CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of study

The Nigerian economy is made up of several industries or sectors which are agriculture,

financial services, healthcare, transportation, information and communication technologies,

real estate, education, manufacturing, oil and gas etc (George & Ibiok, 2015). Each of these

sectors contributes relatively to the growth and development of the national economy. The

manufacturing sector is not an exception as it is very laudable in driving the nation’s economy

as it deals with the production of goods and services to meet both domestic and foreign

markets demand (Oke & Ogunsanwo, 2018). Hence, to achieve economic growth, the

manufacturing industry must be given critical attention alongside other industry-sectors of the

Nigeria nation.

As Small and Medium Enterprises business organizations face more dynamic and fierce

competition, the concept of Entrepreneurial marketing is occupying the thoughts of Academics,

Marketing practitioners, and entrepreneurs. Today’s business environment is changing and

market conditions are shaped by chaos, fragmentation, unsureness, complexity, and ambiguity,

Instead of using a planned linear and rational response that is conventional marketing

approach, also a new entrepreneurially creative alternative is introduced (Fillis, 2010).

Therefore, entrepreneurial marketing can be seen as a new paradigm which integrates critical

aspects of marketing and entrepreneurship into a comprehensive concept where marketing

becomes a process used by firms to act entrepreneurially (Collinson, 2002).

Small and Medium Enterprises play a vital role in the economic development of Nigeria and are

known to be the main engine of economic growth and a key factor in promoting private sector

development and partnership. The International Labour Organisation (ILO, 1999) defines micro

enterprises as those having 1-10 employees and small-scale enterprises as those having 11-50

employees and did not bother to talk about the market spread and capital base. Small and

mediumsize enterprises are also known to introduce innovations and increase production

outputs and exports. It is estimated that small and medium-size enterprises contribute between

40-55% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 50-80% of employment generation in Nigeria

(Ocheni, 2015).

Although SMEs are significant contributors to economic performance in every country, SMEs

are less studied than large organizations (Burke & El-Kot, 2014). According to Ackah (2011),

SMEs are facing many challenges in their struggle to keep the business intact. They suffer from

limited access to financial sources, in addition to lack of focus, lack of good human resources,

lack of skills and management techniques.

There is a growing evidence to support the idea that over time, firms that are competitively

advantaged are those engaged in entrepreneurial marketing, while the marketing approaches

used by entrepreneurs reflect this innovative orientation, this may vary in their relationship or

effect on business performance (Becherer, 2008). It is critical for small and medium-sized

enterprises to understand which entrepreneurial marketing practices are most effective and

therefore important to achieve competitive advantage and ultimately for improved

performance. To survive and win, a firm has to gain an advantage over its competitors and earn

a profit. The firm gains competitive advantage by being better than their competitors at doing
valuable things for their customers (Bateman and Snell, 2004). Competitive advantage has been

defined in many different ways. For instance, Porter (1985) says that competitive advantage

refers to the comparative positional superiority in the marketplace that leads a firm to

outperform its rivals. While Rothaermel (2013) defines competitive advantage as the way that a

firm formulates and implements a strategy that leads to superior performance relative to other

competitors in the same industry.

1.2 Statements of the Problems

The contributions of small and medium-size enterprises in the economic development of both

developed and developing nations have always been acknowledged (Aliyu & Mahmood 2014

and Junde, 2014). According to Ediri (2014), small and medium-size enterprises can only

maintain such a position when a good number of strategies including the formulation and

application of appropriate entrepreneurial marketing practices are put in place at the right time

and in the right proportion to exert a positive effect on performance. The change in the

competitiveness of the marketing environment has made competition tougher for small and

medium-size enterprises. (Olannye & Eromafuru, 2016). The need for an acceptable

understanding of entrepreneurial marketing strategies and its applicability to entrepreneurial

firms has gradually become an issue of pivotal concern to many scholars, entrepreneurs, and

employees of such firms. The lack of adequate attention to entrepreneurial marketing practices

such as proactiveness, calculated risktaking, innovativeness, opportunity focus, resource

leveraging, costumer intensity, and value creation has reduced competitive edge of small and

medium-sized enterprises. Many scholars have examined how small and medium-size

enterprise competitive advantage can be enhanced using the dimensions of entrepreneurial

marketing (Gungor, 2012; Junde, 2014; Ediri 2014), little or none has explained or linked the

contributions of each of the entrepreneurial marketing dimensions on the competitive edge of

fast food firms in yenagoa. Hence, this study is to address the core research question of the

effect of entrepreneurial marketing practices on the competitive advantage of fast food firms in

yenagoa.

