ABSTRACT

This work determined the effect of competitive strategies on the marketing performance of selected Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Abia and Imo States, Nigeria. The study adopted a causal survey research design. Five business areas namely table water, food and beverages, eatery and hotel, supermarkets as well as bakery and confectioneries. Twenty (20) SMEs were selected; 2 from each of these five (5) areas of the selected business. Two each was selected from each of the States of Imo and Abia respectively. A sample size of 250 was used which was computed from a population of 651 using Taro Yamene’s model of probability sampling method. Primary data was used which was sourced through five-point likert scale questionnaire administered to the respondents; which comprised the owners, managers and employees of the selected Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the study area. Simple regression model was used to test the five hypotheses designed for the study. The competitive strategies adopted by the SMEs in the study areas were low-cost, market focus, differentiation, strategic alliance and combination or matrix strategies. The study revealed that these strategies significantly and positively affected their marketing performance through increase in cost advantage, customer patronage, customer loyalty, sales volume and market share of the SMEs that were studied. However, it was also revealed that the majority of those small firms that pursued a persistent strategy did not perform better than those that pursued combination or matrix strategies. This justifies that SMEs that followed a combination strategy outperform those ones with generic strategies, in terms of market share growth. The study therefore recommended the adoption of these competitive strategies, by SMEs in Abia and Imo States, Nigeria; specially the combination or matrix strategy because it is the hybrid that brings synergistic marketing performance at the long run. The study therefore suggested that, further studies should be carried out to identify and analyze the adoption of these competitive strategies in other small and medium scale enterprises. Such will help in the growth and survival of these SMEs; especially now that unemployment is ravaging the Nigerian citizens.