SME's - collectivism yes or no

Guest post by: Dr. Rob Smorfitt
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SMEs and entrepreneurs in Africa - By Dr. Rob Smorfitt

I wrote previously about the possible impact of collectivism in Africa upon the level of entrepreneurial spirit/drive in Africa. I would like to pursue that topic a little further in this article.
I really think this is an excellent opportunity for an anthropologist perhaps to collaborate on research into this topic, to try and understand this in depth. If we look at Africa and we look at the Far East, collectivism features in most of these cultures. However, there is undoubtedly a difference between the two.
Unfortunately I do not know enough about this aspect of the Far East, but to the best of my knowledge the countries there tend to be more mono-cultured than Africa. If you look at South Africa and Botswana for example, they are both host to a multi-cultured black population. They are also not exceptions in Africa, more the rule.
Why has the USA been able to dissect and understand in detail the Japanese production systems, and yet they have never been able to replicate them. The USA too is a multi-cultured country, whereas Japan tends to rather be mono-cultured.
As I said, I am way outside my field of expertise, but there has to be a rational explanation for why Africa has such a low level of entrepreneurialism. Someone out there who knows more is welcome to contact me to discuss further.
Rob Smorfitt

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SMEs and entrepreneurs in Africa - By Dr. Rob Smorfitt

About the Author: Dr. Rob Smorfitt

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Have an MBA and a PhD in entrepreneurship. Three key areas of ongoing research are entrepreneurship and innovation in large business strategy, the impact of legislation on SME development and SME finance. Run my own SME blog at http://sme-smb-smme.blogspot.com as well as an entrepreneurship and innovation for large businesses blog at http://innoveur.blogspot.com. I have been self-employed since 1982. I have started or purchased in excess of 50 businesses since then. Most were sold again and a few were shut down because of a lack of profitability. Many were run by staff or family while I worked full time in my bigger businesses. Author of 6 books. Written articles for various magazines, newspapers and websites. Experienced in research within developing countries.
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SME's - collectivism yes or no

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