Gender, Socio-Economic and Socio-Cultural Correlates of Entrepreneurial Intentions of Real Estate Students: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

Extant studies have documented cases of male domination and gender discrimination against women in real estate and construction businesses. It is not clear whether or not the sociocultural barriers to women’s rights to land and even real estate business opportunities have any influence on the entrepreneurial motivations and aspirations of real estate students in emerging Africa markets, and if there are gendered differences to this. Primary data were collected using closed-ended questionnaires administered on final year real estate students from three major universities in Nigeria. The study employed descriptive and inferential techniques, mainly independent sample t-test, factor analysis, correlation analysis and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The study revealed that the influential motivators of entrepreneurial intentions amongst real estate students were financial freedom/flexibility, personal preference/fulfilment, economic interest and prestige/status. However, an examination of the barriers revealed some gendered differences. While “sociocultural barriers to starting a real estate business” was rated 12^th by male respondents rated with a mean value of 3.13, it was rated as the third most influential barrier with a mean of 3.59 by the female respondents. This study provides evidence on the entrepreneurial intentions of real estate students in the context of a real estate business environment in an emerging African market; that is particularly characterized by male domination and socio-cultural and bureaucratic discrimination against women, and how such foundations may shape their aspirations and inclinations towards particular aspect of real estate business practice in Nigeria.