DIGITAL INNOVATION AND SALES PERFORMANCE OF FOOD PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING SMES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined digital innovation and sales performance of food products manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between digital innovation (artificial intelligence, internet of things and cloud computing) and sales performance (sales volume growth and sales revenue growth) of food products manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. Six (6) research questions and hypotheses were developed to address the objectives of the study. The study adopted the positivist research philosophy and correlational research design. The population of this study consisted of all the 2,763 manufacturing SMEs with e-commerce in Nigeria. A sample size of 349 SMEs was used in this study. The sample size was determined using the Taro Yamene’s formula. The sampling unit consisted of entrepreneurs of the selected food products manufacturing SMEs with e-commerce. The purposive sampling technique was adopted.  A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed statistically while the Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient (rho) was used to test the hypotheses. The correlation analysis was carried out with the aid of the SPSS version 24. The findings revealed that artificial intelligence has significant relationship with sales volume growth and sales revenue growth of food products manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. Internet of Things (IoT) was also found to have significant relationship with sales volume growth and sales revenue growth of food products manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. The study equally revealed that cloud computing has a significant relationship with sales volume growth and sales revenue growth of food products manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. Based on these findings, it is concluded that digital innovation has a significant relationship with the sales performance of food products manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. Therefore, it is recommended that food products manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria should adopt digital innovation such as artificial intelligence, internet of things and cloud computing as it would improve their sales performance.