1.3 Research Question.

1. How does entrepreneurial marketing impact the competitiveness of fast food firms in

Yenegoa?"

2. What role does innovation play in the marketing strategies of fast food firms in

Yenegoa?

3. What impact does branding have on the organizational competitiveness of fast food

firms in Yenegoa?

1.4. Objective of the study

The main objective of the study is to assess the effect of entrepreneurial marketing practices on

organizational competitiveness of fast food firms in yenagoa. Specifically, the study intends to;

1. Examine the impact of competitiveness on entrepreneurial marketing of fast food firms

in yenagoa.

2. To assess the role of innovation on marketing strategies of fast food firms in yenagoa.

3. Examine the impact of branding on organizational competitiveness of fast food firms in

yenagoa.
1.5. Significance of the Study

This study is very significant because the study will unveil the effects of entrepreneurship

marketing practices on the organizational competitiveness advantage of fast food firms in the

study area. It will be a source of reference to scholars and researchers to carry out further

research on the relationship between entrepreneurship marketing and small and medium-sized

enterprise competitive advantage. Furthermore, it will be a base for managers and

policymakers to make a clear decision on the sustainability of the small and medium-sized

enterprise. The outcome of the study will enable the small and medium-sized enterprise and

fast food firms to understand and focus on implementing marketing practices that can lead

their businesses to improved performance.

1.6. Definition of Terms

1. Entrepreneurial marketing: it is a marketing strategy that involves company planning,

consumer research, brand awareness strategies, the creation of an effective promotional

message, and customer relationship management.

2. Organizational competitiveness: is the ability of an organization to gain a competitive

advantage in the market and maintain it over time. It involves factors such as dynamic

capabilities, differentiated strategies, social capital, common goals, and organizational learning.

3. Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating,

delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and

society at large.
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Literature review

2.1.1The Concept of Entrepreneurial Marketing Innovativeness

The operating business environment is dynamic and ever changing. It is only the institutions

that are innovative that can keep pace with the dynamics of the market; customers, the

competition, the economy, technology, government regulations and policies, socio-cultural

factors etc (Stoner, Gilbert & Freeman, 2013; Kotler & Keller, 2012). Hence, since today’s

business environment is turbulent it requires different approaches to doing business.

Innovativeness is a laudable business scheme to adapt to the challenges of the ever-changing

business space and to improve competitive hedge in the industry (Robert & Allen, 2010;

Okpara, 2007). Innovativeness of firms is highly important due to dramatic changes occurring in

the business environment which is largely driven by globalization and liberalization of markets.

Due to globalization and liberalization of markets, the business environment is more dramatic

highly competitive and ever changing. Innovative entrepreneurial marketing will always develop

adaptive organizations, products, services, processes and technologies to cope with the

demand of the present-day business environment (Stoner, Gilbert & Freeman, 2013). According

to Kamaruddeen, Yusof & Said (2014), innovativeness is desired as “firm’s overall

innovative ability or capability of introducing new products to the market or opening up new

markets through an integration of strategic orientation with innovative behaviour and

processes”. It is the process by which management of an organization engage in new ventures,

adopt new ideas and novelty programmes that may translate to new products services and

technologies. It is simply the process of achieving innovation; new products, new services, new

production technologies and processes (Wang & Ahmed, 2004; Kamaruddeen, Yusof & Said,

2014). Thus, an organization is regarded as being innovative when the company’s management

adopts innovation. The dimension of innovativeness of a firm is a function of the number of

innovations adopted by management. In most industries, the most innovative firms are those

companies who pioneer the adoption of innovation. Innovativeness is an important construct of

growth strategy which help corporate managers to attain sustainable competitive advantages

especially, those companies with continuous innovative behaviours and characteristics (Wang,

2015). The author opined that, a company’s innovativeness can be explained in the

perspectives of product innovativeness, process innovativeness, organizational innovativeness

and marketing innovativeness. Management thinking of innovativeness encompass the

adoption of these business activities as innovation (Wang, 2015; Wang & Ahmed, 2004).

