Influence of Self-Efficacy on the Entrepreneurial Intentions of Youth in Small and Medium Businesses In Butere Constituency-Kakamega County

Abstract

Kenya Youth Enterprise Fund. Entrepreneurship and youth empowerment is the engine for technological innovation and development worldwide. Thus several businesses for individuals/ youth groups have been formed in the view of starting micro, small and medium business to create jobs in the country. Self-efficacy which is an economic-psychological factor that influence these youth to go into business is a challenge as highlighted by the Kenya Youth Enterprise Fund status report 2014. The purpose of the study was to establish the influence of self-efficacy on entrepreneurial intention of youth in small and medium businesses in Butere Constituency- Kakamega County. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the relationship between opportunity recognition skills and entrepreneurial intentions, examine the relationship between risk and uncertainty management skills and entrepreneurial intentions, investigate the contribution of innovation and product development skills on the entrepreneurial intentions and lastly to determine the effect of interpersonal and networking management skills on the entrepreneurial intentions of youth in Small and Medium Business in Butere constituency. The research design for study was descriptive and it involved a cross sectional survey. The Theory of Entrepreneurial intention which is grounded in cognitive psychology theory of human behavior by Ajzen that attempts to explain or predict human behavior guided the study. The population consisted of 750 business youth who have been operating their businesses for a minimum of one year in Butere Constituency. The businesses were drawn from a cross section of the sub-sectors representing trade, manufacturing and services in Kenya. Systematic and Stratified random sampling strategies was used to select the sample of 159 respondents in this study. Cronbach's Co-efficient Alpha test was applied to measure internal consistency and validity of the research instruments, consequently, a co-efficient score of 0.663 obtained a high level of reliability. The researcher collected data by administering questionnaire to the youth in business in the target group. The data was analyzed using both descriptive statistics, such as the mean, percentage and frequencies and a multiple regression analysis .•The results indicated that risk and uncertainty management skills, opportunity recognition skills, innovation and product development skills and interpersonal and networking management skills is significantly related to entrepreneurial intentions among youth in Butere constituency meaning majority of the youth in business possess these skills and this is of great significance to policy formulation in Kenya especially Kenya youth enterprise development fund in enhancing job creation through entrepreneurship among the youth. The study recommends that youth who have a high achievement motivation and who believe so much in themselves should be encouraged to start their own business so as to help reduce the rate of unemployment among the Kenyan youth who are the majority of Kenyan population and the study of entrepreneurship should be further encouraged in schools and outside schools so as to increase the level of awareness and existing business opportunity among Kenyan youth especially to the uneducated youth. The study also contributed significantly to the existing literature in the area of entrepreneurship and business performance and further research.