Research Articles (Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS))

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/51279

The University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) is a leading business school in the heart of Illovo, Johannesburg, close to the Sandton business hub. Academic programmes as well as a wide range of executive courses are availble and can be custom-designed to suit specific company needs.

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Editorial to the special issue on decoupling and environmental sustainability
Ryding, Daniella; Lichy, Jessica; Africa, South; Ritch, Elaine (Elsevier, 2026-02)
No abstract available.
Beyond privacy : longitudinal ZMET analysis of thoughts and feelings
Sinha, Mona; Ramey, Rachel; Gala, Prachi; Wilkerson, Aaliyah Wanya (Emerald, 2026)
PURPOSE : Consumers increasingly reveal more than they intend online yet clamor for privacy protection, saddling businesses with costly strategic and legal challenges. This study aims to reveal what drives consumers’ thoughts and feelings about privacy, and what has changed over a decade. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : This study used the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) to conduct qualitative interviews in 2008 and 2019 and identified the deep metaphors revealing consumers’ thoughts and feelings about their privacy concerns (PCs). FINDINGS : Metaphor analysis revealed organizational justice theory (OJT) as the overarching theoretical framework. A two-timepoint comparison showed that consumers who once wanted balance in their relationship with firms now want control over their own resource (information) in response to the unmet need for fairness reflected in increasing PCs. The three OJT dimensions – distributive, procedural and interactional justice emerge as a framework for the data and helps develop privacy-related subdimensions. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS : This study extends OJT beyond employee–organization settings to consumer-firm relationships and develops privacy-specific OJT dimensions and subdimensions as a theoretical baseline for future comparative and empirical testing. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : Managers should widen their narrow focus on PCs to encompass consumers’ entire information-related experiences, ensuring equitable value exchange, just procedures and respectful interactions to mitigate resistance to information acquisition/use. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS : By reframing privacy as fairness, the study highlights pathways to restore consumer confidence, reduce anxiety and inform policy debates around equitable data practices. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : A longitudinal ZMET provides rare insight into evolving thoughts and feelings about privacy, offering a novel, justice-based framework for understanding and addressing PCs.
From beats to business : African creative industries and the re-emergence of Commonwealth trade relations
Madichie, Nnamdi O.; Mathibe, Motshedisi Sina; Dangazele, Nobulali (Routledge, 2026)
The rise of Afrobeats and Amapiano is more than a trend; it represents Africa’s strategic entry into the global creative economy, connecting urban African stories with global audiences and offering high cultural and commercial value. This article explores the creative industries in three Commonwealth countries in the Global South - Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa - highlighting their growing cultural and economic significance. Often overlooked in the literature, African music is gaining global traction through genres like Afrobeats and Amapiano. The United Kingdom, with its sizable African diaspora and platforms such as BBC 1Xtra and Boiler Room, serves as a gateway for African music. Enhanced cultural diplomacy - via trade missions, artist exchanges and Commonwealth ties - can amplify this momentum. However, equitable participation across Africa requires overcoming challenges such as industry fragmentation, under-investment and weak branding which remain roadblocks that need navigating.
