ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to examine the imperative of corporate governance on the performance of medium and large scale enterprises in South Western Nigeria. This study employed both primary and secondary sources of data.  A total of five hundred and forty-eight (548) employees constituted the sample size of this study and a simple random sampling method was used. The socio-economic characteristics results of the respondents showed that there were more male-owned/managed enterprises (63% and 58%) than female-owned/managed enterprises (37% and 42%) for both the medium and large-scale enterprises respectively. All of the owners/managers had some form of education, and more than half of the large and medium scale enterprises’ managers (56 and 53%) had a Degree, at least. The result showed that a very large proportion of the medium (76%) and large scale enterprises’ owners/managers (77%) were not more than 40 years of age. The effect of transparency on the innovative awareness, effect of accountability on profitability, effect of security on market shares, effect of direction on productivity of the medium and large scale enterprises in South-west Nigeria were all achieved using the 5-point Likert rating scale. From the study, all the indicators were found to be significant. Based on the results of the study, it is evident that there are positive and significant relationships between transparency, accountability, market shares, productivity and rate of return on investment as they relate to corporate governance. The formulated hypotheses all lend credence to this position. Medium and large scale enterprises need to continuously evaluate the environment that they operate in, understanding their competitors and their offerings/service as their competitiveness depends largely on the speed with which new products can be brought to the market place. Findings showed that medium and large scale enterprises differ in their use of innovative practices, this follows the fact that attention has been drawn to the potential risks associated with practicing innovative technologies and the notion that these risks may be more inhibiting for SMEs than for large enterprises; thus calling for a specific approach of these firms in innovation researches; Since large scale enterprises could receive more gains from innovations more than medium scale enterprises, researchers and practitioners need to explore the conditions under which medium scale enterprises can reap the full benefits from innovation practices while effectively managing the potential risks of becoming too dependent on external sources. To improve organizational performance and profitability, firms need to improve its accountability mechanisms in employment, promotion, motivation and compensation of staff where a compensation system ensuring employee accountability should include a significant level of autonomy