Strategic Entrepreneurial Orientation and the Survival of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Middle Belt, Nigeria

Abstract

Existing research on the past success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria is uninteresting. On the causes of SMEs' failure in Nigeria, there are, nevertheless, varied, and conflicting opinions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine how entrepreneurial orientation affected the survival of SMEs in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. Innovativeness, assertiveness, and a willingness to take risks are indicators of an entrepreneurial attitude, whereas sales growth indicates survival. The population of this study, which used a survey research design, consists of 18,470 registered SMEs across the six states in the geopolitical zone and the Federal Capital Territory. A sample size of 392 registered SMEs was chosen at random to participate in the study using the Taro Yamane Formula. The instrument for gathering data for the study was a questionnaire. To assess the information acquired for this study, descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient, and PLS-SEM were used. According to the study, at a significance level of 5%, taking risks and being proactive have a favorable and significant impact on the growth of SMEs in North Central, Nigeria, while INN was shown to be unimportant and detrimental to the expansion of SMEs. Thus, the study's recommendation was that SMEs managers, as well as existing and future SMEs operators in North central Nigeria, always take entrepreneurial orientation extremely seriously to continue increasing their SMEs growth.