MBA & MM Theses

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Prestart-up activities as a predictor of entrepreneurial success in Zimbabwe.
(2014-08-26) Chikoto, Elias.
ABSTRACT Research conducted in the United States of America and South Africa investigating entrepreneurial networks found that pre-organisations (the active subset of an entrepreneur’s total network) contained structures and processes which paralleled formal organisations. This study replicated and extended the American and South African research within the Zimbabwean context. Thirty eight Zimbabwean entrepreneurs were targeted using snowball method of sampling. Formal interviews were conducted in order to collect data from the entrepreneurs. This data was then used to test three hypotheses using correlation analyses. The research findings showed that none of the variables being tested could predict entrepreneurial success. This was in contrast to South African findings that suggested that size of network and degree of interconnectivity were significant predictors of new venture success.
Early stage venture funding in South Africa
(2014-02-19) Naidoo, Dilin
Entrepreneurship is a key ingredient to reducing unemployment and increasing economic growth. In South Africa, historical data points to an issue with entrepreneurs getting access to early stage venture capital. Venture capitalists usually back numerous ventures with the hope that some of them will produce significant returns while the rest will fail. The data-collection method was qualitative by nature and centred on eight interviews with either portfolio or investment managers at VC funds or divisions operating in South Africa. The data provided by the respondents was analysed and compared to the propositions identified in the literature review and finally conclusions and recommendations were made. While they both disburse funds to new ventures, public and private sector VCs share differing interests and motivations. While private sector VC are driven purely by economics, public sector VC have to additionally help government achieve policy objectives which means that decisions made are sometimes not purely based on rands and cents. In addition, while government is making an effort to grow the VC industry and entrepreneurship in general, most respondents feel that they are not focusing on the right areas. In reality, the list of South African entrepreneurs who are commercialising successful products and services overseas is growing. This country has to stem this tide through creating an environment which incentivises and motivates entrepreneurs. Finally, VCs in South Africa must be commended on adapting their business models to cater for the local environment. VCs are critical in helping to create liquidity in a very risky area of the financial industry. In the interests of growing entrepreneurship in the country, private VCs need to do more to reduce the possible tensions between themselves and the public VCs through transferring knowledge and sharing risk through co-financings for example. The enabling environment for entrepreneurship in South Africa is fractured. Immediate measures need to be taken to harmonise the interactions between iii VCs, entrepreneurs and government in order to improve entrepreneurship. If levels of entrepreneurship increase, the benefits will trickle down to VCs and government as well.
Evaluation of the new venture creation learnership programme offered by the Sector Education Training Authorities in South Africa
(2014-02-19) Naidoo, Denver
“Small, Medium, and Micro-Enterprises (SMMEs) represent an important vehicle to address the challenges of job creation, economic growth, and equity in our country. Throughout the world one finds that SMMEs are playing a critical role in absorbing labour, penetrating new markets and generally expanding economies in creative and innovative ways” (McGrath, 2005; p.6). The study assessed the “New Venture Creation (Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMME)” National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 2 learnership program offered by the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) namely the Services SETA (SSETA) and the Management, Engineering and Related Services (merSETA). The primary purpose of the study is to contribute towards the development of an effective new venture creation training program for entrepreneurs within South Africa (SA). A quantitative approach was therefore best suited to identify the crucial factors affecting the outcome of the above investigation. A 7-point Likert scale was used as the measuring instrument. The captured data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistic methods. The mode, mean, frequencies, standard deviation, Chi-square, and regression analyses were used. The key findings were that more than 90% of new ventures were created across all industry sectors since the completion of the “New Venture Creation (SMME)” learnership programme for the sample population tested. The Return on Investment (ROI) proved to be very attractive with benefits exceeding the cost of the training within a 12-month period. Overall, the research supported the claim that the “New Venture Creation (SMME)” learnership program is adding value to the development of young entrepreneurs in the sectors covered by the study. The program however does have some areas of concern that need attention, and could restrict the future growth of entrepreneurs if attention is not provided in this regard.
