Effects of Human Capital Investment on Entrepreneurial Capability of New Generation of Migrant Workers——An Empirical Study Based on Questionnaire Survey in Chongqing

College of Political Science and Public Administration, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715,China

Abstract With the transformation of China’s economy, the new generation of migrant workers quickly entered the labor market and gradually became the main body of supply in the labor market. Based on the relevant theory of human capital investment and the survey of the current situation of entrepreneurial ability of the new generation of migrant workers, through building the human capital investment linear regression model, this paper analyzed the different variables for human capital investment of the new generation of migrant workers from the quantitative perspective. It found that the educational level is the largest factor influencing their entrepreneurial ability. Finally, it came up with pertinent recommendations for improving the entrepreneurial ability of the new generation of migrant workers.

Key words New generation migrant workers, Human capital investment, Entrepreneurial ability, Recommendations

1 Introduction

Chongqing, as a municipality directly under the central government, has serious contradiction between urban and rural dual structure. Since 2010, Chongqing has placed the problem of migrant workers in a very prominent position. It has issued a series of policy documents and undertaken the largest scale of household registration system reform in China, including supporting nine types of groups (including migrant workers) to set up micro enterprises, increasing income of entrepreneurs through reducing taxes, making clear agriculture-related tax policies, guiding migrant workers to return to hometown to set up enterprises, attaching importance to strengthening training of new generation of migrant workers, expanding their employment channels, and raising their employment ability. These measures have obtained significant achievements, and migrant workers have high enthusiasm of returning to hometown to starting an undertaking. According to statistics, in 2015, Chongqing transferred a total of 8.103 million agricultural surplus laborers, and about 0.484 million migrant workers returned to their hometowns to start an undertaking, absorbing 1.703 million urban and rural labors[1], and more than 50% stayed in hometown. Besides, some agricultural labors who do migrant work returned to rural areas, about 0.3 million migrant workers returned to hometown to find jobs or start an undertaking, the transfer ratio of city inside and outside was 54∶46. In other words, the number of people working in the city accounted for 54% of the total number of new generation of migrant workers. However, in 2008, the ratio was still 45∶55[2]. Chongqing achieved three increases in the total number of migrant workers returning to hometown for starting an undertaking. By the end of 2015, Chongqing had a total 0.484 million migrant workers starting an undertaking, promoting employment of nearly 2 million people[3]. However, among the 3.375 2 million registered population of Chongqing, there are about 8 million migrant workers. It is pressing to improve the overall quality, expand employment channels, guide entrepreneurial employment, promote social harmony in Chongqing and build a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Based on the relevant entrepreneurial theory of human capital investment and the survey of the current situation of entrepreneurial ability of the new generation of migrant workers, through building the human capital investment linear regression model and the related panel data, we analyzed the different variables for human capital investment of the new generation of migrant workers, and finally came up with pertinent policy recommendations and providing references for improving the entrepreneurial ability of the new generation of migrant workers.

2 Literature review and theoretical analysis framework building

2.1ForeignresearchIn 1755, Richard Cantillon put forward the concept of "entrepreneur", analyzed its connotation from the perspectives of entrepreneurs’ personality, quality and economic functions, and defined it as person who seeks opportunities and takes risks[4]. Since its introduction, the entrepreneur concept has attracted much attention from scholars. However, with the economic and social development, its connotation and extension are constantly changing. In the 1980s, in the wave of new economy and knowledge economy, entrepreneurs sprang up, and the studies about them received more and more attention. New ideas and new perspectives were constantly emerging. From the perspective of ability of entrepreneurs, Boyatzis pointed out that the comprehensive quality of entrepreneurs’ knowledge, skills, abilities, personality determine whether they can be qualified for work and whether they can smoothly complete work, and the ability plays a decisive role[5]. Kim and Aldrich stated that entrepreneurs can access relevant entrepreneurial resources and information through social networks[6]. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), Alain Fayolleetal.[7]put forward five evaluation indicators of entrepreneurship education: entrepreneurial intention, behavior, knowledge and skills, interest, and identification. Man divided entrepreneurial ability into six dimensions: opportunity ability, relationship ability, conceptual ability, organizational ability, strategic ability, and commitment ability[8]. Shaker A. Zahra pointed out that entrepreneurial ability contains four dimensions: opportunity recognition ability, screening ability, shaping ability and synchronization ability[9].

