Abstract: “This study examines the relationship between managerial competencies of manager/owners and the performance of emerging internet firms in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State region, South Africa. Despite the growing body of literature on the impact of specific entrepreneurial traits of managers/owners on the performance of small firms in developed economies, little is known about the contribution of managerial competencies of managers/owners of emerging internet firms to the success of these firms in emerging African economies. Since the Global Entrepreneurial Monitor South Africa Reports (2010, 2012, 2013) attribute the failure of most emerging businesses (i.e. in their first three years of existence) to the “managerial competency problem,” an investigation into the effects of managerial competencies on the performance of small emerging internet businesses is critical to locating the strategic levers that potentially optimise the growth and sustainability of these”

Keywords: management competencies, emerging internet businesses, firm performance, human capital abilities, organisational environment