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Faculty of Management Sciences

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Start date: 2021Subject: search.filters.subject.Social entrepreneurship

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    A framework to facilitate social entrepreneurship as a tool for sustainable tourism economies in Bergville, Okhahlamba Municipality
    (2024-03) Mabaso, Simiso Lindokuhle; Hlengwa, Dumsile Cynthia
    This study investigated the role of social entrepreneurship as a tool in fostering sustainable tourism economies in Bergville – Okhahlamba Municipality. Social entrepreneurship (SE) was founded in the 1970s as a social movement to tackle the matters of social unsustainability and injustice rather than profit maximization. SE is viewed as a reactionary innovative reform, and a revolutionary movement aimed at big structural transformations by substituting one or many large social organizations with people leveraging combined expertise and resources to oppose or overturn what they think is socially unviable, unjust and damaging. SE has been applied to tourism in a number of countries globally. While the primary purpose of tourism businesses is to maximize their financial gains, ever shifting global goals, customer demands and stakeholder pressures force tourism businesses commit to meeting social responsibilities as well. Tourism Social Entrepreneurship (TSE) has been hailed for contributing to the preservation of traditional knowledge and practices of indigenous communities; enhancement of environmental sustainability; job creation, poverty reduction, and the overall improvement of the quality of life of especially rural communities. In South Africa, tourism development does not seem to have worked in addressing poverty reduction, because poverty reduction has not been placed at the heart of the tourism agenda and propoor tourism. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm mixing both quantitative and qualitative methods to data collection, analysis and interpretation. The sample was composed of 35 tourism operators found in the area of study, as well as a government representative responsible for tourism in the area. Data were collected using a questionnaire composed of both quantitative and qualitative questions, as well an interview conducted with the government representative. The study found that there was a modest adoption of TSE in the area, and a good understanding of the business model and its potential benefits. The study also discovered that there were numerous challenges that TSEs were facing that could be addressed through better coordination of the actor-networks, government support, and determination of operators to continuously improve themselves and the operations of their businesses.
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    Attitudes towards social entrepreneurship among Enactus students at the Durban University of Technology
    (2023-08) Mngoma, Thula Shirley; Mngomezulu, Bhekithemba Richard
    Background South African universities have taken a keen interest in integrating entrepreneurial education into their curriculum. Entrepreneurship has been defined as the exchange of goods or services to satisfy a need, with the intention of creating wealth. However the emergence of socio-economic imbalances has led to a desperate need for innovative and sustainable solutions. Social entrepreneurship (SE) has become popular in recent years because of its ground-breaking innovations that are distinctively different from traditional business models. By definition, SE is a process undertaken by an individual with the intent to address existing and future socioeconomic issues such as health disparities, environmental neglect and poverty. While SE is less well known within the field of economic development, valuable information can be gathered through the research of what people think of and associate with SE in that context. Methodology A cross-sectional descriptive quantitative research survey design was used to collect data from 34 students from the Enactus team, sampled from the six faculties of the Durban campuses of Durban University of Technology (DUT). Data were collected using a self-administered online survey, adapted from a questionnaire by Luiz and Mariotti (2011). Data from both instruments were analysed using SPSS version 26.0. Results A significant number of respondents 81.1% (n = 34) agreed that there is a likelihood that they would start a social business to assist the upliftment of people in the future. The majority of respondents 90.3%, (n = 37) agreed that DUT does have a programme on SE available to Enactus DUT team members. This result indicates a significantly positive attitude towards SE and helping others (p < .001). Recommendations A comprehensive definition of SE should be taught to students during orientation workshops, upon joining the Enactus team. This will give new members an idea of what the team is involved in and what is expected of them. Career opportunities should be highlighted by stakeholders known by Enactus South Africa during national competitions and other business presentations, for the benefit of team members exiting the programme upon graduation. Conclusion The results of this study indicate that involvement in SE is affected by positive attitudes towards, and knowledge of, SE. Some students are not fully exposed to Enactus campus activities and may miss the opportunity to be involved in SE due to a lack of knowledge on SE and absence of entrepreneurial activities in the curriculum. Steps need to be taken to ensure that all students are made aware of the existence of Enactus on campus and the institution overall should integrate SE into the academic curriculum.
