Impact of Unemployment on Nigerian Economic Development: A Study of Selected Local Government Area in Anambra State, Nigeria

The problem of unemployment in Nigeria is a national issue that should be handled with care. The rate of unemployment in Nigeria since 1973 has been growing in a geometric progression. Its source could be traced to the diversification of Nigeria economy into oil sector that only provides less than 10% employment opportunity to its labour force. The purpose of this study was to find out the causes of unemployment in Nigeria and how it has impeded the economic development. These and others form the researcher's reason for this study. Descriptive research design was adopted. The population includes all the unemployed youth from the three selected Local Government Council (Oyi, Idemili North and South) which its figure is estimated to be about 2.3 million youth (NPC, 2006). 30 youths were drawn from each of the Local Government Council. Convenience sampling technique was applied. Both primary and secondary data source was used. Pearson correlation test was used for the test of hypotheses. The results of the test hypotheses revealed that unemployment impedes the economic growth and development of Nigeria. Government programmes have in many ways helped in tackling the problems of unemployment in Nigeria. There are possible ways that could be put forward in ensuring the reduction of unemployment level in Nigeria. Furthermore, the paper recommends that the federal government should hasten the power sector reforms and re-stabilize the power sector to end the looming energy crisis in Nigeria. In order to encourage entrepreneurial activities which are believed to be the remote cause of unemployment problem in Nigeria? Keywords: Unemployment, Economic Development, Causes and Consequences, Way forwar

SOCIAL MEDIA: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF ITS EFFECT ON STUDENTS’ SHOPPING HABITS

The adoption of social media by students in Nigeria has remained a fast and welcome development and has been used in the transfer of title in many ways. The reason for this study is to examine the effect of social media advertisement on students’ shopping habit in Nigeria, as well as examine the effect of social media credibility on students’ shopping habits in Nigeria. The research focused on internet users (students) from five selected Local Government Councils (Oyi, Idemili North and South, Onitsha North and South) particularly those who use social media sites. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews from the population of internet users of the selected five selected Local Government Councils. A sample of 150 internet users was drawn from the population. Regression statistics was used to analyse the established variables. The test conducted show that social media advertisement and credibility has significant effect on students’ shopping habit. Based on the outcome of the findings, the authors recommend that advertisers should give all the details that are needed for easy patronage of the products. In addition, users of social media in promotion of products, especially manufacturers and middlemen, should know that the credibility of any social platform creates an added advantage to the profit of that organization.  Article visualizations

EFFECT OF ECOLOGICAL MARKETING ON SURVIVAL OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA.

The state of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) is deteriorating, and the environment is irrational in a way that has led to many businesses, especially SMEs, collapsing early in their existence. In this study, the survival of SMEs in the state of Anambra was examined in relation to ecological marketing. Descriptive survey methodology was used in the study.  All SMEs in Anambra State make up the study's population, and 384 people were chosen for the sample through the use of a purposive sampling technique. As a result, respondents were asked to complete a structured questionnaire. Data analysis techniques used included multiple regression analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and Pearson's correlation. Technology, sociocultural factors, and economic factors all had a positive and significant impact on the study's findings regarding the survival of SMEs. However, in Anambra State, political factors have a significant and detrimental impact on SMEs' ability to survive. In light of this, the study came to the conclusion that ecological marketing significantly affects SMEs' ability to survive in Anambra State, Nigeria. Additionally, it claimed that businesses are on the verge of extinction if they don't recognise and act quickly on the new trends and problems in their environment. However, this study recommended strengthening the regulatory framework as well as providing adequate infrastructure facilities for SMEs to survive in Nigeria

Effect of Cyber Security on Business Sustainability of Listed Microfinance Banks in Nigeria

Purpose: In Nigeria, microfinance banks (MFB) face the burden of investing in cyber security to protect their databases, prevent monetary losses, maintain customer trust, and remain afloat in a competitive business environment. However, there are incessant cyber risks and attacks by criminals who gain undue access to the cyber-space of MFB and cause financial and non-financial loss. Design/methodology/approach: The objective of this quantitative study was to examine the effect of cyber security on the business sustainability of three listed, and most valued MFBs in Nigeria. The population of the study was 315 senior, medium and junior employees of three MFBs in Nigeria. As the target population was manageable, the research adopted a census. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, and the formulated hypothesis was analysed using multiple regression. Findings: The study found that cyber security has a significant and positive impact on the sustainability of MFB in Nigeria. Data availability account for the largest contribution to the sustainability of MFBs, followed by data confidentiality and data integrity. Employees in a MFB uphold that data availability, confidentiality, and integrity are pivotal elements of cyber security that influence the sustainability of their organisations in Nigeria. Given these results from the viewpoint of employees, MFBs are implored to regularly review and strengthen their risk management strategy and adopt a more integrative approach of human-centric cybersecurity, which brings technology and human elements together to address current and future cyber risks and build and sustain consumer trust in digital financial transactions. The implication of the study and areas for future research are highlighted. Paper type: Research pape

Effects of entrepreneurial marketing on the survival of manufacturing small and medium enterprises in South-East Nigeria.

