International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org Entrepreneurial Growth: Challenges to Young Omani Entrepreneurs Dr. Subrahmanian Muthuraman Assistant Professor Faculty of Business Studies Arab Open University E-mail: subrahmanian.m@aou.edu.om Sultanate of Oman Dr. Mohammed Al Haziazi Associate Professor Faculty of Business Studies Arab Open University Sultanate of Oman Abstract Entrepreneurship plays an important role in economic prosperity and social stability in many developed countries. Entrepreneurship has been adopted as a strategy to promote economic activities among young people. There is a growing interest in understanding the various challenges of youth entrepreneurship. The main purpose of this study was to assess the challenges in entrepreneurial growth of young entrepreneurs in the Sultanate of Oman. This research was set out to investigate the obstacles that young people encounter when setting up their businesses; the current obstacles that prevent the expansion of their entrepreneurial ventures; as well as the prospects for youth entrepreneurship development in this community. The study employed a descriptive survey research type and used convenience sampling technique to collect data. A standardized questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect data to establish the perceptions of 52 young Omani entrepreneurs. This paper is significant in that it brings insights on challenges for entrepreneurship in Oman. The importance of stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit, values, and attitudes of young people and encouraging innovative business start-ups while fostering a more entrepreneur-friendly culture must be translated into actual and effective policy actions in Oman. We consider that supporting youth entrepreneurship must be an Oman’s priority. Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Challenges, Young Entrepreneur, Growth and Economic Development Introduction Economic development, achieved largely through young entrepreneurship growth, is very important to both developed and developing nations. Entrepreneurship is not a miracle solution for solving the youth unemployment crisis, as only a minority of young people has the right skills, ideas and personality traits (Ceptureanu & Ceptureanu 2015). Ongoing demographic transitions in certain regions of the world, by which the proportion of young women and men is significantly increased compared to other age groups, has opened a window of opportunity to invest in young people who will be the next generation of workers and entrepreneurs. This opportunity, if invested in, will enable countries to reduce poverty and leapfrog stages of economic and social development (ILO,2005). The world is in the transition of searching for more innovative ways to combine economic growth, the reduction of poverty and equitable development in a more environmentally sustainable manner. There is a mounting concern in all corners of the world for the reduction of the unemployment rate to ensure the quality of present and future life (Tessema, 2015). Youth micro and small scale enterprises (MSEs) which are considered to be increasingly becoming important economic actors in generating income and employment throughout the world since this sector on average contributes about 67% employment to the total labour force in most of the developing countries (Yordanos Mekonnen, 2006). Entrepreneurship focuses on economic growth, economic competitiveness, job creation, as well as improvement of social welfare in any country (Fatoki 2011). Today’s young generation experience faces manifold challenges. Thus, at least to minimize such challenges of young people regarding being unemployed, countries 98 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org should create a conducive environment to promote young entrepreneurship. Because of this fact, there is a growing interest in understanding the various challenges of youth entrepreneurship. Therefore, the importance of youth entrepreneurship development cannot be underestimated in the Sultanate of Oman. The concept of youth entrepreneurship is progressively gaining momentum within the Omani society. Various studies have much focused on the analysis of socioeconomic conditions and problems faced by youth, but the studies on youth entrepreneurship and their economic contribution are extremely limited. Problems and potentials of youth entrepreneurs in social and economic context virtually remain untouched. Study Objective The primary objective of this study is • To assess the challenges in entrepreneurial growth of young entrepreneurs in Sultanate of Oman • To investigate particular challenges that prevent expansion in youth entrepreneurial ventures. • To analyze and describe the possibilities of youth entrepreneurship development in Sultanate of Oman Literature Review Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) defines entrepreneurship as “any attempt at new business or new venture creation, such as self-employment, a new business organization, or the expansion of an existing business, by an individual, a team of individuals or an established business (Kelley, Singer, et al.2012). Entrepreneurship is an activity that involves the discovery, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities to introduce new goods and services, ways of organizing, markets process and raw material through organizing efforts that previously had not existed (Venkataraman,1997). Entrepreneurship is an important process by which new knowledge is converted into products and services (Shane and Venkataraman,2000). Evidence shows that when jobs are less, especially youth are generally more likely to be unemployed. Economic crisis crippling the job market, young people are first to be laid off. This has led to thousands of laid-off workers returning to rural areas where the chances for getting alternative work are dire. Therefore, many young people are compelled to be self-employed and