As regards the research on farmers’ entrepreneurial activity, Fafchamps and Quisumbing pointed out that the educational level will affect whether family members are engaged in agricultural activities, farmers with higher educational level are more likely to be engaged in non-agricultural industries, and enter the market to participate in market competition and become entrepreneurs[10]. In the opinion of Nerys Fuller-Loveetal.[11], rural environment is a main factor restricting farmers’ entrepreneurship, and it is necessary to create entrepreneurial opportunities for farmers in accordance with local situations and environment. Meccheri and Pelloni stated that in rural areas, the special knowledge and skills of farmers’ entrepreneurship are mainly obtained through informal learning, from practice or local environment, thus it is necessary to explore the advantages and disadvantages and make innovation[12]. Through an empirical study on a dairy farmer in India, R.R. Chaudharietal.[13]found nine factors influencing entrepreneurial behavior of dairy farmers: innovation spirit, achievement motivation, decision-making ability, risk orientation, andetc. Aidisetal.[14]emphasized that farmer entrepreneurs showed some strong personality traits such as independence, innovation, achievement orientation, risk awareness, and grasping of their own destiny. Ashby and Jacquelineetal.[15]developed a combination model of sustainable entrepreneurial ability, including five skills that farmers need, to solve the problem of how farmers can improve their entrepreneurial ability to help farmers enter a larger dynamic market. According to the study of H.S. Rohitha Rosairoetal.[16], farmers’ entrepreneurial attitudes depend more on their educational background and agricultural experience, compared with other factors such as age, gender, farmland, agricultural type and farmland ownership.

2.2DomesticresearchIn recent years, domestic scholars found that personal characteristics, personal capital, and entrepreneurial environment are the three major factors influencing the entrepreneurship of migrant workers[17]. Based on the grounded theory (GT), Liu Meiyu carried out a qualitative analysis of the entrepreneurial behaviors and processes of the new generation of migrant workers, and found that entrepreneurial motivation is the starting valve for migrant workers’ entrepreneurial activities; the change of environment will stimulate entrepreneurial motivation; the choice of entrepreneurial mode is the result of joint action of motivation and environment[18]. Through an empirical study on the new generation of migrant workers in Henan and Heilongjiang provinces, Ding Dongetal.[19]found that migrant workers with more social capital are easier to obtain private lending. From the perspective of multi-center governance model, Tian Shuqinetal.[20]pointed out that the government, social organizations, vocational training institutions have influence on the entrepreneurial activity of new generation of migrant workers, and came up with policy recommendations from policy support, increasing human capital investment, providing three-dimensional training, and integrating resources, to improve their entrepreneurial ability. From the perspective of ability structure, Li Ping studied the entrepreneurial quality of the new generation of migrant workers, and found that the educational level, personal belief, and personal monthly income have a significant effects on the quality of basic, stable and developmental entrepreneurship[21].

The foreign entrepreneurship theory is developed earlier, the system is well established, and the studies involve conceptual nature of entrepreneurship, quality of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial environment, entrepreneurial opportunities, entrepreneurship spirit,etc. As to the farmers’ entrepreneurial activity, most researchers carried out empirical study or field survey from personality characteristics, entrepreneurial environment and entrepreneurial ability of farmer entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, foreign studies are concentrated on factors influencing farmers’ entrepreneurship and the influence of human capital investment on farmers’ entrepreneurship. The new generation of migrant workers is a unique phenomenon in China. The research is little about the entrepreneurial ability of the new generation of migrant workers from the human capital investment through building linear model using the least squares. This provides a certain space for our innovative study.

3 Empirical analysis of entrepreneurial ability of new generation of migrant workers

3.1Designofthestudy

3.1.1Questionnaire design and data source. (i) Basic situation of the individual: mainly including the gender, age, educational level, obtaining of vocational skill certificate, years of migrant work, and industry in which migrant workers are engaged in. (ii) Basic situation of entrepreneurship, mainly including the entrepreneurial awareness, entrepreneurial experience, entrepreneurship and its reasons. (iii) Current situation of entrepreneurship ability. (iv) Factors influencing entrepreneurship ability of the new generation of migrant workers, including concern for entrepreneurship ability, understanding of entrepreneurship training, to find out the popularization of existing entrepreneurship training and measures for improving entrepreneurship ability of the new generation of migrant workers. The questionnaire mainly adopted closed questionnaire. During the survey, we carried out open-ended interviews randomly according to the specific situation. We selected 16-34 years old migrant workers who worked in cities and had rural household registration in Chongqing as the respondents. We distributed a total of 300 copies of questionnaires in three ways: online distribution, street distribution, and contacting some organizations. Finally, we collected a total of 225 valid copies, accounting for 75% of the total number of questionnaires.

