Critical success factors of Jewish entrepreneurs : a South African perspective

Abstract

This study aims to explore the critical success factors of Jewish entrepreneurs in South Africa. The primary purpose of this study was to determine what elements contribute to the success of Jewish entrepreneurs and what causes these elements.In doing so, these entrepreneurs were classified into two groups, namely successful and less successful.For the purpose of this study success was measured using two variables:1. Turnover 2. GrowthTurnover - for the purpose of this study an annual turnover of R2 000 000 was used as an indicator to classify the different companies into successful and less successful. If a company turned over more than R 2 000 000 then it fell into the successful category and vice versa.Growth - growth was measured by the increase/decrease of three employees from the companies’ inception until its current state.It was evident that culture plays an extremely important role in this study which was confirmed by the literature. The co-ethnic ties within the Jewish community are extremely strong and are a major contributing factor.Information was gathered via the means of a questionnaire consisting of 28 questions. 50 questionnaires were sent out and 32 were received back. From these 32 responses, the author extracted the relevant information.The author discovered that Jewish people in South Africa are an ethnic minority and was unable to pinpoint an exact reason for the success of Jewish entrepreneurs in South Africa.