South African female entrepreneurs’ intention to remain in business

PhD (Entrepreneurship), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2018Entrepreneurship has become a well-known topic amongst various stakeholders, to the extent that it is considered by international and national researchers and policy formulators as the link to increased and sustained economic development and growth. This is particularly true for developing countries where poverty and high unemployment rates prevail, but also relates to developed economies where entrepreneurship is considered a driver of accelerated economic growth. Today, in the rapidly changing world of business, there is an emergent perspective that entrepreneurship may help unlock stagnating global economic growth. Some experts opine that this is particularly true with respect to females, who constitute more than half the world population, and their role as entrepreneurs. Investment in female entrepreneurship development and support could potentially be one of the most efficient ways to promote sustainable economic growth. Furthermore, investing in entrepreneurship of this type may have an important ripple effect on development, as female entrepreneurs will typically invest more money in the health, education and general well-being of their families and communities than their male counterparts. However, research has consistently demonstrated that men are more likely to a start business and this is also the case in South African. Despite this, some females do become entrepreneurs although many of their businesses remain small and do not have much growth potential. Based on the aforementioned, the primary objective of this study was to determine why female entrepreneurs decide to remain in business rather than returning to full employment or just not working at all. In addition, identifying which factors lead to their intention to remain in business and their business growth ambitions is also investigated. As the study focused on understanding and predicting the factors that motivate female entrepreneurs to remain in business, and determining which factors restrict or promote the growth of their business, a quantitative research approach was deemed most appropriate. This approach also made use of a descriptive, single-sample cross-sectional design which involved the use of a structured questionnaire to collect data from the identified sample. The questionnaire was pre-tested and underwent a pilot test before the final version was sent out to the respondents. It comprised 12 sections containing various constructs on entrepreneurial attitude, intention, growth and other factors. The final two sections requested the respondent’s demographical and business information. A combination of two non-probability sampling techniques was used in the selection of the sample elements as identified from the target population. First, a purposive sampling technique was utilised and second, a convenience sampling technique was employed based on specific participant selection criteria. As to the extent of the study, the research was conducted in South Africa which included respondents from all nine provinces and the final sample amounted to 510 usable questionnaires. Considering the primary and subsequent theoretical and empirical objectives of this study, its underlying philosophical underpinning originates from the radical structuralist or positivist paradigm as it predominantly makes use of empirical data obtained objectively and interpreted in a statistical manner. Reliability of the constructs were insured through the use of Cronbach’s Alpha and nomological validity was established through the use of Pearson’s correlation. The collected data were subsequently analysed and interpreted in a statistical manner making use of canonical correlation, MANOVA and ANOVA. Main findings from this study suggested that South African female entrepreneurs’ do have strong intentions to remain in their businesses, grow them and have a positive attitude towards their businesses. These three variables were further found to be strongly correlated with each other, thus implying that if an entrepreneur has a good attitude towards the business, they may potentially want to remain in it and ultimately grow that business. Findings further suggested that there is an irrefutable relationship between some of the various entrepreneurial factors influencing South African female entrepreneurs’ intentions to remain in business. What was noticeable was that female entrepreneurs’ attitude towards growth factors and their internal motivations, which includes aspects such as independence, work-life balance, perusing a challenge, contribution to society and family security amongst others provide the highest contributions and could thus be regarded as the key predictors of female entrepreneurs’ intention to remain in business. Further findings found that there were indeed significant differences between some of the groups and the various entrepreneurial factors. However, the groups relating to the number of years’ previous work experience, marital status of the entrepreneurs and whether they had children or not, did not result in any significant difference. The most interesting finding from this analysis indicated that internal motivational factors again had the most impact on female entrepreneurs. This study not only contributes in adding to the existing body of knowledge on female entrepreneurship development, but adds valuable new knowledge on why female entrepreneurs decide to remain in business even though several challenges affects them on a regular basis. Determining the factors which contribute most too female entrepreneurs’ intention to remain in business may well assist in future development of policies directed to female empowerment, job creation and business development. These policies could aid in assisting females to remain in business and increase growth potential, which in turn could lead and contribute to improved economic growth. Recommendations to improve the overall level of female development with specific reference to South Africa include the promotion of female entrepreneurial networks and associations, greater media attention on the importance of female entrepreneurship, better implementation of policies and awareness thereof, greater motivation and assistance for business growth, exposing females to the business environment from a young age, greater representation of females in the business world, enhanced finance opportunities and developing a greater understanding of the female entrepreneurship phenomenon.Doctora