A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2017 / The study analysed dimensions of entrepreneurial motivations that drive sustainable entrepreneurship in Gauteng Province and estimated the relationships between these motivations and enterprise performance. Despite the growing field of sustainable entrepreneurship, most of the available literature has been mainly theoretical and qualitative, or has focused on developed countries, and very little has been done in developing countries such as South Africa. This study contributed to addressing this gap. The study was based on quantitative research methods based on a positivist research paradigm to test the conceptual framework. The empirical analysis of these hypotheses was based on primary survey data collected from 91 sustainable entrepreneurs in Gauteng Province. Reliability of the enterprise performance and motivation scales was tested with the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient test and the results were acceptable. The test of the factorability of the scale items into specific factors was based on exploratory factor analysis and the items were found to relate to the respective scales. Multiple regression analysis (both OLS and robust estimations) were used to test the relationships in the conceptual framework. The empirical analyses were done using 2016 SAS Studio University Edition. The Exploratory Factor Analysis results indicated that the motivations of sustainable entrepreneurship in Gauteng Province could be factored into four dimensions: extrinsic motivations, intrinsic motivations, income security and financial independence motivations, and necessity motivations. Multiple regression analysis results revealed that extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are important determinants of enterprise performance. Analysis of the effect of individual and enterprise control factors revealed that owner/manager business management experience; and years of operation of the enterprise and number of full-time employees positively and significantly affected enterprise performance. The study makes a contribution to empirical findings on entrepreneurial motivations for sustainable entrepreneurship and their effects on enterprise performance in a developing country context. The research findings provide evidence of how different dimensions of motivations can affect enterprise performance. Interventions aimed at helping sustainable enterprises perform better and grow can target support in these dimensions as well as improve business management skills and competencies of sustainable entrepreneurs. The research on motivations of sustainable entrepreneurship could be broadened by undertaking a nationwide study to better understand the drivers of entrepreneurial behaviour related to sustainable entrepreneurship across the country. This can also be extended to the regional and continental levels. / MT2017

M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (MTech Busines Administration)--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 2003 / Research has shown that in first world countries, governments that have supported their SMMEs and entrepreneurs have grown and the economies have prospered. The contrary applies in countries that have imposed barriers and restrictions on the development of the SMMEs and entrepreneurs. There is a growing recognition of the importance of fostering SMMEs and entrepreneurial growth in South Africa. The small business sector has been identified as a very important sector and the government of the Western Cape has launched various strategies to improve the plight of the entrepreneur. This paper presents the results of a survey aimed at The target audience consisted of SMMEs within the technical maintenance, chemical cleaners and specialised lubricant products suppliers to the petro-chemical, marine, industrial and power-generating industry in the Western Cape area. The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis. The acquisition of finances at the available financial institutions and the governmental ventures is a difficult and daunting task. The lack of management skills in small ventures is one of the key factors why these ventures fail, as well as the difficulty the businessperson has to contend with when it comes to handling of red tape with the starting up of the venture. These problems were seen to be the main contributing factors to failure of the SMMEs within the Westem Cape. Most of the sampled population supported the postulations that financial acquisition and management skills are barriers to entrepreneurship. The only factor that is contrary to the perception is the subject on red tape which was recommended for further study.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2015 / The global market is a dynamic, competitive environment offering business growth and development, and as such a pull towards international activities exists for firms. Despite this globalisation of markets, international entrepreneurship research has not focussed on the opportunity recognition process in an international context. In addition, the cross-national differences that may exist, and the validation of perspectives to emerging economies, is poorly understood. This research was conducted in South Africa, a country considered to be an emerging economy, with the purpose of ascertaining how local entrepreneurial firms recognise international opportunities, and the main factors influencing this process. This was done using a quantitative statistical research methodology, in the form of a cross-sectional study. An online self-administered survey was utilised for data collection, which was then subjected to the research selection criteria. Prior experiential knowledge and the levels of entrepreneurial orientation, in terms of proactiveness, risk-taking and innovativeness, did not seem to have a significant effect on the international recognition process by South African firms. The effect of organisational learning could not be conclusively drawn. However, international social networks, in relation to the amount of time invested in interacting with contacts, and developing and maintaining contacts, seemed to have a significant effect on this process. This research provides the initial insights into an under-researched area, and contributes to international entrepreneurship research with empirical testing of a sample from South Africa.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation March 2015 / Guth and Ginsberg (1990) stressed that Corporate Entrepreneurship (CE) encompasses two major phenomena: new venture creation within existing organisations and the transformation of on-going organisations through strategic renewal. Zahra (1991, p. 262) observed that Corporate Entrepreneurship may be formal or informal activities aimed at creating new business in established companies through product and process innovations and market developments. The research study was quantitative and data was collected through an online questionnaire, which used closed-ended questionnaires. The questionnaires entail assessing the degree of CE within the telecommunications industry in South Africa. The analysis involved 172 samples of responses to the online questionnaire. The research indicated that that there is a correlation between the dependent variable (entrepreneurial orientation) and the independent variables (innovation, performance, risk taking, and pro-activeness). The findings of the research contribute to the South African telecommunications industry in terms of innovation, regulation, external collaboration and entrepreneurial orientation literature and studies. / MT2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2016 / Although corporate entrepreneurship has been examined extensively and alike the antecedents of corporate entrepreneurship, have become a key interest to researchers. The examination of organisational and cognitive factors that drive corporate entrepreneurship is an area of study still in its infancy. This research report, aimed to bridge this knowledge gap, by evaluating the effect of transformational leadership and entrepreneurial mindset in enhancing levels of corporate entrepreneurship. This cross-sectional, empirical study is composed of 173 independent samples of management employees, taken from within a major African bank, headquartered in South Africa. The research, based on structural equation modelling, demonstrated that an entrepreneurial mindset and transformational leadership is positively related to higher levels of corporate entrepreneurship. Equally, empirical evidence was discovered, using structural equation modelling and regression analytics, that transformational leadership positively influences the behavioural relationship between the entrepreneurial mindset and corporate entrepreneurship. This occurs through the mediation causal relationship of transformational leadership, between both latent variables, and the bidirectional causal effect between transformational leadership and an entrepreneurial mindset. / MT2016

