Narrow Results

In this paper, we present a mathematical model that incorporates seasonal variations in COVID-19 transmission within South Africa. By fitting the model to real-world data, we estimate its parameters and demonstrate its enhanced accuracy in describing the local infection dynamics. We analyze the basic reproduction number and establish threshold dynamics through theoretical analysis, alongside investigating its numerical relationship with specific parameters. Furthermore, we conduct an optimal control analysis to evaluate the impact of intervention strategies, including quarantine, vaccination and medical treatment, on COVID-19 spread. Our findings emphasize the effectiveness of combining all three interventions in reducing the number of exposed and infected individuals. We identify that implementing these interventions when the infected population is at its lowest yields optimal results.

This study explores gendered lending and marketing practices of start-up capital to women entrepreneurs in South Africa. A multi-method research design, comprising of 6 in-depth interviews with experts, and a survey of 50 women entrepreneurs was adopted using convenience and snowball sampling techniques, respectively. The findings revealed that women entrepreneurs are experiencing gendered discriminatory practices embedded in lending practices used by financial institutions, thereby discouraging them to venture into non-traditional industries. Whilst financial providers may know their products well, many emerging women entrepreneurs in South Africa may find it difficult and costly to obtain information on the thousands of financial products available. Hence, women entrepreneurs resort to taking greater risks than necessary in order to get their businesses off the ground. Educating women on financial matters is extremely important if South Africa is to benefit fully from the untapped entrepreneurial talent that women possess. The study adds voice to the discriminatory lending practices faced by women entrepreneurs in developing countries. Future research could explore the feasibility of establishing a financial institution which caters specifically for the needs of women.

Small businesses are critical to improving economic development in rural areas of South Africa. However, rural entrepreneurs are still faced with challenges and problems which make the success of small businesses, especially in rural areas, uncertain. This paper investigates business environmental, financial and infrastructural factors that influence the success or otherwise of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas. Primary data was collected in five rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) from a sample of 374 business owners/managers, with respondents completing a questionnaire. Access to finance and skills shortages were the factors that most significantly differentiated between more successful and less successful rural businesses in KZN. The majority of respondents indicated that poor roads/transport and access to electricity were major problems.

This article investigates social enterprises in terms of their outcomes. Few studies focus on social entrepreneurs that incorporate an impact assessment of their social enterprises. The article responds to calls where it has been noted that the rapidly expanding social enterprise sector of the economy is evolving without effective evaluation tools that can provide reliable measurement and impact assessment.

The study is conducted in two major cities in South Africa, where social entrepreneurship has unequivocal application, considering that traditional government initiatives are unable to satisfy the entire social deficit, and where challenges to non-profit accountability are acute. Social outcomes are measured in terms of the following dimensions: impact/reach, innovativeness of solution, replicability/expandability and sustainability. A survey is used to collect data from 165 social enterprises and is interpreted using descriptive statistics.

Results on sample characteristics indicate that a diverse group of individuals are involved in a wide range of social enterprise activities. Descriptive statistics across the dimensions reflect above-average mean scores suggesting favourable perceptions of social outcomes.

By providing an elementary measuring tool for social outcomes, researchers can test its validity across different contexts. Social enterprises need to demonstrate solid impact and reach of their outcomes, so they can replicate interventions, build partnerships, and remain sustainable by meeting the needs of groups who have been failed by previous government attempts in social redress.

The article provides a much needed account of the evaluation of social enterprise outcomes in an emerging market context.

Entrepreneurship training programmes and self-employment initiatives for unemployed adults has become a new frontier for poverty reduction in South Africa. This article investigates the types of challenges graduates encounter and opportunities in accessing financial services in order to start-up and grow an own micro-enterprise in South Africa. The main findings reveal that micro-finance institutions are keen to grant loans and credits to graduates from entrepreneurial training centres. However, graduates are not eligible for credits because they fail to meet the security requirements of the lending banks due to their socio-economic situations. The author concludes that if centre managers do not involve micro-finance institutions prior to the training delivery and transition stages of the entrepreneurial training programmes, graduates will continue finding it difficult to access financial services and enter self-employment after obtaining the required entrepreneurship skills.

