ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION AND MARKETING PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SCALE ENTERPRISES IN AKWA IBOM STATE

This study was conducted to investigate the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on the marketing performance of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The researchers formulated three specific objectives and research hypotheses. Entrepreneurial innovation theory served as the foundation for the investigation. We adopted a survey research design. We used the Taro Yamane formula to determine the sample size of 312 from the study's population of 447,903. We used a structured questionnaire to collect data and then used both descriptive and inferential statistics for analysis. The hypotheses formulated were tested using a simple linear regression approach. Findings from the study revealed a significant positive influence of entrepreneurial orientation dimensions (entrepreneurial innovation, entrepreneurial proactiveness, and entrepreneurial risk-taking) on the marketing performance of SMEs in Akwa Ibom State. The researchers recommended that small and medium-sized enterprises should prioritise process improvements and groundbreaking creativity (innovation) to expand and diversify their target markets. The researchers concluded that entrepreneurial orientation significantly influences the performance of SMEs.