ETD Collection

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Has files: YesSubject: search.filters.subject.Entrepreneurship--South Africa.

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    Social capital in a digital age: greater access to networks for female entrepreneurs
    (2019) Moetse, Phumzile
    Orientation – It has been suggested that female entrepreneurs are critical to economic growth, yet fail to develop strategic networks to gain access to embedded social capital resources required to provide a competitive edge in business. The difference between male and female social networks is key issue affecting financial resources and ultimately firm performance Motivation for the study – The digital era has created uncertainty by transforming and disrupting the entrepreneurial process, digital technologies allow entrepreneurs to pursue entrepreneurial activities in new ways. This study examines the use of digital technologies to gain social capital resources. Research purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine social capital in the digital age. The manifestation of social capital on online platforms and technologies by female entrepreneurs and access gained to embedded resources necessary to enhance firm performance of women owned firms. Research design, approach and method – Insight was derived through a quantitative study. A survey was administered to owners and founders, a total of 93 female entrepreneurs or female entrepreneurs partnering with males operating in various industries in South Africa participated. Main findings – Aspects examined include bonding and bridging social capital; offline networks; and digital platforms and technologies. The results indicate that female entrepreneurs are using digital platforms and technologies to pursue entrepreneurial activities, needed to promote firm growth. Practical/managerial implications – There is an increasing use of social media, digital platforms and digital technologies. The traditional way of pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities will fundamentally change and will require entrepreneurs find new ways of doing business in the digital era therefore removing some barrier experienced by female entrepreneurs. Contribution/value-add – In exploring social capital and issues experienced by female entrepreneurs in a developing country, this study explores the impact of digitalisation to social capital theory and female entrepreneurship adding to both literature.
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    An investigation and problematisation of the Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions associated with entrepreneurship amongst Blac
    (2018) Mkhwanazi, Bongani Sakhile Earthian
    South Africa is faced with the ‘triple threat’ of unemployment, poverty and inequality (National Planning Commission (NPC), 2012). Since democracy, transformation of the economy has been elusive, to the extent that Black Africans, who are the majority population group, have faced increasing deprivations (Stats SA, 2017; Bastos & Bottan, 2016; Viljoen & Sekhampu, 2013). One way to overcome this problem is entrepreneurship, which is known to be a positive contributor to economic growth and employment. In light of this, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) has created a list of Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions (EFC), which are conditions, factors and institutions that can either encourage or discourage the level of entrepreneurial activity in a country or region (Herrington and Turton, 2012; Herrington., Kew & Kew 2015; Herrington, Kew & Mwanga, 2016/17). This research study investigated the EFCs associated with Entrepreneurial Activity (EA) and sustainability amongst Black Africans, whether the policies that the government has implemented encourage and sustain EA amongst Black Africans, and if differences exist between the EFCs associated with Black-owned enterprises and those identified by GEM. A qualitative research design located in the interpretive paradigm was utilised for methodology and analysis purposes, and in-depth interviews were conducted with established Black African business owners in Johannesburg. This study’s overall findings were similar to the GEM’s findings; however two main findings may be isolated as having uniquely affected the respondents, i.e. race and finance. Race in particular has served as both a curse and a blessing for entrepreneurs; it is one of the first characteristics that are used to make value judgements on the abilities of these entrepreneurs. While government policies and programmes provide assistance on the basis of race and merit in an attempt to even the playing field, the administration of these policies fails entrepreneurs as they are susceptible to corruption. Furthermore, race is particularly complex as it is intertwined in all of the other factors, including finance, which was the second most commonly identified factor in determining access to, and success in, entrepreneurship. It is recommended that the findings of this study be used as a basis for a larger, more in-depth study, which may provide more conclusive results, and the Government is advised to seek the perspectives of entrepreneurs when formulating entrepreneurship-related policies.
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    The nexus between entrepreneurship theory and venture capital financing decisions in South Africa
    (2017) Buluma, Violet S'phiwe
    This explorative study examines the decision making criteria at the screening stage by venture capital firms in South Africa. The study also probes into the decision making criteria on the personality side and whether that has any association with the “big five” characteristics. A threesection questionnaire including both Likert style type (decision making and short version of big five) and nominal questions was sent to venture capital firms. Logistic regression as well as correlation analysis was run on the data. The findings were that individual attributes (entrepreneurs’ characteristics and experience) environment, industry and macro economic environment (characteristics of product and services, characteristics of the market and financial considerations) are all positively related to venture capital firms’ decision to grant finance to an entrepreneur. Findings on the big five characteristics are that only openness to experience, consientiousness and extrarversion were seen as critical considerations by venture capital firms, but not agreeableness and emotional stability characteristics. The study findings are beneficial for entrepreneurs and venture capital firms.
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    Corporate entrepreneurial behaviour, organisational architecture and the entrepreneurial process
    (2017) Coetzee, Riaan
    The prominence of international entrepreneurship in the global economy is of great importance and interest to researchers, entrepreneurs and governments alike. International business and accelerated internationalisation focus on multinational companies as well as entrepreneurial ventures for growth and innovative collaborations across borders in the global environment. The dominant logic for any corporate organisation today is to ensure that it facilitates and fosters an ecosystem that is conducive to innovation. The concept of generating opportunity through creativity and exploiting it with innovation, has proved to be extremely difficult, yet valuable. Innovation and control systems balance each other to ensure a pro-entrepreneurial organisational climate. Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) has received substantial attention in entrepreneurship research, which expands and develops a cumulative body of knowledge. The CE strategy is conceptualised by identifying key principles and components. This research is formulated to investigate the pro-entrepreneurial organisational architecture, as well as the entrepreneurial process and behaviour that individually and collectively encourage entrepreneurial orientation (EO). The relationships between the identified variables and moderators in a bank in the financial sector of South Africa are measured. Stevenson’s (1983) dimensions of entrepreneurial management, defined as a set of opportunity-based constructs, was measured by the EM measurement scale. Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) was assessed with the Miller/Covin- Slevin scale and linked to the entrepreneurial or innovative process of the company. Analysis of 178 samples (n=2229) indicated positive relationships between the variables, confirming theories in literature on the effects or predictions of the elements in the CE strategy on each other. The effect of success or failure in implementation indicated no moderating effect. Recommendations to address in future research are suggested.