EXPLORING THE DETERMINANTSOF ENTREPRENEURSHIP SPIRIT AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

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EXPLORING THE DETERMINANTSOF ENTREPRENEURSHIP SPIRIT AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Entrepreneurship is a major catalyst that drives the economy of most nations. Besides being the engine by which new ideas and novel approaches are introduced continually into businesses and the market place (Schumpeter, 1934, 1980, 1942, 1975; Drucker, 1985), entrepreneurship guarantees economic returns from diverse forms of activities – including research and development (R&D). In a more specific sense, entrepreneurship is the vehicle on which innovation rides. Within this context, entrepreneurs are considered as ‘champions’ of some sort who convert ideas into products and services and ultimately create wealth and reduce unemployment (Schumpeter, 1934, 1980; Guasch et al., 2002; Holmgren and From, 2005).

Until recently in Nigeria, government’s approach to solving the problem of unemployment has been unmindful of the potential role of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education despite many attempts to design tangible and lasting policies and/or programmes to support employment generation in the country. The high unemployment rate which was put at about 37% (NPC, 2004) as well as the fact that the number of job seekers has consistently outgrown available vacancies by nearly 40% within the decade (Ajetomobi and Ayanwale, 2005) may well be consequences of the foregoing. We argue that the existence of such huge gaps might also indicate that propensity for entrepreneurship is rather low or that the pre-conditions for successful entrepreneurship are largely absent, leaving many individuals staying unemployed instead of becoming entrepreneurs.

In many parts of the world, especially in developing economies, there exists an increasing interest in entrepreneurship. This is because entrepreneurial activity (typified by new venture formation) is considered as a means of revitalising the economy and a way of coping with unemployment problems that characterise most developing economies. Thus, more people, and very recently undergraduates, are being encouraged into owning and growing small businesses. The effectiveness of policies and programmes designed for this purpose is, however, limited by a shortage of relevant knowledge. Much of what is known about entrepreneurship today has emanated from the context of developed economies and is not always applicable in developing economies, given the differences in available support mechanisms, socio-cultural contexts, collective behaviour and societal entrepreneurial orientation, among other issues. For instance, Nigeria has a deep-seated history of informal master-apprentice structures which is not generally found in many other economies (Aderemi et al., 2008). In addition, the social norms of polygamy, extended families and large family sizes which are hardly available elsewhere are still predominant in most Nigerian cultures.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

To fill the knowledge gap, particularly in a developing country like Nigeria, two key questions beg immediate attention: “do the same factors that have been shown to influence students’ entrepreneurial interest (EI) in previous research in developed countries also hold for Nigerian students?” and building on that: “which factors are the most relevant in the Nigerian context?” Our focus on students is explained by the fact that although prior research has focused on university student career aspirations (Li, 2006) “few empirical studies have examined the entrepreneurial propensity of university students as a source of future entrepreneurs” (Wang and Wong, 2004). Also, as noted by Reynolds et al. (1999), increasing entrepreneurial activity in any country will entail raising the participation level of those outside the most active age group of 25–44 years old. In Nigeria, as would be for most countries, the most promising target group is then young persons in the universities, polytechnics and other tertiary education institutions.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research addresses the foregoing questions using data from a large-scale survey of Nigerian undergraduates which took place between November, 2006 and February, 20071. This being the first study of such magnitude in Nigeria, it provides both heuristic and practical baseline information for researchers and policy makers who need to better understand the dynamics of entrepreneurship among the youth particularly in developing economies. The baseline figures from this study are considered particularly useful in characterising the entrepreneurial landscape in Nigerian tertiary institutions. This is necessary because nurturing the entrepreneurial potential among the youth has recently become apparent to policy makers and educators. For instance, in 2006, the National Universities Commission (NUC)2 mandated every university in Nigeria to establish an Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) and to offer courses in entrepreneurship to all students. Additionally, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)3 organised a series of capacity building workshops for entrepreneurship teachers in all Nigerian polytechnics in 2009.

This research makes important contributions to the literature on student entrepreneurship. First, we use a very large and unique dataset. Secondly, our factor analysis threw up the most important groups of variables for understanding the EI of young persons in post-secondary education institutions in the context that we have studied. This offers a significant heuristic baseline for future entrepreneurship studies in similar contexts. Thirdly, the results offer important practical implications for understanding, stimulating and sustaining students EI in the developing world.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To explore and understand the determinants of entrepreneurship spirit among undergraduates of university of Lagos
To understand the relationship between entrepreneurship spirit and development of undergraduates of university of Lagos.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What are the determinants of entrepreneurship spirit among undergraduates of university of Lagos
What is the relationship between entrepreneurship spirit and development of undergraduates of university of Lagos.

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: There is no relationship between entrepreneurship spirit and development of undergraduates of university of Lagos

H1: There is a relationship between entrepreneurship spirit and development of undergraduates of university of Lagos.

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