This article discusses the effectiveness of knowledge sharing (KS) within communities of practice (CoPs) in a financial institution in South Africa. This was achieved through understanding the current state of KS within the CoPs, identifying critical factors for effectively sharing knowledge and thereafter determining reasons for a CoP not being effective in sharing knowledge. The results showed that there is still a long way to go to ensure the effectiveness of KS through CoPs. The CoPs within this financial institution are informal in nature, and therefore not necessarily given the attention that they deserve. Time used for CoPs is not maximised effectively, which reduces the chances of their effectiveness and improvement of productivity. Lack of effective system infrastructure to support KS is also a massive challenge for the CoPs, as is not having virtual Cops to reduce challenges faced in the use of face-to-face CoPs.

In the knowledge-based economy, there is a growing realisation among policy makers that knowledge assets, besides the tangible assets of financial capital and local infrastructure, are the prime creators of wealth. Given the developmental challenges facing South Africa and contemporary global societies, it is clear that Knowledge Management (KM) should not only be seen as a tool for organisational effectiveness, but also as a developmental strategy for nations and societies. As South Africa is developing policies and strategies to overcome its developmental challenges and also to remain competitive in the new global knowledge-based economy, the question that ought to be answered is: To what extend does research on KM address developmental issues in South Africa? This paper adopts a quantitative approach using bibliometric analysis to investigate the extent of research on KM on developmental targets in South Africa. A bibliometric study was conducted using four EBSCO-hosted databases to extract relevant data. It was noted that there has been continued growth in the number of KM publications in South Africa focusing on a variety of subject areas; limited researcher attention has been paid to KM for development (KM4D) and most of the research on KM4D addresses quality education and infrastructure, unemployment and economic growth. The study advocates for the need for academic institutions and research organisations to devote considerable attention to research that enhances the application and integration of the effectiveness of KM in South Africa's development as the country strives to achieve its development goals.

Purpose: This paper investigates knowledge sharing for maternal health in one of the major public referral hospitals in South Africa–the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH). Poor knowledge on maternal health continues to present a global challenge, particularly in developing countries where maternal mortality remains very high. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative study and case study design were conducted to obtain an in-depth understanding of knowledge sharing for maternal health in one of the major public referral hospitals in South Africa. Convenience sampling of 35 pregnant women was undertaken. In-depth face-to-face interviews were employed to the point of saturation. Findings: The findings revealed elementary knowledge sharing for maternal health and several challenges to knowledge sharing. Limitations: This paper focuses on knowledge sharing at the antenatal care unit. Although effective knowledge sharing during antenatal phase may enhance post-natal care, it will have been beneficial to also understand the post-natal perspective of knowledge sharing. Furthermore, issues of representativeness may result from the use of convenience sampling. However, the purpose of this study is not to generalise the results but to provide an in-depth understanding of knowledge sharing for maternal health in a public hospital in South Africa and suggests a dynamic interactive strategy to enhance knowledge sharing that may effectively improve maternal health. Practical implication: Strategies for knowledge sharing for maternal health were established. The paper concluded that increasing knowledge sharing on safe motherhood practices would translate into safer pregnancy outcomes and would subsequently lead to lower maternal mortality. Knowledge sharing is critical in improving maternal health in a developing country like South Africa, where maternal deaths during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium remain a significant public health issue. Goal 3 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed in 2015 seeks to promote good health and well-being and to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to fewer than 70 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030. Knowledge sharing is crucial in reducing the MMR. Originality/value: Studies conducted on knowledge sharing in the health sector have focused mainly on health professionals and the use of technology for mobile health. This paper adds to the body of knowledge-on-knowledge management and healthcare services, with specific focus on knowledge sharing and maternal care. Knowledge sharing for maternal health will reduce pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood-related health risks.

This paper examines the influence of perceived ease of use on personal use of the tax e-filing system in South Africa. Data was collected using in-depth interviews and a structured questionnaire. The findings show that higher levels of perceived ease of use are associated with personal use as well as behavioral intentions to make use of the system. The results also indicate that computer self-efficacy and access to information have positive influence on perceived ease of use. These findings point to the need for equipping people with skills and information that can enable them to make use of the system.

