Discovering the entrepreneurial endowment of the youth

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dc.contributor.author Bignotti, Alex
dc.contributor.author Le Roux, Ingrid
dc.date.accessioned 2018-07-12T13:03:28Z
dc.date.available 2018-07-12T13:03:28Z
dc.date.issued 2018
dc.description.abstract PURPOSE : Entrepreneurship is considered as a possible solution to youth unemployment, and the number of initiatives fostering youth entrepreneurship has multiplied accordingly, also in Africa. However, the effectiveness of such initiatives also lies in whether young people display personality and contextual dimensions conducive to starting and running businesses. The purpose of this paper is to examine the composition of young South Africans’ “entrepreneurial endowment”, represented by personality traits and contextual variables commonly associated with entrepreneurship. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : This paper surveyed secondary students using a questionnaire constructed from validated measurement instruments, obtaining 827 valid responses. It employed exploratory factor analysis to investigate the composition of respondents’ entrepreneurial endowment. It also compared respondents’ entrepreneurial endowment across demographic variables by means of t-tests and ANOVA. FINDINGS : The results reveal the existence of an entrepreneurial endowment composed of: need for achievement, locus of control, community support, two role models sub-constructs and two family support sub-constructs. Significant differences from the perspective of gender, cultural background and entrepreneurship education also emerged. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : The findings confirm that young South Africans have the entrepreneurial endowment needed to be the recipients of entrepreneurship support and highlight relevant differences across demographic variables. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : From a theoretical perspective, this paper unveils the structure of young South Africans’ entrepreneurial endowment, composed of four unique dimensions not found in previous research. The insights gained from comparing entrepreneurial endowment results across different groups offer practical implications. en_ZA
dc.description.department Business Management en_ZA
dc.description.librarian hj2018 en_ZA
dc.description.uri https://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/ajems en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Alex Bignotti, Ingrid le Roux, (2018) "Discovering the entrepreneurial endowment of the youth", African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Vol. 9 Issue: 1, pp.14-33, https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-02-2016-0020. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 2040-0705
dc.identifier.other 10.1108/AJEMS-02-2016-0020
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/65429
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher Emerald en_ZA
dc.rights This article is © Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here https://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/ajems. Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Publishing Limited. en_ZA
dc.subject Youth entrepreneurship en_ZA
dc.subject Secondary students en_ZA
dc.subject Entrepreneurial endowment en_ZA
dc.subject Contextual variables en_ZA
dc.subject Personality traits en_ZA
dc.subject South Africa (SA) en_ZA
dc.title Discovering the entrepreneurial endowment of the youth en_ZA
dc.type Postprint Article en_ZA


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