Using Blended Technology as a tool to enhance entrepreneur's creativity and innovation within SMMEs

Abstract

The unemployment rate in South Africa was over 34% during the fourth quarter of 2020, leaving the government with many challenges in dealing with high levels of poverty and crime. The government, therefore, targets the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME) sector as an economic empowerment vehicle for previously disadvantaged people. The high unemployment rate might require an increased focus on entrepreneurship. Blended Technology is the thoughtful combination of face-to-face education with access to online learning tools. By implementing the Blended Technology approach in the learning systems of South African SMMEs, the research aims to enhance creativity and innovation within the sector.Hybrid Learning is based on a similar philosophy but Blended Technology is more complex since it is characterised by a fundamental reconceptualisation and restructuring of the teaching and learning dynamics. To design a method for the adoption of Blended Technology learning in SMMEs, a three-pronged approach was used. . It involved 1) a structured literature review, 2) a quantitative questionnaire to individuals in the circle of acquaintances of the researcher and 3) sound recommendations based on the outcomes of the research. and The thoughtful implementation of a blend of online and face-to-face training of entrepreneurs enriches their learning experiences by designing more engaging, interactive, student-centred instructional practices that boost students' motivation and learning outcomes. The distance learning modalities in Blended Technology have proved to be influential in the development of critical skills of entrepreneurship in SMMEs, specifically creativity and innovation. A quantitative research methodology wherein a SurveyMonkey was designed to measure 1) the intent of entrepreneurs in South African SMMEs to adopt Blended Technology in their learning systems, 2) level of comprehension on the nature and advantages of Blended Technology, 3) the suitability of Blended Technology to teach entrepreneurial skills to employees in South African SMMEs and 4) the perceptions of entrepreneurs of the impact of the adoption of Blended Technology on the productivity and working systems of the enterprise. A Snowball sampling technique was chosen to distribute the survey to South African SMMEs. It generates biased samples because respondents who have a significant number of social connections can provide the researcher with a higher proportion of other respondents who have characteristics similar to that of the entrepreneurs in the circle of acquaintances of the

researcher. Nevertheless, Snowball sampling is not negative because it allows the researcher to make asymptotically unbiased estimates from Snowball samples under some conditions. Snowball sampling was chosen because entrepreneurs in SMMEs are hard to reach, and the failure rate of SMMEs in South Africa is high. In the study, the Snowball sampling technique proved to be very effective in obtaining several statistically significant responses. A response rate of 81.6% was realised, which is acceptable in statistical terms (Baruch & Holtom, 2018:1149). This was achieved within a week when the questionnaire was distributed to the researcher's circle of acquaintances. The questionnaire was distributed to managers of the SMMEs. Some of these were also the founders of the SMMEs. The statistical analysis of the data employed descriptive statistics of the constructs and the composite variables, comparative analysis using independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA and correlation analysis between constructs. It showed that 1) there was a strong intent and willingness by entrepreneurs in some South African SMMEs to adopt the Blended Technology approach in their learning systems, 2) entrepreneurs are aware of the enrichment of the product development with creativity and innovation upon adoption of Blended Technology and 3) entrepreneurial skills are improved if the Blended Technology approach is adopted in SMMEs. The following issues were considered in designing a Blended Technology approach in SMMEs: * Guidelines were formulated. * Recommendations were made on how to combine creativity and innovation with entrepreneurial skills. * Employment of the IT platform to collaborate with outside SMMEs through Blended Technology. * Porter's five forces model. The research is limited to samples within the geographical area where the researcher resides. Future research should be conducted to identify the appropriate teaching methods for entrepreneurs in different unique SMMEs over a wider geographical area. The effectiveness of the Blended Technology approach for entrepreneurial skills development in SMMEs can be assessed by analysing and comparing the study results with other SMMEs in South Africa. Further research is also needed to provide guidelines and recommendations for successfully adopting Blended Technology in entrepreneurship education. It was established that the training curriculum should include the following topics:

* Principles of the Blended Technology teaching philosophy * Devising a method to employ Blended Technology in SMMEs. * Upskilling managers. * Customer service. Failure of the SMME during the initial years of operation could partially be avoided by enhancing entrepreneurial capacity, adopting Blended Technology to improve creativity and innovation, establishing networks and financing and investing in R&D and IT