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, 2016 / The successful commercialisation of high-tech products and services require an appreciation of the social context in which such products and services are introduced. The market for high-tech products and services in emerging markets are drawing increasing involvement of small and medium sized firms that are either developing high-tech products and services, or selling such products and services imported from developed markets.
The need for basic services at the citizen level in emerging markets necessitate firms to adapt the commercialisation strategies and ultimate sales of products and services to address basic needs.
Drawing on the theory of social impact measurement, social enterprise selfefficacy and entrepreneurial orientation, this research aims to assess the way in which emerging market firms – using primarily South African firms in the research sample offering high-tech products and services - have had to adjust commercialisation strategies, so as to take cognisance of the social context specific to the target markets.
Data was collected from a number of high-tech firms operating in, or offering hightech products and services to emerging markets. The data was subsequently analysed based on the social impact measures, social enterprise self-efficacy and entrepreneurial orientation constructs found in literature, to assess the overall social impact of high-tech SMEs in an emerging market, being predominantly South Africa. The researcher introduced a tailor-made variable, Success by drawing on various data items collected from respondents, such as the age of the firm, and changes in recent employment and turnover figures.
The results point to a positive and statistically meaningful relationship between the Success of such firms in the final sample, and the need to demonstrate social impact considerations in the business strategies of such firms offering high-tech products and services in an emerging market. The research outputs align with theory in so far as social impact not being the primary driver of such high-tech firms, but rather a necessary by-product of ensuring sustainability and success, and the need to adapt to the contextual realities present in an emerging market.
This is one of the first studies to test the social impact of high-tech firms in an emerging market, especially in so far as outlining the need to expand commercialisation strategies to incorporate social impact awareness. By applying the theory of self-efficacy to social impact, the findings point to the need for hightech firms in emerging markets to not only take note of social needs, but to adapt firm strategy to integrate social impact considerations into the commercialisation strategies, so as to be successful. In other words, to be successful, such high-tech firms need to both talk-the-talk, and walk-the-walk.
The implications of the research extend to the way high-tech SMEs approach commercialisation in emerging markets, as well as the team composition of such high-tech firms in order to integrate the necessary skills and experienced resources beyond those necessary for technological commercialisation, thereby having also human resources with the necessary skills and experience needed to take cognisance of, and adapt to relevant social impact contexts. / XL2018
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/23677 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Lamprecht, Stephanus Jacobus |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (x, 95 leaves), application/pdf |
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