RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
6.6 Political environment
Analysis of research question 2 – does political environment influence youths’
entrepreneurial behaviour? This is analysed based on the outcome of the survey conducted among the selected youths in the three districts of Mpumalanga. The measuring instrument was drawn based on the meta-analysis discussion on readiness for entrepreneurship which considered critical elements such as convergence of personal qualities, recognition of politically motivated openings towards entrepreneurship and capacity to evaluate the environment in such a way to harness creative and industrious potential. The questionnaire was designed to extract information from youths based on their perception of political environment influence on entrepreneurship. Analysis was done to test for significant
3.05
2.66
1 2 3 4 5
Diagreement Agreement
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agreement and disagreement to each statement and comparison of mean score to test the extent of political influence on youths.
6.6.1 Analysis of political environment
Analysis of political environment was done using descriptive and inferential statistics Table 6.10: Political environment influence on entrepreneurial behaviour
S/N Item SD
(%) D (%)
N (%)
A (%)
SA (%)
M ST.D T
1 I believe political office holders are more interested in winning elections than boosting small businesses especially among youths
6.8 10.7 10.7 40.6 31.3 3.79 1.190 12.490 2 I would endeavour to start my
own business if there is a clear direction on government support to help my business grow
1.7 5.1 11 51.5 30.7 4.05 .879 22.411 3 If government can educate me
on what I stand to gain by becoming an entrepreneur it will encourage me to give it a try
1.7 4.2 9.9 45.4 38.9 4.15 .887 24.534 4 If government can encourage
financial institutions to allocate their resources to help small businesses it will motivate me to start my own business
1.4 3.1 8.7 51.8 34.9 4.16 .815 26.763 5 I believe if government can
reduce interest on loan it will encourage me to start/run my own business
2.8 3.7 13 54.4 26.2 3.97 .891 20.620 6 I will be more interested in
starting a business if business registration procedures are made simpler
2.5 4.2 14.6 49.6 29 3.98 .914 20.260 7 I think if government can
introduce tax holiday for youth entrepreneurs it will encourage
me to start my own business 2 6.5 18.3 51.8 21.4 3.84 .901 17.619 8 If I get assurances that my
products will be protected from similar products of big
companies especially from
157 abroad it will encourage me to
start my own business
2.3 3.7 17.5 49.3 27.3 3.96 .893 20.205 9 I would consider starting a new
business if adequate
infrastructures can be provided to reduce high cost of doing business
0.8 6.2 15.2 54.9 22.8 3.93 .837 20.858 10 I believe exchange rate (Rand)
against other major world currency (Dollar) is not favourable to small business
4.2 11 23.7 43.9 16.9 3.58 1.029 10.689
SD-Strongly Disagree, D-Disagree, N-Neutral, A-Agree, SA-Strongly Agree, M-Mean and SD-Standard Deviation. Mean score (-) SD > 3 in bold represent significant agreement and Mean score (+) SD < 3 disagreement.
Table 6.10 describes respondents' opinion on political environment influence on entrepreneurial behaviour. The responses under the strongly agree and agree response option was collapsed into 'Agree', and strongly disagree and disagree collapsed into 'Disagree' and inferential analysis will enable the comparison of mean score of each statement to ascertain whether or not youths significantly agreed or disagreed to each statement and it will assist in measuring the extent of influence of each construct to draw inference. One-sample statistics and one-sample test will facilitate these comparisons.
A look at responses on the construct political environment shows the significance of having a favourable political climate in creating enabling atmosphere for business creation; this was confirmed by participants responses with agreement of (86.7%) that if government can encourage financial institutions to allocate resources to help small businesses, it will motivate them to start their own business. 8.7% of the respondents were neutral in their response, while 4.5% disagreed likewise one-sample t test shows significant agreement that if government exercise her political will to encourage financial institutions to be committed in allocating more financial resources to support young entrepreneurs, it will influence youths’
participation in entrepreneurship (M = 4.16, SD = .815), t (354) = 26,763, p < .0005). The role of government in educating young people on the need for engaging in entrepreneurial activities resounded as 84.3% of the respondents agreed to the statement that if government provide them with education on the benefits of becoming an entrepreneur, it will encourage them to try it out. However, 9.9% of the respondents were neutral in their response and 5.9%
disagreed. It is important to note that proper entrepreneurial orientation is achieved through education irrespective of formal (schooling) or informal (mentoring) type of education provided it is geared towards providing rudimentary or continuous trainings supported by
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government to make an affordable and reachable training accessible to large spectrum of youths in the province as shown by t test (M = 4.15, SD = .887), t (354) = 24.534, p < .0005).