Doctoral degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Many manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria cease to exist before their fifth birthday. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of entrepreneurial marketing on the survival of manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria and to develop a new integrative entrepreneurial marketing model that would help ensure the survival of SMEs in Nigeria. The quantitative study adopted positivism as the research paradigm. Using a quantitative research design, stratified random sampling was employed to select owner-managers of manufacturing SMEs in the South-East geo-political zone of Nigeria. A survey was used to collect data via a structured questionnaire administered to 364 owner-managers. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were used to test the reliability after a pilot study had been conducted. Exploratory fact analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to validate the findings. The descriptive statistics were used to analyse data relating to the demographics of owner-managers and dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing. Inferential statistics, such as Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple regressions analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were applied to test the hypotheses via IBM SPSS statistics version 25 and IBM SPSS AMOS version 25. The results indicated that entrepreneurial marketing has a direct and significantly positive impact on manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. The tested integrative EM model also indicated that proactiveness, calculated risk-taking, resource leveraging, customer intensity, value creation, market sensing and teamwork have a direct and significantly positive effect on SMEs’ survival. However, innovativeness, which is considered as one of the key dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing, shows a significant but negative effect on SME survival. Alliance formation showed no significant effects. In the light of these results, the study developed a new model of entrepreneurial marketing for manufacturing SMEs by incorporating teamwork and market sensing in the existing model. The new integrative entrepreneurial marketing model is valuable, not only to owner-managers to enhance the survival of their businesses and reduce failures, but also to academics as a basis for robust future research. Therefore, the study recommended the adoption of the new integrative entrepreneurial marketing model in the management of manufacturing SMEs to aid survival

Market Orientation and Survival of Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

The adoption of a market orientation (MO) model for effective management of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria and beyond has drawn diverse views. Extant studies conducted in Nigeria in the past decades have leveraged on the existing entrepreneurial marketing model that has not significantly contributed to the survival of SMEs in Nigeria. The objective of this quantitative study is to investigate the effects of MO on the survival of manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. The study adopted a positivistic ontology and descriptive survey design. The study randomly selected 387 owner-managers of manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. The results show that MO significantly contributed to the survival of SMEs in Nigeria. Based on the results, the study recommends that integrative Entrepreneurial Marketing (EM) should be adopted by both the owners and managers of SMEs as this would help reduce the rate of business failure in Nigeria

SOCIAL MEDIA: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF ITS EFFECT ON STUDENTS' SHOPPING HABITS

The adoption of social media by students in Nigeria has remained a fast and welcome development and has been used in the transfer of title in many ways. The reason for this study is to examine the effect of social media advertisement on students’ shopping habit in Nigeria, as well as examine the effect of social media credibility on students’ shopping habits in Nigeria. The research focused on internet users (students) from five selected Local Government Councils (Oyi, Idemili North and South, Onitsha North and South) particularly those who use social media sites. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews from the population of internet users of the selected five selected Local Government Councils. A sample of 150 internet users was drawn from the population. Regression statistics was used to analyse the established variables. The test conducted show that social media advertisement and credibility has significant effect on students’ shopping habit. Based on the outcome of the findings, the authors recommend that advertisers should give all the details that are needed for easy patronage of the products. In addition, users of social media in promotion of products, especially manufacturers and middlemen, should know that the credibility of any social platform creates an added advantage to the profit of that organization

Critical Understanding of Existing Entrepreneurial Marketing Models: 2002 – 2022

With the consistent failure of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) globally, many scholars have developed entrepreneurial marketing (EM) models that are aimed at reducing the failure frequently experienced. The aim of this paper is to critically review the different EM models from 2002 to 2022. In pursuit of this aim, the paper reviewed 10 EM models to find out their strengths and shortfalls. The review found that some research constructs such as market sensing and teamwork, which were ignored, were identified as posing a significant contribution to business survival in the integrative EM model. The paper concludes that since different EM models have been developed to reduce the consistent failure of business, efforts should be intensified towards adopting the integrative EM model to measure its applicability in other sectors as well as to have a unified and acceptable EM model that will grow and sustain SMEs