Does Owners Age Matter for Business Performance in the Rural Non-Farm Sector in Osun State of Nigeria?; Empirical Investigation from Static to Dynamic Models

Abstract

This study investigated the strength of owners age as an important determinant of business performance in the rural non-farm sector in Osun state of Nigeria. Primary data were collected on three key business performance indicators as well as firm resources and age of owners of rural non-farm business. The three performance indicators used in this study are growth in sales, profit and income. Structured interview was used as the major instrument of data collection. Osun state rural non-farm sector was chosen to represent the rural non-farm sector in Nigeria. 480 respondents were drawn across the six administrative zones in Osun state. Quota sampling technique was used to select the 480 respondents who constitute the study sample. The data collected were later analyzed using appropriate descriptive statistics and econometric techniques. The result of the econometric analysis revealed that age of owners matter for business performance in the rural non-farm sector. From the correlation matrix result, age was found to have correlated positively with each of the three performance indicators. The results from both the static and dynamic model suggest that age of owner matters for business performance. On the basis of the econometric findings, the study concluded that older RNF operators have gained accumulated experiences over time as well as accumulated capital which have turned out to be important asset that keep them on top of the business and hence age has proved to be a strong factor that influenced the business performance in the rural non-farm business sector.