Aim: The purpose of the study was to determine if owner characteristics (owner’s age, motivation, educational level, skills and experience, hours worked per day and family ownership) had influence on business performance in Zimbabwe. Materials and Methods: Data was obtained from the Finscope national survey population of 1,622 business owners. An Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regression model was used to determine if owner’s character influenced business performance. Findings: The findings indicate that owner’s age, motivation, education level, skills and experience, family ownership and hours worked per day were found to have a significant influence on business performance. The findings do provide some support for both liberal and social feminist theories. As to liberal feminist theory, findings indicate that gender differences in education levels and skills and experience partly explain the differences on business performance. Whilst, social feminist theory is based on the premise that male and female socialisation process is different, these inherent differences like gender roles at work and home between males and females lead to differences in business performance. Conclusions: The major conclusion of this study is that the difference in business performance is explained by factors related to the owner’s age, owner’s educational level, motivational reasons, owner’s skills and experience, hours worked per day and family ownership.
Mandiringana,M.; Simamba, H. and Likando, M. (2022). Owner characteristics as a determinant on business performance. International Journal of Finance and Commerce. Vol. 4(1), pp41-47. www.commercejournals.com Online ISSN: 2664-715X, Print ISSN: 2664-7141