The Local Business Service Centre (LBSC) programme launched by thegovernment of the Republic of South Africa in 1995 to provide businessdevelopment services to small business, moreso in the Black communities, did notlive up to expectations. This is according to the responses of a sample of 400small business owners who were researched regarding the effectiveness of theLBSC programme, with a usable questionnaire response rate of 37.8%. Thepurpose of this ex post facto research, conducted in 2006 and 2007, was toevaluate the impact of the LBSC programme on small businesses in the GautengProvince of South Africa. The results will assist in developing strategies for thedelivery of business development services (BDSs) that would meet theexpectations of all stakeholders. This is the challenge facing South Africa.
The better-known service centres include the Small Business DevelopmentCentres in the United States of America and Business Link in the United Kingdomof Great Britain; and international brands like the Enterprise Development Centressponsored by the International Labour Organisation. These centres providebusiness development services such as information, basic management trainingand referrals to more advanced services.
The quantitative research was based on a questionnaire consisting of 42 variablesand one open-ended question. The questionnaire was sent to 400 small businessowners who had received counselling from the LBSCs. The questionnaire wasdeveloped from a literature review on service centres in the developed anddeveloping world; the qualitative studies of Bloch & Daze in 2000 and Urban-Econin 2002 which were conducted nationally, and structured qualitative interviews withformer government officials and existing LBSC owners. The open-ended questionsolicited respondents to specify the type of service centre that would meet theirrequirements. According to the four-point Likert scale used, most respondentsdisagree that the LBSCs were effective, and the rating was just shy of the2.5 median. Three factors emerged from the responses: capacity andprofessionalism; productive relationship and empowering association.
According to a t-test and an analysis of variance (Anova), there was no statisticaldifference between the means and mid-points of the independent variables for thethree factors which indicated disagree, except capacity and professionalismand empowering association in terms of turnover. The independent variablesincluded the age of the SMME owner, the qualifications of the owner, the turnover,the number of employees and the age of the entity.
The researcher has recommended an eight-point SMME development strategy asthe basis to introduce a new generation of service centres to stimulate entrepreneurshipand provide business development services. The recommendedeight-point strategy will also assist to assess new business development servicescentres being introduced by various governments.
© 2009, 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.
Please cite as follows:
Mazwai, ET 2009, The effectiveness of local business service centres in small business development : a study in Gauteng Province, South Africa, DCom thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-04282010-090203/ >
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