Gender differences in entrepreneurial interest and practice among undergraduate students in Nigeria
-
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.21(2).2023.45
-
Article InfoVolume 21 2023, Issue #2, pp. 482-492
- Cited by
- 423 Views
-
209 Downloads
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
The economic turbulence in the last two decades and the Covid-19 pandemic have impaired several economies, heightened unemployment, and worsened job loss and socio-economic hardships. Promoting entrepreneurship inclusiveness has become a critical strategy to revamp the economy. Meanwhile, the global economy has been projected to grow faster with an increase in women entrepreneurs. However, there seems to be a gender gap and differential in start-ups, which draws down women’s inclusion in the business environment. This study examines the gender differential in entrepreneurial interest and practice among 12,485 university students in Nigeria. The results reveal that 88% of male and 84% of female students want to start their own businesses. Both males (66%) and females (65%) reported high entrepreneurial interest, with no statistically significant difference between both genders. The logistic regression analysis shows that entrepreneurship education, relational support, risk-taking, self-efficacy, university ecosystem, and attitudes toward behavior are the main drivers of entrepreneurial interest among male and female students. However, the university ecosystem is found to not significantly affect entrepreneurial interest among male students. Similarly, all factors except for the university ecosystem significantly influence entrepreneurial practice among male and female students. However, relational support is not statistically significant for female students. The study concludes with appropriate policy suggestions that could improve and sustain entrepreneurship interest and practice in both male and female students.
- Keywords
-
JEL Classification (Paper profile tab)L26, J16, A22, I24
-
References49
-
Tables4
-
Figures0
-
- Table 1. Characteristics of the respondents
- Table 2. Descriptive analysis of entrepreneurial interest among male and female students
- Table 3. Ordered logistic regression analysis of factors influencing entrepreneurial interest in male and female students
- Table 4. Ordered logistic regression analysis of factors influencing entrepreneurial practice in male and female students
-
- Adelowo, C., & Akinwale, Y. (2022). Socio-demographic factors, entrepreneurial orientation and wealth creation among MSMEs in Nigeria. International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 14(4), 426-439.
- Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211.
- Ajzen, I. (2011). The theory of planned behavior: Reactions and reflections. Psychology & Health, 26(9), 1113-1127.
- Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behaviour. Prentice-Hall.
- Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211.
- Akinwale, Y. (2018). Descriptive analysis of building indigenous low-carbon innovation capability in Nigeria. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 10(5), 601-614.
- Alene, E. (2020). Determinants that influence the performance of women entrepreneurs in micro and small enterprises in Ethiopia. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 9, 24.
- Bergner, S., Auburger, J., & Paleczek, D. (2021). The why and the how: A nexus on how opportunity, risk and personality affect entrepreneurial intention. Journal of Small Business Management.
- Brush, C. G. (2008). Women entrepreneurship: A research overview. In A. Basu, M. Casson, N. Wadeson, & B. Yeung (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Entrepreneurship (pp. 611-628). Oxford University Press.
- Butkouskaya, V., Romagosa, F., & Noguera, M. (2020). Obstacles to sustainable entrepreneurship amongst tourism students: A gender comparison. Sustainability, 12(5), 1812.
- Caro-González, F., Romero-Benabent, H., & Sánchez-Torné, I. (2017). The influence of gender on the entrepreneurial intentions of journalism students. Intangible Capital, 13(2), 430-478.
- Dabic, M., Daim, T., Bayraktaroglu, E., Novak, I., & Basic, M. (2012). Exploring gender differences in attitudes of university students towards entrepreneurship: An international survey. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 4(3), 316-336.
- De Vita, L., Mari, M., & Poggesi, S. (2014). Women entrepreneurs in and from developing countries: Evidences from the literature. European Management Journal, 32(3), 451-460.
- Desjardins, J. (2018, January 23). How gender diversity enhances the bottom line. Visual Capitalist.
- Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). (2022). Women’s entrepreneurship report: From crisis to opportunity.
- Grilo, I., & Irigoyen, J. (2006). Entrepreneurship in the EU: To wish and not to be. Small Business Economics, 26(4), 305-318.
- Hechavarria, D., Bullough, A., Brush, C., & Edelman, L. (2019). High-growth women’s entrepreneurship: Fueling social and economic development. Journal of Small Business Management, 57(1), 5-13.
- Heilbroner, R. L., Ajzen, I., Fishbein, M., & Thurow, L. C. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Prentice-Hall.
- Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (2016, September). Breadwinner mothers by race/ethnicity and state (IWPR #Q054).
- Kauffman Foundation. (2015, July 20). Women entrepreneurs are key to accelerating growth (Policy Digest). Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
- Kelley, D., Baumer, B., Brush, C., Greene, P., Mahdavi, M., Majbouri, M., & Heavlow, R. (2017). Women’s entrepreneurship 2016/2017 report. Global Entrepreneurship Research Association.
