Network Process, Strategic Alliance and Performance: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

This study explores the interplay between strategy alliance and network processes in explaining firm performance in highly unpredictable environments like what is obtained in Nigeria. Firms can outperform rivals by pursuing two types of strategic alliance: advantage-creating and advantage-enhancing. Each of these strategic alliances creates different needs, motivations, and opportunities for joint activity. This research work shows that firms with better advantage-creating strategies become entrenched in extra network process and are more likely to form non-equity strategic alliances in the future period, whereas firms with strong advantage-enhancing tendencies become rooted in intense network process with many equity-based strategic alliances in the future period. However, if different strategies lead to formation of different types of network processes, are these tendencies advantageous for firm performance? If not, what is the optimal combination of strategic alliance and network processes that maximizes firm performance? This paper argue that network process provides advantageous access to external resources that can both balance the internal capabilities of the firm and substitute for the capabilities that a firm is lacking. This paper finds out that network process plays both balancing and substitutive roles, however, my findings suggest dense network process is more favorable for firms that have superior either advantage-creating or advantage-enhancing capabilities, whereas firms with inferior internal capabilities can benefit more from a sparse network process. A correlation analysis was carried out on a sample of 125 respondents which indicates a positive relationship among both variables Keywords: Network process, Strategic alliance, Competition, Firm Performanc

An Integrated Approach to Rural Development in Nigeria

Rural development practice in Nigeria has spanned over 10 decades from pre-independence to the current decade. This paper attempts a time-series review on rural development practice in Nigeria to see what has changed over a fairly long period of time. Various development plan periods have been examined in relation to rural development practice. The review shows that the greater part of public efforts on rural development was subsumed under agricultural development which was more exploitative to the rural resources and residents than improve their quality of life. Although relatively improved understanding of rural development manifested among policy makers beginning in the late 1980s, the paper argues that such understanding surprisingly did not translate into corresponding improvement in rural development practice because of several factors including weak institutional arrangements, corruption and absence of coordinated practice among competing agencies. It is the view of this paper that in order to facilitate agricultural development, government should adopt an integrated rural development approach which is a multi-dimensional strategy for improving the quality of the life of the rural people. It concludes that rural development is imperative for improved of agricultural growth and development in Africa. Keywords: Development, Rural area, Nigeria, Developing Economy, Agriculture

Wages and salaries as a motivational tool for enhancing organizational performance. a survey of selected Nigerian workplace

This study examined how the organisation’s human capital was compensated and see whether the compensation even serves as a motivational tool to enhance organisational performance. Seven research questions and two hypotheses were postulated to find solutions to the problems of the study. One hundred and twenty personnel formed the sample size from six organisations. A self-designed instrument labeled Wages and Salaries as a Motivational Tool Questionnaire 2 (WASAMOTOQ2) containing seven sections was used in the collection of data. The findings of the study revealed those factors that militate against adequate compensation to include labour market conditions, the ability of the organisation to pay adequate compensation and the existing country/nation’s present cost of living; what makes up good and adequate compensation include recognition of individual performance and taking care of individual incentives and it shows the relationship between compensation and motivation. It further established the consequential effect of inadequate compensation and motivation on the organisational development. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were proffered that there should be wages/salaries scale and schedule; such should be based on identified indices in the study; that disparity between two identical workers should not be based purely on ‘paper’ qualification but the ability to ‘deliver’; and that wages/salaries should display equality, no ‘sacred cow’. &nbsp

Strategic Positioning and Performance in the Tourism Sector: Evidence from Nigeria

This research work examined the relationship between the different strategic positioning typologies and tourism performance. The population consists of one hundred and seventy (170) staffs of tourism industry in Nigeria, while the sample size comprises of one hundred and fourteen (114) staffs. The study utilized a descriptive research design. However, the study adopted questionnaire as a reliable source of data collection, whereby primary data was used to elicit respondents’ opinions on the research topic. The findings revealed that analyzer and reactor typologies strategy positioning have a statistical significant relationship with both monetary and non-monetary performance in the tourism industry. Keywords: Strategic positioning, tourism performance, analyzers, reactors

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

This study tested the influence of social orientation of hospitality industry in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital on the organizational commitment of their employees. Using a descriptive design of survey, we analyzed the effect of social entrepreneurship on the common three dimensions of organizational commitment (normative, affective, and continuance). Data for the study were obtained from 315 employees from the industry using an instrument that was well validated. Our analysis suggested that social entrepreneurship positively and significantly explains organizational commitment of the surveyed staff from the industry along the three dimensions of commitment with normative commitment showing the greatest effect of social orientations of the industry. The study concluded that social entrepreneurship is a potent organizational variable that can be used to engender commitment of staff especially their normative commitment

Dynamic Capabilities and Entrepreneurship Growth of Selected Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) In Ibadan Southwest Local Government Oyo State, Nigeria

The study investigates dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurship growth among selected small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ibadan  Southwest Local Government, Oyo State, Nigeria. This study adopts survey research design in which primary source of data is used in carrying out  this study. A total number of one hundred and twelve (112) questionnaires out of one hundred and sixteen (116) was completely filled and returned  as the sample size of this research study. The data collected are tested and analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression and correlation  coefficients which reveal that the overall regression model is fit with aid of SPSS. The finding indicates that there is significant relationship between  dynamic capabilities and entrepreneurship growth. Results showed that there is no significant relationship between sensing capabilities and  entrepreneurship growth (R2 = 0.723, F-statistic = 28.098, β = 11.437, t = 13.221, p<.05); and there is no significant relationship between seizing  capabilities and entrepreneurship growth (R2 = 0.650, Fstatistic = 21.296, β = 0.804, t = 15.678, p<.05). The study concluded that entrepreneurship  growth success arises in knowing which capabilities are important to SMEs in terms of daily survival and which are necessary for a sustainable  competitive advantage is critical to the ongoing viability of the firm growth. The study therefore recommends among other that SMEs must pay  attention to dynamic capabilities that are superior to basic abilities and monitor the changing environment