The total entrepreneurial activity rate in South Africa was 9.1% in 2011, compared with 8.9% in 2010, which is below the average for similar economies. This study examines the moderating impact of environmental difficulty on the relationship between planning strategies and entrepreneurial success. The authors carried out a cross-sectional interview-based study of 60 start-up entrepreneurs in the Western Cape in South Africa. The results show that environmental difficulty moderated the relationship of ‘opportunistic’ and ‘reactive’ strategies to entrepreneurial success. No moderation effects were found for environmental difficulty on the relationship between success and ‘complete planning’ and ‘critical point planning’ strategies.
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