The Intersection Of Digital Entrepreneurship And Business Ethics: A Case Of Digital Entrepreneurs Selling Clothes On Whatsapp Platform In South Africa
Main Article Content
Abstract
The rapid evolution of digital technologies has transformed the business landscape, particularly in the realm of online retail. This article explores the intersection of digital entrepreneurship and business ethics with a focus on digital entrepreneurs selling clothes on the WhatsApp platform in South Africa. Drawing on Schumpeter’s theory of entrepreneurship, the study highlights how these entrepreneurs act as innovators who disrupt traditional retail models through creative approaches to e-commerce. McClelland’s theory of needs further informs the analysis by examining the personal motivations—such as the need for achievement, affiliation, and power—that drive individuals to pursue and sustain entrepreneurial ventures in the online space. Using qualitative case studies and in-depth interviews, the research reveals that adaptability, digital literacy, and intrinsic motivation are key to navigating the challenges of a VUCA environment. The article contributes to the discourse on digital entrepreneurship in emerging economies, offering theoretical and practical insights into the dynamics shaping South Africa’s online clothing market. This article focused on entrepreneurs who sell goods from overseas countries such as China and Turkey. The paper used secondary data gathered through participant -observation from 5 WhatsApp groups whereby the author is a member. The data collection methodology is Participant Observation. The findings of the study indicate that the entrepreneurs involved in digital entrepreneurship are managing to make a living out of the business and leveraging on the usage of the internet in order to decrease the unemployment in South Africa. The findings indicate that customers trust the entrepreneurs, pay money without knowing the people and are never sure if they will receive their orders. The study recommends that the entrepreneurs should uphold high ethical standards, be trustworthy and deliver to the customers as promised..
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Adepoju, A. (2020). WhatsApp as a digital marketing tool for SMEs in emerging economies. Journal of Digital Commerce, 8(3), 45–56.
Akgündüz, Y. E., van den Berg, M., & Hassink, W. H. J. (2020). "The Role of Trade Agreements in Emerging Markets." Emerging Markets Review, 44, 1-12.
Berman, B., & Evans, J. R. (2019). Retail Management: A Strategic Approach. Pearson.
Bird, B. (1989). Entrepreneurial behavior. Scott Foresman. Pearson.
Briefly News. (2024). Unemployment rate decreases to 32.1%. Retrieved from briefly.co.za (27 January 2025)
Brynjolfsson, E., Horton, J. J., Ozimek, A., Rock, D., Sharma, G., & TuYe, H. Y. (2020). "COVID-19 and remote work: An early look at US data." National Bureau of Economic Research Working Article Series.
Carland, J. W., Hoy, F., Boulton, W. R., & Carland, J. A. C. (1984). Differentiating entrepreneurs from small business owners: A conceptualisation. Academy of Management Review, 9(2), 354-359.
Chaffey, D. (2019). Digital Business and E-Commerce Management. Pearson Education.
Chatterjee, S., & Kar, A. (2020). The role of mobile apps in e-commerce growth. Journal of Business Research, 120(3), 112–122.
Cinelli, M., Quattrociocchi, W., Galeazzi, A., et al. (2020). "The COVID-19 social media infodemic." Scientific Reports, 10(1), 16598.
Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. J. (2019). Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalisation (5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Current Affairs ZA. (2024). Unemployment rate in South Africa falls in Q3 of 2024. Retrieved from currentaffairsza.com.
Davidson, E., & Vaast, E. (2018). "Digital entrepreneurship and its sociomaterial enactment." The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 27(4), 318–339.
De Stefano, V. (2016). "The rise of the ‘just-in-time workforce’: On-demand work, crowd work, and labor protection in the gig economy." Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal, 37(3), 471–504.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). (2023). Trade Statistics for South Africa. Retrieved from www.dti.gov.za.
Flick, U. (2018). An Introduction to Qualitative Research (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Floridi, L., & Taddeo, M. (2016). "What is data ethics?" Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 374(2083), 20160361.
