DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A DISRUPTIVE RESPONSE TO THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined digital entrepreneurship as a disruptive response to the newspaper industry in Nigeria. The aim of the study was to determine the extent to which digital entrepreneurship has disrupted the operations of newspaper companies in Nigeria and how these companies can sustain their business in this era of digitalization. Three (3) research questions and hypotheses were developed to address the objectives of the study. The study adopted the positivist research philosophy and cross-sectional survey research design. The population of this study comprised all the 37 registered Nigerian newspapers in South-South Nigeria. The sampling unit consisted of managers drawn from the registered newspaper companies in Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used as the main instrument for data collection. The data collected were analyzed statistically while the Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) were used to test the hypotheses. The correlation analysis was done with the aid of the SPSS version 24.0. The findings revealed that digital technology has a significant relationship with operational disruption in the newspaper industry in Nigeria. The study also found a significant relationship between social media entrepreneurs and reduction of customer patronage of newspaper companies in Nigeria. The study equally revealed that digitization of newspaper operations has significant relationship with business sustainability. From the findings, it was concluded that digital entrepreneurship significantly disrupt the operations of newspaper industry in Nigeria. Based on these findings and conclusions, the study recommended that newspaper companies should digitized their operations as it would ensure business sustainability in this present era of digitalization.