3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Influences of context, motivation, and cognition of small business entrepreneaurs on enterprise performance(2018) Owoseni, Taofeek AdejareThe development of a viable small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) sector has been a major priority in the economic policy agenda of South Africa since 1995. However, there are challenges regarding the viability and performance of these SMMEs. Although several studies have made significant attempts in understanding the factors militating against the growth and performance of SMMEs including individual characteristics and systemic factors, there is no consensus on the major determinants of business performance. However, studies have already identified the methodological gaps. While key factors of motivation have been widely tested, the extant literature has not clearly identified the underlying cognitive factors and the effects of such factors on business performance in an African emerging market context. This study was designed to fill the research gap by testing the multidimensional model of enterprise performance regarding individual characteristics and contextual factors based on social cognitive theory to understand factors influencing business performance among SMMEs in South Africa. This study utilised a cross-sectional research design through a mixed-method primary data collection involving both quantitative and qualitative data. Data were collected in the three metros of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. The quantitative phase involved the collection of data through questionnaires from 312 entrepreneurs at different stages of business. The qualitative phase involved in-depth interviews with 32 entrepreneurs. The quantitative data were analysed with SmartPLS version 3.2.4 and STATA version 13 in line with the objectives. Both descriptive and inferential statistics including partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) were used. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data with ATLAS.ti software. The main findings of the study were that the level of education and managerial experience enhanced enterprise performance. Statistically significant factors of motivation that influence financial performance are need for achievement (0.269, p<0.05), locus of control (-0.292, p<0.05) and risk-taking propensity (0.285, p<0.05). Further, cognitive factors of skills (0.189, p<0.05) and ability (0.160, p<0.05) were found to influence financial performance. Knowledge showed a significant relationship with relative performance (0.236, p<0.05) and satisfaction with performance (0.223, p<0.05). The combined influence of the need for achievement, locus of control, risk-taking propensity, skill and ability on the financial performance of the firm (R2=0.305) recorded the highest behavioural propensity combination. In addition, motivational factors of need for achievement, risk-taking propensity and the cognitive factor of knowledge significantly influenced performance indicators of relative (R2=0.236) and satisfaction with performance (R2=0.339) respectively. Further analysis shows entrepreneurs as being rational and purposive in their risk-taking according to normative socio-cultural, political and economic indicators in the country. There is consistency in the joint influence of some factors of motivation and cognition on different performance indicators within the interaction terms using contexts as moderators. There are indications that limited capacity may impact negatively on the coping capability of entrepreneurs in an unfavourable context leading to a cautious approach to risk-taking. The study concluded that both individual and cognitive factors played significant roles in the prospect of an SMME’s viability and overall performance, and that contexts matter. Overall, this study made significant methodological contributions, both in terms of the analytical approach adopted and the development of new measurement scales for key constructs. Keywords: Motivation, cognition, SMMEs, financial performance and South Africa.Item Organisational preparedness for academic entrepreneurship: a case of a science council and universities in South Africa(2018) Gamata, SiyandaThis paper investigated organisational preparedness for academic entrepreneurship post the promulgation of Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act (IPR-PFRD) in 2008. This study sought to understand whether strategic renewal in universities and research organisations accommodates the mission of academic entrepreneurship. Academic entrepreneurship mostly takes place in an environment that facilitates commercialisation of research. Universities’ first mission is education, followed by research and development. For commercialisation to be successful there has to be a change in the environment, such as a new strategy to create a culture and climate that is conducive for commercialisation. Through academic entrepreneurship, universities and research organisations have a crucial role to play in the South African economy. This research study employed strategic renewal constructs; top management support, time allocation and rewards for academic entrepreneurship and academic entrepreneurship constructs; licences and start-ups to test the