becoming “entrepreneurs by necessity” rather than “entrepreneurs by choice”. The definition of youth entrepreneurship (Chigunta 2002) is the practical application of enterprising qualities such as initiative, motivation, creativity, and risk-taking into the work environment (either in self-employment or employment in small start-up firms), using the appropriate skills necessary for success in that environment and culture. (Schnurr and Newing, 1997). Although the literature on youth entrepreneurship is very limited, there is evidence that young people think that working for themselves as a career option as it offers them an interesting job, freedom, and autonomy, which another working atmosphere might not provide (Greene and Storey 2005). Recently, interest in youth entrepreneurship has been fueled owing to high levels of unemployment amongst young people and as a way to foster employment opportunities or to address social exclusion. Youth entrepreneurship has gained some more importance in recent years in many countries as a way of fostering employment opportunities, boosting economic competitiveness and promoting local and regional development. Interestingly, the world has adopted entrepreneurship as a strategic approach to facilitate economic participation among youth. Youth involvement in entrepreneurship supports them to boost up their confidence, achieve economic independence and ward off their inherited poverty. It also creates job opportunities and also ensures the development of economic growth (Sitoula, 2015). Baker (2008) argues in his paper the present challenge of youth unemployment and investigates the role that youth entrepreneurs play in solving these challenges.Youth Business International (2009) recommends that business, governments and other stakeholders in a society highly perceive that supporting young entrepreneurs would result in reducing youth unemployment and encouraging growth in the economy. Youth entrepreneurship has, therefore, gained more importance in recent years in many countries as a way of fostering employment opportunities, boosting economic competitiveness and promoting regional development. Blanchflower and Oswald (1998) outlines that youth entrepreneurship has a number of significant positive consequences; firstly, youth entrepreneurship contribute to the creation of employment to young people, both 99 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org through self-employment and creation of new enterprises, although, majority of job creation takes place in wellestablished and growing firm, secondly, young people turn out to be innovative and develop new economic opportunities and trends, thirdly, the introduction of new small enterprises contribute to the overall competitiveness of local economies, fourthly, self-employment might lead to increased job satisfaction among youth people. There is growing recognition among governments and international multi-lateral organization that as jobs become scared, youth entrepreneurship becomes an important strategy for integrating youth into labor markets thereby addressing unemployment challenges (Murithii 2013). Investing in entrepreneurial ventures and educating people to start-up those ventures can be an invaluable tool to advance human resources to promote socio-economic development. Therefore youth entrepreneurs have an important role to play in the process of industrial as well as economic development. They could assist to generate employment opportunities for youth, to raise income for them and to break the vicious circle of poverty (Chigunta, 2002). Youth unemployment is an immense waste of human resources that could contribute to economic and social progress. Youth run enterprises also provide valuable goods and services to society, especially the local community (Chigunta,2002). This results in the revitalization of the local community. It has also been observed that new small firms tend to raise the degree of competition in the product market, thereby bringing gains to consumers (Curtain, 2000). Furthermore, this kind of enterprises run by young people may create linkages between youth entrepreneurs and other economic factors, such as through sub-contracting, franchising and so on (White and Kenyon, 2001). Conceptual Framework HR Finance Motive Personal Capital Start Up Entrepreneurial Challenges Entrepreneurial Growth Production Govt Support Market Admin Challenges for Young Entrepreneurs Youth entrepreneurship offers a lot of potential for young people, but the young people in Sultanate of Oman are less likely to engage in entrepreneurial activities and the levels of entrepreneurship among young people are the lowest. As for the startup motives, as noted in the theory of planned behavior, intention for a startup is driven by the motivation of the income-generating opportunities connected to the startup. The most influential factor that has contributed positively and significantly to ‘enterprise performance’ is startup motives. How motivated entrepreneurs are to start a new enterprise is the most crucial factor that positively influences microenterprise performance owned and managed by young entrepreneurs (Mamun, et.al, 2016). It is hardly news that in today's lending environment, entrepreneurs are finding it difficult to secure conventional loans for startup businesses or the acquisition of existing businesses or franchises (Hopson and Hopson, 2014). Startups and small businesses are facing many challenges in 100 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org terms of financing their activities. These types of companies cannot access the capital market or to make IPO or to borrow money from banks like big, mature or well-known companies (who were at their beginnings startups or small businesses). They have to find different sources for financing their ideas/products/services that are in many cases very risky, hazardous or too ambitious. But, fortunately, the financing alternative for these companies have