Vitamina D

Section 2 of the questionnaire comprised several questions concerning the demographic information of the respondent and the copreneurial business, whereas Section 3 of the questionnaire comprised questions concerning the marriage and the family. A summary of all of the demographic information gathered from the 380 usable questionnaires is presented in the tables and paragraphs to follow. Additional details can be found in Annexure B.

Table 5.3: Demographic information pertaining to the respondents as individuals

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male (husband) 171 45%

Female (wife) 209 55%

Ethnic background Frequency Percentage

White 372 97.9%

Black 1 0.25%

Asian 4 1.1%

Coloured 2 0.5%

Other 1 0.25%

Age of the respondent Frequency Percentage

25 to 30 years old 7 2%

31 to 40 years old 56 14.8%

41 to 50 years old 141 37.1%

51 to 60 years old 122 32.2%

61 years and older 54 14.3%

Involvement in the business Frequency Percentage

I am actively employed in the business (I earn a salary from the

business.) 350 92.1%

I am not actively employed in the business, but am active in

decision-making. 29 7.6%

I am not actively employed in the business nor am I active in

decision-making. 1 0.3%

It can be seen from Table 5.3 above, that more than half (55%) of the respondents in the present study were female (wives), while the male (husbands) respondents accounted for only 45% of the sample. With regard to ethnic background, most of the respondents (97.9%) were white, while the remaining 2.1% of the respondents were non-white. The majority of the respondents in the present study were either between the ages of 41 and 50 years old (37.1%) or between 51 and 60 years old (32.2%).

The remaining respondents were between the ages of 25 and 30 years old (2%), and 31 and 40 years old (14.8%). Interestingly, 14.3% of the respondents indicated that they were 61 years or older, thereby demonstrating their desire to remain involved in their business past the age of retirement. A possible explanation for so many respondents being 65 years or older is provided by Stewart-Gross and Gross (2007:9), who suggest that more and more individuals are now delaying retirement until much later in life, as they have become focused on “What’s next?” or “the next stage in life.” Self-employment in the form of a copreneurship may provide them with the opportunity to transition to the so-called “second-half” of their lives. Another possible explanation is provided by Van Duijn et al. (2007:13), who note that many family businesses do not have proper succession plans in place, or there may be no willing family members to take over the business (Rwigema & Venter 2004:486). In addition, the vast majority (92.1%) of the respondents indicated that they were actively employed in their copreneurial business, and received a salary from it. The remaining respondents were either not employed by their copreneurial business, but were actively involved in decision-making (7.6%) or were not involved in the copreneurial business at all (0.3%).

Table 5.4: Demographic information pertaining to the copreneurial business

Status of the copreneurship Frequency Percentage

My spouse and I are currently in a copreneurial business. 368 96.8%

My spouse and I were previously in a copreneurial business. 12 3.2%

Tenure of the business Frequency Percentage

1 to 10 years 185 48.7%

11 to 20 years 126 33.1%

21 to 30 years 45 11.9%

31 to 40 years 24 6.5%

Location of the business Frequency Percentage

The copreneurial business operates primarily from the family home. 99 26.1%

The copreneurial business does not operate from the family home. 281 73.9%

Leadership Frequency Percentage

The spouse with the strongest personality takes the lead among us in

our business. 41 10.8%

The spouse with the most leadership skills takes the lead among us in

our business. 31 8.2%

The spouse that is most knowledgeable takes the lead among us in

our business. 121 31.8%

The spouse, who has been involved the longest in our business, takes

the lead among us. 25 6.6%

Leadership is shared equally between my spouse and I in our

business. 122 32.1%

Because of traditional gender roles the husband (man) takes the lead

among the spouses in our copreneurial business. 40 10.5%

Number of employees Frequency Percentage

0 to 20 employees 242 65.8%

Activities of the copreneurship Frequency Percentage

Agriculture/Farming/Forestry 31 8.2%

Mining and Quarrying 2 0.5%

Manufacturing/Engineering 25 6.6%

Construction/Building/Electricians/Plumbers/Painters 17 4.5%

Retail, Motor trade and Repair services 112 29.5%

Wholesale trade and Commercial agents and Allied services 19 5%

Catering, Accommodation and other trade or

Entertainment/Restaurant/Fast food 82 21.6%

Transport, Storage and Communications or IT 7 1.8%

Finance and Business services 22 5.8%

Community, Social and Personal services 46 12.1%

Diversified activities or unknown 17 4.5%

In Table 5.4 above, it can be seen that almost all (96.8%) of the respondents were in a copreneurial business with their spouse at the time of completing the questionnaire, while 3.2% of the respondents were no longer in a copreneurial business. Most of the respondents had been in business for between 1 and 10 years (48.7%) or 11 and 20 years (33.1%), while the remaining respondents’ business tenure was between 21 and 30 years (11.9%) or 31 and 40 years (6.5%). As far as the business location was concerned, 73.9% of the respondents operated their business away from the family home, while the rest of the respondents (26.1%) worked from the family home. Most of the respondents indicated that the leadership of their business was either shared equally by the spouses (32.1%) or that the spouse with the most knowledge took the lead (31.8%). The rest of the respondents indicated that the spouse with the strongest personality (10.8%), the most leadership skills (8.2%) or the longest involvement in the business (6.6%) took the lead in their business. Interestingly, 10.5% of the respondents indicated that because of traditional gender roles, the man was the leader in their copreneurial business. All of the respondents employed fewer than 200 employees in their copreneurial business. In addition, the areas of business activity to receive the greatest response were retail, motor trade and repair services (29.5%), as well as catering, accommodation, restaurants or fast food (21.6%). A summary of the remaining business activities indicated by the respondents in the present study can be found in Table 5.4 above.

Table 5.5 below presents the demographic information relating to the families of the respondents, as well as their marriages.

Table 5.5: Demographic information pertaining to the family and the marriage

Stage of the children Frequency Percentage

0 to 3 years (toddlers) 7 1.8%

4 to 13 years (Pre-primary and/or Primary school) 24 6.3%

14 to 18 years (High school) 22 5.8%

19 years and older 192 50.5%

Toddlers and children at school 19 5%

Children in school and children out of school 63 16.6%

Children at school (Pre-primary, Primary and/or High school) 31 8.2%

No children/No response 22 5.8%

Table 5.5: Demographic information pertaining to the family and the marriage continued

Number of children Frequency Percentage

None 17 4.5%

One 28 7.4%

Two 178 46.8%

Three 113 29.7%

Four or more children 43 11.3%

Length of time married Frequency Percentage

0 to 10 years 39 10.5%

11 to 20 years 85 22.3%

21 to 30 years 139 36.4%

31 to 40 years 91 24%

41 years and more 25 6.8%

Just more than half (50.5%) of the respondents in the present study indicated that their children were 19 years old or older. The rest of the respondents’ children were toddlers (1.8%), in pre-primary and/or primary school (6.3%) or in high school (5.8%).

Some respondents indicated that they had no children or did not respond (5.8%). The majority of the respondents had either two (44.8%) or three (29.7%) children, while a few respondents had no children (4.5%), a single child (7.4%) or more than four children (11.3%). A mere 10.5% of the respondents had been married for less than 10 years, while most had been married for between 11 and 20 years (22.3%), 21 and 30 years (36.4%), and 31 and 40 years (24%). Only 6.8% of the respondents had been married for more than 41 years.