CORPORATE INNOVATIVENESS AND MARKETING PERFORMANCE OF QUOTED CONSUMER GOODS MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN NIGERIA.

Abstract

The consumer goods manufacturing sector in Nigeria is one that is largely contended. Hence, firms in this sector are required to innovate or constantly find better ways of doing things to pursue growth in the ever-changing consumer landscape. Corporate innovativeness has been established as an important construct in giving companies a competitive edge in the markets. The essence of this research was to empirically assess the impact of corporate innovativeness as a unidimensional construct predicting marketing performance measured through the lens of new customer acquisition and customer loyalty, of quoted manufacturing companies in the Nigerian consumer goods sector. Focusing on the theory of dynamic capabilities, the research constructed its framework by reviewing both the conceptual and empirical literature that pertains to the subject matter. The study had a population of 20 quoted consumer goods companies from which a sample of 81 management staff was drawn. Questionnaires were used to collect data and were administered on a Likert 5-point scale with semi-structured guidance. The analysis of the data was done through descriptive statistics, inferential statistics which included regression analysis using SPSS version 25. The study found that there is a strong positive causal effect of corporate innovativeness on marketing performance, whereby the more innovative the firms, the more they can attract new customers as well as retain existing customers. These findings imply that when companies regard improvisation as a primary objective and allocate their operational resources judiciously, they can outperform the market in the areas of marketing even within a short period. Theoretical implications are better insights into corporate innovativeness as an antecedent of marketing and in practice, how managers in the manufacturing sector of consumer goods in Nigeria can benefit from it.