DETERMINANTS OF IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS’ BUSINESS SURVIVAL: SECURITY AND BUSINESS SKILLS IMPERATIVES

Abstract

This study sought to determine the major drivers of immigrant business survival in OR Tambo District Municipality in South Africa. While the study adopted Aldrich and Waldinger’s Interactive Theory, the positivist (quantitative) research approach was used to determine how relevant data were collected and analysed. A sample of 100 immigrant entrepreneurs was selected through a convenient random sampling technique. Correspondingly, a survey instrument was used to collect the required data from the sample, while descriptive statistics, correlation, principal component analysis, factorial ANOVA, and regression tools were applied to analyze the data and generate results. This study found the use of burglary bars for security, understanding what people need, satisfying the customers’ needs, and accumulation and use of personal savings as the major strategies being used amongst immigrant entrepreneurs in keeping their businesses afloat. Besides, demographic and locational attributes such as the high educational status of the business owner, being single in South Africa, having longer years of trade in the country, trading in the urban area, and being of East African origin are positively associated with business survival in the study area. Surprisingly, the study did not support the conventional assumption that staying longer in an area may translate to business survival. The major implication of this study borders on implementing relevant policies and practices to transfer these business survival skills across (Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMME) operators, especially the local entrepreneurs in the country, to enhance their resilience and survival. This study contributes to the body of knowledge and literature regarding relevant issues related to SMME start-ups in South Africa. It also provides policy-appropriate variables for short and medium-term intervention designs in the development and sustainability of the SMME industry in the country.