Abstract
M.Tech. (Sport Management)
This exploratory study was a situational analysis of the sport business industry with a specific focus on SMME’s and entrepreneurship. The study subsequently aimed to determine entrepreneurial opportunities in the sport domain. A survey questionnaire was administered to 250 small business entrepreneurs plying their trade in the broad South African sport industry. SMME’s were identified through CIPRO, online business databases, and snowballing. A stratified sample was selected through various non-probability sampling techniques. The survey was administered through a combination of post, email, and hand-delivery. A satisfactory yet representative response rate of 49% was realized. Although the geographic specificity of the electronic and postal surveys are not evenly spread through-out the country, it does lean towards SMME’s in the major urban and semi-urban metropolitan regions of the country. The hand-delivered survey was concentrated in the greater Durban region. Nonetheless, the researcher is of the opinion that the results obtained can provide an insightful and meaningful exposition into the opportunities and trends affecting SMME’s in the sport business industry in South Africa. The SPSS program was utilized to descriptively and inferentially analyze the data.
The sport SMME sector in South Africa was found to be relatively young. The small business entrepreneur demographic profile found entrepreneurs to be mainly male, middle-aged and well-educated. Owner-managers were found to have had completed business or entrepreneurship training with varying years experience in the sport business industry. Company properties revealed that based on the age of sport businesses, SMME’s were spread through the start-up, growth, and mature business stages. The vast majority of the sample was categorized as small enterprises. From a legal perspective, most businesses were registered as close corporations. About a third of all SMME’s were registered with a plethora of business associations and agencies thus giving effect to the inherent cross-cutting nature of the sport industry being prominently felt in various spheres of business and industry. SMME’s were also found to be complying to the principles of B-B BEE with encouraging signs of previously disadvantaged ownership.