Validating a measurement scale for entrepreneurial actions for sustainable corporate entrepreneurship using confirmatory factor analysis

ORIENTATION : Sustainable corporate entrepreneurship, which is achieved through entrepreneurial actions, has become a useful strategy for enhancing organisational performance. However, there seems to be no psychometrically sound and valid measurement instrument for such entrepreneurial actions. RESEARCH PURPOSE : The study aimed at addressing this issue by proposing and empirically assessing a measurement instrument for entrepreneurial actions to determine its validity and psychometric attributes. MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : Since entrepreneurial actions have been identified as an essential vehicle for translating management’s entrepreneurial intentions into meaningful organisational achievements, a measurement instrument for entrepreneurial actions with acceptable psychometric attributes would greatly benefit the field of sustainable corporate entrepreneurship. RESEARCH DESIGN, APPROACH AND METHOD : The study used data from Zambia with a sample of 646 managers from organisations in eight different economic sectors. Zambia was chosen for the study because such a study was never undertaken in the country thereby making a valuable contribution to the country’s body of entrepreneurship knowledge. Data analysis and measurement were mainly conducted using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. MAIN FINDINGS : The study findings indicated that the postulated four-item measurement instrument was relatively stable and psychometrically sound with acceptable content and construct validity. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : The study findings amplified the role of managers in instigating entrepreneurship within established organisations through their entrepreneurial actions for the purposes of ensuring achievement of sustainable corporate entrepreneurship and sustained performance. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD : The findings of this study contributed immensely to the literature on sustainable corporate entrepreneurship useful for research and teaching.http://www.actacommercii.co.zaam2016Business Managemen

How to enhance the sustainability and inclusiveness of smallholder aquaculture production systems in Zambia?

Open Access Article; Published online: 29 Sep 2021Fish is a key source of income, food, and nutrition in Zambia, although unlike in the past, capture fisheries no longer meet the national demand for fish. Supply shortfalls created an opportunity to develop the aquaculture sector in Zambia, which is now one of the largest producers of farmed fish (Tilapia spp.) on the continent. In its present form, the aquaculture sector exhibits a dichotomy. It comprises, on the one hand, a smallholder sector that mainly produces for and supplies within local markets, and on the other hand, a burgeoning larger-scale commercial sector consisting of a small number of pioneering lead firms who are (re)shaping how the value chain supplies domestic, mainly urban, markets. A notable challenge confronting the development of the aquaculture value chain in Zambia is ensuring that the larger-scale commercial sector can continue to grow and generate economic benefits for the country, while simultaneously safeguarding inclusive and sustainable growth of smallholder production systems. An in-depth, mixed-methods aquaculture value chain study was carried out in Zambia in 2017 that aimed at providing relevant stakeholders with pertinent information on the value chain's contribution to economic growth and its inclusiveness, as well as its social and environmental sustainability aspects. In this article, we present some key findings from the study to shed light on how the sustainability of smallholder production systems could be enhanced while preserving the growth trend of larger producers in an inclusive way. The study found that the value chain is contributing positively towards economic growth in the country. Smallholder farmers classified as “semi-subsistence” and “commercial” face several albeit somewhat different constraints to production, thus influencing their “sustainability” status. Semi-subsistence smallholders achieve positive (yet negligible) profit margins, and their production system is not environmentally sustainable and the value chain that supports them performs sub-optimally on several social markers. The “commercial” smallholder system is more economically viable and environmentally sustainable. The study juxtaposes these findings with those from the analysis of larger pond and cage-based systems to point to a set of key options Government, research, and development organisations could consider to support smallholder farmers and enhance the sustainability of the semi-subsistence smallholder production system in particular, without overlooking the whole system

Predicting sustainable corporate entrepreneurship and sustained company performance

Sustainable corporate entrepreneurship (CE) is a new field attracting increasing attention from scholars of different interested disciplines. Based on an analysis of 646 cases of managers in Zambia, this research attempts to determine whether sustainable CE and sustained company performance can be predicted, and also to identify best predictors of the phenomena. Through the use of structural equation modelling, the study applied the measurement instruments for CE climate and external environmental factors to analyse the data. The study findings indicate that CE climate (management support for internal CE; management support for external CE; work discretion; rewards/reinforcement; time availability; and organisational boundaries, barriers and bureaucracies), and external environment (dynamism; hostility; and heterogeneity), are compelling determinants of sustainable CE which leads to sustained company performance. While the internal organisational antecedents largely work through entrepreneurial actions, the external contextual influences have direct effect on sustainable CE as well as indirect effects through entrepreneurial actions. Specifically the findings show that management support for internal CE and environmental dynamism are the best predictors of sustainable CE among the organisational antecedents and environmental factors respectively. Valuable management implications of the findings in relation to the pursuit of sustainable CE as well as the substantive significance of the findings are highlighted.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015.tm2015Business ManagementPhDUnrestricte