Strategic Development for Manufacturing Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Namibia

As a result of the recent world economic and financial crises, international competition and growing requirements from key clients and main suppliers, several manufacturing SMEs experience emergent pressure to innovate and develop their organisations. Despite heightened awareness and interest by both scholars and practitioners in studying and better understanding entrepreneurship and SME development, strategic development for SMEs is still an emerging field of inquiry. Furthermore, limited research has so far been conducted on strategic development for SMEs in the Namibian context. A review of the literature on strategic development revealed a research gap that culminated in the following research question: What is the influence of the education, experience and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of SME owner-managers on the level of strategic development of their firms? An empirical study of 100 Namibian manufacturing SMEs was conducted to answer this research question.