EFFICIENCY OF SMALL BUSINESS: THE CASE OF NIGERIA

Abstract

The concept of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has been widely discussed through previous studies in entrepreneurship, so it can be considered as one of the main topics in this field, and the most commonly used measure of entrepreneurial behaviour. The main objectives of the study were to determine the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on small and medium sized enterprises and also to examine the effect of innovative performance on EO. The study population refers to selected SMEs that were registered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in Ogun State, Nigeria. The primary data was generated through the field survey using structured questionnaire as a major research instrument. Taro Yamani scientific formula was adopted to determine the sample size. Correlation statistical analytical, Pearson Product Moment correlation Coefficient method and content validity method was applied. The study used Analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlation efficiency, and regression analysis for this study. The research found that there is a significant effect of entrepreneurial orientation on small and medium sized enterprises performance in Nigeria. Moreover, the results of the study indicated that EO affects innovative performance. The study recommends that small and medium sized enterprises should embrace the entrepreneurial orientation dimensions of autonomy, pro- activeness, risk taking, competitive aggressiveness and innovativeness to increase business performance and SMEs operators should adopt autonomy by encouraging employees to be autonomous and be free to take initiative for the best interest of the organization and use periodic appraisal to monitor them.