Developing a Measuring Instrument for Entrepreneurial Motivations and Obstacles in the Philippines

Entrepreneurship is a tool that can drive up the economy and decrease the unemployment rate of a country. This catalytic nature of entrepreneurship makes it an important priority for the government and educational institutions to promote entrepreneurial activities in the community. However, most studies have not considered both motivation and obstacles when modeling entrepreneurial intentions. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing tested and validated measuring instrument on entrepreneurial motivation and obstacle specifically in the Philippine context. This study was conducted in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental province, Phlippines. The drop-off/pick-up method was employed in selecting the establishments in the locality targeting employees with intentions to start a business but have not yet acted on their intention. The principal components analysis was used in this study. Based on the results, this study provides two factors for entrepreneurial motivation, namely, intrinsic and social motivation, and need for personal and financial autonomy, and three factors for entrepreneurial obstacles, namely, capital obstacle, skills and support obstacle, and economic sentiment obstacle. Results also showed that financial security provides the highest motivation among others, and access to financial capital is the greatest obstacle. With this, the government may focus on these issues on providing help among those who want to create business start-ups.