The need for the government to provide a clear direction of support to businesses was affirmed by 82.2% of the respondents who agreed that they would endeavour to start their own business if there is a clear direction on government support to help business grow. 11%
of them were neutral in their response, while 6.8% disagreed this statement was further confirmed by one-sample t test result of (M = 4.05, SD = .879), t (354) = 22.411, p < .0005).
The government's role in reducing interest's rate seemed important to the youths surveyed, as 80.6% of them agreed that if there could be reduction on interest on loan, they will be encouraged to start their own business. 13% were neutral while 6.5% disagreed with the statement. Likewise one-sample t test shows youths significantly agreed that reduction of interest rates on loan will minimise cost of funds which will encourage entrepreneurship among youths in Mpumalanga (M = 3.97, SD = .891), t (354) = 20.620, p < .0005). Majority of the respondents (78.6%) responded positively to the statement that they would be more interested in starting a business if business registration procedures are made simpler. This is an indication that complex bureaucratic procedures involved in business registration could deter youth's involvement in entrepreneurship. However, 14.6% of the respondents were neutral in their opinion, and 6.7% disagreed. This also is in line with t test result (M = 3.98, SD = .914), t (354) = 20.620, p < .0005).
Another factor that may encourage young people entrepreneurial behaviour is if adequate infrastructures are in place to reduce high cost of doing business. This is based on the premise of the positive response of majority of the respondents (77.7%), 15.2% of the respondents were however neutral, while 7% of them disagreed. In furtherance to this, one-sample t test result affirmed this position because of the multiplier effect investment in infrastructure will cause in creating enabling environment for business (M = 3.93, SD = .837), t (354) = 20.858, p < .0005. Furthermore, most of the respondents (76.6%) agreed that if there are assurances that their products will be protected from similar products from big companies, especially from abroad, they will be encouraged to start their own business. 17.5% of the respondents were neutral in their response, and 6% disagreed. As t test rightly affirmed (M = 3.96, SD = .893), t (354) = 20.205, p < .0005). Introduction of tax holiday for young entrepreneurs will influence their entrepreneurial behaviour as shown by participants responses (73.2%) with agreement to the notion. 18.3% of them did not agree or disagree with the statement while 8.5% disagreed. One-sample t test result confirms the position of youths in this regard (M = 3.84, SD = .901), t (354) = 17.619, p < .0005). Majority of the respondents (71.9%) agreed
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that political office holders are more interested in winning elections than boosting young people's small businesses, however, 17.5% of the respondents disagreed and 10.7% were neutral in their response, this was also confirmed by one-sample t test (M = 3.79, SD = 1.190), t (354) = 12.490, p < .0005). Lastly, most of the respondents (60.8%) agreed that the Rand exchange rate against a major currency like the United States Dollar is not favourable to small businesses. However, 23.7% of them neither agreed nor disagreed and 15.2%
disagreed. Likewise one-sample t test shows (M = 3.58, SD =1.029), t (354) =10.689, p <
.0005).
It can be deduced from the analysis above that the influence wielded by political environment on entrepreneurial behaviour in the province is very significant. Although, there is a significant agreement to all the questions asked, comparing the mean score for each statement, two statements are considered the most influencing factors that will encourage entrepreneurial behaviour and boost participation among youths in the province. They are: (i) Q4.3: If government can educate me on what I stand to gain by becoming an entrepreneur it will encourage me to give it a try and (ii) Q4.4: If government can encourage financial institutions to allocate their resources to help small businesses it will motivate me to start my own business. Subsequently, proper exchange rate mechanism influence tested by Q4.10 has the least influence on youths’ entrepreneurial participation. This can be traced to the fact that most young entrepreneurial businesses might not have the expertise and financial muscle to operate internationally, hence youths’ focus is on production targeted at the local market. It is pertinent to mention that youths still consider this a significant factor that can influence entrepreneurial participation in the province.
Further analysis was done to determine the overall position of participants on the construct political environment influence on entrepreneurial behaviour using descriptive statistics to calculate mean and standard deviation to generate total response.
TABLE 6.11 Overall responses of participants on political environment influence on entrepreneurial behaviour by Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation Variance Political
Environment
355 1.50 5.00 3.9416 .54293 .295
Mean score (-) SD > 3 in bold represent significant agreement and Mean score (+) SD < 3 disagreement.
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Table 6.11 shows there is a significant agreement to political environment influence on entrepreneurial behaviour. Mean score of 3.9416 (78.8%) is a testament to the influence of political environment influence on entrepreneurial behaviour in the province. Only 21.2%
disagreed that political environment does not significantly influence their entrepreneurial behaviour.