Volume 8 Issue 2

During the mid-1990s the South African government formally recognised Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) operating in the country, for the first time, through the publication of the National Small Business Act No. 102 of 1996. Through this legislation, South African SMMEs were tasked to assist with the attainment of three core socio-economic objectives, namely the reduction of unemployment, the mitigation of poverty and the equal distribution of wealth. After more than two decades it appears that South African SMMEs are not achieving the foregoing three socio-economic objectives; simultaneously being cited as having among the worst failure rates in the world. Prior research found that this dispensation is largely attributable to the non-management of economic factors which, in turn, led to the realisation of risks. To assist with the management of economic factors and related risks, a sound system of internal control should be used. Unfortunately, despite the existence of various internal control frameworks, South African SMMEs do not deploy sound systems of internal control; ultimately resulting in their demise. The objective of this study was therefore to propose an internal control framework that can assist South African SMMEs to implement adequate and effective internal control systems to, in turn, fortify their sustainability. This study was non-empirical in nature, exploratory and took on the form of a literature review. Stemming from the research conducted the Sustenance framework was developed as an artefact hypothesis for adoption by South African SMMEs and further empirical testing.

Modern global business environment has experienced a paradigm shift from Multi-polarity to Multilateralism, hence forcing companies in Africa to pay more attention on emerging networks in an endeavor to architect strategies for improved performance. These changes include implementation of enterprise strategies and inter-organization alliances and networks, which allows for healthy competition and enterprise performance in both private and public ventures. However, there exists a marked lack of appreciation of the vital linkages of corporate strategy, networking and corporate performance. This article surveys literature on major efforts undertaken by organizations and nations to establish a relevant conceptual framework and methodology in a detailed view point. A synopsis of related literature and past studies in this area have linked networking with performance but with scantly researched proof on the connections between strategy, partnerships and triumph in organizational performance. The paper concludes that networking is vital for ensuring effective implementation of corporate strategy for higher performance.

The purpose of the study to determine the effect of regulation, collaboration, and financial literacy on the adoption of financial technology for Small and Medium Enterprises. This research was conducted based on a causal design to analyze the relationship between regulatory, collaboration, financial literacy, and adoption of financial technology through hypothesis testing. The research sample involved 95 small and medium-sized businesses in East Java, Indonesia. The sampling method uses purposive sampling with the following criteria: (1) A minimum of 5 employees and a maximum of 99 employees; (2) Businesses use financial technology applications, namely OVO, GoPay, DANA, or LINK; (3) Businesses are carried out in the East Java region. This research uses Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis technique. Results show that regulation has a significant effect on financial literacy. Moreover, collaboration has a significant effect on financial literacy. Additionally, financial literacy has no significant effect on the adoption of financial technology and regulation does not significantly influence the adoption of financial technology. Furthermore, collaboration has a significant effect on the adoption of financial technology. Regulation and collaboration can be used to support increasing financial literacy for small and medium businesses. The higher level of understanding of the regulation and implementation of the collaboration carried out will increase financial literacy and can support the adoption of financial technology for small and medium businesses. This study uses regulatory and collaborative variables that have not been studied much in relation to financial literacy. On the other hand, not many studies have examined the relationship of financial literacy to the adoption of financial technology.

This research aimed to study the influence of competence management on human resources policies, i.e., recruitment, assessment, training, remuneration, and career management. To this end, an empirical study was conducted via a questionnaire among 124 Tunisian companies. We tested the research hypotheses through linear regression analysis. The results confirm that competence management has a positive influence on human resources policies. The present work provides managers with a useful measurement instrument that can be used in examining human resource policies in their companies to upgrade and improve their employees' competencies.