3.1.2Research method. Taking the new generation of migrant workers in Chongqing as the respondents, through the questionnaire survey and literature review, using the human capital investment theory as the main line, combined with the entrepreneurial related theory, we analyzed the survey data, built a theoretical model of human capital investment, and explored effective factors of human capital investment for improving the entrepreneurial ability of the new generation of migrant workers. Based on the characteristics of the new generation of migrant workers, we selected the human capital investment variables influencing their entrepreneurial ability to conduct empirical study.

3.1.3Model setting. Using the cross-section data, we established a linear model, analyzed the effects of obtaining of vocational skill certificate, educational level, entrepreneurial experience, industry in which migrant workers are engaged in, and years of migrant work on the entrepreneurial ability, found out their interrelationship, and compared the differences, so as to find out significant factors influencing the entrepreneurial ability of new generation of migrant workers. After the field survey, we processed and analyzed the survey data. Using the least squares method, we selected five key variables from 14 factors, and established a linear model as follows:

Yi=α+βX1i+βX2i+βX3i+βX4i+βX5i+ζi

whereidenotes the different sample object, andi=225;X1idenotes the obtaining of vocational skill certificate;X2idenotes the educational level;X3idenotes the entrepreneurial experience;X4idenotes the industry in which migrant workers are engaged in;X5idenotes the years of migrant work.

3.2Empiricalresultsandanalyses

3.2.1Characteristics of samples. The five main factors we selected can reflect the connotation of the entrepreneurial ability of new generation of migrant workers. We made effort to use the least indicators to contain more information, avoid the those indicators having similar or repeated meanings, too strong correlations or derived relationships. According to Table 1, the respondents with higher educational level (mainly senior middle school and above) in this questionnaire accounted for 83.1% of the total samples; most of the respondents have received vocational skills training, accounting for 62.2%; nearly half of the respondents have obtained the vocational skill certificates; and 84.4% respondents were engaged in manufacturing and service industries. Most of the respondents had no entrepreneurial experience, accounting for 87.11% of the total samples.

Table 1 Basic situation of the respondents

3.2.2Analysis of empirical results. We took five main abilities: opportunity capture ability, operation and management ability, resource acquisition and allocation ability, social relationship cooperation ability and risk management ability as the main components of entrepreneurial ability of the new generation of migrant workers. In order to verify the validity of the tool variable selection, we used the OLS least squares method. The results are listed in Table 2.

(i) Effects of the vocational skill certificate on the entrepreneurial ability. There is a positive correlation between the obtaining of vocational skill certificates and their entrepreneurial ability. The obtaining of vocational skill certificates has a significant effect on their operation and management ability and risk management ability. For example, its influence coefficient on operation and management ability is 0.157, and the significance level is 10%, indicating that relevant vocational skill training of migrant workers provides them with skills to start their own businesses, effectively enhancing their entrepreneurial operational ability. The influence coefficients on risk management ability are 0.207 and 0.876, respectively, and the significance levels are 1% and 5% respectively, indicating that migrant workers who have received vocational skill training have a strong psychological quality and will show strong endurance and confidence when encountering difficulties in the process of starting businesses.

