An assessment of corporate entrepreneurship at a selected innovation hub

Abstract

The aim of this research study was to assess the corporate entrepreneurship in small, medium micro sized enterprises (SMMEs) participating at The Innovation Hub in Tshwane. In a global era characterised by extremely uncertain environments involving strong competition based on innovation, SMMEs are pushed to look for strategies that could assist them to acquire dynamic capacities that are rare and difficult to imitate in order to compete in the global market and achieve high performance. Corporate entrepreneurship is marked by individuals who are creative, innovative and spend time on taking risks. To reinforce these entrepreneurial activities, organisations need to have a culture and climate that cultivate these activities. An SMME with an entrepreneurial orientation is characterised by dimensions such as innovativeness, pro-activeness, risk-taking, competitive aggressiveness and autonomy. Entrepreneurial behaviour among members in the organisation is critical for effective implementation of corporate entrepreneurship. A comprehensive literature review was instrumental in gathering secondary data on corporate entrepreneurship and in the comprehension of its dynamics. This was carried out in chapter 2 where within the literature review entrepreneurship, corporate entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial climate were defined. The dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship and the 13 constructs measuring entrepreneurial climate were discussed, after which the constructs measuring the perceived success of the organisation were presented. Chapter 2 concluded by presenting literature on SMMEs in South Africa highlighting some of the challenges they encounter. A holistic overview of the innovation hub is also presented. Among other things, the history, strategy, vision and mission were discussed. The chapter then ends with the unique casual factors that encouraged the study research. In the attempt to gather primary data, a quantitative research was conducted. The empirical research focused on discussing the results obtained from the corporate entrepreneurship questionnaire. The study population is made up of members and workers in SMMEs who have residency at The Innovation Hub. The demographic information was dealt with first, which was followed by the perception of the respondents with regards to the 13 constructs measuring the entrepreneurial climate and constructs measuring the perceived success of the organisations. To add, the relationships between the demographic variables and the constructs measured by the questionnaire were determined.