Independent Study Research Proposal

In case anyone is interested, here is an excerpt from my research proposal for my independent study project:

Entrepreneurship is understood to be an important component of economic growth in a global economy. However, many developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa have long been plagued with a perceived lack of “African business,” that is, businesses created and run by Africans. In Botswana, a country with predominately diamond-derived wealth and a strong governmental hand in all economic life, there has been a noted lack of internal enterprise. This has become an issue of increasing concern to Botswana’s government, which views this non-diversification as a threat to future financial security.
Why has Botswana had such difficulty producing entrepreneurs? Although numerous resources are available to prospective entrepreneurs, Botswana has struggled to produce an entrepreneurial culture. This paper aims to discover how institutional incentives, psychological factors, and Botswana’s general atmosphere interact to create this problem.

Research Questions & Hypothesis:
This research project will be based on the central hypothesis that in order for individuals to become entrepreneurs rather than employees, some common psychological needs must be met. With this understanding, a few central questions concerning the “motivation gap” for potential entrepreneurs are:
a) What are the psychological needs involved in personal employment choices?
b) What psychological needs are met by engaging in entrepreneurship, and which needs are not met or are endangered by this activity?
c) What are the factors, including governmental, social, and personal incentives or disincentives, that affect how well psychological needs are met by entrepreneurship?

Drawing on past research by other researchers, this author will develop a summary set of common psychological needs for employment that are believed to be essential to mental health and well-being. These needs will then be evaluated in the context of entrepreneurship in general, and entrepreneurship in Botswana in particular, to see whether they are met or not met by entrepreneurial activity.