IN SEARCH OF BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP: WHY IS THERE A LACK OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY AMONG THE BLACK POPULATION IN SOUTH AFRICA?

Peter Preisendörfer (), Ansgar Bitz and Frans J. Bezuidenhout
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Peter Preisendörfer: Institute of Sociology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Colonel-Kleinmann-Weg 2, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
Ansgar Bitz: Institute of Sociology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Colonel-Kleinmann-Weg 2, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
Frans J. Bezuidenhout: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), South Campus, Main Building 1019, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa

Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), 2012, vol. 17, issue 01, 1-18

Abstract: Compared to other ethnic groups, the black population of South Africa has a low participation rate in entrepreneurship activities. The research question of this article is to explain this empirical fact. Based on twenty-four expert interviews, five patterns of explanation are presented and elaborated: a historical apartheid explanation, a financial resources explanation, a human capital explanation, a traits and mindset explanation and a social capital and network explanation. The historical apartheid explanation cannot be qualified independently of the other explanations as a distinctive explanation of its own. Although missing financial resources and shortages of human capital are the factors most often mentioned by the experts, and probably the most important ones, the remaining two explanations (mindset and social network) also deserve attention. A point argued in the conclusion of this article is that socio-cultural values, and the concept of "social capital" in particular, merit further investigation with respect to the question of why there is a lack of black entrepreneurship in South Africa.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; self-employment; black entrepreneurship; South Africa; apartheid; human capital; personality traits; social capital; entrepreneurial mindset (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1142/S1084946712500069

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