Graham, G., & Wood, G. (2021). Ethical entrepreneurship: Balancing innovation and responsibility. Journal of Business Ethics, 170(1), 23–35.
Grant, C., & Osanloo, A. (2020). Understanding, selecting, and integrating a theoretical framework in dissertation research: Creating the blueprint for your “house”. Administrative Issues Journal: Connecting Education, Practice, and Research, 10(2), 12–22. https://doi.org/10.5929/2020.10.2.3
Isaak, J., & Hanna, M. J. (2018). "User data privacy: Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, and privacy protection." Computer, 51(8), 56–59.
Kenney, M., & Zysman, J. (2016). "The rise of the platform economy." Issues in Science and Technology, 32(3), 61–69.
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2022). Marketing Management. Pearson.
Kshetri, N. (2018). Blockchain and Supply Chain Management. Springer.
Kshetri, N. (2018). Cybersecurity and International Trade. Springer.
Kuriloff, A. H., Hemphill, J. M., & Cloud, D. (2016). Starting and managing a small business. McGraw-Hill.
Lal, S., Ashraf, A., & Shaikh, M. (2021). Consumer behavior and trust in WhatsApp-based businesses. Global Journal of Marketing Studies, 6(2), 78–92.
Laudon, K. C., & Traver, C. G. (2020). E-commerce 2020-2021. Pearson Education.
Mathur, A., Acar, G., Friedman, M., et al. (2019). "Dark patterns at scale: Findings from a crawl of 11K shopping websites." Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 3(CSCW), 1–32.
McClelland, D. C. (1961). The achieving society. Van Nostrand.
McKinsey. (2020). "The next normal: How the digital economy is shaping the future of business." Retrieved from www.mckinsey.com.
Mora, C., Rollins, R. L., Taladay, K., et al. (2018). "Bitcoin emissions alone could push global warming above 2°C." Nature Climate Change, 8(11), 931–933.
Nambisan, S. (2017). "Digital entrepreneurship: Toward a digital technology perspective of entrepreneurship." Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 41(6), 1029–1055.
Nissenbaum, H. (2019). Privacy in context: Technology, policy, and the integrity of social life. Stanford University Press.
Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. New York: NYU Press.
Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The theory of economic development: An inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle. Harvard University Press.
Shane, S., Locke, E. A., & Collins, C. J. (2003). Entrepreneurial motivation. Human Resource Management Review, 13(2), 257-279.
Smith, J. (2022). Inclusivity in digital markets: A guide to ethical practice. Journal of Digital Commerce, 10(4), 45–59.
Spradley, J. P. (2016). Participant Observation. Waveland Press.
Statista. (2023). E-commerce Challenges for Small Businesses. Retrieved from www.statista.com.
Statista. (2023). Global Trade in Textiles and Apparel. Retrieved from www.statista.com.
Statista. (2023). Most popular online shopping categories worldwide in 2023. Retrieved from www.statista.com.
Statistics South Africa. (2024). Unemployment Statistics Q3 2024. Retrieved from gov.za.
Tapscott, D., & Tapscott, A. (2016). Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin is Changing Money, Business, and the World. London: Portfolio Penguin.
Turban, E., King, D., & Lang, J. (2021). Electronic Commerce 2021. Springer.
Turilli, M., & Floridi, L. (2020). The ethics of information transparency. Ethics and Information Technology, 22(2), 105–116.
UNCTAD. (2019). "Digital economy report 2019: Value creation and capture – Implications for developing countries." Retrieved from unctad.org.
UNCTAD. (2021). "COVID-19 and e-commerce: A global review." Retrieved from www.unctad.org.
World Bank. (2022). The Belt and Road Initiative: Economic Impacts on Africa. Retrieved from www.worldbank.org.
World Bank. (2022). The Economic Impact of E-commerce in Emerging Markets. Retrieved from www.worldbank.org.
World Economic Forum. (2021). "The digital transformation imperative." Retrieved from www.weforum.org...