Abstract
M. Comm.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are widely regarded as the innovation
and growth engine of the economy. As such, a large volume of research has been
conducted on the subject area of SMEs. Furthermore, the topic of corporate
entrepreneurship has gained popularity in the past few years. Despite the variety of
literature and studies conducted on the topic of corporate entrepreneurship, very few
studies combine the topics of corporate entrepreneurship within SMEs. This study
aims to investigate the level of corporate entrepreneurship within SMEs operating in
the seafreight transport industry in South Africa. The study furthermore aims to
produce tangible recommendations for improving the level of corporate
entrepreneurship within SMEs.
The study is largely quantitative in nature and was conducted by means of the
corporate entrepreneurship climate instrument (CECI), which is a paper-based
questionnaire testing the six main indicators of corporate entrepreneurship. These
indicators provide an accurate reflection on the currently prevailing level of corporate
entrepreneurship within an organisation. The sample consisted of three SMEs with
47 respondents, who are registered members of the South African Association of
Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), operating within the sea-freight transport industry. The
three sample businesses were selected based on differing attributes such as size
and maturity. The results of the research instrument were complemented by means
of a comprehensive literature review addressing the topic of corporate
entrepreneurship and SMEs. The results of the CECI were thus evaluated against
popular findings in current academic literature on the topic of corporate
entrepreneurship. This was done in order to establish consistency of results in line
with current academic literature on the subject of corporate entrepreneurship. This
approach thus further adds credibility to the results of the study.
The study found that the prevailing level of corporate entrepreneurship can be
classed as moderate within SMEs operating in the sea-freight transport industry, with
areas such as rewards and reinforcement and organisational boundaries showing
positive results. Other areas such as management support, as well as climatespecific
variables showed disappointing levels of corporate entrepreneurship, thus
highlighting areas for improvement. Furthermore, the larger businesses showed
much more promising results than their smaller counterparts did in terms of the
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prevailing level of corporate entrepreneurship. The study further showed that females
and respondents below the age of thirty tended to perceive corporate
entrepreneurship much more positively than other respondents did.
This study thus increases the understanding of corporate entrepreneurship within
SMEs, as well as highlights areas in which SMEs can improve. This study adds value
to the subject of corporate entrepreneurship and has a uniquely South African focus,
which is lacking in current literature.