Strategic Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Of Selected SMEs Competiveness In Lagos State, Nigeria

This paper investigates the effect of strategic innovation on entrepreneurship development of selected SMEs competitiveness. The main objective is to explore the effect of strategic innovation on entrepreneurship development of selected SMEs competitiveness in Lagos State, Nigeria. Survey research design was used for the study. The study population consists of 11,663 owners/managers of SMEs in Lagos State. The Cochran formula was used to arrive at a sample size of 742. A structured questionnaire was administered with 92.6% response rate. The instrument was validated and Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficients for the major constructs were obtained for the construct validity test factor analysis. Findings revealed that Innovation strategy had significant effect on the profitability of SMEs competitiveness in Lagos State (β = 0.314, t = 8.884, p<.05).This study made a contribution to knowledge by submitting significant background to the various concepts of strategic innovation and entrepreneurship development. The study concluded that there is a positive and significant effect of innovation strategy on profitability of SMEs competitiveness in Lagos State, Nigeria. Therefore, the paper recommended that SMEs competitiveness in Lagos State should constantly engage in innovation to improve the competitive advantage it acquires against other organizations in the sector. They should constantly analyze and determine their services operations in an attempt to improve operations efficienc

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

THE IMPACT OF MARKETING CAPABILITY AND DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY ON PERFORMANCE.

This paper examines the impact of marketing capability and diversification strategy on the performance of organization. A survey design with a well structured questionnaire was adopted in collecting data from the respondents and thereafter, the data was analyzed using descriptive analyses on statistical package for social science (SPSS). The results above indicate that there exists a significant relationship between marketing capability and organizational performance, while also proving the fact that diversification have a significantly strong impact on the performance of an organization. Keywords: Marketing capability, diversification strategy, Resources based view, 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

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

Risk and Trust in Online Shopping: Experience from Nigeria

This paper attempts to examine and investigate online shopping in Nigeria considering perceived risk and trust among online shoppers and online vendors. Trust in the Internet world can be influenced by perceptions of the vendors. This study will place more emphasis on consumers trust in online vendors rather than trust in the infrastructure. This study argues that since online vendors are the consumer’s main focus when transacting online, trust is built based on perceptions of the vendors. Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of online shopping is also examined in this study know whether the Nigeria populace see a need for online shopping or even e-commerce. Some of the perceived risk identified includes risk are financial, product performance, social, psychological and time/ convenience loss. Primary source of data collection was employed in getting data for this study through administering of questionnaires. Respondents were selected from Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja, which are the major cities in Nigeria; there were 100 respondents in this research study. Correlation analysis was carried out to test for relationship between variables. Findings reveals that the presence of perceived risk negatively affects trust in online shopping and that perceived usefulness of online shopping has a positive effect on actual usage of online shopping. Keywords: E-Commerce, Economy, Consumer, Internet, Trust, Ris

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

COMPETITVE STRATEGIES, TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIAN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of competitive strategies and technological capabilities on organizational performance with emphasis on the Nigerian manufacturing industry. A cross sectional survey design with a well structured questionnaire was adopted in collecting data from the respondents and thereafter, the data was analyzed using a descriptive and a simple regression analyses on statistical package for social science (SPSS). The result suggests that there exists no significant effect of the differentiation type of competitive strategy on organizational performance, while the cost leadership has a highly significant effect on organizational performance. It further revealed that technological capabilities go a long way in influencing the performance of organizations