(ii) Effects of the educational level on entrepreneurial the ability. The educational level of migrant workers has the most significant effects on their entrepreneurial ability, and it has a positive correlation with entrepreneurial ability. The influence coefficient of the opportunity capture ability is 0.313, and the significance level is 5%, indicating that the higher the educational level, the higher the opportunity capture ability, and the better their integration into the industry. The influence coefficients of operation and management ability are 0.418 and 0.366, respectively, and the significance level is 1%, indicating that if migrant workers have vocational skills and similar entrepreneurial experience, they will have higher ability of solving similar entrepreneurial problems, and thus have the corresponding operation and management ability. Their influence coefficient on resource acquisition and allocation ability are 0.590 and 0.442, respectively, and the significance level is 1%, indicating that the higher the educational level of the new generation of migrant workers, the higher their resource acquisition ability, they will know how to rationally use and optimize their own resources to maximize resource allocation. Their influence coefficients on social relationship cooperation ability is 0.453 and 0.231, respectively, and the significance level is 1% and 10%, respectively, indicating that educated new generation of migrant workers will build a harmonious interpersonal relationship with their managers, colleagues, and customers and find solutions and resources for their own careers in the key period, so they also have high social relationship cooperation ability. Their influence coefficients on risk management ability is 0.636 and 0.412, respectively, and the significance level is 1%, indicating that the new generation of migrant workers with higher education level dare to take responsibility and entrepreneurial risks when they encounter difficulties and bottlenecks, and thus they also have corresponding risk bearing ability.

Table 2 OLS analysis results of entrepreneurial ability

(iii) Effects of the entrepreneurial experience on the entrepreneurial ability. The entrepreneurial experience of the new generation of migrant workers has a significant effect mainly on the opportunity capture ability and operation and management ability of the new generation of migrant workers. There is a positive correlation between the entrepreneurial experience and the opportunity capture ability of migrant workers, and their influence coefficient on the opportunity capture ability is 0.551, and the significance level is 5%, indicating that certain entrepreneurial experience will make the new generation of migrant workers become more proactive and motivated, and dare to innovate, to start some entrepreneurial projects with higher yields. It also has a positive correlation with the operation and management ability, with the influence coefficient of 0.819 and the significance level of 1%, indicating that migrant workers with entrepreneurial experience will accumulate relevant management experience in their entrepreneurial process, making them work better in the second time of entrepreneurial activity.

(iv) Effects of the industry in which migrant workers are engaged in on the entrepreneurial ability. There is a significantly negative correlation between the industry in which migrant workers are engaged in and their entrepreneurial ability. The influence coefficients of the industry in which migrant workers are engaged in on their opportunity capture ability is -0.131 and -0.176, respectively, and the significance level is 10% and 5%, respectively, indicating that if migrant workers have been engaged in a certain industry for many years without engaging in cross-industry experience, they may be not very sensitive to some business opportunities in the society, so their opportunity capture ability will not be very high. Their influence coefficient on operation and management ability is -0.235, the significance level is 1%, the influence coefficient on resource acquisition and allocation ability is -0.127, and the significance level is 10%, the influence coefficient on risk management ability is -0.109, and the significance level is 10%, indicating that although migrant workers have been engaged in a certain industry for many years, they have no entrepreneurial experience, they do not have the ability to manage a company, and they are less sensitive to problems encountered in business operation, have slower response, and are not good at promoting businesses.

(v) Effects of the years of migrant work on the entrepreneurial ability. There is a negative correlation between the years of migrant work and the entrepreneurial ability of the new generation of migrant workers, its influence coefficient on the opportunity capture ability is -0.066, and the significance level is 5%. Its influence coefficient on the resource acquisition ability is -0.48, and the significance level is 10%, indicating that with the increase in the years of migrant work, new generation of migrant workers will become more conservative, careful in the investment projects, their opportunity capture ability will be lower, not good at some new technologies in the society, and rational use of new resources, thus their resource acquisition ability is limited.

4 Conclusions and policy recommendations

4.1ConclusionsThrough empirical analysis, the main factors influencing the entrepreneurial ability of the new generation of migrant workers are as follows: the industrial knowledge structure and skill level of migrant workers, the entrepreneurial goals and entrepreneurial ideas of migrant workers, the entrepreneurial talents of migrant workers, and the entrepreneurial resources of migrant workers (such as: human resources, entrepreneurial funds, information resources, and scientific and technological resources). The lack of entrepreneurial education in the new generation of migrant workers leads to the lack of their knowledge system, leading to the lack of their core entrepreneurial ability. In addition to the lack of integrated allocation of relevant entrepreneurial resources, they could not use resources efficiently, and finally the short-sightedness of migrant workers’ entrepreneurial goals hinders their entrepreneurial sustainability.