Hybrid work and HRM practice in a global south context : a job demands-resources perspective
Doargajudhur, Melina; Lichy, Jessica; Hardin-Ramanan, Sarita; Brodie, Jacqueline; Huzooree, Geshwaree; Dutot, Vincent; Hosanoo, Zuberia (Emerald, 2026)
PURPOSE : This study explores how hybrid work is implemented and experienced in a Global South (GS) context, with a focus on Mauritius, a small island developing state (SIDS) where remote work was virtually non-existent before the COVID-19 pandemic. It investigates how hybrid arrangements reshape job demands, resources and employee outcomes. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and a practice-oriented lens on Human Resource Management (HRM), the study examines hybrid work through two focus groups comprising professionals from 14 organisations across IT, finance, education and creative industries. Thematic analysis was used to identify key patterns in the data. FINDINGS : Four interrelated themes emerged: technological enablers of performance, autonomy and flexibility, tensions in virtual collaboration and inequalities in hybrid work. The findings reveal how job resources such as autonomy, digital infrastructure and supportive leadership buffer demands such as technostress, role ambiguity and over-monitoring. Human resource (HR) professionals play a key role in mediating these dynamics through both formal and informal practices. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS : The study has limitations due to the focus on professionals in Mauritius, a SIDS, which limits the generalisability of its findings to other GS contexts with varying technological and cultural landscapes. The qualitative design, relying on a limited number of focus groups, further restricts the breadth and empirical generalisability of the insights. Additionally, the reliance on self-reported data, particularly from managerial-level participants, introduces a potential for social desirability bias. Finally, the exclusive theoretical grounding in the JD-R model may have inadvertently constrained the emergence of other relevant constructs beyond its framework. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS : The study offers actionable insights for HR practitioners and organisational leaders designing hybrid work systems in digitally uneven environments. Emphasis is placed on the need to address equity in access, enhance virtual collaboration and support employee autonomy through tailored HRM practices. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS : The findings highlight that hybrid work exacerbates social inequalities and strains. HR must address the uneven distribution of job demands and resources across demographic lines. Older employees often struggle with digital tools, while younger staff face heightened monitoring and blurred work-life boundaries. The loss of informal connections and spontaneous interactions also risks social isolation and reduces organisational cohesion. Inclusive HRM practices are essential to mitigate these socio-technical divides and ensure sustainable transformation. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This study extends the JD-R model to an under-researched GS setting and contributes to understanding how hybrid work evolves in contexts lacking a pre-existing culture of remote working, adding depth to theory and informing inclusive practice. A conceptual model is proposed to illustrate how hybrid work experiences are shaped by the interaction between structural enablers, job characteristics and HRM practices.
Strategic alignment perspective on green export strategy and performance : evidence from developing-country exporters
Awuni, Frederick Yinbil; Bempah, Nana Dwomoh Osei; Essuman, Dominic; Anin, Emmanuel Kwabena (Wiley, 2025-12)
Green export strategy is essential for developing-country exporters to meet environmental sustainability demands in foreign markets, but it also has cost and inefficiency implications and could undermine export performance, especially if it does not align with internal and external contextual conditions. This study applies the strategic alignment perspective to detail and clarify these complexities characterizing the green export strategy–performance link. The study's hypotheses are tested on survey data from 260 export manufacturers in Ghana using moderated regression analysis. The findings support the hypothesis that green export strategy enhances export performance, especially in foreign markets where customers prioritize green issues. However, contrary to the study's hypothesis, the findings indicate that a greater condition of export responsiveness weakens the export performance benefit of green export strategy. The article presents the implications of these findings for research and practice, emphasizing the importance of a strategic alignment perspective of green strategies.
Opportunities or threats : impact of digital engagement on marginalized women entrepreneurs
James, Imaobong; Ibukun, Tolulope; Ng, Poh Yen (Wiley, 2026-01)
The paper explores the experiences of social marginalization and discrimination faced by women entrepreneurs, as well as their adoption of digital resources to address these disadvantages. This study employs an interpretive approach; semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Findings reveal the discrimination and social marginalization faced by women entrepreneurs, which include market restrictions, difficulty to thrive, gendered expectations, sexual advancement, and the “other groups” segregation. The study further highlights how digital engagement helped women entrepreneurs overcome marginalization by expanding their market reach, transforming their businesses and creating supportive networks. However, digitalization and online presence expose them to the risk of fraud and perpetuate gender discrimination in the digital space.
