Psychosocial predictors of entrepreneurial intention among Nigerian graduates

Abstract

This study investigated the role of psychosocial factors (entrepreneurial self-efficacy, fear of failure, social support, and gender) on entrepreneurial intention among Nigerian graduates. The research adopted a survey design. Two hundred and ten (210) participants were selected purposively and randomly for the study. Results revealed that there were significant relationships among the variables of the study. Besides, fear of failure and entrepreneurial self-efficacy jointly predicts entrepreneurial intention. Independent predictions indicated that fear of failure does not significantly predict entrepreneurial intention. However, it shows that entrepreneurial self-efficacy significantly predicts entrepreneurial intention. It was also found that graduates who have high fear of failure did not have lower significant entrepreneurial intention than those with low fear of failure. Those with high entrepreneurial self-efficacy have higher significant entrepreneurial intention than those with low entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Male graduates significantly score higher on entrepreneurial intention than female graduates. The study however, recommended that Universities should design suitable entrepreneurial courses that would promote the graduates' intention to start up their own businesses, and government should also design realistic programmes for job creation. Key words: Entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, fear of failure, social support, gender.