PROCESS INNOVATION AND BUSINESS SUCCESS OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

This study examined process innovation and business success of manufacturing firms in Rivers State. The study developed four (4) research questions and hypotheses to address the objectives of the study. The study adopted the positivism research philosophy and the correlational research design. The population of the study consisted of all the 34 manufacturing firms registered with the Rivers State Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry. The census sampling technique was adopted. The sampling units consisted of managers of the manufacturing firms in Rivers State. The managers include production managers, innovation managers, Research & Development (R&D) managers, marketing managers and distribution managers. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed using a combination of descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) was used to test the hypotheses. The SPSS version 27.0 was used for the correlation analysis. The findings revealed that production process innovation has a significant relationship with productivity of manufacturing firms. The study also found a significant relationship between production process innovation and profitability of manufacturing firms. The study equally discovered a significant relationship between delivery process innovation and productivity of manufacturing firms. The study also found a significant relationship between delivery process innovation and profitability of manufacturing firms From the findings, it was concluded that process innovation significantly enhance business success of manufacturing firms in Rivers State. Therefore, it was recommended that manufacturing firms in Rivers State should adopt process innovation as it would increase their productivity and profitability, and achieve business success.