Entrepreneurial marketing innovativeness is laudable in business practice as it is conceptualized

as the series or number of innovations a firm adopt. It is the ability of a company or an

institution to generate new ideas and continuously innovate over time (Ruvio et al., 2014). It is

the process of innovation and possess characteristics of creativity, internal knowledge

development, future orientation, risk management and proactiveness (Ruvio et al., 2014).

Hence, entrepreneurial marketing innovativeness helps organizations and nations in the

transformation of existing markets, creation of new markets and stimulate economic growth

through the employment and implementation of these characteristics.

According to the conceptual definition of Maritz, Waal & Verhoeven (2011), the entrepreneurial

marketing innovativeness is “doing something new with ideas, products, service or technology

and refining these ideas to a market opportunity to meet market demand in a new way”.

According to the authors, the characteristics of innovativeness are modifications, customer

focus, integrated marketing, market focus and unique propositions. Entrepreneurial marketing

innovativeness is aimed at continuously creating new things, processes with a view to satisfying

the market with appropriate goods and services in line with customers changing expectations,

thus, improving the quality of life of customers and the firm’s stakeholders and to also drive the

company’s brand success in the market (Abasag & Breman, 2017). The innovative organization

should have the right leadership, firm’s strategy and culture as conditions for achieving

successful innovation. Again, the company should assemble the right resources such as human

capital, competencies, firm’s structure, financial resources, external collaboration and

processes for achieving successful innovation at work (Alexe & Alexe, 2016).

2.1.2. The Concept of Organizational Competitiveness

The business environment is becoming more dynamic and ever changing. Industries are now in

a state of high competition among players. This foregoing is largely due to globalization and

liberalization of markets which has made the world a common market place being driven by

information, communication and transportation technologies (Opara & Adiele, 2014; Kimemia,

Gakure & Waititu, 2014). An organization can only survive if it can be competitive in the market.

For an organization to be a significant player in its chosen industry, it must have competitive
advantage by providing more economic values that are superior in the market relative to

competing firms in the industry (Kimemia, Gakure & Waititu, 2014).

Today, most industries in Nigeria and other developed or emerging markets are experiencing

high competition among domestic companies and multinational firms. The competitive focus

organization will adopt wide-ranging business strategies to attain superiority among its peers in

the market or industry-sector. Competitiveness of an organization implies economic strength of

a company relative to the competition in the industry. It constitutes a laudable objective of a

firm in the present context of globalization and shift in technologies (Claude, 2018). According

to the scholar, organizational competitiveness is the ability of a company to create superior

economic value than the competition in the industry. The definitions encompass the firm’s

ability to design, manufacture and market products and services which are superior to the

offerings of the competition. Firm competitiveness is also the steady presence of a company

and its offering in the market, making of business success such as productivity and profitability

(Claude, 2018).

According to Johansson (2003), competitiveness could be defined as a company offering better

value, high quality or low prices to the market. The organization can achieve competitive

advantage by erecting robust organizational structure, business processes and support systems.

Organizational competitiveness is the deliberate efforts of firm’s leaders to continuously

improve their processes for innovation, creativity and productivity in order to outperform the

closest competitors in the market (Johansson, 2003; Kotler & Keller, 2012). Thus, there are

some competitiveness factors in the industry that will lead a firm to competitive advantages
and subsequently drive the organization to performance. These factors are internal knowledge

and competency development, technological leadership, new product or service introduction

and new market exploration among other factors (Okereafor, Ogungbangbe & Anyanwu, 2015).

