The influence of hustle mindset on intergenerational resilience in the context of informal economies

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this research was to investigate how the hustle mindset influences the intergenerational transmission of resilience in South Africa’s informal economy. Informal economies were critical sites of livelihood generation, particularly for populations excluded from formal employment, yet they remained under-theorised in terms of their intergenerational dynamics. This study examined how entrepreneurial traits such as adaptability, improvisation, and social navigation were cultivated within families and transmitted across generations to sustain resilience in resource-constrained township economies. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative, exploratory research design was adopted to address this objective. Semi structured interviews and narrative inquiry were conducted with multigenerational family trading units in urban townships. The data were thematically and narratively analysed to surface the mechanisms of value transmission, the role of socio-economic context, and the embeddedness of resilience in informal household enterprises. Findings The findings indicate that the hustle mindset among informal economic actors is shaped by crisis-triggered entry into informal trade, identity-based orientations toward work, and the need to bridge persistent income gaps. Hustle-related traits and resilience practices are transmitted primarily through experiential learning within informal trading households, where children acquire economic competence through immersion and participation in everyday trading activities. The study further shows that socio-economic and contextual conditions, particularly structural deprivation and economic volatility, actively shape both the formation and intergenerational transmission of the hustle mindset. Overall, the findings suggest that the hustle mindset functions as an adaptive, intergenerational survival system through which resilience and economic agency are sustained within informal economies. Research limitations/implications The research was limited by its qualitative design and purposive sampling, which may have constrained the generalisability of findings beyond the studied households. However, the study provided important contextual insights into how resilience and entrepreneurial values were socially reproduced in marginalised economies. Originality/value This research is original in situating the hustle mindset as a socially embedded, intergenerational construct within the informal economy, offering both theoretical contributions to resilience and entrepreneurship scholarship and practical insights for development practitioners and policymakers in South Africa.