evolved during the last post-crisis years. They can find some investors that are willing to invest in a non-name company by accessing crowdfunding platforms, impress angel investors, or attracting venture capital (Herciu, 2017). In recent years Omani Government has increased its attention towards promoting entrepreneurial activities in the country as these activities are regarded as a driving force for innovation. The government through its ministries may set up an appropriate policy and procedure that would facilitate the creation of new businesses, especially amongst graduates. (Subrahmanian Muthuraman et al., 2017) Youths appear to be facing barriers preventing some from turning ideas into business. These challenges arise in the areas of social attitudes, lack of skills, inadequate entrepreneurship education, lack of work experience, lack of capital, lack of networks and market barriers. Many of them are interrelated, which implies the need for a package of policy tools, rather than a single general solution (OECD,2012). Entrepreneurs with greater initial financial resources are more likely to succeed. Young people are in a disadvantaged position because not only will they have low personal savings, but they will also find it more difficult than adults to obtain external finance, including debt finance. Banks apply a set of parameters in the assessment of loan proposals, which include credit history, past business performance, and collateral, which are all likely to be lower in youth-owned firms (Ceptureanu and Ceptureanu 2015). Market barriers also affect youth entrepreneurship. Financial markets may be biased away from supporting youth businesses. Youth-owned businesses may also face discrimination in product markets, with customers who can be sceptics about the reliability of their products or services. Similarly, due to limited resources, youth-owned firms are more likely to enter industries with low entry barriers where competition is fierce (Ceptureanu and Ceptureanu, 2015). Methodology The focus of this research is to assess the challenges in entrepreneurial growth of young entrepreneurs in the Sultanate of Oman with its factors. The post-test survey questionnaires were developed in conjunction with the literature review aimed at understanding respondents’ challenges towards entrepreneurship. The study adopted the survey research design using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire also collects data on the six challenges such as finance, human resource, marketing, administration, personnel, the production which will assess the challenges in entrepreneurial growth of young entrepreneurs towards entrepreneurship. The dependent variable is the success factor for entrepreneurial growth while the independent variables are finance, human resource, marketing, administration, personnel, production challenges. Research Instrument and its Reliability The major instrument for collecting data is the questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed to assess the challenges in entrepreneurial growth of young entrepreneurs in the Sultanate of Oman. Few questions on the demographic variable, attributes of entrepreneur and anticipated challenges for the young entrepreneur. In this research, the respondents were required to indicate their opinion on each statement on a five-point Likert type scale: 1=strongly agree to 5=strongly disagree. The questionnaire was submitted to the experts in the field of entrepreneurship for getting feedback. Based on their feedback minor changes has been made on the questionnaire and distributed to few sample population for the pilot study and the reliability was calculated with the help of Cronbach alpha (Hair et al., 1998). Cronbach Alpha value was calculated and it was found to be 0.846 and the total numbers of questions were 53. The values were found to be in the range of 0.60 and 0.90, hence it might be suggested that all the scales met the reliability condition (Hair et al., 1998, p.118). Sampling The survey population of this study consists of various young entrepreneurs in the Sultanate of Oman. Convenience sampling method was used to draw 72 samples from various entrepreneurs in Muscat City. The 101 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org respondents were clearly explained about the purpose of this research before collecting data. 57 completed questionnaires were returned. Due to some limitations, the sample size was 57 young entrepreneurs, but accuracy is not compromised, all the samples were thoroughly evaluated and on the other hand it was found that there were few errors in 5 samples; they were not valid, so it got removed and finally 52 samples were taken for the final analysis. Discussion & Results The data that was collected for this study was processed manually through coding and then entered electronically. The Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used for the analysis. The use of statistical distributions such as tables showing frequencies and percentages were adopted in the study. Descriptive analyses were used to compare the demographic data of the study participants. The weighted average method was adopted for all the six challenges such as finance, human resource, marketing, administration, personnel, production. The hypotheses stated in the study were analyzed with the help of Chi-Square, Independent T-Test, Friedman Test and Multiple Regression. Descriptive Analysis Table 1 presents the demographics data based on age, education and gender of respondents with their description range and frequency. Description Frequency Percentage 21 – 30 22 42 Age 31 – 40 30 58 Masters 18 34 Bachelors 24 46 Education Diploma 04 8 Up to 12 04 8 No Education 02 4 Male 44 85 Gender Female 08 15 The analysis reveals that majority of the respondents 58% were in the age group of 31-40, 42% fall between the age bars of 21-30. In respect to the education of the respondents, 46% of them are bachelors, 8% of them are a diploma, 8% of them are up to class 12 and the remaining 34% were Master’s education. In respect to the gender, 85% of the young entrepreneurs are men and only 15% of the respondents are female. Table 2 Type of Industry Type of Industry Trading Service Manufacturing Construction Engineering Agriculture Total Frequency 20 12 04 06 08 02 52 Percentage 38 23 08 12 15 04 100 The analysis shows that 38% of the entrepreneurs are doing trading business, 23% of them are having a service business, 15% of them are in engineering, 12% of them are construction, 8% of them in manufacturing and the remaining 4% are doing agricultural business. 