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27 August 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Pierce van Heerden
Prof Brownhilder Neneh
Prof Brownhilder Neneh’s research paper was selected as Highly Commended in the 25th annual Emerald Literati Awards for Excellence.

Customer orientation is a firm strategic capability that enables businesses to identify opportunities that can be exploited to improve their performance outcomes. However, the gap between this capability and actual firm performance is quite wide when it comes to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), possibly because of the limited resources to effectively utilise this capability. So what can be done to ensure that all businesses that have this capability benefit from it?

This is the question which a paper by Prof Brownhilder Neneh seeks to address. The article, titled Customer orientation and SME performance: the role of networking ties, was recently published in the African Journal of Economic and Management Studies. Both the theoretical weight and practical implications of the research led to the journal’s editorial team selecting the article as Highly Commended in the 2019 Emerald Literati Awards. 

Finding solutions to real-world problems 

Not only is Prof Neneh responsible for innovating the way she leads as the Head of the Business Management Department at the University of the Free State (UFS), but her goal is to also constantly impact the way problems are solved in the business world. “Growing up, I was always fascinated about entrepreneurial stories, how people start and grow their businesses. However, I later learned that businesses had a very high failure rate,” she says. 

“As such, given the significant role that entrepreneurship plays in economic growth and addressing socioeconomic issues in our societies, I became motivated to find evidence-based solutions that could be implemented by businesses to enhance their chances of success.”

Research goals

Prof Neneh says her outlook for the future is “to continue producing high-quality research that can make a meaningful impact in advancing both the theory and practice of entrepreneurship”.

Seeing that governments the world over are increasingly depending on entrepreneurship for economic growth and addressing most of the existing socioeconomic issues, evidence-based entrepreneurship is increasingly needed. For Prof Neneh, moving forward means continuing to channel focus in this area.

News Archive

Funding available for Research Master’s and Doctoral studies
2015-11-30

The University of the Free State (UFS) has announced the availability of tuition bursaries for full-time and part-time studies in 2016.

All research master’s and PhD students who register in 2016 will receive funding to cover their tuition fees. South African and international students are eligible to apply.

The total value of the funding is equivalent to the annual tuition fees applicable for students from the SADC region, while the tuition of international students will be covered for 33% of the value of their studies.

Funding is available for two years for master’s students, and three and four years respectively for full-time and part-time PhD students. Renewal of the funding will be dependent on the previous year’s academic progress. To qualify, students must meet all academic requirements of the UFS and must have been provisionally admitted to an academic programme.

The UFS also recently announced that final-year undergraduate students, as well as students from other universities, may apply and pay no application or registration fees for an Honours degree in 2016. Click here for more information about Honours studies in 2016.

The Postgraduate School in the Johannes Brill Building can provide more information about all the scholarships, bursaries as well as offer research training support available for postgraduate studies.

The deadline for applications for Honours bursaries was 30 November 2015. There is no deadline for master’s and PhD bursary applications, as postgraduate students can register for these qualifications throughout the year.

All postgraduate application enquires can be directed to Ms Joy Nogabe on +27(0)51 401 7161 or nogabesj@ufs.ac.za.


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