Business Administration

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Developing a competency framework for broad-based black economic empowerment verification practitioners
(Vaal University of Technology, 2014) Seate, Barbara Makhosazana; Chinomona, Richard, Prof.; Pooe, David, Prof.
The influence of measuring Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is becoming a vital issue in organisations simply because it affects the organisation in different ways. Organisations seek ways to improve their B-BBEE status level in order to be conducive when conducting business and they believe that B-BBEE is necessary. The B-BBEE verification agencies are responsible for carrying out a factual, thorough evaluation of a measured entity’s B-BBEE status and, based on the result, for determining a B-BBEE score. The overall aim of conducting verification is to give confidence to all parties that rely upon the score set out in the verification certificate that the information on which the certificate is based has been tested for validity and accuracy. The study provided more information on how verification agencies can improve their competencies and how this affects the Department of Trade and Industry and the verification agencies. The study focused on educating the verification agencies and the Department of Trade and Industry about the importance and processes of developing a competency framework. Its purpose was to develop a competency framework for verification agencies. A survey consisted of about 300 verification practitioners employed by 80 verification agencies. Data was collected using the consensus sampling technique. All of these practitioners constituted a ‘universe’ or ‘population’ and 87 respondents were utilised. The Social Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and AMOS software packages were used for descriptive and factor analysis. Finally, the findings for the study are highlighted and the conclusions, implications and recommendations drawn.
The influence of procedural, distributive and interactional justice on organisational citizenship behaviour among employees at the SAPS academy, Paarl
(Vaal University of Technology, 2016) Jansen Van Vuuren, Henk Riaan; Joubert, Dr. P. A.; Dhurup, Prof. M.
The purpose of this study is to investigate employees’ perceptions of organisational justice and their effects on organisational citizenship behaviour. This study advocates that the way employees perceive organisational justice affects their organisational citizenship behaviour in their current organisation. The fact that employees play a central role in the realisation of an organisation’s goals makes it critical for any organisation to have employees who are willing to go beyond what is required of them. In this study, a quantitative research paradigm and an exploratory research method were used to investigate a sample size of 226 employees working at the SAPS Academy, Paarl. In order to minimise the study bias, systematic sampling was used to ensure that the sample accurately reflected the larger population (N=457). Data were collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire and the results of the correlation analysis revealed that all three dimensions of organisational justice are significantly and positively related to organisational citizenship behaviour. Organisational justice also showed a strong predictive relationship with organisational citizenship behaviour. Based on the findings of the empirical survey, it was revealed that if organisational justice practices are implemented appropriately, employees holding key positions may be likely to display more organisational citizenship behaviours. Therefore, it was recommended that, to address negative perceptions of organisational justice, a strategy should be formulated to ensure that employees are treated fairly in terms of the dimensions of organisational justice. It was also recommended that when developing and implementing such a strategy, barriers should be addressed that could:  influence the availability of accurate and complete information for decision making; and  influence the dissemination of information pertaining to job decisions. It is further recommended that rewards programmes be reviewed to ensure that employees will experience fairness when comparing their own payoffs with those of fellow employees and perceive just distributive justice practices. The study concludes by recommending that a “Code of good practice – communication policy” be developed that would enable the displaying of social sensitivity and dignified, respectful and acceptable behaviour by employees in a managerial position towards their subordinates. The findings and recommendations of this study are important to employers as they provide crucial information regarding the types of activities organisations could engage in for employees to consider them as acceptable organisational justice practices. Such involvement in acceptable organisational justice activities can improve employees’ organisational citizenship behaviour and reinforce effective and efficient service delivery in their current organisation. The implications for future research indicate that a comparative study testing the differences between different groups based on certain biographical traits, such as gender, marital status, age, educational level, income and length of service in the South African Police Service, is advisable as it would assist in determining how such biographical traits might influence the various dimensions of organisational justice. Furthermore, the study could also be expanded to include a broader national sample within the Division: Human Resource Development and other divisions within the South African Police Service.
Perceived organisational support, job satisfaction and organisational citizenship behaviour of South African Police Service officials in the Tygerberg Cluster
(Vaal University of Technology, 2016-06) Van Tonder, Eugenie Olive; Joubert, P. A., Dr.; Grobler, B. R., Prof.
The current research study is premised on theoretical frameworks that are embedded in different human behaviour studies, which have been conducted by researchers in the past. The different theories underlying the research will be discussed. No previous studies could be found relating to Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCD), Perceived Organisational Support (POS) and Job Satisfaction (JS), in the SAPS. This study aims to provide a more complete picture of the OCB, JS and POS within the SAPS and contribute towards cultivating a more professional corps of SAPS officials. In this study, a quantitative and descriptive research method was used to investigate a sample size of 300 police officials working at police stations in the Tygerberg Cluster SAPS. All police officials in the Tygerberg Cluster of the SAPS formed part of the target population. These police officials are appointed under the SAPS Act (68 of 1995). Data were collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire. The reliability and validity were increased by conducting a pre-test and a pilot study prior to the final study. A factor analytic procedure was followed for each of the three constructs. The results of the correlation analysis revealed a negative relationship between POS and OCB and between JS and OCB. The data, however, indicated positive correlations between JS and POS. Findings and recommendations in this study are important to government, SAPS, individual members and commanders as it provides information regarding types of activities and interventions to enhance perceived organizational support, job satisfaction and behaviours associated with organizational citizenship.
Employees' perceptions of the effects of retrenchment on job stress and organisational commitment in a mining company
(Vaal University of Technology, 2016-11) Seteni, Landiswa Pilvia; Joubert, P. A., Dr.; Dhurup, M., Prof.
