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Impact of Accounting Students’ Participation in Business Competitions on Their Entrepreneurial Decision-Making Skills in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

Business competitions provide students with practical opportunities to develop entrepreneurial competencies by engaging them in activities that require creativity, problem-solving, opportunity evaluation, resource allocation, and strategic choices. Participation in business competitions involves students taking part in activities such as business idea contests, entrepreneurship challenges, pitch competitions, innovation contests, and business plan competitions. Entrepreneurial decision-making skills refer to students’ ability to identify alternatives, evaluate business information, assess risks, allocate available resources, and select appropriate courses of action in entrepreneurial situations. This study examines the impact of accounting students’ participation in business competitions on their entrepreneurial decision-making skills in Nigerian universities. Participation in business competitions exposes accounting students to practical business situations where they are required to develop and present business ideas, analyze market conditions, consider available resources, respond to challenges, and make decisions within specific time and resource constraints. Such competitions may require participants to work individually or in teams while defending business proposals before judges, entrepreneurs, lecturers, or other stakeholders. These activities can provide students with opportunities to move beyond theoretical understanding and engage in practical entrepreneurial problem-solving. Regular participation may also expose accounting students to different business scenarios that require careful analysis and timely decision-making. Entrepreneurial decision-making skills are important to accounting students because modern accounting professionals may be required to make or support decisions involving business planning, financial resources, investment opportunities, pricing, costs, and business growth. Students with strong entrepreneurial decision-making skills may be better prepared to evaluate business alternatives, identify potential risks, interpret relevant financial information, and select suitable strategies. However, conventional accounting education may place greater emphasis on technical accounting knowledge than on practical entrepreneurial decision-making. Business competitions may therefore provide an additional learning environment through which accounting students can develop the ability to make informed entrepreneurial decisions. The study will adopt a quantitative research approach using a descriptive survey research design. The population will comprise accounting education students in selected Nigerian universities who participate in business competitions. An appropriate sample will be selected using a suitable sampling technique. Data will be collected through a structured questionnaire designed to measure students’ participation in business competitions and their entrepreneurial decision-making skills. The research instrument will be subjected to appropriate validity procedures, while reliability will be established before administration. Data collected will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and an appropriate inferential statistical technique to determine the impact of business competition participation on students’ entrepreneurial decision-making skills. The study is expected to establish that accounting students’ participation in business competitions has a positive impact on their entrepreneurial decision-making skills. Students who participate actively in business competitions are expected to demonstrate greater ability to evaluate alternatives, assess business risks, analyze available information, allocate resources appropriately, and select suitable business strategies. Exposure to competitive business situations may provide students with practical experiences that strengthen their confidence and ability to make decisions when faced with entrepreneurial challenges. The findings will have implications for accounting education and entrepreneurship development in Nigerian universities. Business competitions can provide an experiential learning environment that complements conventional accounting instruction and gives students opportunities to apply financial and business knowledge to practical situations. Accounting educators may encourage students to participate in business plan competitions, entrepreneurial challenges, innovation contests, and business pitching activities. Universities can also strengthen such programmes by providing students with opportunities to interact with entrepreneurs, business professionals, and industry practitioners during competitions. The study will be significant to accounting students, accounting educators, university administrators, entrepreneurship development centres, and organizations concerned with graduate employability and enterprise development. Accounting students may benefit from improved opportunities to develop practical entrepreneurial competencies. Accounting educators may gain insight into the usefulness of experiential business activities in developing decision-making skills, while university administrators and entrepreneurship centres may use the findings to improve business competition programmes. The findings may also assist stakeholders in designing learning experiences that prepare accounting graduates for both employment and entrepreneurial activities. The study recommends that Nigerian universities should encourage accounting students to participate regularly in structured business competitions and provide adequate institutional support for such activities. Accounting education programmes should create stronger links between accounting knowledge and practical entrepreneurial challenges through business plan competitions, pitch events, innovation challenges, and related activities. Universities should also provide appropriate guidance and resources to enable students to develop and defend viable business ideas. The study concludes that meaningful participation in business competitions can contribute to the development of entrepreneurial decision-making skills among accounting students and can strengthen their preparedness for entrepreneurial and professional business activities.

Keywords: Business Competitions, Competition Participation, Accounting Students, Accounting Education, Entrepreneurial Decision-Making, Decision-Making Skills, Entrepreneurial Skills, Business Decision-Making, Business Planning, Risk Assessment, Resource Allocation, Opportunity Evaluation, Entrepreneurial Competence, Experiential Learning, Business Innovation