gender influence on entrepreneurship

http://www.nacetem.org

Email:dg.ceo@nacetem.orgSIYANBOLA 2008©http://www.nacetem.org

GENDER INFLUENCE ON ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOUR OF

NIGERIAN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Afolabi O. O., Egbetokun A. A., Dada A. D., Sanni M. and Jesuleye O. A., Siyanbola W. O.[1]

[1] Presenting Author

Willie O. SiyanbolaNational Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM),

Federal Ministry of Science & Technology (FMST),Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

E-mail: dg.ceo@nacetem.org

Paper presented at the 3Paper presented at the 3 rdrd SMU EDGE Conference in Singapore between 9 SMU EDGE Conference in Singapore between 9 thth and 11 and 11 thth of July,2008 of July,2008

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

• Introduction

• Justification for NACETEM studies

• Objectives

• Methodology

• Key Findings

• Policy Implications

INTRODUCTION• An entrepreneurentrepreneur is a person who recognises recognises

opportunities, has ideasopportunities, has ideas and uses them to create or uses them to create or develop a businessdevelop a business (Gartner, 1998).

• It has generally been argued that the institutions of the institutions of higher learninghigher learning is one of the best placesone of the best places to nurture these characteristics (Wang and Wong, 2004).

INTRODUCTION (cont’d)• Graduate entrepreneurship currently makes only a limited

contribution to employment in Nigeria

• Between 1994 and 2003, the Nigerian labour market grew by about 58% while the employment opportunities increased by only 20% between the same period (Ajetomobi and Ayanwale, 2005).

• At the time of this study, unemployment in Nigeria was as high as 37% (NPC, 2004).

INTRODUCTION (cont’d)• Female entrepreneurs are considered important for

economic development (Verheul and Thurik, 2001).– they contribute to employment creation and economic growth

through their increasing numbers– they also make a contribution to the diversity of entrepreneurship in

the economic process

• Very little literature is available, even at the international level, on the factors that influence student entrepreneurship on the basis of gender.

Justification for NACETEM’s Studies• The Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) recently

introduced entrepreneurial studies into the curricula of Nigerian Universities

• This study - arguably being the first entrepreneurial study of this magnitude in Nigeria– provides baseline information for researchers and policy makers who

need to better understand the dynamics of entrepreneurship among the youth

– enables assessment of the effectiveness of the NUC policy in future

This Presentation…• Part of a much larger study: Assessment of

Technological Entrepreneurial Attitude in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions

• Key Themes:– Influence of

• Age• Gender• Academic Performance• Entrepreneurial Education• Family• Ethnicity • etc

Objectives• Quantify students’ and lecturers’ interest and involvement

in entrepreneurial practice;

• Assess the influence of specific factors (such as age, gemder, marital status, entrepreneurial education etc) on entrepreneurial attitude;

• Evaluate the existing entrepreneurial education curricula in the institutions

Scope• Undergraduate students from Nigerian tertiary institutions

were the main subjects; lecturers were secondary targets

• Over 7500 students (36% female) and over 1200 lecturers sampled (24% female)

• 13 Universities; 9 Polytechnics; 3 CoE (Tech)

Location of selected institutions

METHODOLOGY• Data was collected among undergraduates of 25

tertiary institutions in Nigeria using questionnaire.

• The questionnaire elicited information on socio-economic background of the students, their entrepreneurial interest and involvement, among several other explanatory variables.

OBJECTIVES OF THIS WORK

• To assess gender differentials in students’ interest and involvement in entrepreneurial practice in Nigeria.

• To establish whether or not there are different factors explaining female and male entrepreneurship in

Nigeria.

METHODOLOGY• Respondents were selected from penultimate and

final year classes because they are closer to making career choices and will be more representative of student entrepreneurial tendencies.

• We investigated the relationship between a set of explanatory variables and the entrepreneurial behaviour of male and female students separately.

