www.theinternationaljournal.org > RJEBS: Volume: 05, Number: 05, March-2016 Page 41 Culture, Societal Expectation and Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Study among Small and Medium Scale Operators in Ghana Frederick Doe, Helen K. Arkorful & Collins B. Agyemang Department of Business Administration, University of Professional Studies, Accra–Ghana Abstract In Ghana, traditional views of various cultural/ethnic groups vary tremendously in respect of education and entrepreneurial activity. Whiles in some kinfolks, far-reaching education is promoted above everything else, in others there is higher inclination towards becoming business owners than in pursuing education. These culturally held beliefs and societal expectations have therefore influenced people’s orientation and entrepreneurial intentions. The aim of this research was to verify and validate these social and ethnocentric viewpoints in Ghana and to test the extent to which research findings about the relationship between culture, societal expectation and entrepreneurial intentions are applicable within the Ghanaian context. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey of a study sample of SME operators in Ghana. It was mainly quantitative. The study used a sample of 146 respondents who were randomly selected. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient Test (Pearson r) was used to test the relationships between the variables. The study revealed that there are relationships between a person’s cultural/ethnic background, societal expectations, their sex and educational levels and their entrepreneurial intention. Members of the Akan ethnic group (the largest ethnic group in Ghana) tend to have less affiliation towards extensive education, but have very high entrepreneurial intentions often leading to the establishment of businesses; Ewes are equipoised between a high proclivity towards extensive education and medium level entrepreneurial intentions; Ga-Adangbe group as well as the Guans had lesser inclination towards business whiles people from the Northern belt have less inclination towards extensive education and a average attitude towards self-employment or Entrepreneurial Intention. The study also found that a generalized education was not sufficient to produce entrepreneurial inkling in people as propounded by some researchers but rather a focused education in entrepreneurship. The present study has tremendous implications for government policy on education and the economy in Ghana. Keywords: Culture, societal expectation, entrepreneurial intentions, ethnic groups, Ghana Introduction Research on entrepreneurial intention has been extensive and the approaches to the study of entrepreneurial intention have been varied. One principal area in which entrepreneurial intention has been researched is its relations to culture, religion and societal influence. Culture has been identified as either a driver or inhibitor of entrepreneurial activity (Nguyen et al., 2009). Following Hofstede’s (1980) classification of culture as a set of shared values and beliefs which influence behaviour, Hayton et al., (2002, p.33) also proposed that culture was more likely to regulate “the degree to which society considers entrepreneurial behaviours, such as risk-taking and independent thinking to be desirable”. Risk-taking, independent thinking (locus of control), innovativeness have also been proposed as traits of entrepreneurs (De Pillis & Reardon, 2007). One principal theory, Ajzen’s (1987, 1991) Theory of Planned Behaviour underlies this study. Ajzen’s (1987, 1991) theory postulates that an individual’s behaviour is first intended and then planned and such behaviour is often influenced by social pressures. Social pressures emanate principally from “persons of personal relevance” who include friends, family, members of ethnic groupings and general society. In this study, we focus mainly on culture, education and societal expectation as drivers of entrepreneurial intentions. Culture Culture has been defined as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes members of a group or category of people from another” (Hofstede, 1991, p. 5); a set of shared values and beliefs