Perceived organisational support and performance of small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria.

Abstract

This study empirically establish the relationship between perceived organisational support and the performance of small and medium-scale enterprises in Nigeria. It used a quantitative research design and an adopted close-ended questionnaire to gather information from the Three Hundred and Seventy-Eight (378) managers and owners of small and medium-sized businesses in Lagos, Nigeria. To analyze the collected data, the author used SmartPLS-SEM 4. All organisational performance variables were strongly positively correlated with perceived organisational support, according to the results of the structural models. In contrast to adopting open-ended questions coupled with the inability to interact with the subject for the majority of the time, the survey design favours closed-ended questions over open-ended ones, collecting primary data using a questionnaire, thereby limiting respondents from fully expressing their views. The study also concentrates on SME sectors in Nigeria, which limits the applicability of the findings to other countries SME sectors or understudied industries. In light of the limitations above, future researchers could broaden the study to specific industries like manufacturing, banking, or multinationals and apply qualitative methodologies further to corroborate the conclusions. The findings of this study provide some practical implications for business organizations and owners or their managers. For the organisation, efforts should be made to ensure that provision of a supportive environment and adequate and necessary resources for attaining organisational set goals should are available and accessible, which could come in the form of equipment, ideas, funding, physical assistance, technology, socio-emotional support and the likes. Furthermore, business owners should not just see the asset being made available but should monitor it to the point of implementation to properly aid and propel the set organisational goals. The study contributes significantly to the management field and improves the applicability and generalisation of organizational support theory (OST).