Entrepreneurial Motivation, Psychological Capital, and Business Success of Young Entrepreneurs in the DRC

Akilimali Ndatabaye Ephrem, Paul Martin Dontsop Nguezet, Ishara Kaciko Charmant, McEdward Murimbika, Bola Amoke Awotide, Abdoulaye Tahirou, Mulindangabo Neema Lydie and Victor Manyong
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Akilimali Ndatabaye Ephrem: Faculty of Economics and Management, Université Officielle de Bukavu, Bukavu 570, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Paul Martin Dontsop Nguezet: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Kalemie, Tanganyika 570, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ishara Kaciko Charmant: Faculty of Economics and Management, Université Officielle de Bukavu, Bukavu 570, Democratic Republic of the Congo
McEdward Murimbika: Graduate School of Business Administration, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
Bola Amoke Awotide: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Bamako 91094, Mali
Abdoulaye Tahirou: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Bamako 91094, Mali
Mulindangabo Neema Lydie: Faculty of Economics and Management, Université Officielle de Bukavu, Bukavu 570, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Victor Manyong: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dar Es Salaam 34441, Tanzania

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-22

Abstract: The proponents of the entrepreneurial motivation dichotomy have argued that opportunity-driven entrepreneurs are more likely to succeed and sustain in entrepreneurship, unlike people who start-up businesses out of necessity. However, disagreement still exists on why and under which conditions the former might outperform the latter. This research contributes to this debate by examining the mediation role of psychological capital in the relationship between entrepreneurial motivation and business success among youths. This study relied on a random sample of 295 young entrepreneurs surveyed from Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We applied partial least squares to analyze the hypothesized relationships. Evidence for the positive effect of opportunity-led motivation on psychological capital was found, but the findings did not support any direct effect of entrepreneurial motivation on business success. Instead, psychological capital positively and significantly mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial motivation and business success. This paper makes a distinctive new contribution to the understanding of the intriguing and controversial entrepreneurial motivation dichotomy—a business success relationship. To this end, we have found out that opportunity entrepreneurs have 3% more chance of succeeding in businesses compared to necessity entrepreneurs, because the former outperform the latter by 4% in the dimensions of psychological capital. This paper has new policy implications, as it reveals the great importance of psychological capital in promoting business success, thus reducing unemployment among youths, and offers tips from which psychological capital can be built or improved.

Keywords: youth; business success; entrepreneurial motivation; psychological capital; DRC (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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