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The determinants of business success for small commercial farming enterprises

Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2022.

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Other Authors: Fairhurst, Keith
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Fairhurst, Keith
author_browse Fairhurst, Keith
author_facet Fairhurst, Keith
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2022.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:38:29.922Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/90841 The determinants of business success for small commercial farming enterprises Fairhurst, Keith ichelp@gibs.co.za Shoko, Rangarirai UCTD Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2022. The aim of this research was to determine the drivers of business success for small commercial farming enterprises. The study also sought to identify the financial and nonfinancial measurements used by small commercial farmers to measure the success of businesses. The study followed the qualitative research design which followed an inductive approach. Primary data were collected from 13 research participants through a semistructured interview guide. The responses from participants were recorded, transcribed, and analysed in Atlas ti. 9 using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) analytical approach. The findings from the study revealed some important insights that add to the existing knowledge of business success factors for small commercial farming enterprises. The study showed that the success of small commercial farming enterprises is determined by farmer characteristics, strategic planning activities, and farm resources and features. With regard to farmer characteristics, the study suggests that perseverance of effort, passion for farming, broad farm management skills, and technical knowledge and skills are the main factors influencing the performance of small commercial farming enterprises. As for the farm resources and features, the study has revealed that farm infrastructure, farming equipment, and natural features play a key role in promoting successful farming enterprises. The notable difference between the findings of this research and those reported in other studies on business success factors for SMEs is that this study has revealed some features that are unique to farming but, contribute to overall business success such as topography, rainfall, arable land, permanent source of water, drainage, and sufficient grazing capacity. In the case of strategic planning activities, the results revealed some key strategic planning activities that drive the success of small commercial farming enterprises such as financial planning, marketing planning, and production planning. The study has also demonstrated that small commercial farmers use financial and non-financial measurements to measure the success of their businesses. To tie all the findings together, a conceptual model for analysing the performance of small commercial farming enterprises has been developed. The study recommends that small commercial farmers should receive financial literacy training in order to increase understanding of the basic financial principles which promote farm productivity, profitability and overall business success. In addition, it is recommended that support rendered to small commercial farming enterprises by public and private institutions must focus on variables that improve the performance of their businesses such as the ones found in this study. Future research should focus on testing the validity, relevance and applicability of the conceptual model developed in different farming enterprises. pt23 Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) MBA Unrestricted 2023-05-28T16:59:39Z 2023-05-28T16:59:39Z 19-04-2023 2022 Mini Dissertation * A2023 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/90841 en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
The determinants of business success for small commercial farming enterprises
title The determinants of business success for small commercial farming enterprises
title_full The determinants of business success for small commercial farming enterprises
title_fullStr The determinants of business success for small commercial farming enterprises
title_full_unstemmed The determinants of business success for small commercial farming enterprises
title_short The determinants of business success for small commercial farming enterprises
title_sort determinants of business success for small commercial farming enterprises
topic UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/90841