102 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research Type of Industry Sole Proprietorship Partnership Private Limited Public Limited Total Table 3 Type of Ownership Frequency 32 08 10 02 52 www.cpernet.org Percentage 62 15 19 04 100 The analysis shows clearly that 62% of the young entrepreneurs are sole proprietors and doing their business independently, 19% of them have privately limited, 15% of them have the partnership and only 4% of the entrepreneurs are having public limited companies. Table 4 Information about Business Description Frequency Percentage Up to 3 years 18 35 4 - 6 years 22 42 Period of Business Operation 7- 10 years 02 04 above 10 years 10 19 Up to 25 46 88 Current Strength of Employees 26-50 06 12 The analysis about the period of business operation shows that 42% of the entrepreneurs are doing their business between 4-6 years whereas 35% of the entrepreneurs are doing business less than 3 years, it shows that they are very young in respect of age and also in business. In respect to the employee strength, 88% of the entrepreneurs are doing business with less than 25 employees in their business. Table 5 Best describes the company situation Company Situation Frequency Percentage I have created my present company myself 46 88 It is a family business I have "inherited" 02 04 It is a business I have take-over/purchase of another enterprise 04 08 Total 52 100 The young entrepreneurs were asked about their company situation how they have started their business, it was found that 88% of the entrepreneurs have created their own business which is one of the most welcoming factors for the growth of economic development. Table 6 Motivation to start the business Motivation Frequency Percentage Profit / Money Making 24 46 Social Status 00 00 Entrepreneurship education and training 04 08 Entrepreneurial skills 16 31 Economic participation rather than being employed 08 15 Total 52 100 The young entrepreneurs were asked the motive behind their staring of business, it was revealed that 46% of them were started for making profit, 31% of them were started because they felt that they have entrepreneurial skills, 15% of them started their business keeping in their mind that they will support the economic development. 103 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org Table 7 Source of capital for the business Source of Capital Frequency Percentage Own investment 38 73 Friends and relatives 08 15 Government support 02 04 Bank loan 02 04 Venture Capital 00 00 More than 1 from the above 02 04 Total 52 100 The entrepreneurs were asked to provide the main source of capital for starting their business and it was tabulated, 73% of the entrepreneurs started their business with their funds and 15% of them received from their friends and relatives. The sad part is that they find it a little difficult to get from various other sources of funds. Table 8 Premises used for your business Business Premises Frequency Percentage Own 04 08 Rental 48 92 Lease 00 00 Total 52 100 It is very clear that 92% of the young entrepreneurs are operating their business in the rental premises and only 8% of them are operating in their premises, there is no concept of the lease in Oman. Weighted Average Analysis The weighted average analysis was conducted for six challenges such as finance, human resource, marketing, administration, personnel, production. In each challenge, the researcher was trying to list out the important factor in rank order. Table 9 Personal Challenges Score Avg Rank Personal Challenges 1 2 3 4 5 Lack of self confidence 14 24 04 04 06 120 2.31 5 Entrepreneurial Education & Training 10 12 08 16 06 152 2.92 4 Lacks management skill to run the business 12 08 08 16 08 156 3.00 3 Combining work and family life Limited networks and industry contacts 04 06 08 14 14 08 18 20 08 04 174 158 3.35 3.04 1 2 From the weighted average analysis (Table 9) it was found that combining work and family life will be the biggest challenge and another important challenge is that the entrepreneurs have limited networks and industry contacts followed by lacks management skill to run the business. Table 10 Financial Challenges Financial Challenges 1 2 3 Access to reliable sources of funding 06 00 14 Access to competitive borrowing rates 00 06 20 Managing accurate financial record-keeping 06 12 16 Obtaining funding from financial institutions 02 08 16 Managing Working Capital 02 12 08 4 18 16 12 16 22 5 14 10 06 10 08 Score Avg Rank 190 186 156 180 178 3.65 3.58 3.00 3.46 3.42 1 2 5 3 4 104 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org Table 10 presents the ranking of financial challenges faced by young entrepreneurs, according to the young entrepreneurs, access to a reliable source of funding was the greatest challenge. Access to competitive borrowing rate and obtaining funding from a financial institution are the major challenges concerning finance. Table 11 Human Resource Challenges Score Avg Rank Human Resource Challenges 1 2 3 4 5 Hiring and keeping good, reliable staff Maintaining a healthy working Culture Availability of trained & skilled workers Lack of Motivation among workers Retaining skilled workers 06 04 06 06 00 00 04 04 10 04 08 12 06 14 16 16 24 20 18 22 22 08 16 04 10 204 184 192 160 194 3.92 3.54 3.69 3.08 3.73 1 4 3 5 2 Hiring and keeping good, reliable staff is one of the major challenges