Abstract
Marketplaces play a crucial role in economic development worldwide, especially in struggling economies such as South Africa. Due to high unemployment rates in South Africa, many people have started Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs) in marketplaces to escape poverty. However, around two-thirds of these SMMEs are informal, which makes it difficult for the government to provide support due to a lack of documentation. Despite their importance, the academic community has overlooked the role of marketplaces in SMME sustainability in South Africa. This study aims to provide a detailed overview of the role of the city of Johannesburg's marketplaces in promoting SMME economic sustainability.
This research study uses a mixed method methodology that involves a 5-stage sequential research design, where each stage informs the next. The first stage consists of a literature review of past and present research conducted on SMMEs and marketplaces. The second stage involves cataloguing 34 conveniently chosen marketplaces around Johannesburg, Gauteng, which are then statistically analysed. The third stage involves qualitative data gathering through semi-structured interviews with six conveniently chosen marketplace owners or managers in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The fourth stage involves gathering qualitative data from sixteen conveniently chosen SMME marketplace vendors at eight marketplaces around the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng, and three purposefully chosen supporting organisation representatives that are relevant to marketplaces. Finally, the fifth and last research design stage involves the quantitative data gathering and statistical analysis of 250 surveys from customers who shop at eight marketplaces in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
The research study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse the data. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data while the quantitative data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 29. The study found that in marketplaces operating in the city of Johannesburg, products and services are the strongest predictors of customer satisfaction, followed by marketplace customer loyalty, marketplace variety, and advertising.
Keywords: marketplaces, economic sustainability, SMMEs, South Africa, Johannesburg, customer satisfaction.