Customer Relationship Management and the Performance of Selected Entrepreneurial Firms in Southwestern Nigeria

Management of customers’ vis-a- vis their needs and expectations has been a major challenge to entrepreneurs as they strife to maximise profit and increase their market share. Customer relationship management (CRM) thus serves as an essential avenue and component needed for the growth and sustainability of small-scale businesses. This article provides a description of CRM as a means of achieving customers satisfaction and sustaining firms’ competitive position. A total of three hundred and eighteen (318) respondents participated in a survey of 45 registered medium scale entrepreneurial firms using purposive sampling across the states in south west Nigeria. Structural Equation Model was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that information sharing with customers increases the trust and confidence customers have in firms. Long-term partnership between the companies and their customers through CRM demonstrates the level of trust, perseverance, and loyalty both enjoyed. Customer relationship management significantly influences the level of satisfaction derived by customers in companies’ product, services, and activities.Keywords: Customer Relationship Management, Structural Equation Model, Customers, Information sharing, Long Term Partnership, Customer Satisfaction. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-3-04 Publication date: January 31st 202

An Examination of Factors Motivating Informal Entrepreneurship in Ibadan, South West Nigeria

The study examined factors motivating informal entrepreneurship in developing countries with a view to determine how the peculiarities of the context influence the choice of form to operate formally or informally by owners of businesses. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaire administered on 150 entrepreneurs of Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) extraction with operational base in Ibadan metropolis. Data were analysed using the inferential statistical tools of Multiple Regression for determining the impact of identified variables and to measure association between variables. Findings revealed that informal entrepreneurship conforms to the traditional culture, norms and values held by Nigerians and it also indicated that formal rules/principles are generally perceived as mere imposition. The study concludes that there is the need for policy makers to constantly design home-grown entrepreneurial processes, easier and friendly legal framework that take into cognizance the local peculiarities so as to promote entrepreneurship in formal economy. Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Informal entrepreneurship; Opportunity-driven entrepreneurship;   Necessity-driven entrepreneurship; Formal Econom