Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
The main objective of the study is to measure the relationship between the
practices of corporate entrepreneurship and lean six sigma within the South
African financial sector. Although studies on these management styles are
prevalent in the literature, few of them provide a direct comparison of the
styles. There is a further gap in the literature that addresses the South African
context. The study design included anonymously submitted questionnaire
data on the levels of corporate entrepreneurship, lean six sigma and
organisational performance from employees at South African banks. 248
potential participants were contacted, with a snowball sampling method being
utilised. The final response rate was 41% (102 completed surveys), and this is
the number used in the study. Respondents were employees at South African
banking institutions. Likert scales were used to score the various constructs of
corporate entrepreneurship and lean six sigma. The study looked to
determine if there are statistically significant relationships between these
constructs. In addition, the relationship between organisational performance,
corporate entrepreneurship and lean six sigma was reviewed. The findings
were that there are low-level practices of entrepreneurship and lean six sigma
in the South African financial institutions. The main findings showed that in
general the elements of corporate entrepreneurship had a correlation to the
elements of lean six sigma, as evidenced in four out of the six possible
correlations. This being said; the correlations were weak to slightly moderate
in nature. As for the correlation to organisational performance, four out of the
five potential correlations were statistically significant, all be it either weak or
almost moderate. There was a positive direction to the correlation in all
instances. The main implications of the findings are that corporate
entrepreneurship and lean six sigma, though vastly differentiating in history
and styles can co-exist in a single organisation. There were no instances of
negative correlation as may be expected from the seemingly incomplete and
incompatible nature of the two methods. The recommendation is that these
two strategies can and should be implemented in conjunction, given their
explicit impact on organisational performance. The main limitation of the study
was that a small sample used. Another limitation was the focus on banks and
not the entire financial sector. Future research could target other financial
institutions that are not full service banking operations. The study could
contain more detail to determine if, the size and age of the organisation
impact on the practice of corporate entrepreneurship and lean six sigma.