The effect of social networking platforms on entrepreneurial intention among millennials in Gauteng, South Africa

Abstract

Orientation – The millennial culture has been shaped by the ability to adopt social networking sites rapidly, resulting in these sites gaining over a billion users in the last decade. These sites are easily accessible and inexpensive to use, allowing large and small businesses alike to easily access target markets and other potential stakeholders. Recent research has placed importance on finding new methods to foster entrepreneurial intention. Businesses need to take advantage of the ease with which these markets can be accessed. It is imperative to research these effects on entrepreneurial intention. Motivation for the study – Unemployment and a decline in entrepreneurial intention is a key priority for the South African government. It is important for policy makers to create new methods of ensuring the creation of entrepreneurial intention. Research purpose – The main objective of this research was to analyse the effect of social networking sites on entrepreneurial intention among millennials aged between 23 and 38 in South Africa. Research design, approach, and method – This research followed a quantitative, cross-sectional approach, and took a deductive approach Questionnaires were sent to 222 millennials between the ages of 23 and 38 years, via Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Main findings – This research found that perceived usefulness, perceived trust, and perceived privacy risk had a positive effect on the perceived feasibility of creating an entrepreneurial venture through social networking sites, while perceived ease of use had a negative effect. Practical/managerial implications – The results of this research have practical implications for application developers and policy makers in education.