In the decade before 2005, South African organisations have had to cope with an ever-increasing rate of local and global changes. There have been considerable and ongoing socio-political changes, resulting from new Government regulations. Most organisations have experienced some type of downturn, whether due to external business factors or poor internal performance. A typical response to organisational decline is retrenchment. Retrenchment is attributed to cyclical downturns, market losses or other economic factors, which oblige the employer to reduce the labour force numbers. Though there are so many ways of responding to organisational failure, this study focused only on retrenchment. A number of psychologists and human sciences researchers have studied the results of job loss due to retrenchment. Retrenchment brings loss of skills, loss of morale and commitment, as well as physical and mental health degradation, including stress that results in employees withdrawing physically and emotionally. The main purpose of this study was to outline the employees’ perceptions of the effects of retrenchment on job stress and organisational commitment in a mining company. The research methodology used in this study is a combination of a literature review and an empirical study. The probability sampling technique, which entails using simple random sampling, was used to select the sample of the study. The primary data were collected using a questionnaire. The measuring instrument contained 43 items. The measuring instrument was pilot-tested with 50 respondents three weeks before the main survey; the questionnaire was self-administered to the participants. For the main survey, data from 294 respondents were collected and analysed. Participants in the study involved surface employees, including management, administrators, engineers and artisans. Data were analysed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the various sections of the measuring instrument were computed to establish construct validity. Content validity was ascertained by pre-testing the questionnaire with the employees in the mine in question. Correlations were used to establish convergent validity of the constructs. Convergent validity was assessed to measure the degree of linear association of variables using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Discriminant validity was achieved by using regression analysis to show items loaded onto different factors in various sections which had more than one factor. Analysis was done using descriptive statistics on the demographic information of respondents. The results were also interpreted through correlation and regression analysis. The results showed that the effects of retrenchment did not have a negative impact on job stress (time stress and anxiety). This may be due to the mine in question planning and consulting with the employees prior to the retrenchment process. The results also showed that job stress (time stress and anxiety) is negatively associated with organisational commitment. Subsequent to these findings, it is recommended that employees (survivors) be updated on their future in the company in question. This could be done through regular workshops and counselling of employees. In order to motivate and engage employees, and thereby contribute to employee commitment, it was also recommended that organisations create open, supportive and fair organisational and team cultures, and ensure jobs are clearly aligned with organisational goals and have appropriate levels of autonomy, support and career development. Given that job satisfaction plays a huge role in organisational commitment, it was further recommended that managers need to actively improve their organisation’s job satisfaction to employees in order to achieve a higher level of organisational commitment. The study concludes by recommending that communication between employees and management should take place on a regular basis which can serve as a fundamental tool to retrenchment in the following manner: • Survivors will feel more committed to the organisation when the basis of retrenchment addresses the circumstances in the external environment, rather than the enrichment of shareholders or top management. • Communicating a clear vision of how retrenchment will benefit stakeholders, increases commitment since survivors can see a clear future for the organisation. • When survivors are treated with dignity and respect, they will feel more committed to the organisation because they feel appreciated.
The influence of presenteeism on job satisfaction and organisational commitment among government employees within the Cacadu district
(Vaal University of Technology, 2017-05) Tala, Ratsela Johannes; Dhurup, M., Prof.; Van Zyl, Y., Dr.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of presenteeism on job satisfaction and organisational commitment among government employees within the Cacadu district. Research on presenteeism has been conducted and the majority of research on presenteeism has predominantly focused on its prevalence, determinants and economic effects, in the process neglecting important attitudinal results. Sickness presenteeism may signify physical presence and mental absence and can be associated with affective-motivational states such as job satisfaction and organisational commitment. The research methodology used to conduct the study is a combination of a literature review and an empirical study. A quantitative research paradigm and a descriptive research method were used to investigate a sample size of 220 employees within government departments in the Cacadu district. In order to minimise the study bias, simple random sampling was used to ensure that the sample accurately reflects the larger population (N=1025). Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire. The instrument was piloted with 40 respondents and the instrument was hand delivered to all the participants. The results of the correlation analysis indicated that there is a moderate relationship between presenteeism and job satisfaction and a moderate relationship between presenteeism and organisational commitment. Regression analysis showed mixed results among presenteeism, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Findings and recommendations of this study are significant to employees as they provide essential information regarding the influence and impact of presenteeism within the working environment and how these affect the performance of employees in delivering quality service within the Cacadu district. Given that there is presently little available research on the attitudinal consequences of sickness presenteeism and also non-work related presenteeism, these findings offer further opportunity for conducting research in the area.
The influence of organisational strategy, recruitment strategy and organisational culture on succession planning in South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation
(Vaal University of Technology, 2017-10) Ramaboea, Stella Julie; Joubert, P. A., Dr.; Dhurup, M., Prof.
In terms of the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended by Act 30 of 2007, all government departments operate under a recruitment system whereby applicants and employees are selected for positions based on their qualifications for the job. Equity and fairness are underlying democratic values and principles of the system. Therefore, the system guards against pre-determined successors until such time as all qualified candidates are provided an equal opportunity to apply for, and be considered, for the job (RSA 1994). However, organisations need to ensure that the appropriate people are in place with the required values, skills and competencies that are necessary to bring about change and accomplish goals to drive organisational strategy forward. It is also necessary to ensure that a suitable leadership team is chosen to help preserve and build upon an organisation’s existing vision, mission and values. Ensuring that leaders have the appropriate skills, abilities and competencies is crucial to assist an organisation to implement its strategic direction and overall goals and objectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of organisational strategy, recruitment strategy and organisational culture on effective succession planning in the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). In this study, focus was on trait behavioural, situational and chaos leadership and management theories; and their relationship to succession planning. The study made use of a quantitative research technique. Quantitative primary research was conducted by employing a self-administered questionnaire in the gathering of primary data for the study. The target population comprised employees (from entry level to executive levels) of DIRCO based in Gauteng Province as well as 127 South African Embassies and Consulates in foreign countries. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the sample composition and participants’ perception of succession planning at DIRCO. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to assess model fit and to test the hypotheses. The results of the study confirmed that the recruitment strategy of DIRCO does not create opportunities for identification of internal talent. In order to address these deficiencies, it is recommended that DIRCO identify, mentor and promote diverse pools of internal candidates through succession planning. A proper succession plan will provide an organisation with a surplus of talent and will assist officials to realise their potential. DIRCO prefers to recruit external candidates rather than developing training programmes that will prepare the internal workforce for future leadership positions. The results indicate that lack of organisational and recruitment strategies have substantial influence on organisational processes.
