Determinants of Small and Medium Enterprises Performance in Nigeria: The Role of Government Support Policy

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a significant social and economic role in both developed and developing nations. Despite the relevance and important of SMEs, the literature indicates there are very few studies that attempted to investigate the factors that influence the performance of SMEs in Nigeria, particularly the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO), contemporary marketing (CM) and government support policyand the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study used structured questionnaires; data was collected from 240 SMEs in northeast Nigeria. The findings of the study indicate a significant positive relationship between EO and CM on the Performance of SMEs. In addition, the results of the study validate that government support policy moderates the relationship between EO and CM on the performance of SMEs in Nigeria. The study implications for policy makers, government, regulators and SMEs owner-managers is to look at government support policy as it affects SMEs performance by providing conducive environment for business operation.