Browsing by Author "Van der Colff, Simone"

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    “Van Niekerk & Krupp : from general agricultural machinery dealer to specialist manufacturers of agricultural planting machinery, c. 1928-2022”
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-12) Van der Colff, Simone; Ehlers, Anton; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation is the history of a family business over three generations, co-established by an Afrikaans and Jewish family. The development of the business is placed against the framework of general socio-economic, political, and technological trends and the mechanisation of the South African wheat industry from 1928 to 2022. The saying, “change is the only constant in life”, by Heraclitus, characterises the nature of the development of Van Niekerk & Krupp from a small grain dealership and milling business to an agricultural planting machinery specialist over the course of nearly a century. Throughout its history, and apart from its daily operations and challenges, Van Niekerk & Krupp experienced an unlikely partnership between a Jewish and Afrikaans-speaking family, the integration of two more brothers from each family from the first generation, the establishment of a wholly owned subsidiary in the motor industry, the co-ownership and management of a multi-generational business from 1972 to 1993 and finally an official separation between uncle and nephew and the continuation of separate businesses by a new generation. This dissertation attempts to analyse the characteristics and trends of Van Niekerk & Krupp’s development to understand its survival better. It is done by investigating the various developmental phases of Van Niekerk & Krupp against the challenge of survival, the “Buddenbrooks Effect”, and the “Multi-generational Family Business Model”. In the process, the thesis investigates the influence of the founders’ legacy, family capital, decision-making and the embeddedness of the Van Niekerk and Krupp families in the business. This dissertation attempts to contribute to a broader family business historiography while enriching the South African family business historiography pool.