Factors influencing adherence and employee perceptions towards safety control in a mining company
(2018-01) Modiba, Thami Malcolm; Mokoena, B. A.; Dhurup, M
The majority of mine health and safety authorities around the world agree that the quality of safety standards is of increasing importance to the mining industry across the world (Kleyn & du Plessis 2016:309). Mining companies in many countries such as New Zealand, (an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean), Australia, South Africa and China have taken up the challenges of guaranteeing liability and improving performance of the safety and health of their workers, aware that many workers are injured, if not fatally. These incidents result in production loss. This study provides not only an opportunity to evaluate the status of the safety control measures of the work system in a mining company, but also enables management to pinpoint the causes of poor safety performance and implement efforts that ensure safety improvement. The primary objectives of this study were to examine factors influencing the adherence and employee perceptions towards safety control measures in a mining company. Furthermore, the governments in many countries have tried to implement legislation to try to curb the scourge of industrial accidents. Safety disclosures of the annual reports from the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) of South African mining organisations, discloses 10 major mining accidents that happened in 2015 at Northern Cape mining companies. Six of these accidents occurring from a small mining sector and four from a large mining sector, except previous year’s safety records as detailed in this study. A quantitative approach was adopted for the study. The data were collected using a sample of 200 participants in which a survey questionnaire was administered to permanent mine employees and full time contractors in the mine. A simple sampling technique was used and data were then analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 25.0 to formulate frequency tables and descriptive analysis graphs. Furthermore, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test were utilised to analyse the data and examine significant differences between employee perceptions and attitudes towards safety control measures, age and length of service (Willemse 2009:118-121). The results reveal that although the mine was considered compliant, with its employees showing a positive attitude towards safety control measures, ANOVA revealed different perceptions of employees based on their age and years of experience. However, no differences were found in relation to gender and occupation. Based on the findings, this study further recommends future studies to be conducted in order to explore the effectiveness of implementing an internal system of self-evaluation as a starting point in any safety improvement process. An effective system of internal self-evaluation will trademark the mining sector internationally and improve workers’ safety by improving effectiveness and assurance of the control measures and the level of control performance criteria. The system should create the awareness of adherence to safety control measures and deal with employee perception towards safety adherence in mining. In addition it should be a system that ensures a structured and standardised approach to learning from incidents and that all necessary steps are followed to safeguard against repeats of incidents and accidents through an effective incident investigation process (Van den Berg 2014:11). The findings of the study revealed that the leadership in the mine has a strong, positive and significant influence on the performance of safety. In this regard, this study recommends that an effective employee engagement system to be developed and that mine managers establish a safety control charter that must be understood by the mine workers, develop a code of ethics that requires ethical and honest behaviour from all employees in order to improve safety performance and learn from these accomplishments. Mine workers will take their cue from the attitude and example displayed by management, therefore, it is recommended that mine management develop an organisational culture, which assigns authority and responsibility to employees and organises and develops employees with direction provided by management that determines the type of culture in that mine. To minimise or reduce the risk of health exposure of each activity as highlighted under Regulation 9 of the Mine Health and Safety Act (29 of 1996), it is recommended that mine manager’s enforce the use of protective equipment. The leadership and human resources, mine workers and all persons who may be affected by the mining activities in the surrounding area of operation need to be aware of the factors that can impact their well-being. The study also presented managers, mine owner and other decision makers within the mining company with important insight on key areas of factors that may require particular attention in order to enhance their operational strategies towards zero harm in the mine.
The influence of procedural, distributive and interactional justice on job satisfaction among members of the South African Police Academy: Thabong.
(2018-02) Gounden, Manisagaree; Joubert, P. A.; Dhurup, M.
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of procedural, distributive and interactional justice on job satisfaction among members of the South African Police Academy, Thabong. A critical function of the South African Police Service (SAPS) is to ensure that the inhabitants of South Africa are safe. Members of the SAPS need to be committed and have a high morale to ensure that the vision of the SAPS is fulfilled. This study advocates the application of the equity theory. People prefer to work in an environment that is perceived as just. Employees will experience satisfaction with their job in terms of equity when the equity theory is applied. However, inequity will lead to tension at the workplace. In order for the officers as employees of the SAPS to function effectively, it is essential for the SAPS to ensure that their employees are satisfied. In this study, a quantitative approach was applied to gain an understanding of the influence of organisational justice (OJ) dimensions (PJ, DJ, IJ) on job satisfaction (JS). This involved administering questionnaires to 234 employees who were attending management courses at the SAPS Academy, Thabong in the northern Free State province of South Africa. Two primary tests were used to assess the suitability of the data for factor analysis. These tests are the Kaiser-Meyer Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlations among the constructs. A means analysis was conducted to assess the perceptions of the employees in respect of PJ, DJ, IJ and JS. Multiple regression analysis was executed to examine whether the independent variables of PJ, DJ and IJ predict the dependent variable JS. The Cronbach alpha coefficient test provided an adequate indication of reliability of the instrument. Face/ content, construct and convergent validity methods were applied to establish validity of the study. A positive relationship between the OJ and JS was found in this study. The SAPS will be able to improve the JS levels of SAPS officers by making positive improvements when applying OJ to influence the various elements of JS identified in this study. This will effectively enable SAPS officers to meet the challenge of providing improved service. The proper implementation of OJ will ultimately lead to the organisations success as well as the progression of its employees. Since the SAPS depends on human resources, the organisation is required to assess the current OJ practices and create a working environment that stimulates and motivates employees so that their JS levels increase. The recommendations proposed for this study offer vital information on OJ practices that could assist the SAPS to improve the perceptions of employees. Accordingly, the application can improve employees’ low morale resulting from unfairness and injustice, thereby increasing the JS levels amongst employees. The findings of the research may generate guidelines for OJ practices. Recommendations include a systematic and transparent reward system that recognises employees’ excellent performance and rewards them accordingly. Another recommendation is the creation of a well-structured consultative forum to grant employees an opportunity to provide management with their perceptions of unfair practices. Future research should extend to other sectors within the public sector environment, as well as expanding the research to include several other JS elements.
