A Study of Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control and Expectancy of Success among Nascent Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Self-efficacy is people’s beliefs about their capabilities to attain goals. Individuals with high self- efficacy perceive that they are capable of taking the necessary steps to solve problems. There is increased attention to the role of self-efficacy in the study of entrepreneurship, implying research on entrepreneurial career preferences, intentionality, new venture formation, and performance. The Locus of control refers to the extent to which people attribute the source of control over events to themselves (internal locus of control) or to external circumstances (external locus of control). Locus of control is one of the traits that received most attention within the entrepreneurial trait approach. Expectancy for success is the belief that one is able to obtain desired goals, solve problems, and commit to long-term career goals. It reflects entrepreneur’s expectancy of success in terms of establishing a business venture, solving problems, and attaining personal success. Such optimistic thinking in turn has a favorable impact on their physical and psychological well being, as it boosts their self esteem and self-worth. This study has been conducted to explore locus of control and self-efficacy in nascent entrepreneurs and nonentrepreneurs. It has been reported from the study that a positive correlation has been observed between selfefficacy and expectancy of success among NE. The self-efficacy and Internal locus of control show a significant variation between NE and NonE. It is further revealed that self-efficacy is comparatively stronger predictor than the internal locus of control in explaining the variation in the NE success expectancy. Moreover, the demographic variables have no significant influence on the NE self-efficacy, internal locus of control and success expectancy. A sample size of 120 respondents was taken for this study. The data has been collected through a structured questionnaire with measurement scales of Self Efficacy of Chen et al. (2001), Expectancy scale of Fibel & Hale (1978) and Internal Locus of Control Scale of Levenson (1973).