faced by the young entrepreneurs followed by retaining skilled workers, as they are moving out very frequently. Even the availability of trained and skilled workers are also other important challenges with respect to Human Resource. Table 12 Marketing Challenges Score Avg Rank Marketing Challenges 1 2 3 4 5 Access to good market information 04 04 10 18 16 194 3.73 1 Unfavorable market conditions 04 04 12 28 04 180 3.46 4 Pricing the goods/services 06 00 20 26 00 170 3.27 5 Demand Fluctuation 06 02 08 28 08 186 3.58 3 Heavy Competition 04 04 12 20 12 188 3.62 2 With respect to marketing challenges, the young entrepreneurs face a lot of difficulties to access to good market information followed by heavy competition and demand fluctuation in the market because of current economic condition. Table 13 Administrative Challenges Score Avg Rank Administrative Challenges 1 2 3 4 5 The process of registering business 04 12 12 14 10 170 3.27 4 Training in business skills 06 04 08 24 10 184 3.54 1 Record Keeping 04 08 24 16 00 156 3.00 5 To find suitable premises 04 04 18 20 06 176 3.38 3 To deal with legal / governmental regulations 04 04 12 26 06 182 3.50 2 Young entrepreneurs face a lot of administrative challenges, out of which training in business skills is one of the major challenges every entrepreneur faces followed by dealing with legal and government regulation. Sometimes finding suitable premises is also yet another challenge for the entrepreneurs. Table 14 Production Challenges Production Challenges 1 2 3 4 Lack of modern technology 06 10 14 16 Finding suppliers 04 12 08 22 Quality Control System 06 04 16 22 Maintenance of Machinery 04 06 16 18 Minimization of wastage 06 02 24 14 5 06 06 04 08 06 Score Avg Rank 162 170 170 176 168 3.12 3.27 3.27 3.38 3.23 5 2 2 1 4 Table 14 presents the production challenges faced by the young entrepreneurs, maintenance of equipment may be one of the major challenges followed by quality of control system and finding the suitable suppliers are other challenges. Even though not all the respondents are directly related to the manufacturing process, they are indirectly 105 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org related, so that is why this production challenge question was asked to all the young entrepreneurs irrespective of their field of business. Table 15 Ranking the challenges that business faces in the market or industry Attributes Financial Challenges Production Challenges Human Resource Challenges Marketing Challenges Administrative Challenges Personal Challenges 1 08 02 2 00 14 3 04 16 4 06 08 5 06 08 6 28 Avg 6.77 2.96 Rank 1 04 Score 352 154 04 08 12 10 16 02 118 2.27 5 06 14 12 14 02 04 170 3.27 3 12 16 02 08 12 02 104 2.00 6 20 00 06 06 08 12 194 3.73 2 4 The young entrepreneurs were asked to give their ranking on the various challenges faced by them in the business, it was analyzed with the help of weighted average and the above table clearly shows that majority of the young entrepreneurs are facing much difficulties in sourcing the fund for their business followed by their challenges and marketing challenges is yet another major challenge faced by the young entrepreneurs in Oman. All these challenges need to be addressed with priority. Table 16 Rank the problem during the Expansion of the business Score Avg Rank Problems 1 2 3 4 5 Financial 02 08 12 10 20 194 3.73 1 Space 10 14 08 14 06 148 2.85 4 Skilled Workers 06 08 12 12 14 176 3.38 2 Marketing 10 12 10 12 08 152 2.92 3 Technology 24 10 10 04 04 110 2.12 5 Table 16 presents the problems faced by the young entrepreneurs while they expand their business, according to them, again they were insisting that finance will be the major challenge during their expansion of business followed by getting a skilled worker to suit their requirements, as mentioned in the earlier table, marketing is also yet another major challenges during their expansion of business. Otherwise, the expansion of business depends on the market condition. Table 17 Awareness about government support for business Awareness about Government Support Frequency Percentage Very High 08 15 High 17 33 Moderate 19 36 Low 04 08 Very Low 04 08 Total 52 100 The young entrepreneurs were asked about their awareness about the Government support for starting a new venture, it was found that 36% of the respondents were moderately aware of the government support and 33% of them were aware of it and 15% of the young entrepreneurs were highly aware of the government support for the entrepreneurs. 106 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org Table 18 Rank the support required from the Government/Ministry Support Required from Score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Government Finance 06 00 04 00 02 10 30 558 Marketing 04 06 04 02 12 20 04 108 Infrastructure 00 02 04 10 22 12 02 92 Technology 04 12 04 22 06 00 04 200 Legal Advice 10 06 20 10 04 02 00 122 Networking Opportunity 06 18 10 02 06 04 06 188 Training & Consulting 22 08 06 06 00 04 06 188 Avg Rank 10.73 2.08 1.77 3.85 2.35 3.62 3.62 1 6 7 2 5 3 3 The above table represents the support expected from the government/ministry for the entrepreneurs, it was found that without any hesitation all the young entrepreneurs expect financial support from the government followed by technological support, training support for the smooth running of the business. It is very clear that from the various analyses, the young entrepreneurs were suffering from the financial challenges which they are exploring some opportunities to get rid of it. Table 19 Government policies affect the business Government Policy affect the business Frequency Percentage Mostly affected 08 15 Moderately affected 36 69 No change 02 04 Not been affected 02 04 Mostly not affected 04 08 Total 52 100 The entrepreneurs were asked about how far the government policies affect their business activities and it was found that the government policy has a moderate effect (69%) in running their business. It is usual in