Work experience and evidence of entrepreneurial orientation of South Africa professionals
Date
2018
Authors
Madlala, Duduza
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Abstract
This research explores how work experience influences entrepreneurial behaviour in professionals. The study is mainly focused on engineering and commerce professionals who are employed in various sectors in South Africa. The research is inspired by the observable low total early-stage entrepreneurial activity and employee entrepreneurial activity rates in South Africa, despite empirical research showing that entrepreneurship increases economic growth and company performance in both financial and non-financial terms.
This research conceptualises entrepreneurial behaviour in terms of an entrepreneurial orientation which is a combination of three sub-dimensions: innovativeness, proactiveness and a risk-taking propensity. An index is used to measure the individual’s entrepreneurial orientation. Work experience is characterised by a specialist career path (depth of experience), a generalist career path (breadth of experience), and job design. The specialist path refers to accumulated work experience within a domain where individuals become experts. The generalist path relates to accrued work experience across different fields where individuals become generalists. Job design is the structure and configuration of jobs in the workplace.
The research is exploratory. The data was collected using a survey questionnaire. Eighteen professional disciplines across thirteen industries were sampled. The study achieved 202 valid responses, 61% being male and 39% female. All racial groups in South Africa were sampled.
The findings reveal that the entrepreneurial orientation index is highest and lowest in the 18-24 and 55-64 age groups respectively. The male and female indices were comparable, with females showing a slightly higher index than males. Legal practitioners had the highest entrepreneurial orientation index compared to other professions. General managers showed the lowest index compared to other professional functions. Concerning hypotheses, the results find a negative correlation between the depth of experience in industry and individual entrepreneurial orientation. There was also a negative correlation
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between the depth of experience in a function and individual entrepreneurial orientation. There was no statistically significant relationship between broad experience in industry or function and individual entrepreneurial orientation. Concerning work experience, the variance of individual entrepreneurial orientation is largely explained by job design. The job functions that offer strategic and structural autonomy and those which allow employees to engage in a variety of tasks using a variety of skills are positively correlated to individual entrepreneurial orientation.
The research has theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it reveals that work experience has an influence on the individual’s entrepreneurial orientation. The individual’s entrepreneurial orientation is studied in a developing country context using the measures that are derived from the original EO scale. This provides further academic insights in individual EO research. Practically, the research provides insight on the aspects of work experience that foster an entrepreneurial posture on the organisation’s human resource.
Description
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation
Johannesburg, 2018
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Citation
Madlala,Duduza Mvo (2018) Work experience and evidence of entrepreneurial orientation of South African professionals, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://hdl.handle.net/10539/26286>