Thesis (MTech (Entrepreneurship))--Peninsula Technikon, Cape Town, 2002 / By international standards South Africa's unemployment rate and poverty levels are extremely high. Currently the unemployment rate is approximately 30% (Business Day, 28 March 2002) or in the region of 40% if those who are not actively seeking work are included. Owing to the high unemployment rate, the informal sector has experienced a growth spurt. Unfortunately, due to a lack of entrepreneurial competencies, South Africa's start-up businesses also have a lower survival rate compared to their international counterparts. Technology Enterprise Centres (TECs) were created by the Technical and Business Initiative in South Africa (TABEISA), a consortium of six South African and British institutions established in 1994. The TEC has developed a mentoring programme and aims to implement it in the near future. As part of a wide assortment of assistance programmes, mentoring is the latest methodology that is being promoted by the private and public sector as a valuable developmental tool for entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study is to examine mentoring as an important resource in extending the business life-cycle of the entrepreneurs of Peninsula Technikon' s TEC. The research reviews the mentoring literature and covers aspects such as the characteristics that mentors should have, the role of mentors, types of mentoring programmes, setting up a mentoring programme, current mentoring programmes, implementing a mentoring programme, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of mentoring. The survey concentrated on identifying the mentoring requirements of the businesses. The findings highlight the need for a mentoring support programme to help entrepreneurs develop faster, therefore smoothing the transition process from one business stage to another. The study concludes by stressing the need for an efficiently run formal mentoring process, coupled with other developmental programmes.

Mineral resources are the most important asset of a mining company and form the basis of its economic value. The communication of mineral resource estimates is essential for investors to make informed decisions. International reporting standards have been developed to improve the governance of mineral resources and to ensure that the information is communicated in such a way that it could be understood by interested stakeholders. In spite of this, many users still do not fully understand its potential impact on shareholder value and investor confidence. The basis of this study was to explore the relationship between mineral resource reporting, shareholder value and investor confidence. This study was exploratory in nature and followed a quantitative research design. It was conducted on data from mining companies listed in Australia, Canada, England and South Africa. The time period selected was after the perceived end of the global financial crisis. Multiple linear regression and independent t-test analyses were employed to explore the relationship between mineral resource reporting, shareholder value and investor confidence. This study found a significant relationship between mineral resource reporting and shareholder value for gold, non-gold and small-cap companies. The results further revealed a significant relationship between mineral resource reporting and investor confidence for large-cap companies. It further confirmed that mineral resource reporting is value relevant and found that the information contained therein is not consistently interpreted when compared to published research. Several new interpretations of mineral resource reporting information were identified as being statistically significant. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

