After unsuccessful attempts of South African governments to carry out a land reform that distributes farmland more justly, this study aims to undertake a stronger segmentation of potential beneficiaries for a better targeting of future reforms.
A theoretical model has been developed along the axes of cultural innovation and aspirations that identifies the segment of current smallholders who would most likely relocate to become commercial farmers in the future. A survey among smallholders in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa confirms the approach.
A number of indicators can be identified, particularly for cultural innovation, that predict willingness to relocate to a region where commercial farms can be managed.
The importance of cultural innovation has been neglected both in theoretical frameworks and in practical concepts of land reform.
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2018-0226
