CORRELATION BETWEEN ECONOMIC HARDSHIP AND INTENTION TO QUIT AMONG SMALL BUSINESSES OWNERS IN THE POST COVID BUSINESS

Small business has contributed significantly to the economic growth of any society and has assumed a ubiquitous part of the business ecosystem. Conceivably, it contributes positively to job creation and has been widely considered the primary engine of socioeconomic development and wealth creation. However, there are indications that the post-Covid-19 business era has been unfavorable to small businesses. Thus, the purpose of the present paper was to examine the correlation between economic hardship and intention to quit among small business owners. A convenience sample of one hundred and fourteen entrepreneurs pooled from different business hubs in the Enugu state of Nigeria participated in the study. The Pearsons product-moment correlation analyses indicated a statistically significant, moderate positive correlation between intention to quit and economic hardship, r (112) = .39, p < .001, with economic hardship explaining 24% of the variation in intention to quit. Thus, the result supports the assumption of the study.