Challenges in the Era of Globalization - iaabd

Challenges in the Era of Globalization
Edited by Emmanuel Obuah
Understanding critical success factors for entrepreneurs: A comparison of Mbarara Municipality
in Uganda and Nnewi Cluster in Nigeria.
Abstract
Arthur Nuwagaba, anuwagaba@ucu.ac.ug
Uganda Christian University, Uganda.
Ijeoma Ezeasor, ije_envoscape@yahoo.com
University of Nigeria Enugu Campus, Nigeria.
Hope n. Nzewi, dr_mrs_nzewi@yahoo.com
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
Success is a recurring theme in human life. In business, a set of entrepreneurs exposed to similar critical
environmental conditions do not necessarily succeed or fail. The paper seeks to develop a deeper understanding of
the critical factors that determine the success of entrepreneurs. Length of survival period, innovation and the ability
of an entrepreneur to transform and expand are used as benchmarks for success. The rationale for this study is that
majority of the businesses do not survive to their 10 th anniversary. The study adopts a qualitative approach. In-depth
interview was conducted on deliberately selected entrepreneurs in Mbarara and Nnewi. The findings reveal that
there were generally varying views on family members contribution towards entrepreneurial success, concurrent
views on the contribution of founding members and successor involvement as vital keys for entrepreneurial success.
However, as regards government support, there were very strong divergent views on contribution to entrepreneur
success by respondents.
Introduction
The promotion of an entrepreneurial society has become an important focus on economic policy reforms
in both the developing and developed world. As a result, specialized intergovernmental, governmental
and non-governmental organisations exclusively dedicated to the promotion, support “entrepreneurial”
and “innovative” start-ups have emerged.
Existing literature shows that the ability to engage in entrepreneurial activity is not randomly determined.
Individuals with particular behavioural traits are likely to sustain and successful grow businesses more
than others. Varieties of factors are associated with people’s tendency to engage in entrepreneurial
activities. They include psychological attributes such as need for achievement (McClelland, 1961);
overconfidence (Busenitz, 1999); locus of control (Evans and Leighton, 1989); optimism (Cooper et al.,
1988) and risk taking propensity (Stewart and Roth, 2001). Others include demographic, economic and
social factors such as education (Bates, 1995); employment status (Ritsila and Tervo, 2002); age (Bates,
1995); marital status (Evans and Leighton, 1989); income (Amit et al, 1995); career experience (Evans
and Leighton, 1989), social ties (Aldrich et al, 1987), and social skills (Baron, 2004).
Despite over 40 years and significant prioritisation of entrepreneurial research on reasons for becoming an
entrepreneur, strategies for success and reasons for failure often offer incomplete findings. The depth and
breadth of available literature offer uncertain explanations and answers to questions to why people engage
in entrepreneurial activities, how they manage to sustain growth and environmental factors that influence
success (Gartner, 1988; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). Hence, there is a need to continual update
literature and support ongoing research on entrepreneurial development.
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