Organizational competitiveness is also underscored by a company having comparative

advantages in the areas of productivity, human capital, finance, research and development,

marketing and distribution compared to peer institutions in the industry or market (Olamade,

2015). Hence, an organization to attain competitiveness, the company should have superiority

in the foregoing variables relative to competing firms in the industry. The companies should

always nurture and develop these factors with a view to ensuring that these factors are

superior to the competition’s internal resources. This is the premise upon which the

organization can attain competitiveness and earn above average return in the industry (Atkin,

2013; Dedkova & Blazkova, 2014).

2.1.3 Entrepreneurial Marketing Innovativeness and Organizational Competitiveness

Entrepreneurial marketing innovativeness implemented by firms brings about institutional

performance and growth in the face of dynamic business environment. This proposition has

been empirically processed by studies. Rubera & Kirca (2012), investigated the effect of

organizational innovativeness and its performance. The study made use of Pearson product

moment correlation, the result of the study indicates that entrepreneurial marketing

innovativeness has direct positive influence on the company’s financial position and firm’s value

such as the book value and market capitalization of the company. It was revealed that this

relationship is stronger in larger organizations, small and medium scale companies. Thus,
entrepreneurial marketing innovativeness help improve business performance; financial

performance and improvement of firm’s valuation. The number of innovations an organization

is able to come up with help enhance the performance of companies and institutions.

A firm’s innovativeness dimension; product innovativeness create advantage for the

organization in the market and bring about financial performance. McNally, Cavusgil &

Calantane (2010), studied the product innovativeness dimension and product advantage,

financial performance and project protocol. The study made use of structural equation

modeling to measure the level of significance of the study variables. The result of the study is

that product innovativeness of pharmaceutical companies in North America positively impact

product financial success. Hence, product innovativeness create advantages for the product in

the pharmaceutical industry and bring about significant financial performance of the

pharmaceutical firms in North America.

In the same vein, Kim et al (2015), investigated the influence of organizational innovativeness

and product innovativeness on customer value through the mediating forces of instrumental

and symbolic brand benefits. The study revealed that company’s innovativeness enhance

product innovativeness and the instrumental brand benefits. An institutional innovativeness

has positive and significant influence on the symbolic brand benefits and customer value. It is

important to note that, organizational innovativeness help mobile phone institutions to create

superior value for their customers (Kim et al., 2015). Thus, instrumental and symbolic brand

innovativeness should be the direction or focus of marketing managers and experts in new

product development in the mobile phone manufacturing industry.

Entrepreneurial marketing innovativeness is an institutional activities or firm’s processes that

bring about innovation which is in the form of new products, new services, new technology

adoption etc. This is in line with the works of Walsh, Lynch & Harrington (2018), the authors

examined innovativeness from the lens of conceptual framework antecedents, its dimensions

and innovativeness outcomes. The findings of the study is that company innovativeness

consistently lead to new products and services which are differentiated across emerging and

developed markets in Europe. Again, it was revealed that entrepreneurial marketing

innovativeness lead to customer satisfaction and sound financial outcomes through innovative

customer service. The competitiveness of firms in the dynamic global market space is largely

drive by firm level innovativeness (Paleo & Wijnberg, 2008; Mengic & Auh, 2006). In measuring

innovativeness of organizations through the development and refinement of new scale

(Knowles, Hansen & Dibrell, 2015), discovered that entrepreneurial marketing innovativeness

positively influence company growth and sustenance of competitive advantage in firm’s chosen

industries. Specifically, innovativeness activities at work help improve financial performance in

the context of North American softwood sawmilling industry. similarly, Rubera & Kirca (2012)

investigated the association between organizational innovativeness and business performance

using the Pearson product moment correlation, the result of the study indicates that

organizational innovativeness positively influence both market and financial positions. It was

revealed that this relationships is more stronger in both smaller and larger institutions (Rubera

& Kirca, 2012).