- Kong, H., & Choo, S. (2022). Gender differences in the relationship between achievement motivation and entrepreneurial intention: a conditional process model of entrepreneurship and gender. SAGE Open, 12(2).
- Liñán, F., & Fayolle, A. (2015). A systematic literature review on entrepreneurial intentions: citation, thematic analyses, and research agenda. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 11, 907-933.
- Macmillan, M., & Rajewski, G. (2021, November 16). Research shows women entrepreneurs are key to inclusive economic growth. Babson Thought & Action.
- Mahadea, D., Ramroop, S., & Zewotir, T. (2011). Assessing entrepreneurship perceptions of high school learners in Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu-Natal. South African Journal of Economics and Management Science, 14(1), 66-79.
- Manolova, T., Brush, C., & Edelman, L. (2008). What do women entrepreneurs want? Strategic Change, 17(3-4), 69-82.
- Moreira, J., Marques, C. S., Braga, A., & Ratten, V. (2019). A systematic review of women’s entrepreneurship and internationalization literature. Thunderbird International Business Review, 61(4), 635-648.
- Muntean, S., & Ozkazanc-Pan, B. (2015). A gender integrative conceptualization of entrepreneurship. New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, 18(1), 27-40.
- National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). (2020). Labor force statistics: Unemployment and underemployment report. Abridged labor force survey under Covid-19. National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Abuja.
- National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM). (2021). Socio-economic development in Nigeria (An unpublished report of the 2nd African Peer Review Mechanism on socio-economic development in Nigeria). NACETEM, Nigeria.
- OECD/The European Commission. (2019). The missing entrepreneurs: Policies for inclusive entrepreneurship in Europe. Paris: OECD Publishing.
- Ogundana, O., Simba, A., Dana, L. P., & Liguori, E. (2021). Women entrepreneurship in developing economies: A gender-based growth model. Journal of Small Business Management, 59(sup1), S42-S72.
- Olofinyehun, A., & Egbetokun, A. (2022). Pooled longitudinal dataset on the assessment of an apprenticeship-based entrepreneurship intervention in Nigeria. Mendeley Data, V1.
- Olofinyehun, A., Egbetokun, A., & Adelowo, C. (2018). The supply of high quality entrepreneurs in developing countries: Evidence from Nigeria. Science and Public Policy, 45(2), 269-282.
- Rietveld, C., & Patel, P. (2022). Gender inequality and the entrepreneurial gender gap: Evidence from 97 countries (2006–2017). Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 32, 1205-1229.
- Saeed, S., Yousafzai, S., Yani-De-Soriano, M., & Muffatto, M. (2015). The role of perceived university support in the formation of students’ entrepreneurial intention. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(4), 1127-1145.
- Sánchez Cañizares, S., & Fuentes García, F. (2010). Gender differences in entrepreneurial attitudes. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, 29(8), 766-786.
- Schumpeter, J. (1942). Capitalism, socialism and democracy. Harper and Brothers.
- Shneor, R., & Jensson, J. (2014). Gender and entrepreneurial intentions. In L. Kelley (Ed.), Entrepreneurial Women: New Management and Leadership Models (pp. 15-67). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publisher.
- Sieger, P., Raemy, L., Zellweger, T., Fueglistaller, U., & Hatak, I. (2021). Global student entrepreneurship 2021: Insights from 58 countries. GUESSS.
- Statista. (2022). Unemployment rate in Nigeria in selected quarter between the 1st quarter of 2015 and the 4th quarter of 2020.
- Strawser, J., Hechavarria, D., & Passerini, K. (2021). Gender and entrepreneurship: Research framework, barriers, and opportunities for women entrepreneurship worldwide. Journal of Small Business Management, 59(1), 1-15.
- Thebaud, S. (2015). Status Beliefs and the Spirit of Capitalism: Accounting for Gender Biases in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Social Forces, 94(1), 61-86.
- Tsyganova, T., & Shirokova, G. (2010). Gender differences in entrepreneurship: Evidence from GEM data. Organizations and Markets in Emerging Economies, 1(1), 120-141.
- Ward, A., Hernández-Sánchez, B., & Sánchez-García, J. (2019). Entrepreneurial potential and gender effects: The role of personality traits in university students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Frontiers in Psychology, 10.
- Wasilczuk, J., & Karyy, O. (2022). Youth attitude to entrepreneurship in Eastern and Central European countries: Gender aspect. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 20(3), 83-94.
- Westhead, P., & Solesvik, M. (2016). Entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention: Do female students benefit? International Small Business Journal, 34(8), 979-1003.
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dutta, S., Rivera León, B. L. L., & Wunsch-Vincent, S. (2022). Global innovation index 2022: What is the future of innovation-driven growth? Geneva: WIPO.
- Yordanova, D., & Tarrazon, M. (2010). Gender differences in entrepreneurial intentions: Evidence from Bulgaria. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 15(3), 245-261.