BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISES IN BAYELSA STATEE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examines the link between business development and economic sustainability of small-scale enterprises in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a survey design. The population of the study comprised 200 selected entrepreneurs. The instrument used was an 8-item questionnaire. A reliability coefficient of 0.75 for the instrument was determined using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The study employed mean and standard derivation to analyze the data on the research questions and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation to test the hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level. The findings reveal that business development through research and development and local technology adoption offer significant economic sustainability in terms of productivity and customer satisfaction in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The study recommends that government and entrepreneurs should continue to improve on business development to enhance economic sustainability of small scale enterprises in Bayelsa State, Nigeria.