Table 1.

Data collection process.

Steps	Activities
Step 1	Establish the focus and scope of the research
Step 2	Develop research questions
Step 3	Agreed on the individual firms to be included in the research
Step 4	Choose the appropriate research method, the data collection techniques, and protocols to adopt, i.e., the semi-structured interview
Step 5	Determine the ‘right’ participants, i.e., by ensuring that each prospective participant is an entrepreneur/owner-manager
Step 6	Data collection period – Ghana (August 2021 – September 2021)
Step 7	Data collection period – Nigeria (September 2021 – December 2021)
Step 8	Data analysis (See below for the steps involved)
Step 9	Dissemination: report and article development