relationship between the two variables. The hypothesis was tested by analysing the data that was collected at two universities and a science council. The results suggested a positive relationship between academic entrepreneurship and rewards for academic entrepreneurship and no relationship between top management support and time allocation, even though these have been shown in literature to have an effect on academic entrepreneurship. This study is the first of its kind to use the Corporate Entrepreneurship Assessment Index to test the relationship between organisational preparedness and academic entrepreneurship in South Africa. As such, it advances the body of literature on academic entrepreneurship in South Africa by looking at the environment climate and culture that enables academic entrepreneurship.Item Comparative study of EO in incubated and no-incubated SMME's in South Africa(2018) Marokoana, LeratoSouth Africa is a standout amongst the world with regards to inequality. Small Medium and Micro-Sized Enterprises (SMMEs) are aimed at alleviating the inequality problem through job creation. Proactive individuals such as the unemployed, look for entrepreneurial opportunities as a means of generating income. SMME’s have gained tremendous attention since the dawn of democracy for a number of reasons. The underlying reason is that small businesses are a big driver for any economy. However, their failure rates are very high. It is thus necessary for government and the private sector to work together to ensure the success of start-ups. Incubations globally have been brought into the picture to remedy the appalling failure rates of these enterprises. Business incubators (BI) have succeeded in some part to remedy the failures of these SMME’s by providing a tailored and generic solutions. Studies on entrepreneurial orientation (EO) previously focused on performance. However previous work has failed to address the extent in which incubators affect the (EO) of a small business in relation to growth. The challenges faced in South Africa as a result of these failing SMME’s could be remedied by improving the level of entrepreneurship in the country, the reason the topic justifies research in the first place. A qualitative method was adopted to investigate whether EO and its dimensions can be analysed as a performance variable between incubated and non-incubated companies. 180 respondents completed they questionnaire. The study subsequently inferred that higher levels Pro-activeness in a non-incubated firm leads to growth while higher Risk-taking leads to a decline and Innovativeness had no impact on business growth in non-incubated businesses. Business incubators in South Africa play more of a sustainability role than a growth role for SMME’s.Item Entrepreneurial orientation and corporate social responsibility: a focus on South African firm performance African firm performance(2019) Saini, MwilaEntrepreneurial Orientation incorporates firm-level processes, practices, and decision-making styles reflective of entrepreneurial behavioural involving the combination of innovativeness, risk taking, and proactiveness. CSR is defined, as a holistic set of activities and initiatives that primarily meet the economic, social and environmental triple bottom line needs of relevant stakeholders. The study looked at firms in South Africa participating in CSR projects and initiatives to exploring the relationship between a firm’s level of entrepreneurial orientation (EO), its CSR Activity, management performance and firm business performance. The study applied a quantitative method to analyze the relationship between the Entrepreneurial Orientation and the independent variables of management performance, business performance and CSR among 170 respondents. The empirical findings of the study revealed that EO had a positive effect on CSR activity and business performance indicators. The study finds that entrepreneurs, managers and CSR practitioners can configure CSR as a business tool that can contribute to the competitiveness of an enterprise as well as positively contribute to the developmental agenda of the environments enterprises operate in.Item The role of entrepreneurial self-efficacy in fostering adaptive cognitions among entrepreneurs in Gauteng, South Africa(2019) Slater, AneleSouth Africa is one of the countries with high levels of unemployment, inequality and poverty. The government of the Republic of South Africa has introduced initiatives that target addressing and alleviating such problems. Equally, the government has introduced agencies that will assist entrepreneurs with resources for them to thrive[ CITATION Man12 \l 7177 ]. The National Development Plan 2030 has a mission of alleviating the triple challenges (poverty, unemployment and inequality) through SMEs that will lead to job creation and inclusive growth. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the entrepreneurial self-efficacy dimension (developing new product and market opportunities), metacognitive knowledge and the goal orientation dimensions of adaptive cognitions. This study makes a contribution to the fields of cognitive psychology and entrepreneurship, mainly by identifying, defining and determining the importance and meaning of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and adaptable cognitions’ dimensions while making a distinction between entrepreneurial self-efficacy, metacognitive knowledge and goal orientation. The research paradigm in this report on entrepreneurial self-efficacy and adaptive cognition followed a Modernism approach which is a positivism perspective. This study was a cross-sectional study and data was collected over a period of three months. A targeted sample of 155 SMEs in all sectors included both genders (male and female) in Gauteng, South Africa. The findings of the study showed that entrepreneurial self-efficacy (developing new products and market opportunities) has a positive relationship with adaptive cognitions (goal orientation). Developing new products and market opportunities have emerged as having a significant influence on goal orientation.Item Finding a space between poverty alleviation and high growth – a model for youth enterprise development in South Africa(2018) Smith, Jocelyn ReneeInterventions promoting youth entrepreneurship in South Africa assume there is a central role for entrepreneurship in confronting a range of development challenges. This research interrogates such assumptions and offers an alternate approach towards systemic interventions. A theoretical framework of transformative learning to negotiate challenges of liquid modernity underpins the study. A qualitative case study design, comprising 24 interviews conducted in 2014, explored two enterprise support programmes in Mpumalanga and Gauteng, each comprising a majority of youth under 35. Findings show how assumptions embedded in policies promoting youth entrepreneurship are paradoxical, contributing to their failure. Youth entrepreneurship can contribute strategies to help navigate effects of liquid modernity and develop know-how if perceived as niche activities, achieved with appropriate support. It is not for everybody. Possible niched approaches include structured ones for levels above subsistence, and effectuation for potential high-growth technology start-ups. Recognition that entrepreneurship development must help transform individuals underlies both.Item The influence of work experience on entrepreneurial intentions and opportunity recognition: A focus on postgraduate students in South Africa(2019) Volkersz, RoderickThe objective of this study was to examine the relationships between the human capital variable work experience with opportunity identification and entrepreneurial intention. The study focused on postgraduate students with work experience and sought to establish the existence of links between their work experience and their opportunity recognition process, as well as their work experience and their entrepreneurial intention. The study examined previous literature, which highlighted that students with previous work experience had higher levels of entrepreneurial intention, compared with students without previous work experience. Thus, the study set out to examine the relationship between these constructs, including opportunity recognition in the process. The study was a cross-sectional, quantitative study, which followed a positivist paradigm approach. Primary data was collected from postgraduate students through a self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis included exploratory factor analysis, reliability and validity testing, linear regression and correlational analysis. The study found that work experience was not a significant predictor of opportunity recognition or entrepreneurial intention. The study also highlighted that there were negative relationships between work experience and opportunity recognition, as well as work experience and entrepreneurial intention. The study’s findings are important in that they could help the youth, in particular students, who would like to pursue their own entrepreneurial ventures to understand the knowledge and experience required to successfully develop a new business. Key words: work experience; opportunity recognition; entrepreneurial intention; postgraduate students; South Africa.Item Business incubators and SMMEs performance in South Africa(2018) Tembe, FaithDeveloping SMMEs has become a growing phenomenon within emerging economies. This is because enterprise development is designed to achieve a positive socioeconomic impact by encouraging and investing in entrepreneurship (Peters et al., 2004). Therefore, understanding the performance of business incubators, and how they enable SMMEs to contribute to economic development, is critical for policy makers who have an urgent mandate of growing the South African economy (AlMubaraki & Busler, 2011). This study argues that business development strategies that adopt a blanket approach towards supporting SMMEs operating in different sectors and levels may not be appropriate, given the dynamics of different ventures. This study investigates and compares the effect of sector specific business incubators versus mixed sector business incubators in improving SMME performance to inform policy makers about the state of entrepreneurship of enterprises that engage with incubating organisations. The methodology used in this study was quantitative and cross sectional in nature. One hundred and five responses were received from SMMEs that graduated from a business incubator to assess how their performance has