Pretoria Dental Laboratory's utilisation of entrepreneurial process and critical capitals: a South African case

Pretoria Dental Laboratory (PDL), established in 1992, specialises in three disciplines, namely Crown and Bridge, Prosthodontics and Orthodontics. PDL represents an interesting entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation case because of its rapid expansion over a relatively short time span of 16 years moving from a stable but small laboratory to one of the biggest dental laboratories in the Tshwane Metropolitan area of South Africa. The purpose of this paper is to outline the theoretical framework and research methodology to be utilised in order to provide insight on how PDL interact with various stakeholders, respond to environmental changes, utilise various capitals (strategic, economic, cultural and social) through a process of business decision making to recognise, prepare and exploit business opportunities in the dental environment of South Africa. The outcome of the research is intended to enlighten entrepreneurialism and its application in a specific specialised environment of South Africa.