Motivational Patterns Of Women Entrepreneurs In Small And Medium Scale Enterprises: A Case Study In South-West Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This study is aimed at examining the motivational patterns of women entrepreneurs in Small and Medium Enterprises using South-West Nigeria as case study. The specific objectives include: (i)      to examine the factors that motivate women entrepreneurs across different industrial sectors in the South-West Nigeria; (ii)    to and analyze the relationship between motivation and the performance of women in SMEs sub-sector; (iii) to determine the relationship between the factors that motivate women entrepreneurs and the challenges they face in business (iv) to examine the relationship between the factors that motivate women entrepreneurs and their type of business ownership; (iv) to determine if there is significant relationship between environmental factors and women entrepreneurial motivation.  The data required for this study was gathered through the instruments of questionnaire, in-depth interview and participant observation.  Five hundred and seventy (570) copies of questionnaires were administered out of which four hundred and twenty two (422) copies of the questionnaires were collated for the analysis.  To achieve the objectives of this study, five hypotheses were formulated from the structure of research questions.  Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), chi-square, correlation coefficient, concentration and diversification technique based on Standard Industrial Trade Classification and other statistical tools were used in testing these hypotheses.  The results show significant relationship between motivational patterns of women entrepreneurs and their performance; the challenges they face in business; their type of business ownership and environmental factors. The study also revealed that motivational factors which were classified into four different categories (push and pull; intrinsic and extrinsic; forced and chanced and internal and external factors) can act as both predictive and preventive measure for women entrepreneurs. Based on these findings and for policy implications, the study suggests that more women should be encouraged to start business and be equipped with managerial skills for effective performance.