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COPYRIGHT 2003 Bridgewater State College
Abstract
This paper considered self-concept, perceived managerial competence, work stress and business commitment as important psychological variables for perceived entrepreneurial success among female entrepreneurs. A study was conducted to examine these factors, using 213 female entrepreneurs. The results showed that although all the predictor variables jointly accounted for perceived entrepreneurial success only business commitment contributed significantly. But in the independent prediction of the variables, only self-concept and business commitment were significant. Additionally, number of children significantly influenced perceived success with females having 5 children and more, and those having 1-2 children reporting better success than those without children or having 3-4 children. However, marital status did not significantly influence perceived entrepreneurial success. The study concludes that success for female entrepreneurs relies on a high self-concept regarding their role in business, commitment to business and reduction of a conflict between home responsibilities and business. The authors also encourage women to attend training programs on business management.
Key Words: female entrepreneurs, psychology of work, Nigerian women.
Introduction
Work is an essential aspect of life. People work to live and to live is to work. To the psychologist, work is an important source of identity, self-esteem, and self-actualization, which provides a sense of fulfillment by affording the individual worker a sense of purpose and projecting his or her values to the society (Babalola, 1998). Work can also be a source of frustration, boredom, and can at times bring feelings of meaninglessness, depending on the character of the individual and the nature of the task (Arnold, Cooper & Robertson, 1995).
Onah (1994) has recognized two components of the work force; the formal and the informal. The formal work sector is sometimes referred to as the "organized" sector. It is a work organization with a set of goals and aspirations involving bureaucratic procedures with complex organizational structures in which there are routine, predictable tasks. The informal work sector is concerned with economic activities that are unregulated and without any formal mode of operation beyond the dictates of market forces. Self-employed workers are classified as being in the informal work sector; they may work in their homes or market stalls or their businesses may be well established (in terms of fixed public place of business and assets) (Babalola, 1998).
By the tradition of some cultures in Nigeria, like the Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, Bini, women are not expected to be involved in occupations that will take them outside their matrimonial home; they are rather expected to manage the family and "be submissive to their husbands" (Ehigie & Idemudia, 2000). Because women are increasingly expected to work when they complete their educational careers, there is a decline of domestic work as an occupation (Ehigie, 2000). Thus, the number and percentage of wives and mothers in the labor force are increasing (Menaghan & Parcell, 1990). However, Ehigie (1997) opined that people opt for their wives to engage in less demanding occupations, especially non-career occupations. Hence, many now engage in small-scale businesses in Nigeria.
There is no legal or single clear-cut definition of what constitutes small enterprises in Nigeria (Ozigbo, 2000). And the classification of businesses into small, medium or large is a subjective and qualitative judgment (Ekpenyong & Nyong, 1992). Under the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary and credit policy guidelines for 1996, as reported by Ozigbo (2000), small scale enterprise is defined as an enterprise with fixed assets excluding land, but including working capital not exceeding N10 million.
A small scale business, which could exist in the form of a manufacturing, processing or service industry, is one in which the general and functional management are in the hands of one or, at most, two or three people who also make all the important decisions in that business (Udeh, 1990). Akamiokhor (1983) sees small-scale business as a veritable vehicle for the achievement of national macroeconomic objectives in terms of employment generation at low investment cost and the development of entrepreneurial capabilities and indigenous technology. Hisrich (1990) argued that small businesses produce millions of jobs and almost half of the gross national product in a free market enterprise.
The person who risks time, effort and money to start and operate a business is called an entrepreneur (Udeh, 1990). Schumpter (1954) sees entrepreneurship as synonymous with innovation, creativity and risk-taking. Carland, Hoy, Boulton and Carland (1984) defined an entrepreneur as an individual who establishes and manages a business for the principal purpose of profit and growth. Entrepreneurs are also seen as people who have the ability to see and evaluate business opportunities, to gather the necessary resources, to take advantage of them, and to initiate appropriate action to ensure success (Meredith, Nelson & Neck, 1982). The entrepreneur is able to recognize potentially profitable opportunities, to conceptualize venture strategies, and to become the key force in successfully moving an idea from the mind to the market place (Stanford, 1975).
>From a personality point of view, Udeh (1990) sees an entrepreneur to be optimistic, moderate risk-taker, and believing in their ability to control their own destiny rather than just making money. He added that they are usually married, with minimum distractions caused by family life. Taking a more psychological approach, an entrepreneur is a person who is typically driven by certain needs (need to obtain or attain something, need to experiment, need to accomplish or need to escape authority of others). Generally, from discussions and writings about entrepreneurs it can be concluded that successful entrepreneurs possess distinctive qualities.
An entrepreneur desires and works towards success. However, entrepreneurial bids are not always success stories. Oshagbemi (1983) argues that a greater number of people who enter the business world in Nigeria every year fail than succeed. Attempts made by scholars to study the problems of self-employment have identified human capital and financial capital as barriers. The human capital is of interest in this paper. Writers like Akeredolu-Ale (1975), Olakanpo (1968), Omololu (1990) and others have, among other variables, recognized the impact of psychological factors on self-employment establishment and success.
Based on the series of definitions given on who an entrepreneur is, it can be inferred that entrepreneurial success may be determined by psychological factors such as self-concept, managerial competence, work stress, and business commitment.
However, the variables considered in the present study; entrepreneurial success, managerial competence, work stress, and business are examined as perceived variables in their quantification, rather than how they exist in actual forms. This is given credence by the social action theory by Silverman (1970) that the goals of the individual, and the means selected and actions taken to achieve these goals, are affected by the individual's perception of the situation. Therefore, social action theory looks to the individual's own definition of the situation as a basis for explaining behavior. Thus, the individual female entrepreneur's perception of business success counts in determining her entrepreneurial behavior. Moreover, there are no defined psychological parameters for quantifying business success. There are rather individual differences in the perception of success and it is how an individual interprets success that will really determine whether she will be satisfied and then well adjusted to business performance. Mullins (1996) explains that we all see things in different ways and we may be influenced by our expectations so that we 'see' what we expect to see; this is what is referred to as the perceived view of reality.
Self Concept and Entrepreneurship
Self-concept is defined by Sabin (1954) as those ideas the individual has of himself or herself that he or she learned in relationship with others. If our self-concept is positive, we tend to act and perceive the world positively. If our self-concept is negative, we feel dissatisfied and unhappy (Rogers, 1980). The self and role we play interact. Since the self strives for consistency, it selects those roles compatible with the self-concept. When the role and self-concept are incompatible, conflict arises.
Sabin (1954) asserts that self-concept is a product of the social roles that an individual plays. Thus, the self-concept which females hold is determined by the social roles that they play. Marshall (1998) holds that females have a high...
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