Abstracts Category : Other

A cooperative venture capital framework : an innovation pipeline developed with an enterprise engineering approach that supports and promotes entrepreneurial teams in commercialising intellectual property and technology

by Mathys A Pretorius

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The field of entrepreneurship and innovation has been prominent in the past century, with increasingly more research produced in recent decades. The identified interdependencies between entrepreneurship and innovation are essential for developing a competitive advantage to all organisations and regions, but require enablers to succeed in effectively utilising them for socio-economic development and impact.The problem identified in the literature is the challenge found in commercialising intellectual property or technology. It is evident that both internal and external detriments influence the process and success of commercialisation. Therefore, the need for an innovation pipeline to support and promote entrepreneurship and innovation is crucial for attaining the benefits from socio-economic development. The research argument is rooted in the constructivism theory whereby the accumulation and reconstruction of knowledge and the research method uses a systems engineering approach to guide the research argument. The complex problem was defined after reviewing the literature, which then disseminated the complex problem into unit problems. In reviewing the literature, unit solutions were identified for the unit problems and formulated into design criteria for the holistic conceptual framework.The Cooperative Venture Capital Framework (CVCF) developed from the design criteria provides a suitable conceptual solution to developing an innovation pipeline through fundamentally enabling entrepreneurship with a comprehensive support structure. The CVCF considers the strategic positioning to optimally provide sufficient support in a given environment while enabling entrepreneurship through providing funding and support services essential for overcoming commercialising challenges. The CVCF considers the value proposition for investors, partnerships and entrepreneurial teams to mutually benefit in collaboration.The inclusive solution developed is verified as an authentic and trustworthy best practice from the literature review. Using an enterprise engineering methodology, the output of the CVCF is further verified by the enterprise engineering structural components. The CVCF was then validated by structured interviews with thirteen entrepreneurs, innovators and business developers to confirm the results from the literature review, while the application of the CVCF using a case study example was validated with five semi-structured interviews with business developers, managers, and executives. The feedback was then used to adjust the framework accordingly and it was found that the CVCF provides a comprehensive and inclusive solution and has created a new paradigm in the application of entrepreneurship and innovation.The significance of this research study is the holistic conceptual framework developed that utilises and combines cooperative and venture capital models with multiple other solutions interdependently enabling the creation of a new paradigm in thinking. This is crucial in addressing the complexAdvisors/Committee Members: Schutte, C. S. L., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Civil Engineering..