Continental shift : operations and supply chain management research from an African perspective
Essuman, Dominic; Essien, Aniekan; Roehrich, Jens K.; Lam, Hugo K.S.; Schleper, Martin C.; Blome, Constantin (Emerald, 2026-12)
PURPOSE : Africa is attracting growing research interest in operations and supply chain management (OSCM). However, the implications of Africa's contexts are understudied and need to be explored to refine and elaborate existing OSCM theories and concepts or develop new ones. This paper addresses these limitations while introducing IJOPM's Africa Initiative (AfIn), which seeks to provide a platform and support for Africa-based researchers and the broader OSCM community to advance OSCM research on and from Africa. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : This paper draws on multiple streams of literature to disentangle and better understand African contexts and discuss how the continent's idiosyncrasies can enrich OSCM research. It then details the AfIn, including its motivation and objectives, the review process, and support mechanisms for researchers. FINDINGS : The paper sheds light on seven contextual factors that may influence OSCM research in Africa: (1) informal economy and organizations, (2) socio-cultural diversity and complexity, (3) traditional and survival-oriented cultures, (4) weak formal institutions with strong informal institutions, (5) population growth potential, (6) abundant resources with low outcomes and (7) high environmental constraints. Additionally, the paper provides insights into how these contextual factors underpin five OSCM themes through which future research can advance and shape OSCM theory and practice. These themes include: (1) serving consumer markets, (2) managing resources, (3) managing factor market rivalry, (4) managing environmental hostility and (5) managing institutions. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : The paper provides a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Africa's contextual idiosyncrasies and their implications for OSCM theory and practice. In doing so, it reveals intriguing, yet underexplored, OSCM phenomena about the continent while laying out actionable pathways through which research using African data can make novel theoretical contributions.
Relationship norms, rewards and consumer-brand bonds : when cultural context and attachment anxiety matter
Iveson, Abbie; Davvetas, Vasileios; Hultman, Magnus; Boso, Nathaniel (Emerald, 2026-12)
PURPOSE : The consumer–brand relationship (CBR) literature is grounded in the notion that CBRs mirror interpersonal relationships. Yet little research has examined whether the relational norms that underpin these relationships operate consistently across cultural contexts. This study challenges the assumption that consumers universally value balanced and equitable relationships. It examines two contrasting national settings to explore how the norms guiding relational engagement vary across cultural contexts, focusing on differences in relational norms (communal vs exchange) and relational rewards (intrinsic vs extrinsic). Cultural dimensions such as power distance provide a useful interpretive lens for understanding these differences. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : The study uses the student–university relationship as the empirical context to investigate cultural differences in CBRs. A cross-cultural survey was administered to 511 respondents in the United Kingdom and 263 respondents in Ghana. FINDINGS : The results reveal distinct relational patterns across the two cultural contexts examined. In the UK, communal and exchange-based CBRs aligned with conventional relationship theories. In Ghana, however, these patterns diverged from expected distinctions between communal and exchange norms. Furthermore, attachment anxiety interacted with cultural context, moderating the effects of relational norms and attenuating contextual differences. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This study contributes to the growing body of CBR research by introducing a cross-cultural perspective. It demonstrates that relational norms are not universally applied but vary across contrasting cultural contexts and are further shaped by individual attachment styles. These findings offer actionable insights for relationship marketing strategists, highlighting the importance of adapting approaches to both cultural and individual differences.
Virtual burial societies and the negotiation of social support among migrants from African countries in Cape Town
Chekero, Tamuka (Sage, 2026)
This study examines the emergence and functions of virtual burial societies among migrants from African countries in Cape Town, South Africa. Against legal precarity and exclusion from formal welfare structures, migrants utilise Information and Communication Technologies, particularly WhatsApp and remittance platforms such as Mukuru, to fulfil social, cultural and financial obligations. Drawing on ethnographic data, the study demonstrates how these digitally mediated networks facilitate funeral coordination, emotional solidarity and timely financial contributions, ensuring ritual continuity. Virtual burial societies thus illuminate evolving modalities of informal social protection, resilience and digitally mediated collective care in African urban migration contexts.
Digital entrepreneurship and gendered boundaries : technology, work-life conflict, and well-being
Doargajudhur, Melina; Hosanoo, Zuberia; Rughoobur-Seetah, Soujata; Lichy, Jessica (Wiley, 2026)
This study explores how women entrepreneurs in a resource-constrained setting adopt and experience personal technology for business purposes within the broader context of digital transformation. Drawing on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and work–life border theory (WLBT), qualitative data were collected through 32 semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs operating micro and small enterprises in Mauritius. Findings reveal that perceived usefulness, ease of use, and institutional support drive the adoption of personal devices, enabling flexibility, cost savings, and improved responsiveness to clients. However, constant connectivity also blurs boundaries between work and family life, heightening stress, emotional fatigue, and security concerns, particularly in the absence of technical support. These dynamics unfold in gendered contexts shaped by cultural expectations and caregiving responsibilities, with technology simultaneously supporting business needs while intensifying work–life conflict. Building on these insights, this study proposes a conceptual model highlighting personal technology's dual impact on business performance and well-being, as well as the moderating and mitigating roles of gender norms, structural constraints, and support systems. The findings contribute to scholarship on gender and digital entrepreneurship, offering implications for gender-sensitive policies that promote equitable and supportive technology adoption in similar Global South (GS) contexts.
