Relationship between Entrepreneurial Factors and Small Agro-enterprises’ Success: Evidence from Bhutan
Tashi Dendup *
College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan
Phub Dorj
College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan
Tandin Gyeltshen
College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan
Lobzang Penjor
College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Successful small agro-enterprises (SAEs) play a vital role in the economy of an agrarian country like Bhutan. Although entrepreneurial factors, amongst others, affect the success of SAEs, there is a dearth of empirical studies on this topic in Bhutan. Such studies will help entrepreneurs and agribusiness promoters understand entrepreneurial factors affecting the success of SAEs. Therefore, we studied the relationship between entrepreneurial factors and the success of SAEs in Bhutan. Using multistage quota sampling, we selected four districts (1), eight sub-districts (2), 32 chiwogs (3), and 320 entrepreneurs of SAEs (4) for the study. We interviewed 320 entrepreneurs using structured questionnaire and analyzed data using IBM SPSS version 23. We found a significant and positive relationship between the success of SAEs and entrepreneurs’ motivation (r = .44, P = .000) and personal entrepreneurial competencies (PECs) (r = .39, P = .000). However, there was no statistically significant relationship between entrepreneurs’ age and success of SAEs (r = .02, P = .707). Overall, entrepreneurs’ motivation and PECs contributed 20.7% to the success of SAEs in Bhutan. We recommend relevant authorities to continue supporting entrepreneurship education and training programs to motivate and build entrepreneurial competencies.
Keywords: Entrepreneurial factors, small agro-enterprises, success, Bhutan