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    Social entrepreneurship as a tool for sustainable development in the townships in KwaZulu-Natal province
    (2023) Akoh, Emmanuel Inalegwu; Lekhanya, Lawrence Mpele
    Globally, social entrepreneurs have been identified as major contributors to solving social problems such as unemployment, poverty and inequality. They can also be considered a catalyst to economic transformation as a result of their significant contribution to a country’s Gross Domestic product (GDP) and have been identified as a crucial part of any country that aspires to achieve sustainable development. In countries, such as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, France and Australia, growth in social value creation attributable to social entrepreneurs has strengthened, indicating any predicated or identified economic, social and environmental challenges may be mitigated or addressed by their inputs. This indicates beyond reasonable doubt that social entrepreneurs have an important role to play in any country and, it can also be argued, more especially in developing countries such as South Africa. The ineffective use and low contribution of this phenomenon to address the many socio-economic challenges affecting South Africa have been a significant concern to the South African government, academies, investors and policy makers, leading to a call for additional support for social entrepreneurship emergence and growth in the country. The National Development Plan (NDP) considers small businesses such as social enterprises a key component of any inclusive growth strategies and envisions by 2030, 90 percent of new jobs will be created by micro, small and medium enterprises. Research on factors affecting social entrepreneurs’ growth and their contribution to sustainable development in the country has seen various extensive studies in this field, nonetheless, a serious research gap remains regarding an in-depth understanding of those characteristics and factors that critically influence social entrepreneurship and improve their contribution to sustainable development. Furthermore, theoretical models of these factors are lacking. The current study, therefore, covers a critical research area with the potential to improve the present state of South African social entrepreneurship, with specific reference to social entrepreneurship within the townships in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The study aimed to identify the critical factors affecting social entrepreneurship as a tool for sustainable development in the KZN townships and to propose a prototype model to improve its effective contribution, since the contribution level currently experienced in the social sector is poor, which is attributed to various significant challenges faced by social entrepreneurs in South Africa. Research was thus conducted in three townships within the KZN Province, employing a quantitative research method, where the study population consisted of 90 social entrepreneurs. A non-probability, convenience sampling technique was adopted, while a closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect the primary data for the study. Inferential and descriptive statistical analysis of the data was undertaken using SPSS (version 27.0) software. The findings of the study indicate several challenges severely affect social entrepreneurs, who are constantly faced with significant barriers that affect their performance, impacting on social entrepreneurs’ innovativeness and creativity that could promote and improve their contribution to sustainable development. The study identified environmental factors to have a significant impact on social entrepreneurs’ contribution to sustainable development, while society’s perception, social networking, social impact measurement and access to financial resources were also identified as catalysts to social entrepreneurs’ performance. Key insights are provided into both the theoretical and practical implications of social entrepreneurs’ contribution to sustainable development. In addition, an extensive range of recommendations is outlined and a theoretical framework proposed for those factors that social entrepreneurs, government officials, and policy makers can understand to help develop remedies for current challenges affecting social entrepreneurs
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    Enabling articulation between higher education and the workplace through public private partnerships in the footwear and the leather sector
    (2021-05) Sibhensana, Bertha; Lortan, Darren Brendan; Maistry, Savathrie
    One of the key challenges facing the South African Post School Education and Training (PSET) system is a lack of learning pathways to allow for access and progression along all the levels of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for a population with diverse educational needs. The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) in partnership with the Durban University of Technology (DUT) conducted a study to investigate enablers and barriers to the articulation of students within and across institutions comprising the PSET system and the workplace. Three articulation scenarios formed the basis of the study, namely developed, emerging and latent scenarios. This study which was drawn from the larger SAQA-DUT research partnership focussed on the latent scenario, one in which articulation has been contemplated but the process was either aborted or never implemented. The aim of the study is to promote social development by building articulation pathways for learning and career development in social entrepreneurship in the Footwear and Leather sector through Public Private Partnerships. These partnerships were established as Centres of Footwear Entrepreneurship (CoFEs), with the intention to provide education and training that produces graduates with the skills required