Tackling sexual harassment in the workplace—lessons to be learned
Lichy, Jessica; Bousquet, Carole; Middleton, Karen (Wiley, 2026-01)
This paper examines the impact of the hashtag social movement #BalanceTonPorc on women in France who have experienced workplace sexual harassment. The study aims to explore the extent to which the movement has inspired targets to report incidents of harassment and to seek justice, as well as to evaluate its influence on their self-awareness of harassment. Moreover, it identifies factors within the movement that may have limited its effectiveness in achieving positive outcomes. Drawing on interview data, the findings reveal that although participants expressed awareness of and appreciation for the movement, they perceived it as ineffective in driving meaningful change in their daily lives, workplace practices, or societal recognition of their rights. These results challenge the perception of hashtag activism as a definitive solution to workplace sexual harassment, underscoring the need for more comprehensive strategies and systemic efforts to address this pervasive issue.
Celebratio and Karoo Pak : growth strategies for pomegranates
Petzer, Daniël Johannes; Lew, Charlene (Emerald, 2025-12-10)
LEARNING OUTCOMES : The case provides the opportunity for students to consider key strategic choices related to growing a business over time, as well as to apply tools that were narrowly related in determining the future direction, competitive advantage and dynamic capabilities of a business. Once the case study has been discussed and analyzed, students should be able to: Actions you could take: • uncover the grand strategies available to grow a business; • use the VRIO framework to reveal the firm-specific resources a business possesses to gain a sustainable competitive advantage in the market; and • understand how strategic agility can lead to the development of dynamic capabilities that allow a business to prosper in the long run. CASE OVERVIEW/SYNOPSIS : This case study explores the journey of Gerhard Meyer in establishing and growing a successful pomegranate farm (Celebratio) and a packing and distribution facility (Karoo Pak) in the Klein Karoo semi-desert region of South Africa. The case highlights the challenges of establishing the business within the region and the innovative approaches adopted. The farming context offered insights to business students on how to evaluate strategic growth opportunities and to develop strategic agility when facing a series of setbacks. The case demonstrates Meyer’s efforts to create a flourishing ecosystem through stakeholder collaborations, a unique value proposition and value-adding products. Considering the opportunities facing the company, students need to establish whether the company should grow locally or globally and how firm-specific resources and dynamic capabilities can enable its strategic agility. COMPLEXITY ACADEMIC LEVEL : This study is suitable for Master of Business Administration level and for middle to senior management development programs or short courses in executive education focusing on business strategy and strategic management. SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL : Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Advancing scholarship where Africa-based scholars dominate : a systematic review of migrant entrepreneurship in Africa
Fubah, Clavis Nwehfor; Barnard, Helena (Taylor and Francis, 2025-11-07)
Migrant entrepreneurs are generally assumed to come from rather than settle in Africa. This paper systematically reviews scholarship on immigrant entrepreneurs operating on the continent, a topic of interest to Africans more than the general scholarly community. Using Scopus and two Africa-focused databases, Africa Journals Online and Sabinet, we identified 123 relevant papers. Papers cross various disciplines are generally descriptive, theory-poor, from unranked journals, and with South Africa strongly overrepresented. Currently, papers mostly mirror themes from work in high-income contexts, with resourcing an important exception. We highlight opportunities to further advance research on the challenges of and diverse types of resources in a resource-poor context. The need to include Africans into scholarly endeavors is often expressed, but in this case African scholars dominate. We discuss how African scholars can improve the quality and impact of their work, both by facilitating the emergence of a community around the topic and thematically.
