Entrepreneurial behaviour formation among Farmers: Evidence from the Pakistani dairy industry

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how farmers perceive and exploit business opportunities to foster entrepreneurship in developing country agriculture.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 174 milk producers completed a face-to-face survey within a posttest- pretest research design. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Results revealed that intentions, channelled through desirability, feasibility and optimism, become a strong predictor to recognise the opportunity to be entrepreneurial; however, the presence of a munificent environment and participation in apprenticeship and training programmes are the main and direct source of exploiting farming business opportunities.

Research limitations/implications

The major limitation of the study is that cross-sectional data collected only from milk producers in Pakistan, signifying a need to include other agricultural sectors across different developing countries for further contextualising the results.

Originality/value

Research on entrepreneurial behaviour among farmers is scant. This study emphasises how cognitive heuristics guide intentions influencing the process of opportunity formation, and a munificent environment and entrepreneurial skills trainings are necessary for starting dairy farming business with modern practices.

Citation

Yaseen, A., Somogyi, S. and Bryceson, K. (2018), "Entrepreneurial behaviour formation among Farmers: Evidence from the Pakistani dairy industry", Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 124-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-01-2017-0002