Factors affecting the implementation of Corporate Entrepreneurship in a South African Bank
(2014-01-14) Okoko, Marie-Lou Dibwe
The South African economy has undergone significant change over the past two decades, moving from an isolated state that bred inefficiencies through limited economies of scale and a lack of competition to a much more open environment that has helped reduce price pressures and improve productivity. Apart from significant trade liberalisation, the South African government has followed conservative fiscal policies, introduced inflation targeting, undertaken limited privatisation, eliminated capital controls for foreign investors and reduced exchange controls on residents. The South African economy – in line with many other economies – has become increasingly services orientated (Nedbank Business Review, 2011). Furthermore, the South African banking and financial services sector plays a critical role in the realisation of the developmental aspirations of any country; it is a catalyst for economic growth as it creates platforms for citizens to transact for goods and services. Following the aftermath of the most significant financial crisis the world has ever experienced in 2008, one of the insights gained by the South African financial services industry from the crisis is that it needs to take a holistic or system-wide view of the financial sector by considering both the soundness of the institutions within the system and the system as a whole in the process of providing products and services to its customer base. On the other hand, the competition within this industry is high and organisations need to continuously find new ways to adapt to the rapid changes in the business landscape. Corporate Entrepreneurship has therefore never been more important for any organisation operating in this sector. An exploratory or qualitative research methodology was employed based on semi-structured interviews with a non-probability sample of 16 respondents. All respondents were existing employees of Bank X operating at senior to middle iii management level. The respondents were from both the corporate and retail segment of Bank X and both male and female from all race groups. The research showed that although Corporate Entrepreneurship exists in Bank X, its translation from being a strategic aspiration of management into clear measurable goals within the organisation is not clear. In its efforts to engage its workforce, Bank X needs to ensure that its vision and strategic goals are clearly communicated throughout the organisation and each division needs to have clearly defined and measurable goals that link back to the vision and mission set out by executive management of Bank X. Both the literature and research are in agreement that Corporate Entrepreneurship is the way forward for any company operating in the 21st century that aims to remain competitive.
CHALLENGES FACING BLACK FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS IN SOUTH AFRICA
(2014-01-14) Mafoyane, Seapei
Entrepreneurs around the world face numerous challenges in the effort to get their businesses off the ground and become sustainable and self-reliant. The hindrances faced by women around the world as a whole in the quest to run their own businesses are only emphasised by the challenges black women in South Africa face as a group. The literature on female entrepreneurship and the challenges particular to women have mostly focused on females in developing and developed nations; only limited research is available on specific race groups in these nations. This report draws from, among others, international findings on female entrepreneurship, and attempts to identify those specific challenges that black female entrepreneurs face when operating a business in South Africa. This report also gives an account of the impact of these challenges on black female business owners in South Africa as well as some of the social traits that are distinctive to this group. The findings reported on in this paper are based on feedback from the personal interviews conducted with a select group of black female entrepreneurs based in Gauteng, South Africa. This research has uncovered some interesting findings. On the whole, black women in South Africa have joined the global trend of self-employment. The feedback collected indicates that black female entrepreneurs also face the issue of lack of access to start-up capital for their businesses and even funds to aid their cash-flow. On the one hand, some of the women interviewed attribute this difficulty to the stringent measures employed by financial institutions, while others point out that the challenge is more around the type of finance needed. The experience of some of the women is that South African banks still place high reliance on traditional risk rating for business lending, which often depends on collateral as a prerequisite. The end result has been encumbering for the majority of black female entrepreneurs who don’t have access to savings large enough to indemnify their start-up loans. But it’s not all negative. The media offers a reassuring picture of the growing number of acclaimed black female entrepreneurs since the start of South Africa’s iii democracy who can offer mentorship and guidance through evolving business networks. In addition, black women appear to be more entrepreneurially minded now than ever before in the country’s history. Their new challenge is the struggle to balance work life with personal time, as seen with other global female entrepreneurship research. Most insightful is the array of personal, cultural and social issues that black female entrepreneurs face in their other roles as business owners, wives, mothers and daughters in South Africa.
The perceived relationship between the level of uncertainty avoidance and entrepreneurship in South Africa
(2014-01-09) Meiring, Mark
As a country with a high unemployment rate, one of the goals for South Africa is to build the correct environment for jobs to be created. Part of the solution to increase the levels of entrepreneurship within South Africa, is through eradicating the stumbling blocks to entrepreneurial orientation. Uncertainty avoidance, a cultural dimension is one such stumbling block on the road to increased levels of entrepreneurship. The goal of this paper was to propose that strong levels of perceived uncertainty avoidance lead to a decrease in the level of entrepreneurship. An online survey was conducted of 74 respondents across three different demographic levels. The data was interpreted through a correlation matrix and a one-way ANOVA analysis. The results of the survey indicated there is a high level of uncertainty avoidance within the South African context and that this would lead to lower levels of entrepreneurship. It was noted that the level of manager has a lower of uncertainty avoidance than that of entrepreneur. The findings of this research paper will benefit different stakeholders that have an interest in understanding why the levels of entrepreneurship in South Africa are low. It will also go in part towards the understanding of culture and how it needs to evolve to be able to increase the levels of entrepreneurship
Employee choices for participating in corporate entrepreneurship in South Africa
(2014-01-09) Nikolov, Kristo Nikolov
Corporate entrepreneurship is identified as a means of achieving and sustaining long term company competitive advantage. Furthermore, academic literature suggests that corporate entrepreneurship leads to superior or increased company performance. In order to launch and implement corporate entrepreneurship ventures, employers require the participation of skilled, determined and passionate employees. To improve the understanding and further strengthen the theoretical foundations of corporate entrepreneurship incentive design, a conjoint choice analysis was modified and utilised, based on existing academic literature. A survey was carried out on 167 South African corporate employees, examining the effects of risk, reward, exerted effort and perceived probability of venture success as factors that influence employees’ willingness of participation in corporate entrepreneurship ventures. Using regression techniques, conjoint part-worth utilities were calculated, thus determining the effect of these factors. Furthermore, employee demographical characteristics were examined in order to determine whether employees’ gender, past entrepreneurial experience and years’ of work experience have an effect on the venture participation decision. The evidence from the study showed a significant relationship between the factors investigated and the employees’ decision to participate in a corporate venture. Moreover, employees’ past entrepreneurial experience and years of work experience were found to have an effect in the way that different employees perceive various factors pertaining to the participation decision.
