Shape up or ship out. Experiences of micro and small business entrepreneurs in the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province of Zimbabwe

Gwendoline Nani,Simon Radipere

doi:10.21511/imfi.13(2-1).2016.05

Gwendoline Nani, Simon Radipere

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.21511/imfi.13(2-1).2016.05

Copy DOI

Abstract

This study was part of a larger study that sought to find out why businesses tended to imitate one another. However, this particular study focused on the challenges faced by micro and small entrepreneurs in the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province in Zimbabwe as a result of business imitations. A case study design was adopted and individual interviews were used as data collecting instruments. Qualitative data were collected from 30 purposively selected micro and small business entrepreneurs. Findings revealed that while micro and small business entrepreneurs used imitation as a business entry strategy, they also faced challenges of imitation by other players. Recommendations are that capacity building workshops be conducted to educate these entrepreneurs on appropriate strategies to remain relevant in the market

Highlights

Between 2000 and 2008, Zimbabwe was hit by an economic meltdown that saw the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrink by more than 54 percent (Thornycroft, 2006; Kwaramba & Makochekanwa, 2009)
The objectives of this study were to find out the challenges that micro and small entrepreneurs have faced as a result of imitating one another’s business ideas and the strategies that they have used to handle the challenges thereof
This study drew the following conclusions: micro and small entrepreneurs who used imitation as an entry strategy in business have had to contend with being imitated by other players too

Summary

Introduction

Between 2000 and 2008, Zimbabwe was hit by an economic meltdown that saw the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrink by more than 54 percent (Thornycroft, 2006; Kwaramba & Makochekanwa, 2009). The depressed economy of Zimbabwe has led many people to engage in various entrepreneurial activities as a way of eking out a living (Dube, 2013; Munhazu, 2014) Most of these businesses are imitations as established by the same researchers in a previous study in 2016 on why micro and small businesses in the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province imitate one another’s business ideas. The environment described by Liberman and Asaba (2004) that of uncertainty is similar to the one currently prevailing in Zimbabwe; thereby creating room for imitations It is of paramount importance at this juncture to operationalize the definition of micro and small enterprises in order to contextualize the study. The aim of this two pronged study was to find out:

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion