Citation:

Dr. Ibiba Ambie Georgewill. "Entrepreneurial Innovativeness and Business Success of Small and Medium Enterprises in Rivers State" International Research Journal of Economics and Management Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 287-291, 2024.

Abstract:

This study examined the relationship between entrepreneurial innovativeness and the business success of small and medium enterprises in Rivers State. Through self-administrated questionnaires and interviews with respondents, primary data were produced. With 1,658 owners and managers of small and medium-sized businesses in South-South Nigeria as the study's target group, a cross-sectional survey design was used. The Krejcie and Morgan (1970) Population/Sample Size Table was used to determine the study sample, which consisted of 313 small and medium-sized businesses. The Cronbach Alpha coefficient was used to assess the instrument's reliability, and all items scored above 0.70. Only the data from 99 respondents were used for analysis after the data were cleaned. The Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefficient was used to test the hypotheses. The tests were run using a significance threshold of 0.05. The results showed that entrepreneurial inventiveness and the financial success of small and medium-sized businesses in Rivers State are significantly correlated. The study concludes entrepreneurial innovativeness positively enhances the business success (market share and sales growth) of small and medium enterprises in Rivers State. This implies that SMEs in Rivers State can enhance their chances of success by fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within their organizations. Therefore, the study recommends that SMEs should foster a culture that values risk-taking and experimentation. Encourage employees to explore new ideas and approaches, even if they involve some level of uncertainty. Create incentives for innovation and recognize and reward employees who contribute innovative solutions.

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Keywords:

Business Success, Entrepreneurial Innovativeness, Market Share, Sales Growth.