The contributions of organisational agility towards business performance within small and medium scale enterprises in Gauteng province
(2018-06) Govuzela, Sithembiso; Ntshingila, Lydia; Mafini, Chengedzai
Only one in ten newly established business enterprises survive for longer than ten years in the business environment. The reasons behind the failures of these small enterprises include the lack of access to financing, lack of financial and managerial skills, lack of expertise, as well as economic factors such as poor sales and weak growth prospects. The new norm in industry requires organisations to have a remarkable amount of agility to survive and succeed. This is important in South African SMEs given their significant contributions to the national economy. A major research gap exists, which pertains to the scant evidence of studies that focus on the influence of organisational agility on business performance of small to medium enterprises in South Africa. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of organisational agility on business performance in small to medium enterprises in the Gauteng province. Using a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional survey research design, a structured questionnaire was administered to 564 randomly selected owner-managers of small to medium enterprises in the Gauteng province. Questionnaire items were adapted from previously validated scales. Simple descriptive statistics in the form of percentages and mean scores were utilised in testing the perceptions of respondents towards organisational agility, its sub-elements and business performance. Hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modelling approach, which was conducted after implementing a confirmatory factor analysis to test the psychometric properties of the measurement scales. The results of the study show that owners and managers of small and medium enterprises perceived that the performance of their organisations was satisfactory in terms of technology capability, collaborative innovation, organisational learning, internal alignment, organisational agility and business performance. Upon testing the hypotheses, positive and significant relationships were observed between organisational agility and its four dimensions, namely technology capability, collaborative innovation, organisational learning and internal alignment. In turn, organisational agility exerted a significant and positive influence on business performance. The results of the study imply that the performance of small to medium enterprises can be improved significantly through adjustments to organisational agility and its subdimensions. This study is important in that its results can be applied to assist small to medium enterprises to survive and succeed in today’s turbulent and tomorrow’s dynamic operational environments, where agile organisational abilities are required.
Supply chain risk mitigation strategies in the electrical energy sector in South Africa
(Vaal University of Technology, 2018-08) Jonathan, Ellsworth Chouncey; Bhadury, J., Prof.; Mafini, C., Prof.
Interferences to supply chains, regardless of whether they are regular, unplanned or intentional, are progressively distorting supply chain execution. Given that such disruptions are probably not going to diminish, for the time being, supply chain risk mitigating solutions will assume an undeniably critical part of the management of supply chains. This research acknowledges the existence of an extensive variety of approaches to mitigate risks across supply chains, yet argues that most methodologies may not be reasonable if the culture of an organisation does not support them. Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) has rapidly become of significance to the world economy. Though the supply of electrical energy in Southern Africa affects the economies of nations around the globe, it has received too little consideration from the literary community. The focus of this thesis is to expand the field of SCRM by analysing how different risk assessment and management concepts and practices are comprehended, construed and employed through the region. The majority of developed supply chain management and risk management models are currently entrenched in the US and Europe. Consequently, this research is of high significance since its essential aim was to investigate these concepts and models, in particular, one focused on Africa. This approach enabled the thesis to examine and test components related to SCRM, such as risk categories, risk assessment and risk strategies, in the electrical energy sector in South Africa. The study in this manner offers knowledge that was not otherwise accessible in earlier research. In pursuit of meeting the requirements of the research questions, the supply chain department in the electrical energy supplier was researched. This study adopted the non-probability sampling approach utilising the purposive sampling technique to choose the sampling components from the target population. Data was collected by way of conducting semi-structured interviews and researcher observation, as well as additional documentation in various forms was collected. Interviews were transcribed and evaluated in conjunction with additional data collected during meetings and triangulated using researcher observation. Data interpretation and codification thereof was done using ATLAS.ti 8 by which, twenty-five themes emerged from this study. Supply chain risks comprise value streams; information and affiliations; supply chain activities; and external situations. Among these, information and relationships risks were found to produce selfupgrading risk loops, thereby generating consequent risk impacts after disturbances. To mitigate these risks, the case firm must engage in local and international supply chain implemented strategies, such as building a stable supply chain network, leveraging supply chain information, leveraging outsourcing contracts and developing supply-chain risk collaboration partnerships, although the level of implementation depends on the business context. Among the ten identified themes, building a stable supply chain and developing supply chain collaboration strategies can be useful in strengthening both robustness and resilience in supply chain risk management. Customer orientation had positive impacts on all themes, but disruption orientation and quality orientation influenced only certain types of strategies. The study makes ten recommendations, which can be implemented by the case firm; the results of the interviews are evidence that all the tools are available. The thesis concludes with a summary of overall findings and areas for further research are also highlighted.
The influence of organisational politics on job stress among small and medium enterprises employees in Matlosana Local District.
(Vaal University of Technology, 2018-11) Letshaba, Ralebitso Kenneth; Dhurup, M., Prof.; Joubert, P. A., Dr.; Chinomona, E., Dr.
Apart from the contribution and success of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through job creation, poverty alleviation and economic growth, there are still organisational factors such as organisational politics and job stress, which hamper the success of these enterprises. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of organisational politics on job stress among SME employees in Matlosana Local District. The target population concentrated on SME employees within Matlosana Local District in North West province, with the population size of N=431 respondents. A quantitative approach was applied, with the use of a cross sectional survey (questionnaire) to gather information on general political behaviour (GB), get ahead (GA), pay and promotion policies (PP), time stress (TS) and anxiety (AX). Data analysis was conducted with the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 and the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 25.0. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied in examining and testing the relationships between observed constructs and their causal latent constructs while Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesised relationships between constructs. The findings of the study revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between organisational politics and job stress. The findings also emphasised that organisational politics is considered as a hindrance-related stressor that hampers the proper functioning of individual employees. This study concludes that organisational politics are the social ills of every organisation, it is upon the management of the SMEs to apply good human resource management policies to curb the politics. Contrary, if the organisational politics are not managed well, it will result in impacting the job outcomes such as job stress.
The relationship between human resource management practices, corporate entrepreneurship and business performance in medium and large businesses in Gauteng Province.
(Vaal University of Technology, 2019-11) Phillips, Magaret; Janse van Rensburg, C., Dr.; Van der Westhuizen, J. P., Dr.
