The approach by multinationals to engage in knowledge spillovers to advance the entrepreneurial ecosystem in South Africa

Abstract

The multinationals in the South African automotive manufacturing entrepreneurial ecosystem have challenges of growing capabilities and raising the competitiveness level of the local bottom tier suppliers required for deepening the local value chains and to realise increased local content in locally manufactured vehicles. This research aimed to generate insights and to gain an understanding of how the multinationals engage in knowledge spillovers to advance the automotive entrepreneurial ecosystem within the emerging market. As the multinationals facilitate knowledge transfer, there are barriers that exist within the entrepreneurial ecosystem that inhibit the flow of knowledge to the local entrepreneurs. Identifying as well as understanding these challenges was found to be useful, to enable the multinationals to succeed in facilitating knowledge spillovers. In addition, having insights into the created value from the successful knowledge spillovers, may influence multinationals to increase their efforts thereto. This was an explorative qualitative research that sought to identify the outcome, the processes and the barriers of the knowledge spillovers. Research data was collected from 12 semi-structured interviews, with participants from multinationals that had the experience of transferring knowledge to local entrepreneurs across seven multinationals from three auto manufacturing groups namely, the automotive, the heavy-duty as well as the parts and components manufacturers. These groupings were useful to the study as they allowed comparisons of data collected. A narrative analysis approach was used to analyse the qualitative data. A conceptual framework on how the multinationals facilitate the knowledge spillovers is the end-product of the study. The study’s similarities to the extant literature added to the existing body of literature. The identified differences to the extant literature generated a potential new addition to the existing body of theory on a country-specific approach to the knowledge spillovers.