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Archives of Business Research – Vol. 9, No.2
Publication Date: February 25, 2021
DOI: 10.14738/abr.92.9459.
Abubakari, A., & Samira, K. (2021). Examining the Social Drivers of Entrepreneurship: A Case of Business Owners in Aboabo Market in
Tamale. Archives of Business Research, 9(2). 104-127.
Examining the Social Drivers of Entrepreneurship: A Case of
Business Owners in Aboabo Market in Tamale
Abdul-Razak Abubakari
Senior Lecturer, Department of Accountancy Tamale Technical University
Kassim Samira
Senior Lecturer, Department of Accountancy Tamale Technical University
ABSTRACT
This research examined the social drivers of entrepreneurship among
business owners in Aboabo market in Tamale. A quantitative research
approach was adopted and the target population was business owners
in Aboabo market in Tamale. It was found that not all social drivers
that influence decision to become entrepreneurs motivate
entrepreneurs to remain in business. Also, family or close relation,
belonging to a social club (social capital), previous work experience
and social status positively affect business performance while being a
married woman and being a woman does not affect entrepreneurial
performance. Access to finance, family and friends involvement are
major challenges of entrepreneurship whereas lack of social support,
low educational background and gender discrimination are not major
challenges of entrepreneurship. Based on these findings, the study
recommended entrepreneur education, community support and easy
access to finance through government intervention to help
entrepreneurs relish their full potential to support economic growth
and development significantly.
Key words: Entrepreneurship, Social Drivers, Business Owners
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Economic progress and prosperity are highly desired in all countries, whether developing or
developed (Orji, Ogbuabor & Anthony-Orji, 2015). This is simply because progress and prosperity
in an economy will translate to better employment opportunities, high-income levels, food
security, high standard of living and overall total well-being of citizenry. This has necessitated
the identification and collaboration of various factors such as financial development to make
funds available for economic activities; education to polish labour and entrepreneurship to make
use of available resources for production of goods and services. From a layman view point, an
entrepreneur is the person who combines the factors of production (land, labour and capital) to
produce goods and services for profit. Although the view of the layman is not wrong, the role and
importance of an entrepreneur in the development process of a country is vital. Carree and
Thurik (2010) argued that, there is nothing as powerful as a new idea in the hands of a first-class
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Archives of Business Research (ABR) Vol 9, Issue 2, February-2021
entrepreneur. This study focuses on the effects of social drivers of entrepreneurship among
business owners of Tamale Aboabo market.
Entrepreneurial activity is noted as an important source of innovation, employment and
economic growth (Thornton, Ribeiro-Soriano &Urbano, 2011). Hence, entrepreneurship boost
economic progress and prosperity at both national and global level (Huurinainen, 2015). For this
reasons, it is no surprise that the last three decades marked the era of entrepreneurial revolution
or renaissance or what is mostly referred to as “the age of entrepreneurship” (Brajevic, Babic &
Jukic, 2015:156). Entrepreneurship has been identified as a drive towards economic
development thereby much emphasis is being placed on entrepreneurship (Lucas, 2012). Lucas
(2012) identifies that, solving a social need is the dominant motivational factor to entrepreneurs.
Hence, from a business perspective, the trade-off between profit and risk motivates
entrepreneurs while from a social perspective entrepreneurs identifies and tackle social needs
over profit. According to Brajevic et al., (2015), there is high emphasis on social entrepreneurship
for example to achieve socio-economic well-being of people. This is because the primary goal of
social entrepreneurship is to address social needs and problems and by so doing, the social and
economic status of individuals are improved (Brajevic et al., 2015). Therefore, through the
activities of the entrepreneur (combining capital, labour and land to produce goods, addressing
social problems and needs), entrepreneurs are thought of as drivers of job growth, innovators of
solutions to problems and pioneers of technology (Thornton et al., 2011; Brajevic et al., 2015). In
an OECD report, entrepreneurs are considered to be sources of new businesses, employment and
economic growth (OECD Report, 2014). Based on these arguments the role and importance of
entrepreneurship in the development process of any country is justified. However, scholars such
as Baumol (1996); Van Stel and Storey (2004) argue differently when they posited that
entrepreneurship does not support economic growth at all times. This creates controversy about
the causality link between entrepreneurship and economic growth, hence, it is against this
backdrop that entrepreneurial researches are conducted.