2.2. Theoretical Framework

1. Resource-Based View (RBV)

The Resource-Based View which was first coined by Birger Wernerfelt in 1984 (Yahya, 2014)

attempts an explanation of the relationship between the firm resources and sustenance of

modest advantage of superior firm performance (Ringim, 2012) and provides a theoretical

ground for the assessment of the firm‘s specific factors that affect their performance and if any

of these factors is lacking the performance of the firm will be affected (Aliyu, 2014). It describes

a firm as a unique bundle of tangible and intangible resources (assets, capabilities,

competencies, organizational processes, firm attributes, information and knowledge and so

forth) that are controlled by the firm (Barney, 1991). These resources enable a firm to

implement strategies designed to improve its efficiency and effectiveness (Barney, 1991). The

resource-based view suggests that valuable firm resources are usually scarce, imperfectly

imitable and lacking in direct substitutes. A firm's resource must have four attributes: 1) it must

be valuable; 2) it must be rare among a firm's current and prospective competition; 3) it must

be imperfectly imitable, and 4) it cannot be substituted for strategically equivalent resource

(Barney 1991).

According to the Resource-Based View theory, organizations can have the competitive

advantage through the development of resources that are peculiar and diversely distributed

(Aliyu & Mahmoud, 2014). The RBV does not have a single accepted definition, hence, the term

resources and capabilities are used interchangeably (Aliyu, 2014). It holds much promise as a

framework for understanding strategic marketing issues. Similarly, understanding a firm‘s

resource-base is central to effective positioning.

2. Resource-Advantage Theory (R-A)

It is important to provide a theoretical foundation for entrepreneurial marketing. Although EM

fits with a number of theoretical frameworks, it is especially consistent with resource-

advantage (RA) theory (Hunt, 2000). Resource-Advantage Theory is an evolutionary, process

theory of competition in which each firm in an industry is a unique entity in time and space as a

result of its history (Almansour, (2012). The theory defines resources broadly to include such

phenomena as organizational culture, knowledge, and competencies and argues that many of

these non-economic resources are replicable rather than scarce (Aliyu, 2014). It is a theory that

clearly allows both for conventional approaches to marketing and for entrepreneurial

marketing. Consistent with the dynamics of competition under R-A theory, marketing can

facilitate the ability of firms to create new resources and greatly enhance the productivity of

current resources (a) through the various leveraging approaches mentioned earlier and (b) by

championing innovation in the form of new combinations of resources. Sustainable innovation

lies at the heart of the R-A theory of competition, and this implies a role for marketing in

providing both leadership and support for an innovation portfolio within the firm (Aliyu, 2014).

Such a portfolio includes an array of product, service and process innovations reflecting

different degrees of innovativeness and risk. Further, the ongoing seeking of new markets in

which the firm‘s resources provide comparative advantage would be a core role for marketing

in the context of R-A theory. Moreover, under R-A theory, firms must learn and then adjust

when their resource portfolios result in positions of competitive disadvantage. It would seem

that, in such circumstances, a firm must be able to exhibit strategic flexibility, again, justifying

marketing role as a conduit for enhancing such flexibility (Aliyu, 2014).

2.3. Empirical Review

Mohammed & Rusinah (2017) in their study, the impact of entrepreneurial orientation on

competitive advantage moderated by financing support in SMEs in Iraq. The purpose of the

study was to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and competitive

advantage (CMA) and to investigate the moderated role of financial support (FNC) between the

influences of entrepreneurial orientations on CMA. The study adopted a quantitative approach

using survey instruments. The used sample size of 680 from a total manager population in 3526

SMEs working in Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) in Iraq. The total number of usable

questionnaires was 580. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the

relationship between the variables. The statistical result showed that entrepreneurial

orientations significantly influenced on CMA. The results also highlight that FNC had a

moderated role in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and CMA in SMEs in

Iraqi KRG.

Olannye & Eromafuru (2016) in their study, the dimension of entrepreneurial marketing on the

performance of fast food restaurants in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria. The study examined the

effect of entrepreneurial marketing on the performance of fast food restaurants in Asaba, Delta

State. The study applied survey research design method and sample objects were 160 staff and
customers of some selected Fast Food Restaurants in Asaba, Delta State. They used 20-item

validated structured questionnaire served as the research instrument. The correlation and

multiple regression analysis were used as major analytical tools. The findings revealed that

entrepreneurial proactiveness, entrepreneurial innovation, and entrepreneurial opportunity

recognition as indicators of entrepreneurial marketing exhibited a significant positive effect on

competitive advantage. The study concluded that entrepreneurial innovation determined the

development of new markets; products or processes which help firms establish an edge over

competitors. They agree that entrepreneurial innovation is pertinent in gaining competitive

advantage. The study, therefore, recommends that firms should display a general

innovativeness or openness to newness, and a specific predisposition to be among the first to

adopt innovation within a specific domain. Being innovation focused, allows firms to

concentrate on new ideas that lead to new markets, products and processes. The study

established that entrepreneurial marketing is a multidimensional construct whose aspects have

a direct effect on competitive advantage in the fast food restaurants.

