Charlotte Félix-Faure

Composition of the Jury

Abstract

The research revealed a persistently low level of entrepreneurial activity among Black South Africans, the majority of whom live in townships. The government is deeply concerned about the levels of unemployment and poverty facing this population group. It has therefore implemented a number of programs aimed at fostering entrepreneurship in order to boost the economy and create jobs. Despite these efforts, the level of entrepreneurship among Black South Africans—who constitute the majority of the population—has remained low. This qualitative study, which applies the ontology of critical realism, examines how a historical institution such as apartheid, through its policies of racial discrimination, may still affect current entrepreneurial behavior. The results demonstrate the impact of active social mechanisms, particularly the effects of underlying institutional logics on entrepreneurial behavior. This contribution may be useful for designing more effective programs to foster entrepreneurship within the spatial context of townships. The study contributes to the fields of spatial context, entrepreneurial motivations, and entrepreneurial behavior in relation to the little-studied effects, at the individual level, of the legacy of past dominant institutional logics.

Read the thesis