Psychological Factors that Influences Entrepreneurial Intention among Women in Nigeria: A Study Based in South East Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined psychological factors that influence women entrepreneurial intention in Nigeria. One hundred and seventeen (117) women were drawn within Enugu metropolis using purposive random sampling technique. Their ages ranged between 18 and 50 years, with a mean age of 22.07. Cross-sectional design was adopted. Job involvement (JI), self-efficacy, goal orientation and entrepreneurial intention scales were instruments used for data collection. Three hypotheses were tested. Step-wise multiple regressions were the main statistics used for data analysis. Results of the regression analysis showed that among the studied variables, only self-efficacy was a significant predictor of women participation in entrepreneurship (p < 0.01). The three dimensions of goal orientation, learning goal orientation, prove (performance-prove) orientation, and avoid (performance-avoid) orientation, were not significant predictors of women participation in entrepreneurship. Similarly, JI did not also significantly predict women participation in entrepreneurship. A good practical implication of the finding of this study is that women who develop high self-efficacy are more likely to be entrepreneurs and that strategies to build high self-efficacy among women are needed to make more women become entrepreneurs in order to enhance national/grass-root development. Limitations were made, while suggestions for further studies were stated.