improved over time. The findings revealed that relationships do exist between sector specific business incubators and job creation as well as turnover, but this relationship is not significant. The findings also suggest that there was no significant statistical difference when comparing sector specific to mixed sector business incubators in job creation and turnover. Business incubators should have specific touch points and interventions targeted at different levels of the entrepreneurial process, thus, working towards addressing the diverse needs and challenges pertinent to emerging businesses operating in different industries. The findings which emerged from this study provide a decent base to further explore how sector specific and mixed sector business incubators improve SMME performanceItem Assessing the role of small-scale agro-processing projects as a sustainable livelihood strategy in rural communities in Buffalo City Municipality in Eastern Cape, South Africa(2018) Adom, Richard KwamePost-apartheid South Africa is ranked among many countries in the world with a high degree of income inequality, widespread poverty and high levels of unemployment despite the avalanche of government intervention projects such as agro-processing. Buffalo City Municipality is not immune to this alarming situation. The past two decades have witnessed significant assistance from the Eastern Cape government and Buffalo City Municipality with the intention of promoting an agro-processing strategy coupled with the aim of developing the agriculture sector in the region. The primary aims of agro-processing projects are to increase food production and reduce post harvest losses, thereby reducing food insecurity and poverty. However, these projects in the municipality have not translated into the desired economic growth and development which could cascade into improving the employment and food security in the region. Buffalo City Municipality remains one of the poorest regions in South Africa 21 years after the attainment of democracy. This study, therefore, sought to analyse the role of agro-processing projects about poverty alleviation and sustenance of rural livelihoods. Also, the study identified some of the factors affecting the development of small-scale agro-processing projects in the region. The study collected data using triangulate research methods which consisted of interviews, opened-and close ended questions from the field. Content analysis involving the use of government documents and existing materials from other scholars was relied on as a complementary method to the primary sources in the study. The study concluded that agro-processing projects in the municipality bear relevance in search for sustainable economic growth and development; however, sector departments need to adopt an integrated approach and the value the addition centre concept in promoting the agro-processing business in the municipality.Item The perceived impact of youth entrepreneurship development programmes on entrepreneurial aspirations of the youth in Swaziland(2018) Tfwala, Colisile HloniphileSwaziland is a small, landlocked country in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 79% of its population below the age of 35 years. The country has one of the highest youth unemployment in Africa and very slow economic growth. The Government of Swaziland believes that the above can be corrected by raising the Swazi youth’s entrepreneurial spirit through the use of Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (YEDPs). Research shows that these programmes can only raise the entrepreneurial spirit by raising the youth’s entrepreneurial aspirations, which are: innovation, growth and internationalisation aspirations. Swaziland has had three YEDPs in place for a long time. These YEDPs have never been evaluated to see if they raise the entrepreneurial aspirations or not. This study set out to evaluate these three YEDPs, by conducting a cross-sectional telephonic survey, using a structured adapted questionnaire. The data was collected from 492 of 1980 young people (25%), who have been trained by the three YEDPs since their inception. The data was then analysed. First, descriptive statistics were used to test the data for further statistical analysis. Thereafter non-parametric tests were used. A relationship was explored between the youth entrepreneurship development programmes and the youth entrepreneurial aspirations. The relationship was found to exist between one of the three programmes and entrepreneurial aspirations, as perceived by the youth entrepreneurs. The study then recommended that the YEDPs should improve their training on entrepreneurial aspirations and implementation of the best practices in the YEDP field. In addition, the Swazi Government, working with all stakeholders, which include the private sector, NGOs and the youth itself, needs to ensure that there is collaboration in putting in place an enabling environment. This is the only Swazi study which has evaluated largely unevaluated YEDPs to ascertain their contribution to raising the youth’s entrepreneurial aspirations or their entrepreneurial spirit, so it is important in contributing to the academic body of knowledge, as well as providing a basis for policy formulation in the country and in Sub-Saharan Africa.