EFFECTS OF INNOVATION ON CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC

Abstract

Every established company now relies on innovation as a critical process for survival, expansion, and success as they continuously realign their efforts to meet ever-higher performance goals. Even though there has not been much research on the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and innovation in Nigeria, the correlation between the growth of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation is a significant development in developed nations. In light of this, the study looked at how innovation influences the growth of corporate entrepreneurship in Nigeria's food and beverage industry. The study made use of primary data. Out of the 1,252 permanent employees of Unilever Nigeria Plc, 370 respondents were selected through random sampling technique to provide data with the help of a structured questionnaire. To investigate the connection between innovation and the growth of corporate entrepreneurship, simple regression analysis was utilized. The findings showed that corporate entrepreneurship is significantly and favorably influenced by innovation with R2 of 77.2 percent. The study came to the conclusion that established businesses that encourage employee innovation foster the growth of corporate entrepreneurship. The study recommended that management should support employee innovation by providing adequate finance and ongoing training and by spending more on human resources to boost the organization's intellectual ability.