PERCEPTION OF INDUSTRIAL ACTION OF UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC STAFF AND ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION AMONG LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE UNDERGRADUATES IN TWO UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-WEST, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT Entrepreneurship has emerged as a key solution to graduate unemployment in Nigeria. However, industrial actions by university academic staff, leading to calendar disruptions and school closures, may discourage students from pursuing entrepreneurial ventures. Thus, this study explored the perception of industrial action by university academic staff and entrepreneurial intention among Library and Information Science (LIS) undergraduates in South-west, Nigeria. Using a descriptive survey research design, the study targeted 859 LIS students from the University of Ibadan (200) and the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (659). A proportionate stratified sampling technique was employed to select a representative sample of 258 students, which accounts for 30% of the total population. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings revealed that students demonstrated a high level of entrepreneurial intention, indicating strong aspirations to engage in business ventures in the future. Additionally, their perception of industrial actions, such as strikes, was generally positive, suggesting that they may view such actions as justified responses to institutional or systemic challenges. The study concluded that industrial actions by university academic staff have had significant impacts on the entrepreneurial intentions of LIS undergraduates in South-west, Nigeria. Therefore, educational institutions and policymakers need to recognise and support this entrepreneurial spirit and embrace it as a positive outcome of an otherwise challenging situation. The government should also uphold agreements made with labour unions to promote industrial harmony and stability in higher educational institutions.