Abstract:There is no doubt that new or improved product or process of production continues to create firm's competitive advantage over others in the market. This study examined the impact of research and development (R&D) expenditure, product and process innovations on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance in the manufacturing industry in Nigeria using a survey of 1,000 SMEs with a response rate of 52.1% in year 2009. The results with least squares method showed that R&D spending by the firms as well as product and process innovation has significant impacts on the firm's performance with the probability value of 0.0529, 0.0624 and 0.0086 respectively at 10% level of significant. Also, training of workforce constitutes the major innovation activities in the Nigerian manufacturing SMEs as against in-house and outsourced R&D activities. This study suggests improvement in R&D spending and other technological activities which are expected to increase SMEs' profitability and thus generate more employment in the country.

Abstract:There is no doubt that new or improved product or process of production continues to create firm's competitive advantage over others in the market. This study examined the impact of research and development (R&D) expenditure, product and process innovations on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) performance in the manufacturing industry in Nigeria using a survey of 1,000 SMEs with a response rate of 52.1% in year 2009. The results with least squares method showed that R&D spending by the firms as well as product and process innovation has significant impacts on the firm's performance with the probability value of 0.0529, 0.0624 and 0.0086 respectively at 10% level of significant. Also, training of workforce constitutes the major innovation activities in the Nigerian manufacturing SMEs as against in-house and outsourced R&D activities. This study suggests improvement in R&D spending and other technological activities which are expected to increase SMEs' profitability and thus generate more employment in the country.

PurposeThis paper systematically reviewed the contributions of the recent Nigerian government agricultural policies and the impacts on the agricultural value chain system in line with the structural transformation of the sector and the Nigeria's vision 20:2020. The study also suggest strategies to upgrading various segments of the agricultural value chain and argue that Nigeria's agricultural sector requires huge investments and innovative ideas to increase production and create value addition across the most profitable areas of the value chain.Design/methodology/approachThe authors systematically present evidences and data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (the apex monetary authority of Nigeria) and Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (oversees and publishes statistics for Nigeria) to estimate the impact of Government agricultural policies on the value chains system.FindingsThe study discovers that the various recent government policy interventions to tackle the austere challenges in the agricultural sector are yet to yield much significant solution. Given to the dwindling performance of the sector, the Nigerian agricultural value chain is somewhat affected with systemic and services gaps which underpin the market failures (missing markets and weak markets), although the agricultural value chain has the potential of triggering economic growth in a higher scale with a trickle-down effect to other sectors of the Nigerian economy.Practical implicationsOverall, the findings indicate strategies to upgrading the production and processing segments of the agricultural value chain and argues that Nigeria's agricultural sector requires huge investments and innovative ideas to increase production and create value addition across the most profitable areas of the value chain.Social implicationsThe study proves that enhancing value addition in the agricultural sector is imperative to achieving triple-benefits of increasing productivity by building resilient systems that leverage on finance opportunities, deepening economic inclusive growth and achieving great milestones.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to focus on agricultural value chain system in line with the structural transformation and the Nigeria's vision 20:2020.

The emergence of e-Marketing innovation as a new communication tool is increasing globally and it provides exceptional opportunities for firms to enjoy improved sales, performance and competitiveness in the market place. The Nigerian manufacturing sector has in recent times placed much importance on innovative marketing for stimulating firm's efficiency and accomplishing a sustainable development, but firms' decisions to adopt and deploy e-Marketing innovation are conceptually based on organizational, technological, environmental and behavioural factors which could either influence or impede its adoption. This study measured the relationships between e-Marketing innovation and key factors influencing its adoption among the Nigerian manufacturing firms, while major interactions among these factors were also examined using appropriate statistical methods. Furthermore, the study ascertained the level disparity among factors determining e-Marketing adoption. It was found that firms' decisions to adopt e-Marketing innovation were primarily driven by the availability of financial resources, external pressure, cost of technology and market acceptability of e-Marketing services. They were discovered to be more significant and dominant factors for e-Marketing adoption. The study recommends that e-Marketing adoption by firms should embrace sustainable strategies such as strategic planning, need assessment/analysis, substantial financial resources and focus driven investment decisions.

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