An investigation of the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on the perceived success of agribusinesses in South Africa

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of an entrepreneurial orientation on the perceived success of agribusinesses in South Africa. Business success, for the purpose of this study, was measured by means of two dependent variables, namely Business development and improvement and Business growth. Structured questionnaires were administered to managers in five of the largest and three smaller agribusinesses in South Africa. In total, 533 usable questionnaires were returned. Construct validity of the measuring instrument was assessed by means of a principal component exploratory factor analysis and by calculating Cronbach alpha coefficients. The results show that the managers in the participating agribusinesses perceived that the entrepreneurial orientation factors of Proactiveness, Risk-taking and Autonomy have a positive influence on their business development and improvement. A positive relationship was also found to exist between the entrepreneurial orientation factors of Proactiveness, Autonomy and Innovativeness and the dependent variable Business growth in the participating businesses. To enhance the entrepreneurial orientation in agribusiness, it is recommended that the word “entrepreneurship” should specifically be included in the vision statement of the business, setting goals and developing strategies for entrepreneurship. The focus of the business then becomes opportunity identification, discovery of new sources of value, and product and process innovation that could lead to greater success