Innovative welding technology’s impact on the productivity of small and medium enterprises in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

• Main Author: Albert Makore
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Society for Development and Sustainability (ISDS) 2013-06-01
• Series: International Journal of Development and Sustainability
• Subjects: Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); Standard Industrial Classification Code. (SIC); Oxygen and Acetylene gas welding; Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMA); Metal Inert Gas Welding. (MIG); Tungsten Inert Gas Welding. (TIG)
• Online Access: http://isdsnet.com/ijds-v2n2-22.pdf

This research paper focuses on the evaluation of innovative welding technology’s impact on the productivity of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The paper examines business operational sector and size, technology currently in use, customer/supplier relationships, and technical knowledge levels, skills in use on the shop floor level, training, safety standards implementation and quality control aspects in the SMEs. The companies are evaluated on their use of Oxygen and Acetylene gas welding, Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMA), Metal Inert Gas Welding (MIG) and Tungsten Inert Gas Welding (TIG) for maintenance and productive purposes. Both exploratory and descriptive research designs are applied in this study. A structured survey instrument was administered to seventy five (75) SMEs selected based the researcher’s judgement of companies’ industrial classification. The findings are that technological innovativeness has both positive and negative effects on the commercial success of companies,however management in SMEs do not leverage on the use of innovative welding technology. The findings on the nonsignificance of the influence of technological innovativeness of welding processes can be as a result internal managerial controllable factors and outward uncontrollable environmental factors.