Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law & Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2014. / South Africa’s Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) scores are consistently well-below the average of other efficiency-driven economies, as well as for other sub-Saharan countries (Turton and Herrington, 2013). Despite this, a 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report suggests that youth in sub-Saharan Africa demonstrate marked entrepreneurial propensity and potential (Kew, Herrington, Letovsky and Gale, 2013). As such, this thesis seeks to contribute an understanding of how black, youth entrepreneurs located in Johannesburg’s informal economy, seek to achieve legitimacy, and thus ‘become’, through the attainment of an accepted entrepreneurial identity. To this end, the role of hybridity, as a form of entrepreneurial capital, is explored as a potential mechanism. A hypothesised conceptual framework is accordingly evolved which explores the relationships between entrepreneurial identity aspiration, resource attainment, legitimacy, and how these are mediated by hybridity. Survey data gathered from young, black entrepreneurs (n=503) across Johannesburg’s seven administrative districts, using a structured questionnaire, and tested using multiple regression analysis, reveals the following: a direct relationship between entrepreneurial identity aspiration, entrepreneurial resources as well as the attainment of legitimacy is found, suggesting that black youth do indeed aspire to entrepreneurial legitimacy, and thus, seek to ‘become’ accordingly. Moreover, hybrid values are seen to mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial iii identity aspiration and resource attainment such that they accounted for the relationship. This suggests the potential for hybridity as a form of entrepreneurial capital such that values might have been seen to act as a form a catalyst for the attainment of other resources. The study contributes a conceptual framework which provides a theoretical understanding of young, black entrepreneurs in South Africa. More specifically, it suggests a values-mediated relationship between entrepreneurial identity aspiration and the attainment of resources such that youth seek legitimacy accordingly. As such, this study is the first to provide insights into the potential impact that hybrid values might have on shaping an entrepreneurial identity. Additionally, it contributes evidence to suggest that opportunity-driven behaviour motivates young, black entrepreneurs in Johannesburg’s informal economy, beyond necessity motives which are used to stereotypically frame this space. It is recommended that further research be undertaken to test this framework in other contexts in order to gain a finer understanding of hybridity as a potential entrepreneurial resource. This might additionally involve research into the cues that potentially result in a switching between different values.

[pt] A economia mundial tem sofrido intensas mudanças nas últimas décadas. As pequenas e médias empresas ganham destaque na economia e revelam consigo a importância do mercado de capital de risco, que ajuda no desenvolvimento dessas empresas com auxílio financeiro e de conhecimento. Nas fases ainda mais iniciais destacam-se os investidores anjos, pessoas físicas com elevado capital social e financeiro que atuam de forma societária nessas empresas. Este trabalho descreve o advento da Economia Empreendedora, melhor adaptada às mudanças acima, e entra no universo do investidor anjo. Com base numa ampla revisão bibliográfica são descritos o investidor, seu ambiente e sua forma de atuação. Em seguida, pela aplicação de um questionário baseado no conhecimento obtido com a literatura, diversas barreiras nessa identificadas foram submetidas a uma pesquisa que constatou algumas semelhanças com os mercados internacionais e também peculiaridades do mercado brasileiro. Avaliou-se ainda o comportamento dos anjos frente a 17 variáveis políticas e econômicas. Esta parte da pesquisa é útil em especial para a avaliação das atuais políticas de incentivo a esta atividade e ao planejamento de outras. / [en] The World´s economy has changed a lot in the last decades. The small and medium size companies became more important and with them the venture capital, supplier of money and knowledge for these companies, also play an important role. In the first stages the angel investors, providers of social and financial capital for these companies, are more relevant. This work describes the origin of the Entrepreneurial Economy and enters into these investors universe. Based on an extensive bibliographic research it describes the angel investor, its environment and investment process. Latter, with research among Brazilian investors, the barriers fo und on the literature were submitted for their opinions. Many differences and similarities were found between Brazilian and the other markets. There were also evaluated the impact of 17 economic end political conditions, which are considerably important for the evaluation of actual and future political incentives to stimulate entrepreneurship.