A framework for facilitating the success of family business intergenerational leadership succession planning in sub-Saharan Africa
Dzvairo, AbrahamTaft, Trevor; Taft, Trevor (Sage, 2025-11)
Most family business theories and models used in sub-Saharan Africa are anchored on the Western worldview. However, various researchers acknowledge the flaws of these theories when applied in cultures outside the Western world. A dearth of studies that infuse Western-developed leadership and management theories with indigenous African knowledge exists. This study aims to develop a strategy that solves the problem of family business failure in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings revealed that family business leaders must prepare for succession, develop and select successors, and infuse both Ubuntu philosophy and the Western worldview during succession planning. The study developed a leadership succession planning framework for family businesses in sub-Saharan Africa to close the gap. Using systems theory and thinking and intercultural management thinking, this study shows how infusing the indigenous African knowledge anchored on Ubuntu philosophy can lead to successful succession that may translate into intergenerational family business survival in sub-Saharan Africa.
Effectual flexibility and venture performance : the intervening effects of absorptive capacity
Osuigwe, Ubochioma Udo S. (AOSIS, 2025-10-17)
BACKGROUND : Increasingly, there is a determined effort to understand the actions, behaviours and decision logics that drive the performance of entrepreneurial ventures (EV). This study provides insight into the interplay between effectual flexibility (EF), absorptive capacity (AC), and venture performance (VP). AIM : The study aims to understand the relationship that exists between the flexibility principle of effectuation and VP as well as the interfering impact of AC in a moderating and/or mediating role. SETTING : The data used for the study were collected from EV operating in various sectors in South Africa. METHODS : Using data drawn from a sample of 685 EV, a partial least squared structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was employed to examine the significance of the relationship between the key variables in the study. RESULTS : The results reveal that EF has a positively significant relationship with VP. While there was no support for moderating effects on this relationship, the findings confirmed that AC has partial and complementary mediating effects on the relationship. CONCLUSION : The findings suggest that EF enables EV to adapt in dynamic contexts while cocreating opportunities to achieve performance. The nuanced outcome supports the notion that EF and AC are distinct but complementary capabilities. CONTRIBUTION : This study contributes to the broader entrepreneurship landscape as it highlights that EF and AC are synergistic rather than interdependent capabilities. This means that ventures do benefit from both, but one does not rely on the other to function effectively.
Drivers for successful digital transformation in advancing environmental sustainability in manufacturing
Moshoeshoe, Gwendoline Nyakallo; Pelser, Theuns Gert (Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, 2025-10-20)
Digital technologies (DT) and AI are key drivers of Digital Transformation and have revolutionised how businesses operate, resulting in unprecedented progress in promoting sustainability. A critical gap in integrating environmental sustainability considerations within digital transformation (DTx) has been identified. A clear understanding of the relationship between these concepts among key stakeholders is needed to make informed decisions regarding DTx investments. The South African manufacturing sector is at a critical juncture as concerns about environmental degradation intensify and sustainable practices become imperative. Studies in a different context found that DTx has the potential to transform traditional capital–intensive manufacturing assets to enhance environmental sustainability. Through an exploratory qualitative study, this research aimed to identify key success drivers for DTx on environmental sustainability. In particular, AI's impact on greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction from the large manufacturing sector companies. This study uncovered eight key drivers for successfully integrating AI technologies for sustainability, defined internal and external drivers, and benefits, challenges and risks. The results indicate that while AI adoption is still in the early phase, the study found that the benefits are indirect. Findings confirmed that there are significant hurdles to overcome for a successful AI-driven DTx to advance manufacturing environmental sustainability practices. The present study will be valuable to researchers, practitioners, government and policymakers.
