Entrepreneurial Mindset and Enterprise Success: The Role of Government Policy

Purpose: This study assessed the effect of entrepreneurial mindset on SME success, more so, it examined the moderating effect of government policy on the relationship between entrepreneurial mindset and SME success.

Methodology: This study employed a cross-sectional survey design and a sample of 477 -managers of SMEs in operating in Lagos State, Nigeria. The hierarchical regression analysis to test two-way interaction hypotheses was conducted.

Findings: The results show that entrepreneurial mindset has a positive and significant effect on SME success, (R² = 0.242, F(1,435) = 138.614, p = 0.000). Further analysis shows that entrepreneurial mindset did not enhance the success of selected SMEs in Lagos State, Nigeria (ΔR2 = 0.000, ΔF = 0.101, P> 0.05) with the introduction of government policy as a moderator.

Implications: The findings suggest that SME owner/managers should commit more resource to develop their entrepreneurial mindset capacity (entrepreneurial knowledge, innovativeness, business alertness, risk taking, and autonomy); this become necessary to enhance the success recorded by the SMEs investigated. It is also imperative for SMEs owner/managers to develop competences to take advantage of the potentials in government policies.