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Recognising the importance of the commercialisation of university intellectual property, the entrepreneurial intentions (EI) of research scientists and engineers at universities and science councils in South Africa are investigated. The study of intentions in an academic context has been recognised because of the potential of entrepreneurship to ignite new research knowledge. Following hypothesis testing, the results show that the EI antecedents of attitudes towards behaviour, social norms, and perceived behavioural control need to be treated systematically. By integrating these factors into one cohesive framework, policy makers may better understand the complexity of the antecedents involved in enhancing EI.

Effectuation processes are consistent with emergent or non-predictive strategies, and speak to the essence of Schumpeter’s theory of creative destruction. In this study, hypotheses are formulated to understand the relationship between effectuation, technology orientation, and firm performance. The study takes place in South Africa, which remains a highly significant economic player in sub-Saharan Africa, and is focused on the renewable energy sector. Survey results provide evidence that different dimensions of effectuation are positively associated with technology orientation, and influence firm performance. Policy makers should be encouraging firms to use effectual principles of experimentation, flexibility, establishing pre-commitments, and forming alliances, so as to maximise their returns on technology and constrain their potential losses.

Recognizing that the current literature provides a fragmented depiction of impact investor decisions, this article empirically examines if impact investors are focused on financial returns or instead on the social impact generated by social enterprises. To address this research objective a sample of impact investors are surveyed in South Africa, where there is an increasing demand for impact investors to fund initiatives that address the country's many underlying structural deficits and wicked problems. Findings, based on correlational and regression analyses, indicate that variation in the impact investment decision is explained by the financial return motive. This finding resonates with the argument that investors are primarily focused on financial competitiveness and return on their investment. Developing a strong body of evidence that validates the effectiveness of policy in supporting impact investing is pivotal, particularly when given the lack of sustainability of many social enterprises in African and emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]