FRUGAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS SUCCESS OF FOOD PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING SMES IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This study examined frugal entrepreneurship and business success of food products manufacturing SMEs in Rivers State. Four (4) research questions and hypotheses were developed to address the objectives of the study. The study adopted the correlational research design and quantitative research approach. The population of this study comprised 23 registered food products manufacturing SMEs in Rivers State. The unit of analysis consisted of business owners, production managers, marketing managers and innovation managers of the food products manufacturing SMEs in Rivers State. A sample size of 92 respondents were drawn from the 23 food products manufacturing SMEs in Rivers State on the ratio of 4 owners/managers per enterprise. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed and the hypotheses were tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r). The correlation analysis was performed using the SPSS version 24.0. The findings revealed that affordable innovation has a significant relationship with market share growth and profitability growth of food products manufacturing SMEs in Rivers State. Cost reduction was also reported to have a significant relationship with market share growth and profitability growth of food products manufacturing SMEs in Rivers State. Based on these findings, it is concluded that frugal entrepreneurship is a significant predictor of business success of food products manufacturing SMEs in Rivers State. Therefore, it is recommended that food products manufacturing SMEs in Rivers State especially those that are struggling to compete with their larger rivals should adopt frugal entrepreneurship strategies such as affordable innovation and cost reduction as it would enhance their competitiveness and achieve business success.