ENTREPRENEURIAL MARKETING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SMEs IN PORT HARCOURT

Abstract

The study examined Entrepreneurial Marketing and Economic Development of SMEs in Port Harcourt. The study developed two (2) research objectives, two (2) research questions, and two (2) research hypotheses based on its framework. The population of the study was made up of 120 SMEs in Port Harcourt who were identified through the yellow pages of the fact book and the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The study used a correlational survey design. The Krejcie and Morgan Sampling Table was used to calculate the sample size of 92. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used to calculate the instrument's dependability, which was found to be 0.88 points greater than the benchmark of 0.7. The data collected for this study were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The linear regression model was employed to test the various hypotheses formulated through the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The outcome of the hypothesis test demonstrates a substantial, significant, and favorable association between entrepreneurial marketing and the economic developmentof SMEs in Port Harcourt. According to the data, the study comes to the conclusion that entrepreneurial marketing is essential to the development of SMEs in Port Harcourt. The article makes the following recommendations in light of its results and conclusions: Managers of SMEs should be proactive in all respects; they should react quickly to market demands; they should be innovative and constantly come up with new products and services that will attract customers.