INNOVATIONS, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZE ENTERPRISES IN KOGI STATE: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

This study aimed at investigating innovations, competitive advantage and performance of Small and Medium-Size Enterprises in Kogi State. For the study, a survey research design was used. Small and Medium Enterprises in Kogi State were surveyed. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted, and the sample size of 384was chosen.Data were collected through well structured questionnaires. 224 copies of questionnaires (58.3%) were returned out of the 384 copies of the questionnaires administered, while 160 questionnaires (41.7%) were not returned. All data collected were presented and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression models. Finding showed that innovative activities have weak effect on the survival of SMEs in Kogi State. Finding further showed that innovative activities have strong significant effect on the competitive advantage of SMEs in Kogi State. The study concluded that when innovative activities are undertaken, there is likelihood that the survival of SMEs in Kogi State will witness little changes. There is possibility that the achievement of the competitive advantage of SMEs will be facilitated given the engagement of owners/managers in innovative activities. The study recommended that SME owners/managers should give little or no attention to product innovation and process innovation, but invests more on market innovation to enhance thesurvival of their enterprises in Kogi State, and that they should engage more in process and market innovations to achieve competitive advantage in Kogi State.