Globalisation is creating profound and substantial changes for businesses and industries throughout the world. These changes have forced businesses to re-evaluate their organisational philosophy and strategic approaches to become more competitive. Businesses in general have to deal with internal and external challenges. To address these challenges, there is a significant amount of written consensus internationally, which denotes that established businesses should encourage entrepreneurial activity throughout their operations to compete successfully on a continuous basis. Therefore, businesses should identify and implement entrepreneurial actions such as developing new products and ideas or adapt their internal processes to new situations. Corporate level entrepreneurship plays an indispensable role in improving productivity and promoting economic growth. Entrepreneurial activities can result from individual creativity or pursuit of self-interest and some of these activities could eventually receive the business’s formal recognition and thus become an integral part of the business concept. Entrepreneurial activities are often initiated by individuals within an organisation. Therefore, one way in which organisations can remain competitive in today’s rapidly changing environment is to address the issue of achieving productivity through their employees. Human resources can either hinder or encourage corporate entrepreneurship. This study addresses the relationship between human resource management practices, corporate entrepreneurship and business performance in medium and large businesses. Four hypotheses were put forward for testing. A quantitative, formal and cross-sectional approach was used. Data were collected using a survey and self-administered questionnaires were emailed to 744 human resource managers in medium and large businesses in Gauteng. A response rate of 47.6 percent was achieved as 351 usable questionnaires were received. Items in the questionnaire were adapted from previous studies. Factor analysis was conducted to test the validity and reliability of the research instrument. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to test the hypotheses. The empirical evidence indicated that corporate entrepreneurship is stimulated by better employee relations, selection practices, compensation, high levels of employee development and skills training. Selection and staffing are the most significant drivers of corporate entrepreneurship. The evidence further shows that human resource management practices influence business performance as well as that a positive relationship exists between innovation intensity and risk propensity, and business performance. The results also show that corporate entrepreneurship is a mediator between human resource management practices and business performance. As this was the first formal study conducted, which aimed to determine the influence of human resource management practices on corporate entrepreneurship and how it affects businesses performance, it can serve as a guideline for businesses in South Africa to assess their entrepreneurial intensity and corporate entrepreneurial climate.
The influence of perceptions of organisational justice on job satisfaction among administrative staff at a university of technology in South Africa
(Vaal University of Technology, 2020) Cana, Nolubabalo; Joubert, P. A., Prof.; Grobler, B., Prof.
The purpose of this study was to determine the perception of organisational justice on job satisfaction among administrative staff members at a university of technology in South Africa. A critical function of the administrative staff at a university of technology is to ensure that all students and other staff members are assisted as effectively and efficiently as possible. Administrative staff at a university of technology in South Africa needs to be committed and have a high morale to ensure that the vision of the University of Technology is fulfilled. This study promotes the application of the Equity Theory. People prefer to work in an environment that is perceived as just. Employees will experience satisfaction with their job in terms of Equity when the Equity Theory is applied fairly. However, inequity will lead to tension at the workplace. In order for the administrative staff at a university of technology in South Africa to function effectively, it is essential for a university of technology to ensure that their administrative staff is satisfied. In this study, a quantitative approach was undertaken to gain an understanding of the perception of organisational justice and its dimensions on job satisfaction. This involved distributing questionnaires to 200 administrative staff at a university of technology in South Africa. Two primary tests were used to assess the suitability of the data for factor analysis. These tests are the Kaiser-Meyer Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlations among the constructs. A means analysis was conducted to assess the perceptions of the employeesin respect of distributive justice, procedural justice, interactional justice and job satisfaction. Regression analysis was executed to examine whether the independent variables of distributive justice, procedural justice and interactional justice predict the dependent variable job satisfaction. The Cronbach alpha coefficient test provided an adequate indication of reliability of the instrument. Face/content, construct and convergent validity methods were applied to establish validity of the study. A positive relationship between organisational justice and job satisfaction was found in this study. The administrative staff will be able to improve the job satisfaction levels of other administrative staff by making positive improvements when applying organisational justice to influence the various elements of job satisfaction identified in this study. This will effectively enable administrative staff to meet the challenge of providing improved service. The proper implementation of organisational justice will, ultimately, lead to the organisations’ success, as well as the progression of its employees. Since a university of technology depends on human resources, the organisation is required to assess the current organisational justice practices and create a working environment that stimulates and motivates employees so that their job satisfaction levels increase. The recommendations proposed for this study offer vital information on organisational justice practices that could assist a university of technology to improve the perceptions of administrative staff. Accordingly, the application can improve employees’ low morale resulting from perceived unfairness and injustice, thereby increasing the job satisfaction levels among administrative staff. The findings of the research may generate guidelines for organisational justice practices. Recommendations include a systematic and transparent reward system that recognises employees’ excellent performance and rewards them accordingly. Another recommendation is the creation of a well-structured consultative forum to grant employees an opportunity to provide management with their perceptions of unfair practices. Future research should extend to other sectors within the public sector environment, as well as expanding the research to include several other job satisfactionelements. Further, research using both mediation and moderation to investigate the associations between organisational justice and job satisfaction is recommended.
Business growth challenges and opportunities facing small and medium enterprises in the Sedibeng region
(Vaal University of Technology, 2020-03) Ngobena, Nadege Ngonkem; Hove-Sibanda, Progress, Prof.; Mafini, Chengedzai, Prof.