Factors influencing social entrepreneurship propensity in South Africa
(2013-10-08) Teise, Heinrich Richardt
Entrepreneurship, which is attracting notable attention in the modern world, has roots that extend back in time to the earliest traders. Interestingly, the phenomenon was only really identified and defined in the 17th and 18th century French economics. Today, the phenomenon has several permutations, one of which, social entrepreneurship, still remains enigmatic in its emergence. Several scholars claim that social entrepreneurship has been present for many years, however, the phenomenon has thus far been poorly articulated from an academic perspective. By definition, social entrepreneurship possesses the mission of addressing social challenges and injustices through economic and commercial means. Given this context, the main purpose of this research was to gain insight into those factors that could influence social entrepreneurship propensity in South Africa. Furthermore, given South Africa’s socio-economic challenges with poverty, unemployment and a widening unequal income distribution, social entrepreneurship bears particular relevance. A quantitative research approach was adopted, whereby data was collected through 249 questionnaire type surveys amongst tertiary business students. All the data was subsequently subjected to factor and multivariate statistical analyses. The findings of the research revealed six factors that could influence social entrepreneurship propensity. These factors were empirically derived and represented literature reasonably well. A particular factor, namely, moral judgement and empathy, upon which social entrepreneurship substantially hinges, showed modest levels present in the research. However, the overall results obtained in this research were positive and the conclusion that the propensity of possible social entrepreneurship engagement exists can be drawn. While this research can be considered as relatively new in South Africa, it does contribute to the body of knowledge in the social entrepreneurship domain. Notwithstanding, this research has also highlighted the importance of further research that social entrepreneurship still requires
Financial Bootstrapping Techniques Used By Unfunded SMEs in South Africa.
(2012-09-10) Meyer, Tshepo
The aim of this study is to investigate the financial bootstrapping techniques used by unfunded SMEs in South Africa. Qualitative research was conducted to look at the challenges that entrepreneurs face in their attempt to secure funding from financial institutions and to explore the bootstrapping techniques they used to start their businesses. The research does not only consider entrepreneurs who had applied for funding but also those who made the choice not to apply for funding. The reasons they made this choice are also examined. Fifteen interviews were conducted with existing entrepreneurs in Gauteng. The sample was a mix of entrepreneurs who had applied for funding and those who had opted to start their businesses without the help of external finance. The interviewees and the literature cited access to finance as a major obstacle that entrepreneurs face. Some of the reasons for this included: most entrepreneurs had little or no collateral; the entrepreneurs were too risky due to opacity problems; and the financial institutions‟ requirements were not met. The bootstrapping technique used by each interviewee was explored and similarities and differences were highlighted. The interviewees who took part in this study used a wide range of techniques which included using their own savings, taking odd jobs or working part time, using their homes as offices and sharing resources. Many of these methods were supported by the literature derived from studies conducted in Sweden and the USA.
THE FACTORS THAT SUPPORT AND IMPEDE ACADEMIC ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2011-06-09) Roberts, Michelle
Academic entrepreneurship in biotechnology is a potential source of economic growth and human development for South Africa. The research undertaken here sought to investigate the factors that support or impede such entrepreneurs in South Africa. This research work is a qualitative study aimed at eliciting the perspectives and insights of academic scientists and other key stakeholders in the biotechnology sphere. Twenty-two participants from academia, government and the private sector were interviewed using a structured research tool. The results suggest that a large number of factors currently act as impediments to the academic entrepreneur while only a few are supportive. It is therefore logical to conclude that the challenge for the academic entrepreneur in biotechnology will involve strategising to remove or neutralise these barriers to profitable development. The key to unlocking the potential of academic entrepreneurship is the development of a solid relationship platform between different stakeholders. When such a platform is in place, factors identified as impediments can more easily be solved. The primary factors supporting academic entrepreneurship in biotechnology are the strategy followed by government and the extent of integration of the South African researchers into the global research network. Key factors that appear not to be supportive include the contrasting cognition and behaviour of academic entrepreneurs versus typical entrepreneurs; financial barriers to commercialisation; business skills, knowledge, experience and institutional support; societal factors; the compilation and internal dynamics of an entrepreneurial team; existing incentives to venture into academic entrepreneurship; university leadership; collaboration between government, academia and industry and lack of an effective strategy for internationalisation by academic entrepreneurs in biotechnology

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