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#WomenofKovsies: Prof Neneh honoured in 2019 Emerald Literati Awards

27 August 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Pierce van Heerden

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

Shimlas have a bunch of fighters for a tough week, says Scholtz

2016-03-18

Scrumhalf Zee Mkhabela is one of the senior Shimla players who will have to help his team play three Varsity Cup matches within a week. Photo: Christaan Kotzé/SASPA

Luckily, he has a bunch of fighters in his rugby group to take on the week ahead, which is almost like a USSA rugby week with a lot of matches in a row.

This is what Hendro Scholtz, the Shimla coach, had to say about the upcoming Varsity Cup week, with his team playing three games within a week. His team will play against the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on 21 March 2016, after which they will face Maties in Cape Town on 24 March 2016, and then take on Pukke in the Mother City on 28 March 2016.

The schedule for the Varsity Cup series had to be adapted due to the recent unrest on campuses across South Africa.

According to Scholtz, the versatility of his players and the attitude of the University of the Free State (UFS) rugby team counts in their favour for the week that lies ahead. Several of the Shimla players can play in more than one position.

The Shimlas will travel with a group of 29 players, and will, after their match in the City of Gold, fly directly to Cape Town for their other two league matches.

“We will take six extra players (other than the 23-man squad) with us,” Scholtz said.

“One should select a group for this week that can fight, hang in there, and are able to play another match or two. It is like a USSA week where you need fighters.”

Prop Chase Morison, who was given a red card against the Central University of Technology in Johannesburg on 14 March 2016, wasn't sighted, and is available to play again. The Shimlas are still unbeaten after winning 10-9 against CUT in the FNB Stadium. Flyhalf Pieter-Steyn de Wet, who missed the game against CUT due to an injury, will be able to play against UJ.

The Kovsie Young Guns and Vishuis, the residence representative for the UFS, will also play a couple of matches in the coming week.

Fixtures:

Shimlas: 21 March: Shimlas v UJ (FNB Stadium); 24 March: Maties v Shimlas (Cape Town Stadium); 28 March: Puk v Shimlas (Cape Town Stadium).

Kovsie Young Guns: 19 March: Kovsie Young Guns v UJ (Rand Stadium); 24 March: Puk v Kovsie Young Guns (Rand Stadium).

Vishuis: 24 March: Vishuis tv Harlequins (NMMU, Rand Stadium); 26 March: Mopanie tv Vishuis (Tuks, (Wanderers Rugby Club); 28 March: Oppierif v Vishuis (UJ, FNB Stadium).

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