The role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is to stimulate economic growth and competitiveness in many countries. The same applies to South Africa, where the SME sector has grown tremendously to become the engine and the lifeblood of the economy by becoming a contributor to social and economic development through employment creation and constant input to the gross domestic product. However, despite these contributions, South African SMEs face numerous challenges and opportunities which might negatively or positively impact their prospects for growth, success and sustainability. This study aimed to investigate the business growth challenges and opportunities facing SMEs in the Sedibeng Region. Through a review of literature, some challenges were identified, namely, the limited access to financial, managerial competencies, economic variable, regulations and laws, crime and corruption and lack of appropriate technology and high cost of production. Despite these challenges, SMEs are faced with some opportunities which have been created by the government to facilitate their growth, with examples including the SEDA, Ntsika Apex Fund, Khula, the National Small Business Act, Black Economic Empowerment, National Development Plan (NDP) and the Local Economic Development (LED). A four-section questionnaire was then developed using adapted measurement scales and distributed to 230 SMEs in the Sedibeng region. Respondents were selected using the non-probability convenience sampling technique. The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS (Version 25.0). After testing for validity and reliability, descriptive statistics were applied in testing the perceptions of respondents towards the challenges, opportunities and business growth. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to assess the factor structure of the collected data. Pearson correlations were used to test for the strength and direction of associations between challenges, opportunities and business growth. Regression analysis was applied in testing whether challenges, opportunities and business growth (business sustainability and external business aspects). Two SME challenges, namely, crime and technology and economic aspects, were extracted in the EFA. Additionally, two SME opportunity factors, namely ‘information technology’ and ‘environment’ were extracted in the EFA. In the same procedure, two SME growth factors, namely, external business aspects and business sustainability, were extracted. Pearson correlation analysis revealed positive and significant associations between all challenges, opportunities and business growth factors. In the regression analysis, both challenges and opportunities positively and significantly predicted SME growth. The study concludes by suggesting recommendations for limiting the impact of the identified challenges on business performance.
Leadership power bases' influences on quality of work life and intention to stay among employees at a selected retail outlet
(Vaal University of Technology, 2020-03) Maphanga, Mbali Eveltha; Isabirye, A. K., Dr.; Mokoena, B. A., Prof.
Retailing refers to the activities involved in selling goods or services to the final consumer for personal use as opposed to business purposes. It is a socio-economic system that gets people together to interchange goods and services for a small payment, which matches the final consumers’ needs. In South Africa, the industry has grown by a yearly average of 3 percent in the past eight years and Gauteng, as a province, contributed 26.5 percent to this growth. Therefore, the retail industry has been growing at a very slow rate. Letooane (2013:2) asserts that that there is a need for research in leadership power bases, QWL and how best the needs of employees can be satisfied to improve their intention to stay. In this regard, the primary objective of the study was to examine the relationship between leadership power bases, quality of work life (QWL) and intention to stay among employees at a selected retail outlet in Gauteng province. The research methodology applied to conduct the study was a consolidation of a literature review and an empirical study.The study focused on the work of French and Raven (1959) power sources, namely coercive, legitimate, reward, referent and expert power. It also looked at QWL as the nature of the workforce in retail today is generally very different from the workforce of the past decades. In addition, the study explored how QWL will assist retailers in enhancing their employees’ intention to stay. A quantitative research approach was followed in this study and a simple random probability sampling method was adopted. A structured questionnaire, divided into four sections, was utilised to survey 300 (both male and female) employees from three branches of the selected retail company in the Daveyton township. The pilot study preceded the main survey and the internal consistency reliability was ascertained. Of the 300 questionnaires distributed to the participants, a total of 285 responses were usable for data analysis (response rate of 95 percent). The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 25.0, was used to analyse data into descriptive statistics, reliability and validity analysis, correlations and finally, regression analysis, which was used to test the relationship among the constructs under investigation. The results indicated that coercive power base (β=0.456) and legitimate power base (β=0.210) contribute positively to the prediction of QWL, while reward power indicated a negative prediction of QWL (β= -0.044). Furthermore, the influence of QWL towards employees’ intention to stay was represented by a positive beta weight of (β=0.754). Additionally, all Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.764 to 0.913, (exceeding the threshold of 0.7) thus suggesting that all the items in the scale tap into the same underlying constructs. Results from this research study will assist retailers to increase the QWL levels in their companies by advancing the factors that were identified in this research study. Additionally, these results may enable retail store managers to comprehensively understand how employees perceive power bases and how these employees’ perceptions influence QWL and, subsequently, their intention to stay. The implications of the results are addressed as well as the limitations of the study and future research opportunities are further identified.
A framework for the implementation of e-procurement practices in the South African public sector
(Vaal University of Technology, 2020-07) Mothibi, Gloria Mokgalagadi; Mafini, C., Prof.; Dhurup, M., Prof.
The use of technology in supply chain management has increased over the years. Procurement is one of the primary supply chain management areas where the use of technology has gained momentum. This has been realised through the use of e-procurement systems. However, the adoption and implementation of e-procurement can be achieved more effectively if available models of technology adoption are taken into consideration. This study tested a conceptual framework integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of the Acceptance and use of Technology (UTAUT) in the implementation of e-procurement practices in the South African public sector. Although there are several studies that have focused on procurement in the public sector in South Africa, there is no evidence of studies that extended the use of the TAM and the UTAUT within the public sector in South Africa. This study was conducted to fill this gap by proposing a framework combining the TAM and UTAUT and modelling their role in the adoption of e-procurement in the public sector. The study adopted a survey design and a quantitative research approach was used to evaluate relationships between different variables. The final sample for this study consists of 263 supply chain management (SCM) practitioners drawn from the public sector in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. A self-completion survey questionnaire was used to gather data to measure the eight constructs of the TAM and UTAUT. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) procedure was performed to assess the factor structure of the data collected in the study. Descriptive statistics were applied to examine the demographic profile of respondents and the perceptions of respondents towards the research constructs. Pearson correlations were used to test relationships and regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. In the EFA, two new factors, labelled as Personal Competence and External Assistance, were identified. The results of the hypotheses tests showed that five factors, namely: perceived use, self-efficacy, facilitating conditions, personal competence and external assistance significantly predicted attitudes towards the use of e-procurement systems. However, perceived ease of use was statistically insignificant. The results further show that attitudes towards system use significantly predict behavioural intention, which in turn significantly influences actual e-procurement system use. The theoretical framework fusing the TAM and UTAUT models provides useful insights for other researchers and adds valuable knowledge to the factors that might contribute to the adoption of e-procurement in the South African public sector. The study further makes significant contributions to SCM professionals in the public sector. It reiterates the challenges faced in SCM in the public sector and then demonstrates how the adoption of e-procurement could improve the system, while reducing service delivery inequality. By indicating the factors either promoting or impeding the adoption of e-procurement in the public sector, the study provides practitioners and other decision makers in SCM with suggestions on how to facilitate more rapid adoption and circumvent the influence of irrelevant factors. Among other things, the study recommends that to improve the adoption and continued use of e-procurement systems in the public sector in the Gauteng Province, it is necessary to customise the e-procurement system to ensure that it responds to the needs of users. In addition, it is important to increase the confidence and competence of users of the systems, providing the relevant technical infrastructure and support to users in order to positively influence their attitudes and behavioural intention towards the use of e-procurement systems.
