Critical assessment of risk-taking behavior and economic performance of male entrepreneurs in the Centurion central business district in South Africa

Abstract

According to Zinkhan and Karande (1990), risk is encountered when an individual’s action produces social and economic consequences that cannot be projected with certainty. Zinkhan and Karande (1990) also see risk averseness as the propensity to avoid taking risks and are generally conceived as a personality variable. Levitt (1990) argues that the ways in which business managers handle risk can markedly affect economic performance and the standard of living in various societies. It was, thus, imperative that this study coupled risk-taking ability with economic performance amongst male entrepreneurs in Centurion. The entrepreneurial phenomenon remains a widely researched topic. Extensive research with regards to the attributes of entrepreneurs has been done in the recent past. It has, thus, become important to better understand South African entrepreneurial behavior, as not many local studies has been done on the topic. The purpose of this study is to establish whether the identified factors affect the risk taking behavior of male entrepreneurs within the Centurion CBD. The risk-taking behavior of male entrepreneurs versus their economic performance was also investigated. By gaining an understanding of the risk taking behavior of the population, recommendations for future studies could be made. This study is based on a deductive approach to establish possible factors which might affect the risk-taking behavior of male entrepreneurs within the Centurion central business district. It also investigates the relationship between their risk-taking behavior and their economic performance. The researcher established possible factors from the literature and adopted and modified the DOSPERT scale developed by Weber, Blais and Betz (2002). Quantitative data were obtained within the population of 161 respondents. The results indicate a strong correlation between the factors identified and the risk-taking behavior of the entrepreneurs, except for the factor ethnic background. It was also found that a strong relationship exists between risk-taking behavior and economic performance

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“…The paper adopted primary source of data through a structured questionnaire. The items in the questionnaire were adapted; items on innovation and strategic flexibility (Ghorban-Bakhsh & Gholipour-Kanani, 2018); strategic leadership (Norzailan, Yusof, & Othman, 2016); dynamic capability ; risk taking (Holtzhausen & Naidoo, 2016); adaptability (Ployhart & Bliese, 2006) and market share (Ukenna et al, 2019). The questionnaire was divided into three sections: Section A addresses the demographic, section B and C assess question items on strategic entrepreneurship and market share, respectively.…”

Developing Strategic Entrepreneurship for Organizational Profitability: Evidence of Nigerian Textile Firms

“…The paper sourced primary data through a structured questionnaire. The items in the questionnaire were adopted; items on innovation and strategic flexibility (Ghorban-Bakhsh & Gholipour-Kanani, 2018); strategic leadership (Norzailan, Yusof, & Othman, 2016); dynamic capability (Augier & Teece, 2014); risk taking (Holtzhausen & Naidoo, 2016); adaptability (Ployhart & Bliese, 2006) and firm profitability (Ukenna et al, 2019). The questionnaire was divided into three sections: Section A addresses the demographic, section B and C assess question items on strategic entrepreneurship and firm profitability, respectively.…”

ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETENCIES AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MICRO ENTERPRISES (A CASE OF SMEs AT THE MUTHURWA MARKET IN NAIROBI)

“…The study found out that, there were significant differences in the way entrepreneurial -oriented individuals respond to different degrees of risk and uncertainty. In South Africa, Holtzhausen and Naidoo (2016) explored the critical assessment of risk-taking behaviour and economic performance of male entrepreneurs in the Centurion Central Business District. The findings of the research revealed a strong correlation between factors identified from literature and risk-taking behaviour of male entrepreneurs except for the factor of ethnic background.…”