3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item South African small farmers’ and a multi-national corporation’s management’s perceptions of shared value: an exploratory study(2018) Matsebula, PhangisaThe private sector has largely been seen as being solely concerned with obtaining the best possible returns for shareholders above all else, usually not for the benefit of, and sometimes to the detriment of, society. With its origins in corporate social responsibility (CSR), where the private sector would partner up and budget for initiatives that would positively impact society and in-turn garner good will or brownie points from that society. Shared value (SV) has gone further in that the very initiative is engraved into the companies operating model and is not merely an item on the budget line. This case study investigated Porter and Kramer’s SV theory and looked at whether the theory works in the ‘real world’ by asking what the motives are for a Multi-National Corporation (MNC) to engage in SV, what the perceptions are from each side (the farmer & MNC) and lastly, by making recommendations based on the results. The study was an exploratory one utilising both Likert scale type questions and open-ended semi-structured interview sessions with farmers who are part of the ‘go-farming’ programme in The North-West and Kwa-Zulu Natal Provinces and MNC senior managers. The successes and failures of the programme formed the basis for the conclusion and recommendations, and the analysis of the data found that overall the programme has been highly beneficial (symbiotic), especially for the small farmer in the supply chain, with some structural issues that need to be addressed. With the addressing of the existing structural issues, the programme could be scaled and replicated in other parts of the business both locally and internationally. There is no doubt that SV has the potential to unlock serious value for businesses and society, however this depends on the mutual benefit of programme for all parties involved. There is much room for further critical evaluation and the studying of the SV concept in its practical application.Item Perceptions of institutional influence on the scalability of social enterprise: a study of social entrepreneurial practise in the South African food Industry(2017) Larbi, Lee Calvin Jojo TeteThe field of social entrepreneurship is gaining prominence in academic research through its ability to drive innovation and solve complex societal problems. There is a growing interest in this field due to the inherent appeal of entrepreneurship as well as the need to address social inequalities. However, despite the growing interest in social entrepreneurship, there is limited academic research in the subject – especially with regards to the nexus between institutional influence and scale of social enterprise. The majority of social entrepreneurial endeavours in South Africa are found in the food industry. Despite the magnitude of the role that social entrepreneurs play in this industry, research remains limited. Definitional debates with a bias towards conceptual research over empirical research dominates current study on social entrepreneurship – resulting in a lack of consensus among researchers on what social entrepreneurship means. In addition to the above, social entrepreneurship literature has devoted insufficient empirical and theoretical work to the study of scaling of social impact. The majority of the theoretical work has been geared towards the development of practitioner frameworks. The empirical research in the field has also been limited, specifically with regards to understanding the drivers of successful scaling of social entrepreneurial organisations. The majority of these empirical studies have utilised comparative case study approaches. Using institutional theory as a lens, this research aimed to develop a conceptual framework that can be utilised by social entrepreneurs, as well as relevant stakeholders in order to promote the scale of individual social enterprises, particularly in the South African food industry, by developing a “roadmap” to scaling. In addition to the above, the focus was on food security in the South African food industry. It is intended that the conceptual framework can indirectly address the broader societal issues surrounding food security. The above was achieved through a qualitative study. Perceptions of institutional influence on scale as well as start-ups, and drivers of scale were identified through conducting a literature review. A conceptual framework was then established from these constructs. The next step involved conducting semi-structured interviews with 14 social entrepreneurs in the food industry to validate the constructs, and identify the relationships between the constructs. The data was then analysed using the Interpretative Phenomenological approach. The result of the qualitative research is a conceptual research framework, with certain hypotheses. The empirical study identified social innovation as well as the implementation of impactful governmental policies as the most critical institutional influencers of scale. In addition, using SCALERS model as a reference, the empirical study identified lobbying, alliance building, and staffing as drivers to scale. It is noted that that lobbying and alliance building can be linked to government policies as it relates to the collaboration of social enterprises in order to influence policymakers, in addition, staffing relates to the use of volunteers to bring new innovative solutions to the business – these drivers of scale (based on SCALERS model) reinforce the identified institutional influences as critical to scale. If all of the above are present, with all things being equal, then social ventures are more likely to scale – resulting in economic growth and in addition, social issues such as food security will be addressed. From a social entrepreneurship perspective, this study made a substantial contribution in shifting the social entrepreneurship research focus from conceptual, definition biased research towards empirical research that strengthened theoretical research on social entrepreneurship.Item The effect of motivations for ecological responsiveness (ER) on intrapreneurship in South Africa(2017) Christos, CayleyThis research report is based on the motivations for ecological responsiveness as identified by Bansal and Roth (2000). It considers the resultant actions of different motivations for ecological responsiveness (ER), and their ability to moderate the relationship between ER and Intrapreneurship in South Africa. The study adopted a deductive positivist paradigm that assumed an ecocentric approach to management and organisational research. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was employed and the use of both primary data collection from surveys and secondary data collection from websites and annual reports were utilised in order to determine the existence of relationships between the variables of ecological responsiveness and intrapreneurship, and the moderating variables of legitimation, competitiveness and ecological responsibility. Multiple regression analysis was used to statistically test the relationship between the independent variable of ecological responsiveness and the dependent variable of intrapreneurship, as well as the moderating effect of the variables listed above. The population of this study was employees with management/supervisory positions within financial institutions of South Africa. It was required that these organisations were listed and had accessible or publically available annual reports in order for content analysis to be conducted. The final sample consisted of 210 management level employees who were in the majority employed at 3 different large, listed, South African banks. This study found support for hypothesized relationships between ecological responsiveness and intrapreneurship, as well as the positive moderating effect of the motive of ecological responsibility on this relationship. Results pertaining to the moderating effect of legitimation and competitive motives were not supported. In addition, the study found support for the proposed relationship between an organisations ecological qualitative content analysis (QCA) score and the level of ecological responsibility perception in the organisation. The general findings contribute to research in the field of motivations for environmental corporate social responsibility (ECSR) and the resulting actions.Item Faith-based enterprises as a function of social entrepreneurship amongst immigrants living in Yeoville(2017) Tshandu, Palesa VuyolwethuThis research report seeks to explore the organised behaviour of faith-based enterprises as a sub-function of social entrepreneurship. By assessing the moral intricacies which form the building blocks of social enterprises, the research report will use literature based on social entrepreneurship to draw parallels between social enterprises and faith-based ventures to suggest that the core of faith-based ventures (FBVs) is to make a social impact not just through disseminating faith, but acting as social agents. Therefore, this research will attempt to explore the extent of faith-based enterprises as a function of social entrepreneurship, identifying the opportunities and capabilities which are seen to be generated by faith, but that have a social impact that goes beyond the faith-based organisation. Using the qualitative research approach, data was collected from six faith-based entrepreneurs in Yeoville, through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, which were conducted over a period of three months to understand the role of the faith-based venture and its social impact. By conducting a qualitative inquiry to facilitate the meaning-making process, face-to-face interviews were conducted to create a naturalistic understanding of the study, particularly assessing their role and their function in society. Biases, feelings and thoughts were recorded in order to understand the participants’ motives, purposes and the causes that underlie these actions. The findings of the study suggest that the role of FBVs acting as social agents are dependent on the reach of their audience, including the extent of their scalability which they have developed which would provide insights into the degree that the faith-based venture can have social impact. This research will conclude having suggested that the “new-age” faith-based ventures have transitioned from only providing the basic faith, to now mimicking a social enterprise, therefore implying that FBVs are another dimension of social entrepreneurship.Item Identifying social entrepreneurial intent among students in South African universities(2016) Wilton, CatherineSocial entrepreneurship is considered to be a practical way of solving global social challenges. Social entrepreneurs are considered to be change agents with a purpose of making a difference to those in need. Therefore, developing social entrepreneurship and potential social entrepreneurs should be encouraged and celebrated. This study aims to identify potential entrepreneurs in South Africa, by examining the intentions of students at universities in South Africa with regard to establishing a social venture. Empirical evidence suggests that motivational factors influencing behaviour can be summarised as intentions. Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (1991) suggests that intentions are a prerequisite for entrepreneurial behaviour. This study presents an integrated model drawing on existing social intention-based models by Mair and Noboa (2003) and Ayob et al. (2013). The study seeks to establish the significance of relationships between antecedents (empathy, exposure and selfefficacy) and perceived feasibility and desirability and their influence on social entrepreneurial intentions. In order to analyse the hypothesised relationships in the proposed model, Structural Equation Modelling was conducted, based on 171 respondents. The findings of the study indicate that only empathy and exposure as antecedents to perceived feasibility had positive and significant relationships. The relationships between the antecedents of empathy, exposure and self-perceived desirability were insignificant. Surprisingly, the relationship between self-efficacy and perceived feasibility in this study was non-significant. Social entrepreneurship has the potential to solve the challenging social problems currently facing South Africa. Because of this, a study to determine the elements that motivate Social Entrepreneurship Intentions is invaluable. The study should provide some guidance in promoting and encouraging entrepreneurship through various interventions (Malebana, 2014).