The Roles of Determinants of Self-employment: A Mediation of Entrepreneurial Motivation in Bauchi State, Nigeria

Today, the problem of unemployment has been a global issue, even among the developed nations, and especially the developing nations. For this reason, the need for employment generation becomes desirably indispensable. The aim of this research work is to examine the essential roles that entrepreneurial traits and economic incentive factors would play with the mediation of entrepreneurial motivation for an effective self-employment start-up accomplishment. Self-employment has long been recognized as an alternative for individuals to become self-reliant. Thus, this is expected brings about a reduction in poverty level, improved living standard as well as to earn more income and have a better career as a means of sustenance for potential entrepreneurs. For this purpose, it is essentially important to make an examination of certain vital factors, which may constitute the basics necessary to effect self-employment particularly from the context of entrepreneurial traits and economic incentive factors that would motivate the potential entrepreneurs to achieve success in self-employment start-up.

The entrepreneurial motivation refers to the support that is expected to be given to a potential entrepreneur in order to energize him to make much effort to attain self-employment. In this direction, it is important to focus on the closest stage during the potential entrepreneur's decision to become self-employed. Since having the intention to be involved in entrepreneurial activity do not automatically induce entrepreneurial behaviours (de Jong, 2013), it is essential to understand what triggers the decision of potential entrepreneurs to accomplish what they intend to accomplish self-employment. Thus, providing them with appropriate entrepreneurial motivations may give them more courage in achieving self-employment (Braunerhjelm et al., 2010).

Entrepreneurial Traits
Proactively, taking a decision to become self-employed which has become the focal point in the investigation of entrepreneurship regarding individual's qualities as an entrepreneur is a very important decision to an individual.
Due to the multi-dimensionality of entrepreneurial traits, many pieces of research have been conducted on the entrepreneur's traits and its relations to being a determinant of self-employment. However, despite this multidimensionality of the entrepreneurial characteristics, this research will further concentrate and investigate three dimensions of the entrepreneurial traits that were overlooked and not been over-researched, such as transformationality, resilience, and autonomy (Mukherjee, 2010). Also, according to Renko et al. (2012) although these traits were identified from the literature, they were usually overlooked in measuring self-employment.
Transformationality is seen as an essential trait of an entrepreneur through which they enhance the morale, motivation, as well as inspires changes driven, mobilizes resources and challenge status-quo According to Aziz et al. (2013), the need for autonomy involves independent self-determination, the process by which entrepreneurs control the way they carry out their own business rather than taking directives from others.
The need for autonomy is a prime driver of entrepreneurship (Caliendo, Fossen, & Kritikos, 2012). Autonomy is important for entrepreneurs because it enables them to have control over their environment, set their own goals, incorporate elements of innovation, make their own decisions independent of external managerial control, and essentially regulate their own behaviour (Rauch & Frese, 2007). Autonomy leads to well-being and this would explain why autonomy in the entrepreneurial environment might be a compensator for higher income in a less autonomous position (Renko et al. 2012). Work that provides autonomy is more intrinsically motivating than work that does not. Research relating to entrepreneurial motivation shows autonomy, to be the most often

Economic Incentive Factors
Recently, interest in self-employment has increased, as well as for enhancing the environment for new ventures is growing (Chowdhury, 2017). An economic incentive is seen as support and assistance provided as a basis to start or retain business operations (Idris, 2015). In practice, however, it is a broadly used term denoting an array of reimbursement designed to promote new business activity or to encourage business or job creation. These benefits principally encompass tax and financing incentives, infrastructure, ICT facilities, as well as skills acquisition provided by governmental and non-governmental bodies. In the literature, the influence of a variety of different factors has been evaluated on the success of self-employment. Due to the large number of different factors, it can be assumed that each factor will have a relative impact on the self-employment start-up among potential entrepreneurs (Mercy, 2016).
In the investigation of incentives for achieving self-employment, it is therefore expected that any significant influence by the variety of different factors will be of significant importance for the potential entrepreneurs. Mandl and Curtarelli (2017) maintained that the links between ICTs availability and access and its unwavering importance of enhancing self-employment among the entrepreneurs have been the subject of so much attention and concern. Emerging and developing economies are seeking ways to improve productivity and find new sources of growth through new technologies vested through self-employment. Silva and Ratnadiwakara (2010) in their investigations revealed that on the developed countries, technological progress from the context of ICT  (2010). The scholars observed that due cognizance should be given to machinery/equipment based on the variety of occupations that the potential entrepreneurs may chose to engage in achieving self-employment.