EFFECT OF DISTINCTIVE COMPETENCES AND TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES ON SME GROWTH IN NORTH-EAST NIGERIA

Authors

  • ALI BABA MUSAMI
  • Abubakar Alhaji Saleh
  • Maina YAHI

Keywords:

Distinctive Competence, Technological capability, SME growth, Business definition

Abstract

Distinctive Competencies and Technological

Capabilities are two elements that are used for

Business strategic planning

to

enable

entrepreneurs to define the scope and market in

which they compete to attain business growth.

This is, however, not always the case among

SMEs in North-East Nigeria, and that might

account for their inability to expand beyond the

level of survival. This study examined the effect

of these two elements on the growth of small and

medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in North-east

Nigeria. It adopted a descriptive survey research

design. The population of the study comprises

4,224,252 registered SMEs in North East Nigeria

as reported by the Small and Medium Enterprises

Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN,

2020). Through a random sampling technique,

four hundred (400) SMEs were selected as

samples. The size of the study was based on the

Taro Yamane sample selection formula. A five

point Likert scale questionnaire was used to

capture the opinions of respondents. The

Cronbach Alpha test for distinctive competence

and technological capabilities shows 0.9779 and

0.9785 respectively and the test for multi

collinearity and heteroscedasticity all produced

favourable responses. The study used multiple

regression analysis to determine the statistical

effects of the variables in business definition

measured by distinctive competence (DCOMP),

and technological capability (TECHCAP), as

independent variables and SMEs business growth

(BUSGROT) as dependent variables. The result of

the study indicates that distinctive competence

has a positive but insignificant effect on business

growth while technological capability has a

positive and significant effect on business growth

in North East Nigeria. Hence, it was concluded

from the findings of the study that SME growth

can be anticipated using these variables. Based

on these findings, it was recommended that SMEs

invest in modern technologies in key business

areas, and also in knowledge management as

their competence can easily be imitated by other

firms.

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Published

15-12-2024

How to Cite

MUSAMI, A. B., Saleh, A. A., & YAHI, M. (2024). EFFECT OF DISTINCTIVE COMPETENCES AND TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES ON SME GROWTH IN NORTH-EAST NIGERIA. Nigerian Academy of Management Journal, 19(1), 62–72. Retrieved from https://namj.tamn-ng.org/index.php/home/article/view/369