in the footwear industry and footwear entrepreneurs to grow the sector. The main objective of this study was to explore the extent to which CoFEs promote social entrepreneurship and articulation within and across PSET institutions and the workplace for social development. The study was qualitative in nature and adopted the case study method and participatory action research approach. The study sample comprised of representatives from CoFEs, two government departments, CoFE students and the director of the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship (CSE). The research sample was selected purposively because of their relevance to the case that was explored. Primary data was collected through individual interviews and focus group discussions; and secondary data was collected from the Centre of Social Entrepreneurship and a review of government documents related to the establishment and management of CoFEs. Interviews were recorded and later transcribed verbatim for the purpose of analysis. Data was analysed through themes generated from participants’ responses. Findings from the study revealed that CoFEs opened pathways to engage the Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) youth into education and training that promotes further learning and employability. Workers in the Footwear and Leather sector were also given a chance to articulate from the workplace to institutions of education and training. The study identified the following barriers to articulation for students pursuing a career in footwear: inadequate funding for students and programmes; challenges in securing places for experiential learning; limited spaces and sector specific programmes on offer; a lack of trainers with sector specific education; programmes delivered on a full-time basis were not ideal for prospective working students; the industry offers programmes that are not accredited; and unclear Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) processes to engage the uncertified graduates from the industry. A lack of sector specific programmes and inadequate funding for students were highlighted as the key challenges to articulation for students studying at the CoFEs. It was further noted that inadequate student funding had an effect on the success rate of the training programmes. This study explored the extent to which the education and training delivered through CoFEs promoted social entrepreneurship among graduates and found that students indicated that they were not familiar with the term social entrepreneurship and preferred to use the term entrepreneurship in their engagement with the researcher. The study revealed that an entrepreneurship module was part of the footwear programme offered at the University of Technology CoFE, but the students indicated that the module had not been taught to them. This submission was contrary to what was noted by the trainers. The Industry CoFE disclosed that although it is supposed to promote entrepreneurship, the CoFE was currently focussing their training on producing graduates to be employed by the industry as a way to address the skills shortage in the footwear sector. The trainers and representatives of CoFEs revealed that graduates preferred to engage in entrepreneurship after gaining adequate technical, interpersonal and managerial skills to run a successful enterprise. The students shared the same view held by the CoFE personnel. Intrapreneurship was seen as the most ideal form of entrepreneurship that graduates would engage in. Findings from this study reveal that the training offered at CoFEs had not adequately prepared graduates for entrepreneurship. Graduates preferred to work first before engaging in any form of entrepreneurship. Centres of Footwear Entrepreneurship were established through a partnership involving the industry, government and institutions of higher learning. The study noted that a good working relationship between the industry and government was prevalent in establishing CoFEs. The public-private partnership worked well during the planning phase, but challenges surfaced during the implementation phase. These challenges were identified as failure by a government institution to provide the anticipated funding; failure by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to collaborate with the industry in curriculum design; poor dissemination of information among partners and mistrust between the industry and a University of Technology (UoT). Overall, articulation remains a challenge in the Footwear and Leather sector. The CoFE project is at its infancy stage and it is yet to be established how CoFEs will promote the opening of learning pathways that allow for students’ progression to other institutions comprising the PSET system. Articulation from the training centres to the workplace was accomplished as all the graduates from the Industry CoFE were able to secure employment in footwear companies within the KwaZulu-Natal footwear cluster. It is yet to be established whether graduates from the UoT CoFE will manage to transition to the workplace given that there are very few footwear companies in Gauteng province where the UoT CoFE is situated. Centres of Footwear Entrepreneurship have not given graduates adequate entrepreneurial skills to engage in social entrepreneurship. The barriers to articulation and social entrepreneurship outlined in this study indicate that partnerships between government departments, institutions of higher learning and industry need to be strengthened. The study further recommends that articulation and RPL should be institutionalised through setting up an articulation and RPL office at each post school education and training institution. The study developed an education and training framework for articulation and social entrepreneurship within Public Private Partnerships to address some of the challenges in the post school education and training system of South Africa.