4.2Policyrecommendations

4.2.1Establishing a three-dimensional entrepreneurship education and training system, and strengthening professional entrepreneurship education and training. (i) Considering the factors such as the knowledge structure and working hours of the new generation of migrant workers, the government should establish a three-dimensional, flexible and innovative entrepreneurship training system and learning platform relying on vocational and technical schools and agricultural parks. (ii) In the training time, it is recommended to cover both the day and night shifts, to satisfy time schedule of the migrant workers; besides, it is also recommended to implement the apprenticeship system, carry out one-to-one and one-leading-one learning model, and provide follow-up services for the entrepreneurs. (iii) In the training method, it is recommended to make effort to build an online learning platform for migrant workers, adopt both offline and online teaching methods, regularly organize them to successful entrepreneurial site for field learning. Finally, in the training content, it is recommended to strengthen the training of operation and management, technical skills, professional quality, and entrepreneurial quality of enterprises, and make effort to improve the decision-making ability, communication and coordination ability, organization and implementation ability, and team construction ability of new generation of migrant workers, especially, the ability of using Internet, big data, cloud computing, and e-commerce.

4.2.2Enhancing the confidence of new generation of migrant workers in starting businesses and helping them to improve their actual management and operation ability. Confidence is an essential factor in the success of entrepreneurship activity. Skilled practical management skill is a basic quality of entrepreneurs. (i) It is recommended to select typical migrant workers with successful entrepreneurship activity, summarize experience, take advantage of various media or hold entrepreneurial salon, training camp, open class, lecture, share, and street performance of financing, to tell the entrepreneurial stories. (ii) Governments at all levels and industry associations should periodically hold various forums such as experience exchange meetings and entrepreneurial experience discussion, and accelerate the cultivation of the innovation maker culture and geek spirit of the new generation of migrant workers. (iii) Competent authorities, social welfare organizations, and industry associations should establish an ERP system for migrant workers to start businesses, so that new generation of migrant workers can carry out sand table operations in the entrepreneurial environment that simulates business operations, understand the processes and key links of business operations, and help them improve their actual operation and management ability. (iv) Governments at all levels should focus on creating a number of farmer entrepreneurship micro-enterprise incubator parks, farmer innovation and entrepreneurship workshops, farmer enterprise acceleration parks and other incubators, and play their typical demonstrations to guide the new generation of migrant workers to start their own businesses.

4.2.3Establishing intermediary service organizations for migrant workers to integrate and optimize entrepreneurial resources. (i) Governments at all levels should establish an intermediary service organization for migrant workers to start their business. Through the new "online + offline" thought, it is recommended to set up the "online + offline + professional service market alliance" mode of operation, build "1+5" (namely, government service + 5 types of professional entrepreneurship services) comprehensive, all-field and whole-process migrant workers entrepreneurial intermediary service system, provide professional services such as legal consulting services, intellectual property services, entrepreneurial financial services, entrepreneurial talent services, and corporate management consulting services. (ii) It is recommended to help the new generation of migrant workers integrate human resources network, capital chain network, information network and technology resource network, assist entrepreneurial enterprises to attract outstanding talents, and expand the relationship network of entrepreneurs in various sectors. (iii) It is recommended to establish entrepreneurial information platform and website for migrant workers, issue entrepreneurial information through the Internet platform, or take the mobile phone as information transmission carrier, promptly issue government policies and training information through short text message or WeChat public number.

4.2.4Improving the one-to-one entrepreneurial tutor system, to guide new generation of migrant workers to realize their entrepreneurial goals. The entrepreneurial tutor system is an effective way to help new generation of migrant workers to realize their entrepreneurial goals. (i) Governments at all levels should make effort to improve the existing entrepreneurial tutor system, and select a group of outstanding professional managers or successful entrepreneurs from various large state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and small and medium-sized enterprises as "entrepreneurial tutors" to encourage them to participate in shares, dividends, and bonus, to realize one-to-one connection with new generation of migrant workers. (ii) It is recommended to support entrepreneurial tutors to play the role of teachers, friends, and investors, promptly provide advice or participate in deciding operation and management, promptly interpret economic policies of the party and state, analyze market situations, coordinate and participate in formulating scientific and reasonable entrepreneurial plans and development goals, summarize operation and management experience and lessons, and constantly improve the innovation and entrepreneurial ability of new generation of migrant workers, to realize the entrepreneurial activity runs on the correct track, and develop into backbone enterprises leading to economic development.