Making Business Sense of Technological Innovations in Emerging Nations: A Study of Business Linkages in South Africa

Economic growth in emerging economies has been attributed to technological innovations and the commercialization of those innovations into marketable products, services or tradable processes and systems. In South Africa, there have been various joint efforts by both Government and the public sector to promote technological entrepreneurship through linking major technology companies with newly formed small business enterprises to promote industrialisation and national economic growth. Many studies from emerging nations have shown that the making business sense of technological innovations through techno-financing and technological entrepreneurship remains the major contributing factors to industrial growth in the information driven economy. The paper analyses the business dynamics of linkages between two leading technology firms in South Africa and their associated small firms. Results are discussed and recommendations provided