Dutch entrepreneurs entering South-Africa: success assured?
Peet, Marc van der (2009)
This article analyzes the perceived importance of different entry-decision factors by
successful Dutch entrepreneurs in South-Africa. Through ranking the different entry-decision
factors a more solid explanation is sought for the small number of successful Dutch start-ups
in South-Africa. The sample includes fifteen successful companies with Dutch founders
started in South-Africa. Through semi-structured interviews a clear overview is created of the
perceived critical entry-decision factors of the different founders. Hereby a contribution is
made to literature concerning entry strategies and successfulness of foreign entrepreneurs in
the emerging market of South-Africa.
Results of this research are an underestimated cultural difference between the
Netherlands and South-Africa and different customer preferences of South-African customers.
Although measures have been taken to assure a high amount of validity and reliability this
research is limited by the restricted number of cases and different nature of these cases.
Implications of this research show that certain topics concerning FDI in emerging
countries need more thorough investigation. Especially the influence of entrepreneurial
background on the success rate of the company and the different perception on the various
entry-decision factors come up as important new subjects of investigation.
MA_thesis_M_van_der_Peet_2.pdf