Original Research

Small business owner-managers’ perceptions of entrepreneurship in the emfuleni district

Stephan P van der Merwe, G De Swardt
South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences | Vol 11, No 4 | a270 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/sajems.v11i4.270 | © 2011 Stephan P van der Merwe, G De Swardt | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 12 August 2011 | Published: 23 August 2011

About the author(s)

Stephan P van der Merwe, Potchefstroom Business School, South Africa
G De Swardt, Potchefstroom Business School

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Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to analyse small business owner-managers’ perceptions of entrepreneurship and their motives to start their businesses in the Emfuleni district in South Africa. A total of 307 useable questionnaires were gathered and utilised for the statistical analysis. There were three statements that small business owner-managers perceived to be most applicable to them, i.e. entrepreneurs work longer hours and harder than managers in large companies; money is the most important start-up ingredient; and entrepreneurs experience a great deal of stress and as a consequence pay a high price of their health. With regard to the entrepreneurial motives, an Oblimin oblique rotation was performed on the principal components of the exploratory factor analysis. Two factors with eigenvalues greater than one were extracted describing the theoretical dimensions of the entrepreneurial motive and the non-entrepreneurial motive. The owner-managers indicated that the entrepreneurial motives, to have more satisfaction in work, to be independent, and to use own creative skills, were the most important motives for them venturing into entrepreneurship. No practically significant relationship could be found between the extracted factor, the entrepreneurial motive, and the demographical variables in this study. Practical recommendations are offered to entrepreneurs, the government and business educators.

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Crossref Citations

1. The Impact of Entrepreneurial Competencies on Household Food Security Among Smallholder Farmers in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
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Ecology of Food and Nutrition  vol: 57  issue: 2  first page: 71  year: 2018  
doi: 10.1080/03670244.2017.1416361