Psychological capital and achievement motivation as predictors of work engagement: A study of micro and small-scale entrepreneurs in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

The study investigated psychological capital and achievement moti vation as predictors of work engagement of micro and small-scale entrepreneurs in Accra, Ghana. A crosssectional design was adopted where a convenience sample of 171 micro and smallscale entrepreneurs drawn from 106 micro and small-scale enterprises in Accra were administered a set of questionnaires measuring achievement motivation, psychological capital (comprising self-efficacy, hope, resilience and optimism) and work engagement. Pearson product moment correlation, standard and hierarchical multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that psychological capital predicted work engagement, with self-efficacy accounting for the most variance in work engagement than resilience, optimism and hope. The significant role of psycholog ical capital as a predictor of work engagement calls for the need for training programmes geared towards its development among entrepreneurs.

Keywords: Psychological capital, Achievement motivation, Work engagement, Micro and small-scale entrepreneurs