Improving the entrepreneurial ability of rural migrant workers returning home in China: Study based on 5,675 questionnaires

Innovation and entrepreneurship play a key role in the development of a country’s economy and society. In recent years, along with the comprehensive implementation of China’s rural revitalization strategy, the government has issued many policies to support and benefit farmers, and the investment environment in villages has been greatly improved, attracting more and more migrant workers to return to their hometowns to start businesses. Improving the entrepreneurial ability of China’s returning migrant workers is very important. A review of the previous literature showed that both internal personal factors and external environmental factors can affect the entrepreneurial ability of entrepreneurs. Combining the results of the questionnaire survey, this paper incorporates eight internal personal factors and eight external environmental factors into the index system for assessing entrepreneurial ability and uses a combination of SWOT analysis and AHP analysis to prioritize the factors influencing the entrepreneurial ability of returning migrant workers in China. The results are as follows: (1) The factors influencing the entrepreneurial ability of returnee entrepreneurs could be divided into two types: the individual factors of returnee entrepreneurs, and the external environmental factors. (2) Among the internal factors, technical experience and business management ability are the two main factors influencing entrepreneurial activity. (3) Among the external environmental factors, the opportunity for industrial structure adjustment and low technical content would have a higher influence on the entrepreneurial activity of returnee entrepreneurs. Accordingly, this study proposes some policy recommendations on how to improve the entrepreneurial ability of returnee entrepreneurs. Finally, the research methodology of this paper can be used as a reference for other scholars, and the research results can also be used for administrators to develop relevant policies to better improve the entrepreneurial ability of returnee entrepreneurs.