Cultivating Entrepreneurial Capacities in Small and Medium Scale Construction Firms For a Sustained Economy
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A developing country like Nigeria continuously needs the impact of entrepreneurs to
contribute to her economic growth and development. The construction industry, known
to be an important sector in any nation and one of the services sectors that has a great
influence on a country’s economy has a wide scope and is vastly diversified. The vast
nature of the industry has posed a wide range of business opportunities for
entrepreneurship, allowing startups of small and medium scale enterprises (SME) in the
sector. However, despite the diverse opportunities in the sector, many of these new and
existing SME construction firms in Nigeria have been forced to pack up as a result of
high rate of entrepreneurial failure. This paper therefore highlights entrepreneurial
capacities of the SME Nigerian construction firms as an important factor for their
sustainability, thus assessed those important entrepreneurial capacities that are
required of SME construction firms for continuous and effective existence. The study
utilized both secondary data from past works and primary data sourced by administering
a structured questionnaire to construction professional of SME construction firms
located across Lagos state. A total of 100 questionnaires were distributed and 90 were
returned. Collected data were analyzed using percentage distribution and Relative
Importance Index (RII) for proper data presentation. This study showed that majority of
the respondents (80%) agreed that entrepreneurial capacity in SME construction firms
is significant for sustainability. Results also showed that innovativeness, financial
management, ability to exploit new opportunities and strategic planning are high in
importance as entrepreneurial capacities required by SME construction firms in Nigeria
to sustain their existence. Other capacities highlighted include time management,
human resource management, business ethics, and communication etc
Keywords
TH Building construction