This research was directed at the impact of innovation strategy complexity on the breadth of innovation strategy objectives achievement. The context is automotive component manufacturing in developing economies. Given the risk associated with innovation activity, the question is whether firms can improve their success by adopting a complex market access strategy. The methodology was survey based, utilizing data on the innovation activities of some 530 automotive component manufacturing firms obtained by a questionnaire applied in the Pune region in India, Beijing region in China and in South Africa. Path analysis by structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the data for the hypothesized relationships. It was found that strategic complexity in the larger combined country data set is positively and significantly related to a greater breadth of impact of innovation in terms of the market access strategies implemented. It was also observed that diversity of technology and knowledge sources, and innovation types, play a fundamental role in this relationship. The results for individual countries are different from those of all countries combined and yielded varying conclusions. The SA data set was unfortunately too small to meet the requirements for reliable results on its own, but served to support understanding of the influence of its different environment. The findings support the proposition that a diverse innovation strategy should be developed and executed in a business strategy directed at innovation.

Unlike large firms with management teams, small businesses are usually run by one key person, the owner-entrepreneur, who bears almost all of the risks and makes most of the decisions related to the business. Because the owner-entrepreneur also embodies most of the firm-specific knowledge capital, health of the owner-entrepreneur is an important factor in the production process. Following a cohort of respondents in townships around Durban, South Africa, over a three-year period, we examined the relationship between an individual's physical health and the decision to start a business. Our results suggest respondents who were recent business entrants were in better health than respondents who did not start new businesses. Moreover, respondents without a business at the beginning of the study who later opened businesses during the study interval were significantly more likely to have better baseline health than those respondents who never started a new business. Hence, good health among entrepreneurs seems to be an important prerequisite to small business entry.

Compared to other ethnic groups, the black population of South Africa has a low participation rate in entrepreneurship activities. The research question of this article is to explain this empirical fact. Based on twenty-four expert interviews, five patterns of explanation are presented and elaborated: a historical apartheid explanation, a financial resources explanation, a human capital explanation, a traits and mindset explanation and a social capital and network explanation. The historical apartheid explanation cannot be qualified independently of the other explanations as a distinctive explanation of its own. Although missing financial resources and shortages of human capital are the factors most often mentioned by the experts, and probably the most important ones, the remaining two explanations (mindset and social network) also deserve attention. A point argued in the conclusion of this article is that socio-cultural values, and the concept of "social capital" in particular, merit further investigation with respect to the question of why there is a lack of black entrepreneurship in South Africa.

The economic environment and associated constraints have significant and unequal effects on Small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Constraints have been used, among other growth factors, to understand why some SMEs fail to grow while others foster. However, beyond knowing the effects or constraints, it is important entrepreneurs know how they can avoid constraints. The study provides an important contribution by showing that South-African SMEs that face constraints because of competition, government rules and regulations, financing gaps and corruption, can navigate away from these constraints by going international. The evidence shows a positive moderating effect of internationalization on the relationship between local constraints and SME growth. However, the results also reveal that lack of government support is a significant constraint to growth when SMEs export internationally.

Researchers argue there is a strong case to be made that entrepreneurship is itself a consequence of the adoption and development of institutions that encourage entrepreneurial behavior. Previous research on institutions classified the formal and informal institutions that affect entrepreneurs into regulatory, normative and cognitive categories. This study builds in this direction by investigating how perceptions of these institutional profiles may influence venture innovation performance. Following a survey of ventures in the ICT industry, hypotheses are tested using regression analysis. The results reveal that regulatory and normative institutional dimensions explain a modest, yet significant, amount of variance in venture innovation performance. The results also have important policy implications, where the institutional framework in South Africa could be enhanced by developing a country-specific mix of entrepreneur-friendly regulations and normative institutional conditions.

The scope of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) is broadening as firms embrace CE to survive and succeed in dynamic, uncertain markets. Although scholars have focused on the organizational factors necessary to foster CE, it is important to understand not just what the organizational context must look like, but also to understand how entrepreneurial alertness may facilitate CE activity. Contrary to most studies on CE, this study takes place in a non-Western context, where a survey is used to collect data from 784 respondents at South African firms. Results reveal it is the organizational antecedents of reward and reinforcement, time and resource availability, and flexible organizational boundaries that positively influence CE innovativeness. Additionally, when entrepreneurial alertness is added into the equation, the amount of variance explained in CE innovativeness is increased substantially. These findings highlight the relevance of focusing on firm-based entrepreneurial behavior as opposed to only independent startups in an Africa context.

