ENTREPRENEURIAL MARKETING STRATEGIES AND BUSINESS EFFECTIVENESS OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE FIRMS IN RIVERS STATE.

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between entrepreneurial marketing strategies and business effectiveness of food and beverage firms in Rivers State. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design. The population of the study consisted of twenty-five (25) food and beverages firms in Rivers State. The study adopted a census study with a focus on four managerial staff from each of the firms, which includes the production manager, quality control manager, marketing manager and procurement manager. However, 89 respondents provided data for the study with the use of semi structured questionnaire. The reliability of the instrument was determined using Cronbach's alpha test and it stood at 0.98 higher than the benchmark of 0.7. The data collected for this study were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The Spearman Rank Order Correlation Co-efficient was employed to test the various hypotheses formulated with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. The study revealed that all the dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing strategies presented a significant relationship with business effectiveness of food and beverage firms in Rivers State and further concludes that innovativeness and value creation are the cornerstone and significant predictors of business effectiveness and success of food and beverage firms. The study recommends amongst others that management across food and beverage firms in Rivers State at all levels, should ensure that entrepreneurial marketing strategies are implemented across to achieve effective performance particularly in terms of brand recognition and market share.