Proceedings of the 52nd International Academic Conference, Barcelona

PERCEPTION ABOUT RURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA

NATANYA MEYER, DHANASHREE KATEKHAYE , ROBERT MAGDA

Abstract:

The majority of the Indian population resides in rural areas and their main livelihood is through agriculture and agriculture-related activities. In light of this, rural entrepreneurship is one of the vital contributors to economic development in this country. In many instances, rural entrepreneurs are also considered to be necessity-driven as they face many barriers and obstacles restricting growth. The main aim of this study is to determine rural entrepreneurs' perception of their achievements and how they influence the performance and growth of their businesses. The sample comprised entrepreneurs operating small or medium businesses in rural India more specifically the Vidarbha region. The study is empirical and exploratory and made use of a quantitative research design using a self-administered questionnaire. The study was conducted using a simple random sampling technique resulting in a final sample of 292 participants. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square tests. The findings from the study revealed that entrepreneurship development provides new job opportunities and was stated as the most significant factor while the least important factors indicated that participants have the opinion that doing business in a rural area is not a good career option. The study concluded that entrepreneurship development provides new job opportunities and that people are aware of this. Furthermore, there is a significant relationship between the negative perception of rural people regarding entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial development. Recommendations include that government should create more favorable policies for business development. Business support services must be accessible to rural entrepreneurs in an attempt to change their perception about the lack of growth potential in rural areas. This would strengthen the enthusiasm among entrepreneurs as well as aspiring entrepreneurs in rural areas.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, rural, perception, opportunities, India

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2019.052.042

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