability judgment sample of 108 small service
organisations (SSOs), situated in the Vaal Triangle region of South Africa, was
taken. A structured self-administered questionnaire, containing the various UBI
service offerings, was distributed to the owners or managers of the SSOs. The
statistical analysis of the collected data included descriptive statistics and one-way
ANOVA. The findings indicate that statistically significant differences were
found between the service industry sectors, relating to the physical facilities and networking and professional service offerings of the UBI. These statistically
significant differences were found to have medium effect sizes, pointing towards
practical significance. As such, it is recommended that UBIs utilise their service
offerings to develop unique marketing strategies for the service industry sectors.
关键词:Small organisations; SMMEs; University Business Incubators
(UBIs); service industry; South Africa