Purpose: Scholars researching entrepreneurship argue that the distinct characteristics of social entrepreneurs, together with the particular category of opportunities they pursue, invite us to further understand social entrepreneurship (SE) as a distinct field of investigation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate opportunity recognition behaviour of social entrepreneurs and closely related unique attributes of empathy, moral judgement (MRJ) and self-efficacy, in an emerging market African context. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was administered to social entrepreneurs across two of the largest provinces in South Africa, namely Cape Town and Gauteng. Hypotheses were statistically tested using correlational analysis and hierarchical regression with mediation effects. Findings: Results reveal that social entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) plays a significant mediating effect in the relationship between MRJ and social opportunity recognition. Moreover, perceived MRJ and social ESE act as important determinants of increased social opportunity recognition. Originality/value: This study has brought to attention the relevance of opportunity recognition to social entrepreneurs, while recognising their distinctive features in terms of empathy and MRJ. While self-efficacy and opportunity recognition are relatively well established in the traditional entrepreneurship literature, this study extends the reach of these variables into the SE domain.

Small business failure is one of the biggest challenges faced by developing countries, and business incubators have been touted as a solution to reducing the failure rate of these small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thus, the number of business incubators has escalated worldwide, including South Africa. Consequently, significant time has been devoted to researching business incubators and their role in SME success. However, the effectiveness of these incubators is still in question, thus a study is being conducted to determine how effective business incubators are in reducing the failure rate of SMEs.The findings show that there are some improvements in SMEs that have been incubated or supported, but not enough to make a dent on the failure rate at the country level, as the failure rate has stubbornly remained the same. One of the concerning key findings is that there is a misalignment between the goals of business incubators (BIs) and the SMEs’ needs. SMEs are looking for access to finance and access to markets, while BIs are offering office space and other support services. BI and SME goals need to be more aligned if we are to effectively enhance small business development interventions and reduce current failure rates. More empirical research is still needed to measure and quantify the effectiveness of BIs to SME failure rates, as no research has attempted to link a business incubator to both the success of individual SMEs and the country’s SME failure rate.

Entrepreneurship ecosystems have increased in popularity to foster more entrepreneurial activity and, hence, spurring economic growth and employment creation. To explore the state of the City of Johannesburg’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and identify the gaps and weaknesses that cause the ecosystem not to function optimally. This is through the lens of the challenges and needs of entrepreneurs in the city This research was a propagation of this phenomenon within the context of Africa and focusing more specifically on the City of Johannesburg in South Africa. This was a cross-sectional, quantitative study with a sample of 1099 entrepreneurs. Data analysis included aggregating and analysing the data through descriptive statistics, simple observation, comparison, and pattern recognition. The study’s findings showed a map of the City of Johannesburg’s entrepreneurship ecosystem’s issues and how entrepreneurs across different regions are not affected differently by the geographic region. The key challenges were access to markets, equipment, and suppliers, and the critical needs identified were investors, suppliers, and entrepreneurship education. After mapping the challenges and needs of entrepreneurs to the ecosystem framework, it was evident that the three entrepreneurship ecosystem domains which represent the most significant barrier for entrepreneurs in the City of Johannesburg were access to markets, finance, and human capital. It is also found that the spatial divide effect in the city lowers access to markets for entrepreneurs. The study recommends that COJ need to support entrepreneurs in a more structured way taking an integrated approach, so support is not fragmented as it is evident that all is linked within the ecosystem and they all affect each other in tandem, i.e. access to markets, finance and human capital.

Background: Several studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between networking and performance, but unfortunately findings have been inconclusive. Nevertheless, networking has been recognised as a vital element for enhancing competitiveness amongst small and medium enterprises (SMEs).Aim: The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of different forms of networking, networking activities and the perceived importance of networking on SME performance.Setting: The study was conducted in South Africa, more specifically on entrepreneurs who have SMEs operating in the Gauteng province.Methods: This was a quantitative study with a cross-sectional research design on a sample size of 304. Multiple linear regression was employed as the core statistical technique to analyse the primary data.Results: It was evident that the more value entrepreneurs put on networking, the lesser their businesses performed, as the relationship became negative. However, the more they got involved in networking activities and maintained the relationships, the better their businesses performed. It was interesting to note that social, business and managerial network forms emerged as one form of networking, which we have named business networking. However, the importance and maintenance of networks were very distinct as networks were valued higher than what we saw from the maintenance and participation in networking.Conclusion: The study does not suggest that networking is irrelevant. However, it argues that this might be reflecting the risk of overvaluing networks. It is evident that networking influences performance of SMEs irrespective of whether it is social, business or managerial.

This study examines the critical success factors for entrepreneurial coaching in South African business incubators through a qualitative method that involved interviewing 32 participants. The research aimed to identify the factors contributing to successful coaching interventions between coaches and entrepreneurs. The key findings include the importance of demographics, diversity, and cultural intelligence, coaching relational aspects, the coach’s personal attributes, the entrepreneur’s characteristics, the coach’s competence, and coaching elements. The study highlights the need for coaches to possess emotional intelligence, empathy, and a cultural understanding of their coachees. Additionally, the research underscores the significance of coaching programs and methods tailored to the unique needs and characteristics of the entrepreneurs being coached. The study’s findings have significant implications for coaching practitioners and program developers who work with entrepreneurs in South Africa, and it underscores the need for a nuanced and culturally sensitive approach to coaching and mentoring in the context of South African business incubators.

Background: Entrepreneurs have been galvanised by the worsened economic circumstances in South Africa, and small businesses struggle to become established. By providing skills training, business development services (BDS) improve the performance of firms, through the development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the impact of BDS training on the entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE) of necessity- and opportunity-driven entrepreneurs and whether that impact would be more positive in opportunity-driven rather than necessity-driven entrepreneurs. Setting: The study focused on 519 entrepreneurs in South Africa, of which 97 were necessity-driven and 422 were opportunity-driven. Methods: Statistical analyses were conducted using correlation analysis and multiple linear regression to test the impact of training on the ESE of necessity- and opportunity-driven entrepreneurs while controlling for the impact of confounding variables: gender, education, management experience, industry experience and partnerships. Results: The empirical evidence from this study showed that general entrepreneurial training is more effective in increasing the entrepreneurial self-efficacy of opportunity-driven entrepreneurs, whereas task-specific training was better suited for increasing the entrepreneurial self-efficacy of necessity-driven entrepreneurs. Conclusion: The implications and recommendations of this study are that policymakers should design general entrepreneurial training programmes targeted at opportunity-driven entrepreneurs and task-specific training programmes targeted at necessity-driven entrepreneurs. Contribution: This study enhances the understanding of the training needs of necessity-driven entrepreneurs and how they differ from opportunity-driven entrepreneurs concerning ESE and the growth of their businesses.