DEPENDENT VARIABLES • The dependent variables are:

– Entrepreneurial interest (EI) disaggregated on the basis of gender into

• Male EI (MEI) and • Female EI (FEI)

– Present entrepreneurial involvement (EINV) disaggregated on the basis of gender into

• Male EINV and • Female EINV

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES The explanatory variables are:– Social characteristics: such as age, gender, marital status etc– Families’ entrepreneurial history: any parent/close relative

having been an entrepreneur– Academic characteristics: CGPA, course of study, level of study,

exposure to entrepreneurial education – Risk perception: impression of students about the risk involved in

entrepreneurship (level of risk aversion)

• Correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between the dependent variables and independent variables

KEY FINDINGS• Our results show that there is indeed a gender

disparity in the

– entrepreneurial interest (EI) and

– entrepreneurial involvement (EINV) of the students.

KEY FINDINGS• There was a higher incidence of male student entrepreneurs

(29.2%) than female student entrepreneurs (23.2%).

• The tendency of male undergraduates to do business while in school (MEINV) does indeed differ from that of their female

counterparts (FEINV) (χ2 = 24.51; p < 0.001),

• Male undergraduates are more likely to be student entrepreneurs (r = 0.065; p < 0.001).

KEY FINDINGS• MEI (87.4%) was found to be higher than FEI (77.0%).

• Interest of male students in entrepreneurship (MEI) significantly differs from that of female students (FEI) (χ2 = 104.26; p < 0.001)

• Male students show higher interest in entrepreneurship (r = 0.135; p < 0.001).

KEY FINDINGS: CORRELATES

• We also found a gender-based disparity in the correlates of EI and EINV.

200.154**0.091**0.694**0.624**Access to enough capital

0.294**0.244**0.178**0.141**Exposure to entrepreneurial training/course

0.077**0.056**0.112**0.102**Is the business on-going?

0.219**0.204**0.214**0.170**Close relatives’ entrepreneurial history

0.120**0.150**0.095**0.053**Is the business on-going?

0.201**0.203**0.240**0.144**Parents’ entrepreneurial history

0.086**0.100**0.016-0.010Mother’s range of monthly income

0.087**0.085**-0.045-0.044*Father’s range of monthly income

0.0260.043*-0.084**-0.058**Mother’s highest level of education

0.0250.034*-0.074**-0.079**Father’s highest level of education

0.0040.047**-0.073**-0.005Position among mother's children

0.0140.042*-0.0420.003Position among father's children

-0.0170.0120.0060.048**Number of mother’s children

0.0100.0130.0280.056**Number of father’s children

-0.074**-0.005-0.0200.005Present CGPA

0.004-0.034*0.008-0.032Department

0.047*-0.0110.082**0.075**Ethnic Origin

0.070**0.048**-0.048*-0.069**Marital Status

0.058**0.0020.0070.026Age

FEINVMEINV FEI MEI

EINVEIIndependent Variables

KEY FINDINGS: CORRELATES

• Age, ethnicity and academic performance would matter for FEINV, they are not important for MEINV.

• On the contrary, parent-related variables such as father’s and mother’s education are significantly associated with MEINV.

KEY FINDINGS: CORRELATES• Family’s entrepreneurial history, as reflected in

incidence of entrepreneurs in the family, as well as students’ exposure to entrepreneurial education are significantly associated with EI and EINV for male and

female students.

KEY FINDINGS: CORRELATES• MEI is significantly associated with marital status,

ethnicity, family size and parents’ education.

• FEI is similarly associated with marital status, ethnicity and parents’ education but not with family size.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS• A gender imbalance exists in student entrepreneurship with

male students possessing superior interest and level of involvement.

• The dissimilarities in the factors that influence male and female student entrepreneurship suggest the need for gender-sensitive policies and programmes on entrepreneurship, especially in the developing country context within which this study is situated.

• Specifically, attention should be paid to female students’ age, ethnicity and school grades in designing such policies/programmes.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS• Providing entrepreneurial education to students

would positively influence their interest in entrepreneurship.

• The influence of entrepreneurial parents/close relatives as positive influencers is also indicated.

• From the forgoing, there is the need for appropriate policy interventions if indeed female entrepreneurship is to be optimised.

• THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR YOUR FOR YOUR ATTENTIONATTENTION

gender influence on entrepreneurship

female entrepreneurship

parents education

female students age

mothers education

students exposure

family size

marital status

implicationsa gender

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