INFLUENCE OF GREEN ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

Abstract

The study determined the influence of green entrepreneurial innovation on the performance of small and medium enterprise(SMEs) in South-East Nigeria. The focus was to ascertain whether green entrepreneurial innovation influences the competitive advantage of SMEs in the area. One research question guided the study while one null hypothesis was tested. Survey research design was adopted for the study. Population of the study was 196,075 registered SMEs out of which a sample size of 400 SMEs was randomly drawn from each of the five states and used for the study. Data were collected with a 13- item validated questionnaire which was subjected to face and content validation by three experts. The five-point Likert scale with the following responses ranging from 5 indicating strongly agree (SA); 4 indicating agree (A); 3 indicating Neutral (N), 2 indicating disagree (D); and 1 indicating strongly disagree (SD) was utilized. Cronbach Alpha reliability tool was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. Twenty-one (21) copies of the questionnaire were administered to Small and Medium Enterprises in Delta State, outside the area of study and the data obtained yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.83. Mean was used to answer the research question while standard deviation was used to check the spread of the respondents’  responses to the mean. The null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance using simple linear regression analysis. Findings of the study revealed that business owners agreed that green entrepreneurial innovation positively influences SMEs’ performance. The result of the hypothesis testing also revealed that there is a significant positive influence of green entrepreneurial innovation on SMEs performance in Southeast Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that there is a significant positive influence of green entrepreneurial innovation on SMEs performance in Southeast Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that SMEs in Southeast Nigeria should adopt green innovation practices, such as reducing waste, conserving energy by using renewable energy sources, and using environmentally friendly materials while the government should develop policies that support the growth of green innovation, such as tax incentives and subsidies, in the area.