This research seeks to advance knowledge of the current state of entrepreneurship and small businesses in South Africa, and reports on a review of 32 articles and 244 research abstracts in the field. The studies as a whole indicate that entrepreneurs in South Africa require more knowledge in the fields of: Networking in business, Internationalisation of business, Entrepreneurship training. Since the 1990s, research in entrepreneurship has grown in terms of the number of articles published and conference papers presented. In many countries entrepreneurship has also become part of the political agenda as it is perceived as a possible solution to high unemployment rates. In addition, interest in entrepreneurship has heightened during the 2000s, especially in business schools. Much of this interest is driven by student demand for courses in entrepreneurship, either because of genuine interest in the subject, or because students see entrepreneurship education as a useful hedge given uncertain corporate careers. Most of the entrepreneurship research abstracts reviewed for this study focused on race, gender and ethical issues in South Africa. These three research topics focused on: Attitudes and experiences of black women: differ from other racial groups in business with the results indicating that black women were competent and highly-motivated, but lacked communication skills and Western business orientation. Many black women also desired equality although their male counterparts opposed this. Black women also lacked role models and career guidance. Different population groups participate in the economy: reflect regional, income, expenditure, skill, occupational and labour differences, including labour supply and demand. Ethics concerns: include whether it should be taught in the human resources management curricula taught in universities. From the findings it appeared that entrepreneurship research in South Africa is fairly similar to international research contexts. As entrepreneurship and small businesses are diverse and multi-disciplinary, the studies reviewed indicated a wide range of different models, theories, frameworks, and combinations of these. However, the theoretical richness of the studies reviewed was, in many cases, relatively low, and only a few of the studies could be regarded as highly-theoretical. In addition, the presentation of the various theories and models applied was very often inadequately reported. It is also important to note that altogether between 7 and 11 percent of the studies were without any well-argued theoretical framework. Thus, researchers in the field should discuss the theoretical frameworks applied in their empirical analyses, to ensure this will improve the theoretical understanding of the phenomenon. Although this study made use of the mixed-method approach to conduct the research, it is also important to note that, in 12 percent of cases, methodological issues were poorly described. Most of the studies often did not describe the data collection response rate provide sample demographic and firm size details as well as identify the target industry. These details were often missing or loosely defined. The reasons for the selection of a certain research approach were also poorly explained, making many of the research studies deficient or limited methodologically. These omissions present a challenge, not only to authors in the field, but also to reviewers and editors in academic journals, as this impacts on the scientific rigor of published papers. On the basis of published papers reviewed, it seems that, personally-administered data collection works best in South Africa. From the research studies undertaken in South Africa, it is evident that much has been researched in the areas of gender (specifically the role of women in business), entrepreneurship training and ethics in business. It is evident that during the 1980s, no research was conducted in South Africa in the areas of family businesses and entrepreneurship training, while international research focuses on these topics. During the 1990s, no research focused on networking in small businesses, and. during the 2000s, there was a lack of research on internationalisation of businesses as only six articles were published from 2000 until 2011 on these topics. This highlights a need for internationalisation research especially as it is well-documented that the South African economy cannot survive if it does not take cognisance of its international competitors. On the basis of the articles and abstracts reviewed, the current state of knowledge concerning entrepreneurship and small businesses in South Africa was assessed, especially the need for the internationalisation of South African small businesses. Moreover, research studies could also focus on the obstacles encountered in the internationalisation process of South African small businesses.

Everywhere in the world, an increasing number of entrepreneurs are becoming the pillars of economic growth and development. New venture start-ups are a vital contributing factor for any economy as well as to the tourism industry. It creates employment opportunities, involves many stakeholders and contributes to sustainable development. This exploratory research sought to investigate the barriers and constraints facing tourism entrepreneurs. It focuses on the perceptions of tourism entrepreneurs in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Survey research was used to gather data for the study by questionnaires distributed to entrepreneurs in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces. The literature study reviews the history of tourism, the role of the Government and their involvement in tourism. Other role players in tourism are also considered. The structure of tourism in South Africa, functions and initiatives of various role players as well as policy regarding tourism are discussed. The national tourism targets and size are analysed including national and international tourism forecasts. The study investigates opportunities that exist in tourism. Furthermore, it reviews concepts regarding entrepreneurship, small, medium and micro enterprises and the link between entrepreneurship and tourism. Clear problems, barriers and constraints facing tourism entrepreneurs are identified through factor analysis. The three major factors include Government policies and support, the tourism industry’s products and services and perceptions about South Africa. The item analyses that were conducted support the findings of the factor analysis. Possible limitations of the study and further areas for research are identified. Various recommendations are made to guide current and prospective tourism entrepreneurs. The research will not only be of value to entrepreneurs, small, medium and micro enterprises, but also to the tourism industry. Sustainable tourism development in South Africa can only be achieved through recognition that the Government, the public and the private sector, host communities and the natural environment are interdependent stakeholders in a complex tourism domain. No single individual, agency or group can resolve tourism issues by acting alone. The problems, barriers and constraints that tourism entrepreneurs face can only be rectified if all role players in tourism work together to reduce the impact of these problems, barriers and constraints. / Thesis (DCom (Business Management))--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Business Management / unrestricted