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Business Management and Innovation: A Critical Analysis of Small Business Success

Received: 7 September 2020     Accepted: 23 September 2020     Published: 12 October 2020
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Abstract

In a management field, success and failure can be interpreted as measures of good or indifferent management, but it may occur for other reasons such as luck. Numerous terms have been used in the literature to describe firm failure, for example: bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, death, deregistering, discontinuance, ceasing to trade, closure, and exit. The overall aim of this research was to develop a clearer understanding of the factors that influence success of Micro Enterprises in Bamenda, as perceived by local Small business managers. The prime motive for conducting this study is to get a comprehensive model relating to the various success factors for small business managers. The mixed methods approach is used to avoid common method bias that could affect the results of this research study. In the first phase, a quantitative approach was employed in the form of a survey questionnaire, in order to identify the critical success factors for Small businesses in the city of Bamenda as perceived by Small business managers and to classify and compare successful and less successful Small businesses with respect to the identified factors. The second phase adopted a qualitative approach to explore how Small business Small business managers see the factors that facilitate business ‘success’ in relation to their experiences in Bamenda. This study has shown that understanding the success of small businesses from the perspective of small business managers is a complex challenge. Findings of the two phases of the study showed that a host of internal as well as external factors, which are usually moderated by other variables, seem to influence business success in Bamenda. However, while many factors are conceptually similar to other studies in different contexts, others are context-based and closely linked to the specific characteristics of the situation in Bamenda. This finding suggests a close relationship with networking and business success. It can be suggested that the ability to develop relationships and to build a method of business that strengthens and manages relationships is a significant factor in Cameroonian business and society in general.

Published in American Journal of Operations Management and Information Systems (Volume 5, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajomis.20200503.15
Page(s) 62-73
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Small Business Growth, Business Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Business Success

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Francis Mbah Takwi. (2020). Business Management and Innovation: A Critical Analysis of Small Business Success. American Journal of Operations Management and Information Systems, 5(3), 62-73. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajomis.20200503.15

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    ACS Style

    Francis Mbah Takwi. Business Management and Innovation: A Critical Analysis of Small Business Success. Am. J. Oper. Manag. Inf. Syst. 2020, 5(3), 62-73. doi: 10.11648/j.ajomis.20200503.15

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    AMA Style

    Francis Mbah Takwi. Business Management and Innovation: A Critical Analysis of Small Business Success. Am J Oper Manag Inf Syst. 2020;5(3):62-73. doi: 10.11648/j.ajomis.20200503.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajomis.20200503.15,
      author = {Francis Mbah Takwi},
      title = {Business Management and Innovation: A Critical Analysis of Small Business Success},
      journal = {American Journal of Operations Management and Information Systems},
      volume = {5},
      number = {3},
      pages = {62-73},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajomis.20200503.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajomis.20200503.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajomis.20200503.15},
      abstract = {In a management field, success and failure can be interpreted as measures of good or indifferent management, but it may occur for other reasons such as luck. Numerous terms have been used in the literature to describe firm failure, for example: bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, death, deregistering, discontinuance, ceasing to trade, closure, and exit. The overall aim of this research was to develop a clearer understanding of the factors that influence success of Micro Enterprises in Bamenda, as perceived by local Small business managers. The prime motive for conducting this study is to get a comprehensive model relating to the various success factors for small business managers. The mixed methods approach is used to avoid common method bias that could affect the results of this research study. In the first phase, a quantitative approach was employed in the form of a survey questionnaire, in order to identify the critical success factors for Small businesses in the city of Bamenda as perceived by Small business managers and to classify and compare successful and less successful Small businesses with respect to the identified factors. The second phase adopted a qualitative approach to explore how Small business Small business managers see the factors that facilitate business ‘success’ in relation to their experiences in Bamenda. This study has shown that understanding the success of small businesses from the perspective of small business managers is a complex challenge. Findings of the two phases of the study showed that a host of internal as well as external factors, which are usually moderated by other variables, seem to influence business success in Bamenda. However, while many factors are conceptually similar to other studies in different contexts, others are context-based and closely linked to the specific characteristics of the situation in Bamenda. This finding suggests a close relationship with networking and business success. It can be suggested that the ability to develop relationships and to build a method of business that strengthens and manages relationships is a significant factor in Cameroonian business and society in general.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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Author Information
  • Faculty of Business Management and Sustainability, Information and Communication Technology University USA, Yaounde, Cameroon

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