Supply chain management practices, supplier performance and supply chain resilience in the South African public sector
(Vaal University of Technology, 2020-10) Mugwenhi, Shephard; Bhadury, J., Prof.; Mafini, C., Prof.
The most important decisions that direct the operations of a nation are made in the public sector. The public sector performs the duty of facilitating the efficient and sustainable delivery of goods and services to the general public. In South Africa, public sector institutions have failed to fulfil their role of providing effective services, and this failure has been attributed to corruption and other inconsistencies inherent within supply chain management (SCM) transactions occurring between government and its suppliers. To streamline SCM, various legislative pieces such as the public SCM Policy Framework, the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework (PPPF) and the Broad-Based Black-Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act, among others were implemented in tandem with a host of other interventions. However, the challenges linked to public SCM continue to this day and the intended outcomes are yet to be fully realised, thereby negatively impacting on the effective delivery of services by the public sector. This study investigated the relationship between SCM practices, supplier performance and supply chain resilience in the South African public sector. The study is premised on the need to investigate how SCM practices may be applied to improve the effectiveness of supplier performance, and hence the resilience of the public supply chain in South Africa, in light of the numerous challenges faced by the sector. This study followed a quantitative method in which a cross-sectional survey was applied to collect data to test the relationships between seven SCM practices (supply chain collaboration, supply chain synergies, supply chain innovation, information sharing, information quality, supply chain design, supply chain integration), supplier performance and supply chain resilience. A structured survey questionnaire was developed using adapted measurement scales and administered to 333 SCM professionals recruited from public sector organisations based in the Gauteng Province. The data collected were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 25.0) and the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS Version 25.0) statistical software. The actual data analysis techniques applied included descriptive and inferential statistics and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. The results of the study showed that three SCM practices, namely collaboration, innovation and integration exerted a significant positive influence on supplier performance. However, supply chain synergies, information quality and supply chain design were statistically insignificant. Moreover, information sharing exerted a significant negative influence on supplier performance. In turn, supplier performance exerted a significant positive influence on supply chain resilience. The study contributes in various ways to both public SCM theory and practice. Theoretically, it provides information on how the SCM dimensions considered in this study, which are supply chain collaboration, synergies, innovation, information sharing and quality, design, and integration are linked to supplier performance and supply chain resilience within the public sector in South Africa. Given the limited evidence of previous studies of this nature in the South African public sector, the results are an essential addition to the existing body of literature within the public SCM context in developing countries such as South Africa. From a managerial standpoint, the study provides information on which SCM practices deserve attention in the efforts to improve the performance of suppliers, and how the performance of suppliers can be harnessed to enhance the resilience of the public supply chain. Hence, the study offers an important diagnostic framework through which the SCM challenges facing the public supply chain in South Africa can be addressed.
Strategic planning and its alignment with the budgeting process in selected national government departments
(Vaal University of Technology, 2020-11) Matshidza, Namadzavho Violet; Radebe, P. Q., Prof.
South African government departments, through the relevant executing authority, are required to develop strategic plans in terms of the Public Service Amendment Act (Act No. 30 of 2007) and Public Finance Management Amendment Act (Act No. 29 of 1999). In terms of Treasury Regulation, 2005 section 6, the government departments are further required to comply with budgetary requirements. The key question in this research was to what extent is the strategic planning process aligned to the budgeting process. In light of the research question, the research objective was to investigate the alignment of the strategic planning and budgeting processes in the selected national government departments. In order to achieve the aforementioned research objective, structured questionnaires were distributed to 300 senior managers in the selected government departments of which 203 were completed and retrieved. The government departments that participated in the study were selected using the non-probability convenient sampling technique. A quantitative approach was followed, in which case a survey was used to garner data, which were analysed using statistical analytical methods, such as the means, standard deviations, exploratory factor analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis. The five factors of strategic planning were extracted from the strategic planning questionnaire data and were coined strategic analysis and assessment (SAA), environmental impact assessment (EIA), goal setting (GS), responsibilities and resource allocation (RRA), and information system (IS). Correlation analysis indicated that there was a positive relationship between the five factors of the strategic planning process and the budgeting process. The regression analysis results confirmed the existence of a predictive relationship between the five factors of strategic planning and the budgeting process. The conclusion from this finding confirmed the alignment of strategic planning with the budgeting process in the selected national government departments. The internal consistency of the measuring instrument was tested by means of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, while its validity was measured using face validity, content validity, construct validity, convergent validity and predictive validity. In spite of the positive correlation and regression analyses, recommendations were made to improve the strategic planning and budgeting processes.
The influence of employee fit dimensions on job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour and intention to stay in selected South African municipalities
(Vaal University of Technology, 2021) Masoka, Josiah Coba; Joubert, P. A., Prof.; Dhurup, M., Prof.
