A comparative assessment of the entrepreneurial performance of independent entities (agencies) and core departments of a selected local government institution in South Africa

Abstract

Research was conducted at a selected metropolitan local government organisation in South Africa to determine whether the establishment of independent municipal entities (agencies) to deliver services had a positive effect on the entrepreneurial performance of such entities in relation to traditional departments that had been maintained. The findings indicated that municipal entities (agencies) of the local government organisation portrayed fewer bureaucratic resource management practices (key business dimensions) than core departments, with reference to the prominence of official structures, policies, procedures and standard practices (hard issues). These variances could, however, not be correlated significantly with similar variances in the overall performance or entrepreneurial intensity of the relevant organisational units. The results indicated that the establishment of independent municipal agencies did not have a significant positive effect on the entrepreneurial and overall performance. This unexpected and surprising result seemed to confirm that the adjustment of structures, operating practices and corporatisation alone were insufficient to improve entrepreneurial and overall performance, and that the primary distinguishing factor might in effect be related to entrepreneurial behaviour, competencies and managerial staff’s skills.