PhD Thesis Focuses on Importance of SMEs

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Management and Entrepreneurship lecturer Dr Ayansola Ayandibu was awarded his doctorate for his thesis titled: Strategic Innovation as a Tool for Improved Performance amongst Small and Micro Businesses.

Ayandibu, who has always been keen on becoming an entrepreneur, is passionate about passing on his entrepreneurial knowledge to his students. This inspired him to pursue his PhD in Leadership Studies.

His research highlights the importance of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and how they drive economic growth and development in South Africa and around the world. His study was supervised by Graduate School of Business and Leadership academic Dr Jennifer Alice Houghton.

‘I pursued a PhD on the improvement of the functioning of SMEs operations because I noticed most of the complaints of small business owners were basically about lack of funds. That prompted me to dig deeper to see if that is actually the main reason why small businesses often fail within five years of start-up, resulting in finding out its the embezzlement of funds by these small business owners that causes them to decline,’ said Ayandibu.

While pursuing his PhD, Ayandibu says his research capabilities grew as he was able to publish a paper in the Journal of Business and Retail Management Research. The journal publishes experiential research that tests, extends or builds business management theories and contributes to retail management practices.

Ayandibu’s paper was titled: External Forces Affecting Small businesses in South Africa. It focused on challenges that harm small businesses, such as government funding and inadequate skilled labour. 

He also published another paper in the Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology titled: Impact of Remittances on Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects, which compares the transfer of funds on development in evolving countries of the world with those in Nigeria.

Ayandibu wants to be a consultant to small business owners and also run his own management consultancy firm.

He aims to continue lecturing and specialise in the fields of Accounting, Economics and Management.

Words by: Sibonelo Shinga

Photograph by: Abhi Indrarajan