How value perspectives influence decision-making in the South African private healthcare sector
Laubscher, Anchen; Rodseth, Reitze N.; Retief, Francois; Saville, Adrian David (Public Library of Science, 2025-02-04)
BACKGROUND : Every healthcare clinical event aims to create value at a certain cost. This value has been defined as the outcome achieved (the degree to which a care event achieved a clinical goal) divided by the cost incurred (determined by the combined price charged by the care provides) to generate the outcome. Subsequently, patient experience has been included as a third factor contributing to value of care, but its value and relationship relative to clinical outcome and event cost is not well understood. This cross-sectional comparative study explored the relative importance of 1) clinical outcome, 2) event cost, and 3) patient experience as they relate to the value of care in the South African private healthcare context. MATERIALS AND METHOD : Using a value perspectives survey, healthcare consumers (n = 662) and healthcare providers (n = 318) distributed 100 points between the three factors according to how they perceived their value. They were then asked to assess the value of the three factors across six clinical scenarios progressing in clinical severity. RESULTS : For all scenarios, all participants valued patient experience above event cost, but lower than clinical outcome. However, there were significant differences between consumers and providers in the relative value assigned to each of the three factors. These values changed as the severity of the surgical and medical scenarios changed. Patient experience was consistently assigned a higher value than event cost, thereby making a strong argument for its inclusion into the healthcare value equation. CONCLUSION : Both South African healthcare consumers and providers assigned significant value to patient experience across a range of clinical scenarios. These findings suggest that patient experience should be included as a factor in the Value Care Index (VCI) where VCI = (Outcome ÷ Cost) x Patient Experience.
Situational leadership styles and trust development in supervisory relationships
Ehlers, Lukas Ignatius (AOSIS, 2025-11)
ORIENTATION : Trust is a critical element in supervisory relationships, influencing subordinates’ willingness to follow leadership directives. Leadership style shapes trust perceptions in these relationships. RESEARCH PURPOSE : This study examined the alignment between situational leadership (SL) styles or stages (directing, coaching, supporting, delegating) and four supervisory relationship trust (SURT) characteristics or stages (compliance, fairness, good faith, benevolence). MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : While research has explored leadership styles and trust, the relationship between SL and specific SURT facilitators remains underexplored, particularly in South African supervisory contexts. RESEARCH APPROACH/DESIGN AND METHOD : A quantitative, exploratory design was used. Convenience sampling yielded 26 SL workshop attendees who participated in structured interviews. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Spearman’s rank-order tests assessed differences and relationships. MAIN FINDINGS : Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in trust perceptions across SL stages were found. Compliance and fairness (transactional trust) were generally higher in early stages (directing, coaching), while good faith and benevolence (relational trust) were more evident in later stages (supporting, delegating). Given the small sample (n = 26), these findings should be regarded as promising, but tentative. PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : Results suggest SURT may develop in four stages aligned with SL progression. Leaders could adapt their style to emphasise the trust-building behaviours most relevant to each stage. CONTRIBUTION/VALUE-ADD : This study adds to leadership–trust literature by providing promising initial empirical evidence of a link between SL stages with trust-building behaviours.
The evolution of athlete branding : a bibliometric analysis
Golmohammadi, Hamed; Hasaan, Ali; Berndt, Adele; Fişne, Mücahit (Sage, 2025)
Athlete branding has become an increasingly important topic in sports management and marketing, particularly in the digital era. This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of athlete branding research from 2000 to 2024 to map the field's key developments and trends. Using performance analysis and science mapping, this study examined related scholarly publications and identified prolific authors, influential journals, and dominant themes. This study highlights the evolving nature of athlete branding and offers future research directions at the intersection of sports, business, and digital media. Specific research opportunities linked to these themes have been identified in the literature, and this study also suggests location, contextual, and methodological research. This review offers a deeper understanding of actionable research opportunities for both scholars and practitioners in the field.
Religious social capital and entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation of Indian Muslim youth entrepreneurs in South Africa
Kaka, Fatima; Scheepers, Caren Brenda; Mamabolo, Anastacia (Inderscience, 2025-06)
The rate of entrepreneurial activity among South Africa's youth, a group aged 18 to 35 years, is low. The role of religion in promoting entrepreneurship among South Africa's youth remains relatively under-researched, despite the importance of religious social capital as a contributor to entrepreneurial success. We explore how entrepreneurs rely on their religious social capital to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities. The narrative qualitative study was conducted in the context of the Indian Muslim community within South Africa. The data gathered from 12 Indian Muslim entrepreneurs showed that their social capital influences their pursuit of meaning when engaging in business activities. Pursuing meaning influences how they construct and access networks, resources, and trust-modulated or regulated business transactions. These elements of pursuit of purpose and meaning, resources, networks, and trust-modulated activities influenced by their religious social capital, contribute towards business development by providing opportunities for expansion and access to customers.

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