Given the inevitable changes and dynamics in the nature of the global market, the recruitment, attraction, employment, motivation and retention of valuable workers has become critical for the continued success of both employees and organisations. Organisations are continuously faced with the dilemma of uncovering and understanding employment packages that are essential in attracting fitting individuals to join their establishment and remain in such organisations for a longer period of time. Similarly, people spend a substantial amount of effort and time searching for organisations and jobs that matches their qualifications and skills; fulfil their specific needs, while meeting their goals and values. This study investigated the influence employee fit dimensions (person-job fit, person-environment fit and person-organisation fit) on job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour and intention to stay. These different conceptualisations of fit have typically been studied independently, but this study responded to calls that proposed for a study that incorporated multiple types of employee fit dimensions in a single study. When deliberating on the different fit concepts, some empirical evidence confirmed the existing conceptual distinctions between the three types of fit such as person-job fit, person-environment fit, and person-organisation fit and how each fit dimension positively or negatively influences job satisfaction and the extent to which job satisfaction influences organisational citizenship behaviour. Furthermore, the study examined the influence of organisational citizenship dimension on intention to stay. This study is embedded in a post-positivist quantitative research paradigm. The positivism paradigm was adopted as its underlying philosophy is grounded on cause-effect relationships amongst constructs within a given theoretical model. Since the study was descriptive in nature, the reliability and validity of data was analysed and correlation analysis and regression analysis were also computed. The exploratory factor analysis was performed using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test and the Bartlett’s test of sphericity in order to examine the appropriateness of data for factor analysis and to establish the interrelationship amongst constructs. Preceding the main study’s data collection process, a pilot survey was undertaken to examine the correctness and accuracy of the questionnaire. The data collected were examined with the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 25.0. The KMO values of all the constructs were above 0.80 which is well within the acceptable value of 0.50. Normality tests were performed using the skewness and kurtosis values and the standard deviation values ranged from 0.65311 to 1.05471 indicating that data was normally distributed. To confirm the consistency of the measuring instrument and its items, reliability tests were carried out and the results indicated that all the constructs were within range (0.786 to 0.891), having surpassed the threshold for reliability of 0.70. The results of the consistency of measures demonstrated that the measuring instrument was reliable. The correlation analysis revealed that there is a strong relationship between person-job fit, person-environment fit, person-organisation fit and job satisfaction. The results further disclosed a moderate association between job satisfaction with altruism, courtesy and civic virtue. A negative relationship is reported between job satisfactions and sportsmanship. A weak but positive relationship is shown between job satisfaction and conscientiousness. The results further indicate a moderate relationship between altruism, conscientiousness and intention to stay. The relationship between courtesy, sportsmanship and intention to stay is reportedly weak. The results indicate that a positive relationship exists between civic virtue and intention to stay. Regression analysis was also performed in order to establish the predictive relationships between variables. The regression analysis results indicate that person-job fit, person-environment fit and person-organisation fit are positive predictors of job satisfaction. Further, altruism, courtesy, civic virtue and conscientiousness contributed positively towards predicting job satisfaction. The results further reveal that sportsmanship showed no relationship with job satisfaction and weak predictor of job satisfaction. The results of the regression analysis further revealed that altruism, courtesy, civic virtue and conscientiousness showed no predictive relationship with intention to stay. However, sportsmanship showed strong predictive relationship towards intention to stay. The study proposes both the theoretical and practical contributions to the organisational behaviour and human resource management literature in the form of recommendations. Limitations and implications for further research is alluded to. The outcome of this study advanced a framework of the influence of employee fit dimensions on job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour and intention to stay which may possibly benefit future researchers.
People-centred knowledge management systems and supply chain performance: the case of small and medium enterprises in Zimbabwe
(Vaal University of Technology, 2021-03) Tarambiwa, E.; Garnett, A., Dr.; Mafini, C., Prof.
The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector has been receiving increased global attention from governments, researchers and management practitioners in both developed and developing nations as a vehicle for economic growth. The Zimbabwean SME sector has been on record as minimising the impact of the economic challenges on the economy thus proving the strategic role played by the SME sector in improving economic growth. Therefore, the Zimbabwean government has high hopes of resuscitating the economy through empowering the SME sector. However, the sector is inundated by challenges that have retarded its effectiveness in achieving the government’s expectations. Some key limitations and challenges include short life span of the SMEs, entrenchment of archaic business practices, lack of financial capitalisation and the failure to adopt a supply chain perspective of business. Although several solutions to the problem have been proposed and implemented, one solution that has not been fully tested relates to how people-centred knowledge management systems (KMSs) can be harnessed to improve the performance of SME supply chains in Zimbabwe. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between people-centred KMSs, knowledge sharing and supply chain performance (SCP) in the Zimbabwean SME sector. The study adopted a quantitative research method in which a survey design was implemented in collecting the data that were used to test the relationships on people-centred KMSs (i.e. communities of practice (CoPs), innovation management, organisational culture and social capital); knowledge sharing and SCP (i.e. time-related performance (TRP), cost-related performance (CRP), responsiveness-related performance (RRP) and operation quality-related performance (OQRP). A structured survey questionnaire was designed using measurement scales adapted from extant literature and it was administered to a sample of 580 SME owners, managers and employees who had some prior understanding of knowledge management, information technology and supply chain management. The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25.0 and the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) Version 25.0 statistical software. The data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The statistical techniques used included measures of central tendency, cross-tabulations, factor analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, path analysis and structural equation modelling. The results of the study showed that SME employer qualifications (Kendall-tau = 0.88; p=.000), work experience (Kendall-tau = 0.86; p=.001) and nationality (Kendall-tau = 0.79; p=.010) as well as SME business sector (Kendall-tau = 0.89; p=.000) can be used to predict SME life span in the Zimbabwe SME sector. The results also showed significant relationships between three people-centred KMSs, namely, CoP (β=0.639, t=9.656, p=0.000), innovation management (β =-0.337, t=-8.578, p=0.000) and organisational culture (β=-0.261, t=-4.083, p=0.000) and knowledge sharing. The relationship between social capital and knowledge sharing was insignificant (β=-0.076, t=0.177, p=0.859). Significant relationships were also realised on knowledge sharing and three process-based SCP sub- factors, namely, TRP (β=0.231, t=4.717, p=0.000), CRP (β=-0.082, t=-2.015, p=0.044) and RRP (β=-0.177, t=-3.621, p=0.000). No relationship was found between knowledge sharing and OQRP (β=-0.076, t=0.049, p=0.254). Moreover, knowledge sharing was found to have a full mediation effect on people-centred KMSs and process-based SCP while no mediation effect was found with network-based SCP. The study makes substantial contributions to the existing body of knowledge. Theoretically, it provides in-depth insights of people-centred KMSs in SME SCP for developing countries such as Zimbabwe, which is an under researched area, thus expanding extant literature on the subject. From a knowledge management perspective, the study proposes the utilisation of SMEs’ socio-demographic factors to predict SMEs’ continued existence, thereby enabling financial institutions to offer financial assistance to such businesses with confidence. For governments in developing countries, the study suggests that specific attention should be directed to knowledge-based supply chains that adopt people-centred KMSs and process-based SCP to consider them as a possible alternative in addressing performance challenges in SME sectors.

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