The Study On Mechanisms Through Which Rural Farmer-Entrepreneurs' Networks Reliance Influence Agricultural Entrepreneurial Performance In China

The revitalization of rural China has become a topical issue within policy domain with stakeholders brainstorming how to rejuvenate economic activities in rural areas.Key among policy consideration is farmers' entrepreneurship,which is seen as a potential tool for rural revitalization in China.To contribute to the policy discussion in this direction the study looked at the social network and its relation with rural farmer-entrepreneurs' performance.The study looks at the mechanisms through which social networks influence entrepreneurial performance in rural China.The mechanisms included in the study are external networking behavior,social capital,knowledge acquisition,and network structure(centrality).The entrepreneurial orientation and emotional intelligence are the moderators.The study focused mainly on rural farmer-entrepreneurs in four provinces in China.They include Jiangsu Province,Anhui Province,Guangxi Province and Zhejiang Province.A multi-staged sampling technique was used in data gathering with the used of questionnaires.Four hundred and eighty rural farmer-entrepreneurs were selected for the study.One hundred and twenty rural farmer-entrepreneurs were selected from each province.Thirty questionnaires were not completed and were eliminated from the data analysis.The study employed logistic regression model and PLS-SEM for the data analysis.Logistic regression model was used to analyze the effect of accumulated human capital on entrepreneurial performance.The result shows that parental influence,cooperative membership,attending business seminars,education,and managerial experience have significantly positive effect on entrepreneurial performance.This implies that for sustainable growth in entrepreneurial activities most especially at the rural areas capacity building in the area of knowledge on entrepreneurial activities will go a long way to improving the performance of enterprises at the rural areas.The PLS-SEM using SmartPLS version 3.0 was used for data analysis.The result shows that knowledge acquisition mediates the relationship between network reliance(social network)and entrepreneurial performance.Knowledge acquisition plays partial mediation in the relationship between network reliance and entrepreneurial performance.The result reveals that the relationship is strengthen by entrepreneurial orientation.Aside the direct effect of entrepreneurial orientation on entrepreneurial performance,it also plays a moderation role.The moderation effect of entrepreneurs' emotional intelligence in the relationship between network reliance and entrepreneurial performance is not significant.It however,has a direct significant positive effect on knowledge acquisition.The result on the mechanism through which network reliance(social network)influences performance shows that social capital and network centrality partially mediate the relationship between network reliance and entrepreneurial performance.It is revealed that the relationship between social capital and entrepreneurial performance is strengthened(moderated)by entrepreneurial orientation aside it direct influence on entrepreneurial performance.The study looks at the mediation effect of external networking behaviour in the relationship between network reliance and entrepreneurial performance.The result revealed that the external networking behaviour of an entrepreneur partially mediates the relationship between network reliance and entrepreneurial performance.It also shows that the relationship between the external networking behaviour of an entrepreneur is strengthened by entrepreneurial orientation.This study brings to the fore the importance of non-economic resources,which have not received attention among researchers but play essential roles in the entrepreneurial performance.Even though network reliance(social network)is crucial in entrepreneurial performance,it is not an end in itself.From the study,it is revealed that the effect of network reliance(social network)on entrepreneurial performance is mediated by social capital,knowledge acquisition,network centrality,and external networking behaviour.The moderation role of entrepreneurial orientation and emotional intelligence are also established.The study proposes a new paradigm to agriculture extension education,which should focus on building the trust and cooperation among actors in the agriculture sector.Aspiring entrepreneurs should be supported to bridge lacking ties by strengthening rural innovative networks thus by creating social network platforms for agricultural entrepreneurs.This will compensate for the lacking strong ties.Capacity building in the area of knowledge acquisition should be a key component of extension activities especially for farmers especially in rural areas since it is proven to be a determinant of entrepreneurial performance.The major innovations of the study are:The study applied psychological and sociological elements to the study of rural farmer-entrepreneurial network.This approach has not received attention in the study of enterprises in the rural setting making a novelty.The study applied an interactive model to the study of networks reliance by rural farmer-entrepreneurs.The new model generates new insights into the mechanisms through which the relationship between network reliance and entrepreneurial performance is mediated.This approach sets a new pace for the study of entrepreneurs' social networks making it a novelty.Again,the study adopted a hybrid approach-the resource-base-approach and relational approach to study rural farmer-entrepreneurs.This hybrid approach introduces a connection between social networks and the acquisition of strategic resources and how it influences on performance.Lastly,in the case rural enterprises and most especially rural farmer-entrepreneurs,studies of this nature have not received much attention.Extant literature concentrated on mega firms in urban areas but the current study is mainly on rural farmer-entrepreneurs making it a novelty.