ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF FOOD AND BEVERAGES FIRMS IN PORT HARCOURT.

Abstract

The business environment is volatile and dynamic; it takes a firm that is entrepreneurial orientated to survive. To this end, this study examined the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and organisational performance of Food and beverages firms in Port Harcourt. Three (3) objectives, three (3) research questions and three (3) hypotheses were tested. The study adopted correlational survey design; the population of this study consisted of 25 food and beverages firms in Port Harcourt. The study adopted a census approach and studied the entire population. The instrument was administered in the frame of 4 copies per firm; the reliability of the instrument was determined using the Cronbach's alpha test instrument with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and it stood at 0.78 higher than the benchmark of 0.7. The data collected for this study were analyzed through inferential statistics. The spearman rank-order correlation technique was employed to test the various hypotheses formulated. The findings revealed that entrepreneurial orientation showed a positive and significant relationship with organisational performance of food and beverages firms in Port Harcourt. The results from the bivariate analysis confirmed this as a positive and significant relationship was found between entrepreneurial orientation (proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness and innovativeness) and organisational performance of food and beverages firms in Port Harcourt. Based on these findings, it was concluded that entrepreneurial orientation via its dimensions is a panacea for gaining organisational performance. in line with the findings and conclusions; the paper recommends that food and beverages firms should be proactive in all ramification; they should be quick and swift in responding to market needs; they should be competitive aggressive and challenge competitions in order to gain entry or strengthen its existing position in the marketplace, geared towards surpassing industry rivals and should be innovative and always come up with novel products and services that will catch the customer’s attention.