Assessment of the internal state of the SA public sector (local government) to implement corporate entrepreneurship
Date
2015
Authors
Nkhumishe, Mmapoulo Lindah
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Abstract
The 21st century is characterised by fast-paced changes because of global competition, innovation
and development. However, changes are also enhanced by stronger demands made to organisations
and the public sector by labour and society at large. For organisations to remain relevant and
sustainable, they have to move beyond business as usual and incorporate into their strategies an
element of entrepreneurship, something that was previously only represented by emerging
businesses. The public sector is not immune to these changes and, therefore, is also expected to
evolve from its previous ‘old systems’ orientation and better serve the needs of citizens. Many
organisations are starting to implement corporate entrepreneurship, a management approach that
incorporates the mobility, innovation and development thinking of an entrepreneur into the
management structures that were common in large organisations and to some extent the public
sector. Corporate entrepreneurship has proven to improve organisational and financial performance
of organisations, thereby creating competitive advantage for those who implement it. The purpose
of this study is to conduct a descriptive research that will assess whether the internal factors such as
organisational structure, culture and rewards enhance or inhibit corporate entrepreneurship in
municipalities and their influence on service delivery. This study is significant in that previous
research studies concentrated on the private sector and not much research was conducted in the
public sector. The study tests the propositions and hypotheses linked to the following constructs:
organisational structure, organisational culture, rewards and entrepreneurial orientation. Given that
an assessment was envisaged as an end product, the research was conducted from a positivist
approach and therefore the quantitative research methodology was employed. The sample
population comprised municipal managers and the sampling frame was middle managers. The
purposive fit sampling technique was utilised as this group of managers serve as a link between top
management and lower level employees. The research instrument that was used is the questionnaire
survey which was adapted from Morris and Covin (1989), and Kuratko and Hornsby (2013). The
data was analysed through the use of multivariate regression analysis and correlation techniques.
The results of the study indicate that the concept of corporate entrepreneurship is present and can be
applied in the local government as it is the norm in the private sector.
Description
Thesis (M.M. (Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2015.