The Impact of Technological Orientation on Small Service Firms’ Business Performance in Botswana

Abstract

The study focused on investigating the impact of technological orientation among small service firms in Botswana. The study was quantitative and Questionnaires for owner managers of small service firms were administered in Gaborone, Francistown, Maun and Selebi-Phikwe for representativeness and generalisability. The survey questionnaires were administered using a drop-pick method on a cross-sectional population based on a sample size of 321 owner managers or informats; using snowball sampling technique on the basis of firms’ subsectors, size, and location. Data were mainly from a range of manufacturing; Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism; Supplies and Services etc. One research hypothesis that Small service firms’ thrive better with innovation, is being tested. The results suggest that: management orientation, technology orientation, market orientation and market dynamics tend to have a significant influence on innovation practices, and finally, innovation practices tend to have a significant influence on business growth performance. This study makes significant contributions. It is believed to be the first empirical research study examining small service firms’ technologial practices and their business growth performance in the emerging Botswana market. It also provides a re-conceptualised model to guide the implementation of technological innovation practices in SMEs in emerging markets. Among the recommendations is a comparative study to investigate the technological orientation of small service firms against Botswana’s neighboring countries’ small service firms. // Paper ID 285