Problem Statement
The role of entrepreneurship is highly emphasized in Ghana. This is because 92% of all
businesses in Ghana are Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) privately owned and managed by
individual entrepreneurs who contribute about 70% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually
(Ahiawodzi & Adade, 2012). However, there is a huge literature gap in entrepreneurial research
which does not help stakeholders to formulate and implement decisions that will support
entrepreneurship and its continual contribution to economic growth. Lucas (2012) for example
revealed that, religious motivation affects people’s ability to set-up business but it is mostly
ignored in literature. Many scholars including the likes of Fuller et al. (2000); Cardon et al.
(2010); Carlsson et al (2013) have criticized entrepreneurial studies for focusing on satisfaction,
need and behavior of entrepreneurs with less emphasis on the drivers of entrepreneurship.
Hence, these scholars argue that, there is the need to direct entrepreneurial studies towards
understanding factors that explain the creation, success and failures of entrepreneurs. This
implies that, understanding the drivers of entrepreneurship will help distinguish the type of
entrepreneur and the contribution to economic growth and development.
Stephan et al. (2015) retreated that there is evidence suggesting that different entrepreneur
drivers result in different firm performance yet there is no substantive research to that regard.
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Abubakari, A., & Samira, K. (2021). Examining the Social Drivers of Entrepreneurship: A Case of Business Owners in Aboabo Market in Tamale. Archives of
Business Research, 9(2). 104-127.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.92.9459. 106
Huurinainen (2015) specified that, the effect of social drivers on entrepreneurship has not been
discussed. It is against this background that the research is conducted to examine the social
drivers of entrepreneurship in Aboabo market of Tamale Metropolis
Objectives of the Study
The general objective of the study is to examine the social drivers of entrepreneurship in Tamale
Aboabo market. Specifically, the following objectives are researched.
i. To examine the nature of social drivers of entrepreneurship in Tamale Aboabo market.
ii. To assess the effect of social drivers on entrepreneurial success among business owners in
Tamale Aboabo market
Research Questions
The following research questions are asked;
i. What is the nature of social drivers of entrepreneurship in Tamale Aboabo market?
ii. What is the effect of social drivers on entrepreneurial success among business owners in
Tamale Aboabo market?
iii. Are there challenges of entrepreneurship in Tamale Aboabo market?
Significance of the Study
The study examines the social drivers of entrepreneurship. To Thornton et al. (2011), both
practitioners and policy makers have expressed great interest in understanding the social drivers
that influence entrepreneurial activities. The study would therefore be of useful benefit from
community level through to national and global level (Huurinainen, 2015). Also, the study will
serve as a reference point for academicians as it will address some literature gap.
Scope of the Study
The subject matter or focus of the study is social drivers of entrepreneurship. The study focuses
on the social drivers of entrepreneurship because issues pertaining to this subject matter are
missing in literature particularly in Tamale. Whereas information on the social drivers of
entrepreneurship is important for decision formulation and implementation that will enable
entrepreneurship contribute significantly economic growth and development.
The unit of analysis comprises of all business owners (shop owners) in Tamale Aboabo market .
Business owners are identified as the unit of analysis because business owners are entrepreneurs
who take part in entrepreneurship. Also, Tamale Aboabo market was chosen as the study area
because, it is one of the modest and developing markets in Tamale the capital town of Northern
region. In terms of time frame, the study was expected to be completed within 6 months.
Limitations
The researcher experience a limitation of unfriendly reception from business owners sampled to partake
in the study. This was expected to occur because, business owners in Aboabo market are very busy
most of the time and were reluctant to take part in the study. Hence, convenient sampling was adopted
to select only business owners (shop owners) who willingly sacrificed their time and took part in the
study. Secondly, the finding of the study could not be generalized because of socio-economic
difference between Northern and Southern Ghana.