GOAL-SETTING AND RELATIONAL INTELLIGENCE TRAINING IN FOSTERING ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION AND ORGANISATIONAL SUCCESS AMONG SMALL-SCALE BUSINESS OWNERS IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Entrepreneurial Motivation (EM) and Organisational Success (OS) are vital concepts within the field of entrepreneurship, considered indispensable for aspiring entrepreneurs and pivotal in fostering the growth of small-scale business owners. However, literature has shown that many small-scale business owners in Ibadan have inadequate EM and poor organisational performance. Previous studies on small-scale businesses concentrated more on traditional modes–business planning and strategy, financial management, and operational efficiency than on intervention using goalsetting and relational intelligence. This study, therefore, was designed to determine the effects of Goal-setting (GST) and Relational Intelligence Training (RIT) in fostering EM and OS among small-scale business owners in Ibadan, Nigeria. The moderating effects of Locus of Control (LoC) and Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy (ESe) were examined. The McClelland‘s Human Motivation, Maslow‘s Hierarchy of Needs and Vroom‘s Performance-based Expectancy theories provided the framework, while the study adopted the pretest-post-test, control group, quasi-experimental design with a 3×2×3 factorial matrix. Three Local Government Areas (LGAs) (Akinyele, Ibadan North and Ibadan Northwest) were purposively selected based on the ample number of smallscale businesses. The cluster sampling technique was used in selecting relevant trade associations, while small business owners whose businesses were not performing optimally and whose owners have low motivation (adjudged by EM and OS screening scales) were purposively sampled in the selected LGAs. The participants were randomly assigned to GST (18), RIT (20), and Control (20) groups. The instruments used were EM (α=.84), OS (α=.96), Locus of Control (α=.83), and ESe (α=.90) scales. The training lasted nine weeks. Analysis of covariance and Bonferroni Post-hoc served as analytical tools at 0.05 level of significance. There were significant main effects of training on EM (F(2; 45)=6.46; partial η2=0.22) and OS (F(2; 45)=27.19; partial η2=0.55). Entrepreneurs in RIT had the highest adjusted mean score (99.57) followed by those in the GST (94.14) and the control (81.96) groups on EM. On OS, entrepreneurs in RIT had the highest adjusted mean score (157.27), followed by those in the GST (141.45) and control (103.84) groups. There was a significant main effect of LoC on EM (F (1; 45)=9.05; partial η2=0.17) but not on OS. The participants with external LoC had a higher adjusted mean (96.14) than those with internal LoC (89.63). The main effects of ESe on EM and OS were not significant. There was a significant two-way interaction effect of training and LoC on OS (F(2; 45)=5.08; partial η2=0.18), in favour of participants with internal LoC in RIT group, but not on EM. The two-way interaction effects of training and ESe, as well as the two-way interaction effects of LoC and ESe were not significant on EM and OS. The three-way interaction effects were not significant on EM and OS. Goal-setting and relational intelligence training fostered entrepreneurial motivation and organisational success of small-scale business owners in Ibadan, Nigeria. Personnel psychologists, human resource managers and entrepreneurs should utilise these interventions with consideration for locus of control.