ENTREPRENEURIAL CAPABILITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY-BASED RESEARCHERS IN SELECTED PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN OGUN STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the entrepreneurial capability of Science and Technology-based researchers in the selected private universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. Primary data were mined through the aid of questionnaire administration. The questionnaire was evaluated for internal consistency by two experienced researchers and one industrialist. Three private universities were randomly selected in the state and fifteen (15) questionnaire were purposively administered on experienced Science and Technology-based researchers (academic staff members) from each of the selected universities making forty-five in total. Thirty-one (31) questionnaire were retrieved and used for analysis of this study with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. The study concluded that the nature of research of Science and Technology-based researchers were basic and applied research, evaluation research, action research and ground breaking research. The study also concluded that their motivations/reasons for research were promotion and job requirements, to discover and extend knowledge, to solve problems and innovate, for academic exercise and for entrepreneurial invention. The study further concluded that majority of their publications were self-sponsored and less than 11 while only 1-3 of the publications were commercialized. The level of their entrepreneurial capabilities was very high, although, lack of interest in participating in business, lack of entrepreneurial knowledge, insufficient capital, insufficient government support, lack of market knowledge, economic conditions, inability to merge lecturing with entrepreneurship affect their entrepreneurial capability.