Responding to social change: innovativeness, entrepreneurial alertness, and entrepreneurial intention in Nigeria: the role of family support

Abstract

Presently, entrepreneurship has become one of the adequate remedies to ameliorate various economic and social problems. Thus, to boost entrepreneurship, the Nigerian government has opted to include entrepreneurial studies in tertiary institutions; to increase students’ entrepreneurial prowess and intentions. Understanding the factors inherent in the entrepreneurial process is imperative for entrepreneurial development. This present study addresses university students and entrepreneurial intention: the moderating role of family support in the relationships between innovativeness and entrepreneurial alertness on students’ entrepreneurial intention. The researchers adopted an exploratory quantitative approach using a purposive sampling technique. A total of 1383 students participated in the study across the federal universities in the southeast geopolitical zone in Nigeria. The findings showed that innovativeness, entrepreneurial alertness, and family support are positively associated with entrepreneurial intention. In addition, family support moderated the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and entrepreneurial intention among undergraduate students but did not affect innovativeness. Our findings suggest that educators and policymakers need to consider the role of exogenous factors (e.g., family support) when seeking to promote entrepreneurial actions of college students through policies or educational programs and to rethink the current models of entrepreneurial education that are prevalent in our educational system to imbibe inclusiveness of both exogenous and endogenous factors that influence entrepreneurship.

The moderating effect of entrepreneurial motivation on the relationship between entrepreneurial intention and behaviour: An extension of the theory of planned behaviour on emerging economy

“…This suggests that individuals who are more alert to entrepreneurial opportunities and are better equipped to recognize and act on them are more likely to form EI and behaviors. By improving an individual's ability to search and scan, gather the right information, and identify opportunities, EA can increase the likelihood of starting their own businesses and becoming entrepreneurs ( Ugwueze, Ike and Ugwu, 2022 ). This study's finding that students with higher alertness are better positioned to find and recognize opportunities and are more likely to start their businesses is a valuable insight that can inform efforts to promote entrepreneurship among young people.…”

Unpacking the optimistic mindset of business students towards entrepreneurship

“…Liao and Cheng [ 7 ] concluded that interparental networking is critical to changing the traditional business model into a new model for the successful development of business performance in the market. The study by Ugwueze, Ike [ 52 ] reported that entrepreneurial networking helps to have further ideas that are critically important for the success of any business. Furthermore, the research by Stam and Elfring [ 53 ] highlighted that the entrepreneurial orientation is also critical for the successful development of new venture.…”

Examining entrepreneurial intentions through the lens of university students' attitudes

“…Support from family members could be a significant moderating factor for the relationship between entrepreneurial alertness and, for example, Nigerian students' entrepreneurial intention. At the same time, innovativeness could also be a trigger for starting their own business (Ugwueze, Ike, & Ugwu, 2022). Institutional support, family members' involvement in entrepreneurship, peer support, and perceptions of self-efficacy and entrepreneurial skills are statistically significant determinants of entrepreneurial intentions among students in large entrepreneurial nations such as India and Pakistan (Martins, Shahzad & Xu, 2023;Jena, 2020).…”