MANAGEMENT INNOVATION AND SUSTENANCE OF SMALL BUSINESS UNIT IN NIGERIA A STUDY OF TAILORING / FASHION DESIGN IN AGUDA, SURULERE, LAGOS.

ABSTRACT

This study assessed the impact of management innovation on sustenance of small business unit. The study employed the descriptive survey research design. The sample size consisted of 150 respondents drawn from tailoring / fashion business area at Surulere Lagos. A 20- item structured questionnaire was designed to elicit responses from the sampled population on management innovation and sustenance of small business unit. The Pearson Correlation Statistics was utilized with the help of Special Package of Social sciences (SPSS) to test the four hypotheses stated for the study. Results showed among others that the tested tailoring/ fashion design differed significantly in design, marketing and sales from those best practices,  there was significant difference between product design and implementation of Nigeria tailoring / fashion design and those of best practice, there was significant impact of education, training and years of work experience on tailoring fashion design business performance and that significant relationship exists between management innovation and sustenance of small business units. On the basis of these findings the recommendations were made which include: individual goals should derive from strategic innovation direction and overall entrepreneur goals; small business entrepreneurs should  know what customers needs are through needs assessments; education and training should be given to small business owners to make them to be leaders in their business and government to create enabling environment for small business unit to survive.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

   Pages

Title page                                                                             i

Certification                                                                        ii

Dedication                                                                           iii

Acknowledgement                                                             iv

Abstract                                                                                v

Table of Contents                                                               v

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background of study                                                                  1

1.2   Statement of the problem                                                         4

1.3   Aim and objectives of the study                                               5

1.4   Relevant Research Questions                                                   6

1.5   Relevant Research Hypothesis                                                 6

1.6   Significance of the study                                                            7

1.7   Scope of the Study                                                                      8

1.8   Definition of Terms                                                                     8

        References                                                                                  9

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Preamble                                                                                     10

2.2 Theoretical Framework of the study                                       10

2.3 Empirical Review of Previous work in the area of studies   17

      References                                                                                    24

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Preamble                                                                                       27

3.2 Research Design                                                                          27

3.3 Population of the study                                                              27

3.4 Sampling Procedure and Sample                                              27

3.5 Data Collection Instrument and Validation                             28

3.6 Method of Data Analysis                                                             28

3.7 Limitation of the methodology                                                  28

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Preamble (a brief outline of the Chapter to provide insight in to the content of the Chapter).   30

4.2 Presentation and Analysis of Data According to Research Questions 37

4.3 Test of Hypotheses                                                                        44

4.4 Discussion of Finding                                                                    49

      Reference                                                                                        52

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Summary                                                                                         53

5.2 Conclusions                                                                                     53

5.3 Recommendation                                                                           54

       References                                                                                      57

       Bibliography                                                                                    58

        Appendix                                                                                         62

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background of Study

The nature of success in small business unit is almost very clear. The entrepreneurs or managers that create a greater value for its respective market will prosper while competitors will only get what is left for them by the leader (Yezersky, 2008). It is important to note that success will be permanently associated with the initially leading entrepreneur that repeats the difference in value year after year. Equally, since products or services are purchased to solve consumers’ problems, the competition between entities can be presented as a competition between the value propositions that the entities offer to their customers. Every value proposition goes through the life cycle process which consists of a sequence of stages. This universal process ends up with the market’s judgment of the value proposition, which leads to its acceptance or rejection, resulting in the financial gain or loss, which is then perceived as a success or failure. The goal of sustaining success can only be achieved if an entrepreneur continually comes up with value propositions that are accepted by the market. To avoid variability of results (failures), as operation management, the process of competition must be controlled in its entirety. That is why the best-run enterprises use all the methods that have been proven over time to cut variability in the results produced by such diverse corporate activities as procurement, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, design, sales, etc. It is to be noted, however, that value creation is possible through both innovation and optimization. While both are valid approaches, innovation is the one that creates new features and provides significant competitive advantage.  It is to be noted, however, that the process of innovation takes time hence controlling innovation really means to know not what the market’s present needs are, but what they will be in the future. It is analogous to shooting a moving target; nobody tries to shoot at the location where the target is now but where the target will be. Currently, small business units in Nigeria seem not to have reliable methods to accurately identify the future of the market’s needs, which makes control of the process of innovation impossible in principle.

However, creating  and  sustaining  conducive  social  and working  environment  for  innovation  to  emerge  and thrive  is  desirable  in small business unit in Nigeria. This is so because globalization  and  the  desire  of  small business unit such as tailoring / fashion design business to meet  up  with  the  pace  of  growth  and  development, requires the entrepreneurs to look inward and make innovation a priority in the tailoring / fashion design business. Prioritization of innovation is achievable, if culture of innovation is sustained in the small business unit in Nigeria. An innovation is transforming of practice in an organization (Adegbite, 2012). It is not the same as the invention of a new idea or object. A  transformation  of  practice  in the  organization  won’t  happen  unless  the  new practice  generates  more  value  to  the  members  than the old. Many innovations were preceded or enabled by inventions; but many innovations occurred without a significant invention (Denning, 2004 as cited in Adegbite, 2012). It is worthy of note that in  a culture  of  innovation  people  will  have  a  habit  of constantly  looking  for  ways  to  improve  things. The experiences of Korea, Taiwan, Sweden and other similar countries have provided the laboratory to illustrate the need for small business management innovation and sustenance. Moreover, the importance of management innovation is confirmed and empirical support is provided for the encouragement of innovation in the enterprises by policy makers.

Undeniably, many small business entrepreneurs in Nigeria start business because they need to do something rather than to stay idle. They do not bother to take advantage of identified market opportunities. Thus, they fail at the slightest threat. This seems to be the plight of business owners of the so called Aba or Igbo made (wears) dress, shoes, handbags that thrived at the Nigerian markets in the 1980 and 1990s.  The curiosity of this researcher is drawn to the disappearance of the popular Aba or Igbo made dresses, shoes, handbags etc at the wake of the new Millennium. The Ariaria market in Aba and Onitsha markets among other markets in Nigeria as it were, were relied upon for the production and distribution of these wears. These products flooded the Nigerian markets and other West African Countries. The lack of management innovation has been identified in literature as one of the causes of the failure of this small business unit.

Most undeniably, there is paucity of research studies on small business unit in Nigeria. Yet, very little research covers on management innovation and sustenance of small business unit in Nigeria. Hence, this research study is deemed necessary and consistent in order to make small business unit to take advantage of the existing market. More, so there is the need to study to assess the impact of management innovation in order to establish its impact on the tailoring / fashion design business where research studies seem not to have covered. Given this situation, this research study examines management innovation and sustenance in small business unit especially the tailoring /fashion design business at Surulere Local Government Area Lagos.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

Dwindling resources and market competitiveness have forced entrepreneurs to scrutinize their methods of producing goods and services and make changes in their processes in order to maximize economic returns. To be able to survive and be profitable in current globalization era, entrepreneurs have pursued continuous improvement, leaned up production, re-engineered business processes, and integrated supply chains (Yezersky, 2008). Over the past decades there is a growing realization of the important contribution of management innovation on sustenance of small business unit. The goal of sustaining success in the fashion / tailoring business in Nigeria can only be achieved if the owner continually comes up with value propositions that are accepted by the market. It appears that the fashion design/ tailoring business are not taking advantages of identified market opportunities. The small business operators seem to lack operational management to control the process of competition.  As a result, the rate of failure of small business enterprises in developing countries is higher than in the developed world (Etumeahu, Okereke and Kingsley, 2009). Empirical evidence shows that small businesses in Nigeria are far behind their counterparts in developed countries in terms of their contribution to aggregate economic growth. The  problem  therefore  is  to  find  out  how  Nigerian  small  business  enterprises  could  be encouraged and sustained.

1.3     Aims/ Objective of Study

The general objective of this study seeks to examine management innovation and sustenance in tailoring/ fashion business in Lagos. However, the study sets out to:

1.       Assess tailoring / fashion designers’ management operation methods of controlling competition.

2.       Examine how tailoring / fashion designers master and implement the design and production of goods and services that are new to them.

3.       Assess if any significant positive impact of education, training and years of work experience on tailoring/ fashion design business performance.

4.       Examine if any significant positive impact of management innovation on sustenance of tailoring/ fashion design business.

1.4     Relevant Research Questions

The questions that guide this study are as follow:

1.     Do tailoring / fashion designers use all the methods that have been proven over time to reduce costs?

2.     Will tailoring/ fashion designers master and implement the design and production of goods and services that are new to them irrespective of whether they are new to their competitors, their customers or the world?

3.     Will there be any significant positive impact of education, training and years of work experience on tailoring/ fashion design business performance?

4.     Does management innovation have any significant impact on sustenance of tailoring/ fashion design business?

1.5     Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were stated for the study.

1.     There will be no significant difference between product design, marketing and sales of Nigeria’s small tailoring/ fashion business and those of best-run enterprises.

2.     There will be no significant difference between product design and production implementation of Nigeria’s tailoring/ fashion design business and those of best-run enterprises.

3.      There will be no significant impact of  education, training and years of work experience on  tailoring/ fashion design business performance

4.     There will be significant impact of management innovation on sustenance of tailoring/ fashion design business.

 1.6    Significance of the Study

The research study has implication for promoting small business units in Nigeria through management innovation and sustenance. It identifies the need to sustain tailoring / fashion design business through technology and speaking global language. The study will create awareness on management innovation and sustenance on small business enterprises in Nigeria in such a way to guard against small business failure. The study will have a multiple effect in promoting economic growth and development.  This study will benefit several small-scale businesses such as braiding hair / salon, trading, makeup artist, tailoring / fashion design and catering services in that it will enable them to adopt new methods of production in order to experience push or compete with other small business all over the world. Business researchers will have to benefit because it will expose the present management innovation in small business units, especially the tailoring / fashion design business. It will add to the existing body of knowledge in the field of business management.

1.6     Scope of the Study

This study seeks to examine the management innovation and sustenance of small business units. It covers 150 tailoring / fashion design business at Aguda in Surulere, Lagos State because of time. Gathering useful information from the business operators will also poise serious constraints.

1.7     Operational Definition of Terms

Innovation :  this refers to the way firms master and implements the design and production of goods and services that are new to them irrespective of whether they are new to their competitors, their customers or the world.

Management: this means running the affairs of the business. It also includes leadership, proper monitoring and evaluation of business. It also implies making use of resources to aid production  

Sustenance:  increasing the life span of the business and ensuring that it does not go moribund.

Buyers has the right to create dispute within seven (7) days of purchase for 100% refund request when you experience issue with the file received. 

Dispute can only be created when you receive a corrupt file, a wrong file or irregularities in the table of contents and content of the file you received. 

ProjectShelve.com shall either provide the appropriate file within 48hrs or send refund excluding your bank transaction charges. Term and Conditions are applied.

Buyers are expected to confirm that the material you are paying for is available on our website ProjectShelve.com and you have selected the right material, you have also gone through the preliminary pages and it interests you before payment. DO NOT MAKE BANK PAYMENT IF YOUR TOPIC IS NOT ON THE WEBSITE.

In case of payment for a material not available on ProjectShelve.com, the management of ProjectShelve.com has the right to keep your money until you send a topic that is available on our website within 48 hours.

You cannot change topic after receiving material of the topic you ordered and paid for.