every country, that there will be policies and regulation which the entrepreneurs have to follow while running their business. Table 20 Success factors for entrepreneurial growth Score Success Factors 1 2 3 4 5 Consistently exceeding performance expectations 02 02 12 22 14 200 Successfully managing my workers 02 04 08 20 18 204 Successfully managing myself 00 06 06 20 20 210 Having recognized expertise in a specific area 00 10 14 20 08 182 Gaining intercultural and language skills 02 10 04 22 14 192 Seeking out difficult or highly visible assignments 04 04 14 22 08 182 Participating in Nation Building 02 10 06 18 16 192 Contributing to Economic Development 02 06 12 10 22 200 Avg Rank 3.85 3.92 4.04 3.50 3.69 3.50 3.69 3.85 3 2 1 7 5 7 5 3 At the end of the interview with the young entrepreneurs, it was asked to provide their success factors from their experience in running the business. The result shows that managing self is one of the main success factors for the success followed by managing the workers, exceeding the performance expectation and they were happy that they contribute for the economic development of the country. Statistical Analysis Chi-Square Test 107 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org Table 21-The Chi-Square Test was conducted to find the significant association between level of education and type of ownership Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 19.356a 12 .080 Likelihood Ratio 22.659 12 .031 N of Valid Cases 52 The P-Value is .80. Since the P-Value is > 0.05 Reject H1. Accept Ho. There is no significant association between level of education and type of ownership. It clearly indicates that education is not the barrier for starting up of business. This is one of the proven facts around the world. Table 22-The Chi-Square Test was conducted to find the significant association between Gender and Type of industry Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) Pearson Chi-Square 12.259a 5 .031 Likelihood Ratio 15.239 5 .009 N of Valid Cases 52 The P-Value is 0.031. Since the P-Value is < 0.05 Reject Ho. Accept H1. There is a significant association between Gender and business falls under the Industry type; that is, both Males and Females not equally prefer the type of industry. The result indicates the gender plays the main role in deciding the business type. Few businesses will be preferred by women than men and vice versa. Independent T-Test Table 23-The Independent T-Test was conducted to find a significant difference between Gender and how long operating business Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means 95% Confidence Interval F How long Equal variances assumed Equal variances not assumed 2.88 6 Sig. t .096 1.668 Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error tailed) Difference Difference df Lower Upper 50 .102 .68182 .40874 -.13915 1.50279 2.684 20.670 .014 .68182 .25405 .15297 1.21067 The group means are not statistically significantly different because of the value in the "Sig. (2-tailed)" row is not less than 0.05. There is no significant difference between Gender and how long the operating business. The result indicates that gender does have a significant difference in the operation of the business in terms of the number of years in the industry. Friedman Test: To determine the significant differences among the various challenges faced by the young entrepreneur. 108 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org Table 24-Friedman Test Challenges Personal Challenges Financial Challenges HR Challenges Mean Std. Deviation 3.0000 .92884 3.5000 .80440 3.7308 .86581 Marketing Challenges Admin Challenges Production Challenges 3.4231 3.2692 3.1923 Mean Rank Test Statisticsa 2.65 N 52 3.71 Chi-Square 40.621 4.37 df 5 .84821 .76991 .97092 3.79 Asymp. Sig. .000 3.33 a. Friedman Test 3.15 There is an overall statistically significant difference between the mean ranks of the related groups. So, there is a significant difference among the various challenges faced by the entrepreneur(Personal, Finance, HR, Marketing, Administrate and Production challenges). The result justified that every challenge are unique and it has its power to influence the operation of the business. Every challenge has its direction to affect business operation. Every entrepreneur should understand each challenge that they face and should try to find ways and means for overcoming those challenges and win over the business. Multiple Regression In this study the researcher tried to explain the variation to the success factors for entrepreneurial growth from Personal, Financial, Human Resource, Marketing, Administrative and Production Challenges faced by the young entrepreneurs (Refer Table 25, 26 & 27). Table 25-Multiple Regression-Model Summary Model 1 R .778a R Square .606 Adjusted R Square .553 Std. Error of the Estimate .50609 a Predictors: (Constant), right person to be entrep, Characteristic features , Parents owning business, Who influenced your opinion Table 26-Multiple Regression-ANOVA(b) Model 1 Regression Sum of Squares 17.705 df Mean Square F 6 2.951 11.521 11.526 29.231 45 51 0.256 Residual Total Sig. .000( a) a Predictors: (Constant), Personal, HR, Financial, Marketing, administrative and production challenges b Dependent Variable: Success Factors Table 27-Multiple Regression-Coefficients (a) Model 1 (Constant) Personal Challenges Financial Challenges HR Challenges Marketing Challenges Administrative Challenges Production Challenges Unstandardized Coefficients Std. B Error 2.618 .462 .021 .114 Standardized Coefficients t Sig. .025 5.668 .181 .000 .857 Beta 95% Confidence Interval for B Lower Upper Bound Bound 1.688 3.549 -.210 .251 -.122 .128 -.129 -.953 .345 -.379 .135 -.060 .456 .118 .154 -.069 .511 -.511 2.966 .612 .005 -.298 .147 .177 .766 -.255 .136 -.259 -1.873 .068 -.528 .019 .316 .146 .406 2.162 .036 .022 .611 a Dependent Variable: Success Factor 109 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org The variables are explained