Book of Economic Development and Entrepreneurship

Worldwide, small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) are recognised as the fundamental building blocks for developing countries economically. The concept of humane entrepreneurship is a new field of study in entrepreneurship, and yet, the concept of humane entrepreneurship is central to economic productivity and human development. The aim of this chapter is to determine the relationship between humane entrepreneurship strategies, namely, entrepreneurship orientation, sustainability orientation, and human resource orientation, and their effects on business performance. The study adopted a quantitative research method based on the positivist paradigm to investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, sustainability orientation, and humane resource orientation in relation to the performance of small, medium, and micro enterprises. A descriptive research design was adopted, and the Spearman correlation analysis was employed for the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire from a sample of 158 participants selected through convenience sampling within Region One of the City of Tshwane Municipality, and we received a 100% response rate. The study findings revealed that the Spearman correlation analysis indicated a strong and significant correlation between sustainability orientation (r=0.69) and human resources orientation (r=0.63) with business performance.

This study offers a new entrepreneurial paradigm that combines three entrepreneurial principles, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and human resource orientations, into a single concept known as humane entrepreneurship. This study is highly pertinent to small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa, a sector that frequently faces challenges related to performance and sustainability. Moreover, this study enhances the paradigm of entrepreneurial orientation by integrating strategic considerations with environmental, social, and human resources.  It offers statistical information about how humane entrepreneurship practices may improve the performance of SMMEs, which is crucial for promoting sustainable and equitable economic development. The results indicate that both sustainability and human resource orientation are strongly correlated with SMMEs’ performance, which may help guide future research and development of entrepreneurial orientation.