In developing countries such as South Africa, Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) are pivotal for job creation, economic growth, and poverty alleviation. Yet, 70-80% of SMMEs in South Africa fail to survive beyond their first two years of establishment. A key but underexplored reason for this high failure rate is how SMMEs in South Africa utilise Digital Communication Technologies (DCTs) to build relationships with their stakeholders. An understanding of this phenomenon is vital to understanding the factors that contribute to South African SMMEs’ failure to survive beyond two years of establishment.
This study focused specifically on chemical manufacturing SMMEs in South Africa. It explored how these enterprises utilise DCTs such as mobile instant messaging, social media and video conferencing tools to build Organisation-Stakeholder Relationships (OSRs). These SMMEs play a strategic role in South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP). The plan primarily envisions chemical manufacturing SMMEs in South Africa to significantly contribute to the creation of eleven million jobs by 2030. However, the high failure rate being experienced by these SMMEs is derailing the attainment of this goal.
Adopting a concurrent exploratory mixed-methods approach, this study integrates qualitative insights from seven semi-structured interviews with quantitative data from 321 questionnaires. Grounded in stakeholder theory and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this research study explores how chemical manufacturing SMMEs in South Africa use DCTs to build organisation-stakeholder relationships contribute to their failure to survive beyond two years of establishment. Using the mixed-methods approach, the study found that while chemical manufacturing SMMEs extensively adopt DCTs for transactional purposes such as supply chain coordination and customer service, they underutilise them for building organisation-stakeholder relationships. Largely, it emerged that chemical manufacturing SMMEs in South Africa use DCTs to pursue financial goals over relational goals of their enterprises. The research study further revealed several challenges encountered by chemical manufacturing SMMEs in using DCTs to build relationships with their stakeholders. Key barriers that emerged include high costs, cybersecurity risks, skills shortages, and inadequate government support...
- The use of digital communication technologies in building organisation-stakeholder relationships : the case of chemicals manufacturing SMMEs in South Africa
- Francis Zuze
- Mandla Joshua Radebe
- University of Johannesburg; Doctor of Philosophy (PHD)
- Doctor of Philosophy (PHD), University of Johannesburg
- 9963507707691
- University of Johannesburg
- University of Johannesburg; Faculty of Humanities; Department of Communication
- English
- Dissertation