Nwaizugbo & Anukam (2014) in their study, assessment of entrepreneurial marketing practices

among small and medium scale enterprises in Imo State Nigeria: prospects and challenges. The

study seeks to explore with empirical evidence the extent of overlap, similarities,

anddissimilarities between entrepreneurial practices and the marketing concepts among Small

to Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) in Owerri, Nigeria. It inquires and assesses approaches to

marketing practices entrepreneurs apply. They employed Primary data collection tools

consisting of structured instruments for personal interviews and guide for focused-group

discussion (FGD) and the questionnaire was used to collect survey data. Secondary data were
sourced from firms' records, periodicals, and related literature. The study through convenient

sample examined twenty (20) SMEs and found that traditional marketing is structured and its

framework requires certain conditions to thrive-formal planning and theoretical structures.

Entrepreneurial marketing (EM) improvises and does not seek for a perfect condition to grow a

firm. Thus, the highlights of the interface between entrepreneurship and marketing as

discussed in the findings on the areas ofdifferences, similarities, overlap, and collaboration will

give practitioners, academics and scholars greater synergetic leverage over unstable

marketplace in the application of marketing and entrepreneurial processes for greater results.
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter introduced the description of the adopted research methodology which was applied

during the study. It unravels the research design, population of the study, sample population,

research instruments, instrument validity, and instrument reliability.

3.2 Research Design

A research design is a basic plan that guides the data collection and analysis phases of the

research. (Kinnear & Taylor, 1996; Churchill & Iacobucci 2005) define research design as the

blueprint that is followed to complete the study and it ensures that the study is relevant to the

problem and will use economical procedure.

Thus, the research design for this study is descriptive Research design. Survey research is

defined as the collection of information from a sample of individuals through their responses to

questions. (Check & Schutt, 2012, p 160). The survey type of research allows for a variety of

methods to recruit participants, collect data and utilize various methods of instrumentation.

3.3. Sources of Data

Following from the research proposal the study shall adopt descriptive research design, the study

shall make use of primary source of information. They can be obtained through a survey,

observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method

for this study.

3.4. Methods of Data Collection

The method of data collection is very crucial to the study and its objectivity of the research

findings. The study will adopt qualitative and quantitative method of data collection, Data

collection methods are techniques and procedures used to gather information for research

purposes.

methods are techniques and procedures used to gather information for research purposes.

3.5. Population and Population Size

Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested

in getting information on the study. The population for this study is focused on fast food firms in

Yenagoa Local Government area of Bayelsa state.

3.6. Sample and Sampling Procedure

Multi-stage sampling procedure was used. Stratified random sampling technique was used to

select Ten (10) fast food firms in Yenagoa in Bayelsa State. The ten fast food firms were selected

in Yenagoa community’s using simple random sampling technique. Total of 145 participate were

sampled as respondents.

3.7 Data Collection Instruments

The survey data would be collected using an online structured survey questionnaire. The

questionnaire will include several sections, which will focus on the socio-demographic details of

the respondents, while the remaining sections will focus on the research questions to be

answered in this study. This is carried out to make sure that the questions set up to guide this

research are properly answered. The questionnaires will be administered through using popular

social media platforms majorly inclusive of twitter app for the organized yenagoa based groups.

3.8. Method of Data Analysis and Presentation

The method of data analysis adopted in this study is considered appropriate because it is very

easy to interpret and besides, it facilitates a clear analysis devoid of ambiguity in a survey study

of this kind. It is also one of the best statistical tools use in analyzing the five Likert

questionnaires.

A research question was answered using mean and rank order while t-test and Analysis of

Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses.