ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND SURVIVAL OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study is aimed at investigating the contribution of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) to the survival of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Lagos State, Nigeria. Descriptive cross-sectional survey technique was adopted and a sample size of 396 SMEs was selected. Data for the study were gathered through structured questionnaire and analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that EO significantly influences the survival of SMEs in Lagos State. Specifically, the study discovered that risk-taking, proactiveness and innovativeness have significant and positive relationship with survival of SMEs in Lagos State while competitive aggressiveness and autonomy were not significant. It is therefore recommended that SMEs in Lagos State should deepen their engagement of EO, with focus on risk-taking, proactiveness and innovativeness. The government, through relevant agencies should continue to educate SMEs owners/managers on the benefits of EO and mode of integrating it into their business.