Determinants of entrepreneurial engagement intensity in rural settings: evidences from Haramaya district, Ethiopia

Abstract

Empirical research studies on entrepreneurial work intensity and its determinants in Ethiopia are negligible. Thus, the study examined the applicability of work intensity in rural entrepreneurship Haramaya district. The study was based on the Theory of Time Allocation. To this end, data were gathered via a cross-sectional survey of 381 rural households and were analyzed using the Tobit model. The findings revealed that ownership of the business site, location of the enterprise, contract work, the distance of residents from the main road, ecological settings, childhood experience of the household head as an orphan and the reason or motivation for starting an enterprise are found to be the most significant determinants of entrepreneurial intensity. The study underlined the prominence of household, spatial, and motivational factors in shaping the intensity of entrepreneurial engagement. Finally, the importance of placing emphasis on the vitality of improving household-level resources and capabilities to create as many devoted rural entrepreneurs as possible was recommended.