below: 1. Dependent Variable : Success Factor for Entrepreneurial Growth 2. Independent Variable : a. Personal Challenges X1 b. Financial Challenges X2 c. Human Resource Challenges X3 d. Marketing Challenges X4 e. Administrative Challenges X5 f. Production Challenges X6 3. R Square Value : 0.606 4. F Value : 11.521 5. P Value : 0.000** The sample coefficient of determination R Square or R2 (r2 is commonly used in simple regression analysis while R Square is approximately reserved for multiple regression analysis). It measures the goodness of fit of the estimated SRP in terms of the proportion of the variation in the dependent variable explained by the fitted sample regression equation or SRP. Thus, the value of R Square is 0.606 that independent variables explain 60.6% of the variability of dependent variable, Intention to start own business is explained or accounted for by the estimated SRP that uses Personal Challenges (X1), Financial Challenges (X2), Human Resource Challenges (X3) Marketing Challenges (X4), Administrative Challenges (X5) and Production Challenges (X6) as the independent variable. The information is quite useful in assessing the overall accuracy of the model. This model is significant at 5% level. The estimated SRP or Sample Regression Equation can be written as: Y = 2.618 + 0.021 x1 - 0.122 x2 - 0.060 x3 + 0.456 x4 - 0.255 x5 + 0.316 x6 Result A multiple regression was attempted to predict success factors for entrepreneurial growth from Personal, Financial, Human Resource, Marketing, Administrative and Production Challenges faced by the entrepreneurs. The "R" column represents the value of R, the multiple correlation coefficients. R can be one measure of the quality of the prediction of the dependent variable; success factor for entrepreneurial growth. These variables statistically significantly predicted success factor, F(6, 45) = 11.521, p < .0005, R2 = .606. All independent variables explain 60% (i.e R square value .606)-All six variables added statistically significantly to the prediction, p < .05. The overall regression model is a good fit for the data. The table shows that the independent variables statistically significantly predict the dependent variable (i.e) p <.0005 The F-ratio in the ANOVA table tested whether the overall regression model is a good fit for the data. Entrepreneurship Growth in Oman The centricity of entrepreneurship policies is stimulated not only by diversification but also the necessity for governance mechanisms to contend with a unique regional employment conundrum: an economic distortion where expatriate labour levels and national unemployment are rising simultaneously. A growing youth population greets a private sector that either systematically excludes or fails to attract them. With 78.4 percent of the population in Oman under the age of 35, unemployment and underemployment are deepening challenges (Ennis, 2015). Policies aimed at promoting entrepreneurship are thus looked to as a possible policy solution. This is not the first time employment concerns motivated policy moves. The weak representation of citizens in the private sector labour market in Oman is not a new story (Ennis, 2015). Oman has started setting up business incubators represented in the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) during 2003, a joint venture with United Kingdom Technology Park Programs. Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) is the Sultanate of Oman’s flagship technology park. KOM symbolizes successful public-private partnership in nurturing knowledge-based businesses. KOM is committed to creating an environment in which budding entrepreneurs, small 110 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org and medium-sized enterprises and established multi-nationals can coexist, innovate and flourish within a Middle East setting. The KOM provides some facilities including business and finance information, network building and technology transferring. The organization has also created The Knowledge Mine (TKM) Program to assist the startup companies with a complete support package (Al Mubaraki,2008). The Knowledge Mine (TKM), a business incubator for local entrepreneurial projects. Aimed at fostering in-country knowledge, TKM supports technologydependent start-ups by providing them affordable office space and free or highly-subsidized services like internet and phone lines (Ennis,2015). Promoting entrepreneurship has become one of the policy options to sustain growth and address employment. Fostering youngsters’ entrepreneurial potential by understanding and appreciating their attitude and talents, in addition to promoting an entrepreneurial culture among them will result in stimulation of economic growth and development for Oman (Ibrahim, et.al,2017). Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Oman claim to be promoting entrepreneurship, and indeed many of their members sit on boards or tangentially participate in various entrepreneurship initiatives (Ennis, 2015). Implication The study has several implications, based on the findings of this study, few suggestions have put forth which may be considered for the growth of entrepreneurship in Sultanate of Oman.The fact that during recent years, Oman’s competitive fundamentals have deteriorated and it's business environment perceived to be risky; according to the Global Competitiveness Report (2016), Oman’s rank in doing business declined from 46th to 62nd position between 2014&2016. The report demonstrated that the government can create an encouraging and motivating business environment in Oman by removing the restrictive labour regulations and promoting efficient government administration. Industrial development was thus a focus of the decade, with the imperative to diversify the economy away from oil and engender sustainable development high on the Gulf development agenda (Ennis,2015). The government can also strengthen the role of business incubators, who provide great support to young