Social structure and tertius iungens across the phases of entrepreneurial activity : a social network analysis of the Johannesburg Jewish community

Abstract

The Jewish community in South Africa is considered to be highly entrepreneurial and has positively impacted national economic growth and employment. Currently, the South African economy is faced with unemployment and low economic growth and requires positive change. The Jewish community is an example of an ethnic group rich in social capital with a well-established social network. Bearing this in mind, it is important to map the social network, understand its structural and behavioural characteristics and learn from it, in order to improve the general South African economy. Social network data within the Johannesburg Jewish community was collected with an electronic survey instrument and analysed in both a social network analysis (SNA) tool and a statistical package. The data contained 107 unique responses, which ultimately led to the development of a network which contained 871 meaningful ties. The network's structural characteristics (degree and betweenness centrality) were computed using the SNA tool and augmented with both the respondent's network orientation and entrepreneurial activity. The study demonstrated that members of the Jewish ethnic network, entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs equally, are likely to connect unconnected people (tertius iungens orientation) as opposed to exploiting their separation for entrepreneurial benefits (tertius gaudens orientation). Moreover, the ability of "central" members to control information flow, by virtue of their position within the network (betweenness centrality), does not differ between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. Lastly, entrepreneurs who are motivated to start or who are planning to start a venture, tend to have a greater number of connections or a higher degree centrality when compared to non-entrepreneurs and established entrepreneurs.