Abstract

URBAN, B; BARRERIA, J  and  NKOSI, B T. Linking corporate entrepreneurship and culture to firm performance in the South African ICT sector. JCMAN [online]. 2012, vol.9, n.1, pp.300-323. ISSN 1815-7440.

The ICT sector in South Africa is pivotal to economic development, and innovation as a corporate strategy is a logical response to the presence of industry related environmental conditions, in terms of competitive intensity, technological change and evolving product-market domains. Despite the importance of this sector, little in-depth research regarding corporate entrepreneurship has been undertaken in the ICT industry context. This study contributes to existing literature and extends current knowledge of corporate entrepreneurship by linking it with culture and firm performance. Based on a web-survey, 114 firms in the ICT sector were studied in terms of any evidence of an entrepreneurial orientation and culture, as well as organisational performance which was measured with various growth indicators. The empirical findings emanating from this study show that the entrepreneurship orientation and culture have a significant and positive relationship with higher company performance, adding support to all of the study hypotheses. The study provides guidance to managers and company leaders interested in undertaking intrapreneurial practices and accessing links to firm performance.

Keywords : corporate entrepreneurship; ICT sector; innovation; firm performance.

        · text in English     · English ( pdf )