Omanis in the form of start-up funding, location, networking opportunity, training and many other useful services (Kotler et al., 2008). The government has important roles to play in promoting entrepreneurship by creating an environment conducive to doing business and reducing business risk. The Omani government should support in all stages of business development, including helping in expansion capital. The funding helps young entrepreneurs to obtain more resources and to expand their businesses eventually create more jobs for the public. More attention should be given to make easy access about business funding for youth entrepreneurs, who have a convincing business plan but short of start-up capital to materialize the ventures. The Omani government should create a conducive environment for business development. Business support services must be accessible to young people. This would strengthen the enthusiasm amongst young entrepreneurs as well as aspiring entrepreneurs in entrepreneurial activities. Private institutions such as banks and other microfinance institutions should introduce youth entrepreneurship funding as a part of their services (Sitoula, 2015). To remain competitive in the market, youth entrepreneurs in Oman, need to have entrepreneurial skills such as creativity, innovation, new product development, new marketing strategies, and networking. Furthermore, technical skills and management models should be designed and coordinated by various institutions and organizations relevant to youths need, and most importantly, training should be made widely accessible and inexpensive (Sitoula,2015). Inculcating entrepreneurship education and developing entrepreneurial skills among students have become an essential component in college and university curriculum (Muthuraman, et.al.,2017). The government can also support business incubators and higher education institutions to team up in promoting and producing a positive image of entrepreneurship as a career for the youngsters in Oman (Ibrahim, et.al,2017). Given the importance of entrepreneurship in Oman, a national office could be set up at any ministry that will coordinate and support various services offered by different (Khan & Almoharby, 2007). Owing to the ongoing globalization process, youth entrepreneurship also promotes innovation as it encourages young people to find new solutions, ideas and ways of doing things through experience-based learning. In certain circumstances, young entrepreneurs may be particularly responsive to new economic opportunities and 111 International Journal of Business and Applied Social Scienc e EISSN: 2469-6501 VOL: 5, ISSUE:7 JULY/2019 DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v5n7p10 https://ijbassnet.com/ ©Center for Promoting Education and Research www.cpernet.org trends. In addition, it is increasingly accepted that youth entrepreneurs can present alternatives to the organization of work, the transfer of technology and a new perspective on the market (White and Kenyon,2001). Promotion of youth entrepreneurship is an integral part of micro/small industry promotion.Therefore, the promotion of youth entrepreneurship should also be linked in the context of the requirements of small industry development as well as government policies and programs (Sitoula,2015). However, this study attempts to provide a practical scenario in the field of entrepreneurship in Sultanate of Oman, this will help the young Omani entrepreneurs and future researchers and scholars in various aspects and helping them to try an intensive study in Oman context. Limitations The present study has several limitations. The first limitation for this research is that the survey is mainly conducted in Muscat City. The location is chosen because the most of the entrepreneurs are doing business in the Muscat city and the area has the largest number of diversified entrepreneurs in terms of their business in various industries in Sultanate of Oman. The second limitation is that this research employed convenience sampling to accomplish the research objectives. The limitations associated with the convenience sampling are applicable for this study. The sample size is yet another limitation to this study; the sample size is not enough to represent all the young entrepreneurs. Maybe in the future, there is a possibility of going intensive research in the specific specialization of study. Conclusion Considering the present research findings presented earlier, several implications are considered. The promotion of entrepreneurship in Oman is motivated by both ideological trend and necessity. Especially the promotion of more effective youth entrepreneurship policies and strategies is, therefore, getting visible attention among government and international organization and there is increasing recognition that responsible youth entrepreneurship must be a core study area for tackling local and global economic and employment challenges. From the theoretical perspective, the present research has enriched the literature. This study contributed to the literature on entrepreneurship by investigating the challenges faced by young entrepreneurs in the Sultanate of Oman. This study is the modest attempt to understand the challenges faced by the young entrepreneurs during their progress to the growth. Entrepreneurship and self-employment thus can be a source of finding new jobs and can improve youth livelihood and economic independence in Sultanate of Oman. The government agencies, private sector enterprises, the chamber of commerce and industries, and the educational institutions need to work together, in close cooperation and coordination, to provide strong stimulation to the young generation of Oman (Khan and Almoharby, 2007). References Al Mamun, A, Saufi, R, & Ismail, M 2016. Human Capital, Credit, and Startup Motives: A Study Among Rural Microenterprises In Malaysia, Journal of Developing Areas. 50(4): 383-400. 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