Abstract:
The study attempted to assess the factors that are affecting business performance of small to medium sized family owned businesses in the Zimbabwean retail sector. The intention of this study was driven by the need to have an understanding of the factors that impact on business performance hence increasing the chances of growth and survival of these businesses. The study examined four factors which included succession planning, innovation, management skills and corporate governance. A theoretical framework was drawn out and a self – administered questionnaire was designed with construct items based on the four factors above. Five hypotheses were developed to find out if these factors had an impact on business performance of small to medium sized family owned businesses in the Zimbabwean retail sector. All the hypotheses were successfully tested using the SPSS software package and all the hypotheses were accepted. For regression analysis results showed that the most significant factors affecting business performance in order of predictive power were innovation, proper management skills, succession planning and corporate governance. Recommendations that were derived from the study were both managerial and policy recommendations which included training and development, cluster formation and adoption of human resources practice to mention a few. The study also highlighted areas of future research following the limitations faced by the current study. One main area for future research being a comparative study amongst different sectors.
