Entrepreneurial intensity: the influence of antecedents to corporate entrepreneurship in firms operating in South Africa
Date
2007-12
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch
Abstract
The turbulent, rapidly changing knowledge economy has forced enterprises to
become more entrepreneurial in order to capitalise on new opportunities and to
create value. Previous research has shown the financial and non-financial benefits of
corporate entrepreneurship (CE), but the implementation and management of CE
remains problematic. Despite heightened awareness and interest by both scholars
and practitioners in studying and better understanding entrepreneurship within large
organisations, CE is still regarded as an emerging field of inquiry. Furthermore,
limited research has thus far been conducted on CE and entrepreneurial intensity
(EI) in the South African context. A review of the CE literature revealed a research
gap that culminated in the following research question: How do the antecedents to
CE influence the entrepreneurial intensity of firms active in e-business operating in
South Africa?
To address the research question stated above a literature review of antecedents to
CE, and entrepreneurial intensity was conducted, and an empirical study was
executed. The literature review emphasised five salient internal antecedents to CE:
management support for CE; autonomy of employees; rewards for CE; time and
resource availability; and flexible organisational boundaries. The external
antecedents which influence CE were identified as munificent, opportunity-rich
environments, and hostile environments filled with threats. Other factors that also
play a role in influencing the level of entrepreneurship in enterprises are the type of
industry, size and age of a company, managerial influence and the role of the
individual in the CE process. The level of entrepreneurship was defined as
entrepreneurial intensity, a function of frequency and degree of entrepreneurship.
To address the research problem, empirical cross-sectional telephone surveys were
conducted in two stages. The sample selected for the study was companies active in
e-business operating in South Africa and aware of innovation practices. Two groups
of companies were identified, namely JSE companies and Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) companies. The key respondent targeted in JSE
companies was the Information Technology (IT) Manager or the Chief Information Office (CIO), while the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Sales Manager was the key
respondent in ICT companies. The population consisted of 715 companies. The
response rate for first stage of the study was 44%, while the response rate was 20%
for the second stage of the study. Measurement instruments were adapted,
developed and revised where necessary to ensure the reliability and validity of the
data. The collected data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
The findings indicated that internal antecedents to CE have a significantly stronger
influence on degree of entrepreneurship than munificent, external factors. This
finding underlines the important role managers can play in providing a supportive
climate for CE. The prominent internal antecedents in this study were management
support for CE, autonomy of employees and rewards for CE. The findings also
emphasised the importance of a positive, munificent business climate, as perceived
by managers inside the organisations. Furthermore, the findings suggested that the
more frequently enterprises act entrepreneurially, the higher their degree of
entrepreneurship should be. Differences in EI, degree of entrepreneurship, internal
and external antecedents were also discernable between JSE and ICT companies,
with ICT companies showing higher levels of entrepreneurship than JSE companies.
Moreover, the findings suggested that the size of a company did not influence EI, but
the age of companies showed a negative relationship with EI, degree of
entrepreneurship and the internal antecedents to CE. It appears that as companies
become older, their internal environments become less supportive of entrepreneurial
behaviour.
The most important contribution of this study is the testing of CE-theories in the
South African context. The managerial implications of the behavioural model tested
in the study are that top and middle management could create a supportive
environment for CE, while munificent environments encourage entrepreneurial
behaviour. Measurement instruments have been developed, which may be used by
managers, consultants and other researchers to measure these phenomena in
future. Furthermore, the findings suggest that there are country differentials with
regard to CE, while opportunities for further research were also identified.
Description
Thesis (PhD (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.
Keywords
Theses -- Business management, Dissertations -- Business management, Entrepreneurship -- South Africa, Electronic commerce -- South Africa -- Management