The contribution of enterprise establishment factors to employment growth of the pineapple industry in the Nsawam- Adoagyiri District in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Abstract

The establishment of enterprises is influenced by various factors identified in the theories of enterprise establishment. However, most entrepreneurs do not pay particular attention to such factors when establishing and managing their enterprises. The aim of this study is to examine how enterprise establishment factors contribute to employment growth of the pineapple industry in Nsawam-Adoagyiri District. The enterprise establishment factors investigated in this study are the basic tasks identified by the entrepreneur, availability of funds for enterprise establishment, business information and entrepreneur’s expertise from previous education and previous work. A survey was conducted using mixed methods research. Data were collected from 172 entrepreneurs in the pineapple industry from eight farmer based organizations randomly selected from Nsawam-Adoagyiri District of Ghana. The data were analyzed with SPSS software using Chi square and multiple regression analysis. The results show that availability of funds for enterprise establishment contributed significantly to employment growth. The study found that business information did not contribute to employment growth of the pineapple industry in the study area. While entrepreneurs’ expertise acquired from educational background did not contribute significantly to employment growth of the industry, entrepreneurs’ expertise from previous work background contributed significantly to employment growth. The regression analysis showed that the enterprise establishment factors investigated in this research explain 52% of the variations in employment growth in the pineapple industry in the study area. It can therefore be concluded that enterprise establishment factors do not only influence the enterprise establishment process but also contribute to employment growth of the pineapple industry in the study area.