Effectuation is well suited to broaden our understanding of opportunity recognition because effectual processes are related to recognizing and exploiting opportunities in new markets under conditions of uncertainty. This article investigates the relationship between effectuation and opportunity recognition, while at the same time, accounting for the influence of environmental dynamism and hostility in an African emerging market context — South Africa. In so doing, the paper responds directly to calls for research to emphasize the importance of environmental conditions while placing more attention on quantifying its influences on the opportunity recognition process. Following a survey of 302 enterprises in the renewable energy sector in South Africa, results indicate that entrepreneurs apply effectual principles to recognize and exploit more opportunities while operating in dynamic and hostile surroundings. By explaining the relationships and interactions between effectuation, the environment and opportunity recognition in an African market context, the study provides a more theoretically comprehensive configuration than any of these factors would show in isolation.

Using cross-sectional data from 1148 structured questionnaires, administered in two key commercial hubs of Africa’s largest economies (609 from Lagos in Nigeria and 539 from Johannesburg in South Africa), we examine the volatility of venture firms, and particularly ascertain what life-cycle phases they are likely to transition out of quickly or sluggishly in the entrepreneurship process. Adopting GEM’s concept of entrepreneurship phases — conception, firm’s-birth, persistence, established and renowned phases — we find that the most volatile entrepreneurship phase in Nigeria is the conception phase while the conception and firm’s-birth phases are the most volatile in South Africa. The highest transition rate for start-ups in both countries occurs between the persistent and established phases. Overall, Nigeria’s start-ups have better prospects for progression than South Africa’s, and the transitioning differences between the two countries are attributable to differences in personality traits of the entrepreneurs. Therefore, governments seeking to influence likelihood of success at the more strategic phases of the entrepreneurship process should prioritize early phases while only channeling little of the scarce support funds to later-phases, especially when seeking to scale-up productive capabilities of emerging enterprises, in addition to encouraging personality traits that can compensate for inadequate environmental support for entrepreneurship.

Why does South Africa underperform on benchmarks for nascent entrepreneurship? We use a contextualization framework to evaluate articles on entrepreneurship in South Africa, which appear in seven leading global entrepreneurship journals for the period 1986–2017. The literature is then discussed using a six-dimension contextualization framework. The historical and institutional dimensions of the contextualization framework unveil the path-dependent nature of entrepreneurial choice for Black South Africans. Understanding entrepreneurship in South Africa requires research designs that focus on where and when entrepreneurship developed in the country to render meaningful the why of entrepreneurial choices made by Black South Africans. This study illustrates the idiosyncratic nature of South Africa and its social, political and economic transitions, and how these have affected entrepreneurship development, particularly among previously disadvantaged Black South Africans. The nature of the South African case has broader impact and importance for developing and transitional economies.

The informal sector is increasingly recognized in terms of its entrepreneurial potential. However there is a general lack of empirical research on small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) effectiveness in the informal economy in Africa. Recognizing this research gap, this article investigates entrepreneurial enabling factors in the South African township context to determine their impact on SMME’s performance. Township-based SMMEs in South Africa’s largest province, Gauteng, are surveyed and hypotheses are tested with correlation and regression analyses. Results indicate that access to finance and markets, institutional support, and skill and competency development are all significant predictors of enterprise performance. Empirical investigations in under-researched African contexts are important to highlight differences in enabling factors when compared to western contexts. In South African townships, which are plagued by high inequality, poverty, high unemployment and several other socio-economic challenges, it is an important policy which takes into account the variety of enabling environment factors that impact enterprise performance.

This article examines the extent to which institutions and entrepreneurial alertness influence and interact to improve the venture performance of female entrepreneurs. Having established instrument validity and reliability, hypotheses are tested using multiple regression analyses based on survey data from South African female entrepreneurs. Results reveal that it is the normative and cognitive institutional dimensions, rather than the regulatory dimension, which have an effect on venture performance. Several positive interaction results are also noted between entrepreneurial alertness and the different institutional factors in terms of their effect on performance. Development support agencies should encourage more female entrepreneurship by supporting evidence-based programs designed to foster higher levels of entrepreneurial alertness and provide a mix of institutional conditions that directly support female entrepreneurs. By linking an essential individual-level entrepreneurial factor (alertness) with institutions, the study widens the theoretical reach of these factors to the domain of female entrepreneurship in the South African context.