Conference Agenda

Purpose - A new era in entrepreneurship is being ushered in by digital technologies, one in which questioning and refashioning conventional methods and forms of seeking entrepreneurial opportunities. The purpose of this research agenda and the theoretical questions it raises are to highlight the importance of digital entrepreneurship and provide directions for future research. Thus, this study investigated the determinants of digital entrepreneurial intentions among social science students at the University of Lagos. An integrated model was developed that combined factors from the theory of planned behaviour (attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioural control), family background, digital educational support, and digital literacy to explain determinants of digital entrepreneurial intentions among social science students in the University of Lagos.

Design/ methodology / Approach - The study is based on data collected from a questionnaire survey completed by social sciences undergraduates. The random sampling was used to sample 187 students from the specified sampling frame. The model was tested using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression approach, whereas the hypotheses and research questions were tested using the t-test.

Findings - The findings revealed that all six independent variables- Family background, Attitude towards entrepreneurship, perceived behavioural control, Subjective norm, Digital educational support, and Digital literacy – positively affect digital entrepreneurial intentions. However, only Attitude towards entrepreneurship, Digital educational support, and digital literacy are significant in determining Digital entrepreneurial intention at a 5% level of significance. The findings underscore the importance of digital entrepreneurial policies and programs aimed at encouraging young people to embark on entrepreneurial activities.

The increasing cost of orthodox veterinary services calls for the use of alternative healthcare practices in livestock production, which is affordable, easy to access, environmentally friendly and sustainable. This study examined the potentials of indigenous knowledge and practices for the treatment and management of small ruminants in Niger State, Nigeria. The study adopted a longitudinal survey and experimental research design. The population for the study comprised all farming households that keep small ruminants in Niger State. Data were collected through a three-stage sampling procedure using a structured interview schedule and an observational template from 240 farmers while the experiment comprised of 20 male goats infested with helminthes treated with Khaya senegalensis in a Complete Randomized Design over a four-month period. Data collected were analyzed using Descriptive Statistics, ANOVA, Dominance Analysis and Marginal Analysis. The findings of the study were that: indigenous knowledge and innovation were effectively practiced for the treatment of diarrhoea (69.5%), ecto-parasites (73.9%), helminthosis (81.2%), bloat (42.0%), retained placenta (23.2%), respiratory problem (17.4%), wound (16.0%), and snake bite (14.5%). The result of the study further revealed that utilization indigenous knowledge and practices of farmers increased the returns to small ruminant production by N63,580.25($152.03)/Tropical Livestock Unit/cycle, the marginal rate of return was N3.74($0.01). The study concluded that the use of indigenous knowledge and innovation system increased returns to small ruminant production. The study recommended that there should be sensitization and training of livestock keepers by appropriate agencies such as the ministry of agriculture on the need to preserve their indigenous knowledge and the medicinal plants species in their communities, with the aim of combining and alternating the usage of conventional and indigenous practices.

The potential of innovation to drive societal and sustainability goals has been widely acknowledged. Over the past decade Science Technology Innovation (STI) policy was called upon to tackle Grand Challenges, as articulated in the Lund Declaration of 2009. Subsequently call for a transformative policy arose demanding reframing of STI policies, questioning its direction and ‘fitness of purpose’. This call demands time-intensive, participatory and inclusive processes in policy formulation for directional innovation. However, transformation literature is ominously silent on how to disrupt incumbent policy path-dependencies and shift the innovation policy paradigm in achieving this change. This paper addresses this research gap with insights gained from the policy narrative literature and a case study of Finland’s transition to Circular Economy.

The influence of narratives on human decision-making is well understood in the narrative literature. The policy literature has acknowledged the power of narratives as a potential tool for policy change. The narrative-policy literature has explored how concept-coalitions employ narrative power to reframe policy. Yet, none of them explain how coalitions achieve this fete through narrative change.

From a case study of Finland’s Circular Economy transition and through a review of academic and non-academic grey literature we draw principles and practical lessons on narrative shift for policy change. This paper presents an ‘access and manoeuvring strategy’ for narrative-led policy change involving a set of ‘entry-points’ and ‘tactics.’ Strategic entry-points aid in coalition-building and serve as spaces for shaping public opinion. Coalitions employ tactics such as monitoring of opinion-change, identifying counter narratives and dismantling the assumptions that the counter narrative depends on for manoeuvring collective opinion to the desired direction. The paper demonstrates how this access and manoeuvring strategy can provide options for policy shift for transformation. Even though the case study is on a developed country the insights drawn are universally applicable and especially useful for the global southern countries deficient in innovation policies and coordination mechanisms.