A comparative analysis of the determinants of entrepreneurial motivation among undergraduates in public and private universities in Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract Contemporary policymakers increasingly emphasize the need to transform undergraduates’ mindsets into entrepreneurial ones. Achieving this goal requires a thorough understanding of the factors that drive entrepreneurial motivation. This study conducts a comparative analysis of the determinants of entrepreneurial motivation among undergraduates in public and private universities across selected states in Southwest Nigeria. Adopting a survey research design, the study targeted a population of 26,898 students as supplied by the Faculties from selected public and private universities in Ogun, Osun, and Oyo States. A sample of 3542 students was drawn, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were employed to analyze the constructs, while the Mann–Whitney U test was used to examine differences in entrepreneurial motivation between groups. The findings indicate variation in the distribution of responses across the examined variables (Psychological needs, Socio-Cultural Influence, Entrepreneurship education, and Attitude). However, the overall result from the joint analysis of the variable of interest (Psychological needs, Socio-cultural influence, Entrepreneurship education, and Attitude) (U = 1,506,723.500, p > 0.05) revealed no statistically significant difference in entrepreneurial motivation between public and private university students. The study concludes that, although entrepreneurial motivation levels do not significantly differ between the two groups, there is a need to foster greater intrinsic motivation among undergraduates in private universities.