Entrepreneurial Competencies Prerequisites: Pitfalls, Opportunities, and Success of Small Businesses in the Nigerian Food Service Sector
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Governments all over the world are making efforts to improve the standard of living for its citizenry. In some instances, this may have given room for the introduction of entrepreneurial development programmes to enhance their competencies for available opportunities. This paper examines the small business success using entrepreneurial competencies. Copies of the questionnaire were administered to 78 operators of registered food service businesses operating in Rivers State. Only 65 copies of the questionnaire were retrieved and analysed via Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation with the aid of SPSS. It was revealed that entrepreneurs who are creative and innovative in managing risk can optimally drive their enterprise(s) towards increased customer patronage, increase in sales, and profitability. This study suggests that; innovativeness enhances business success through value creation, improved brand recognition, competitiveness, and quality service delivery. Hence, it should be applied to bring about increase in revenue and reduced external risk. Conversely, risk-taking gives room for the development of new skills, spurs creativity, and creates unforeseen opportunities to vigorously pursue success at all levels. Consequently, it should be encouraged to achieve increase in profitability and survival ratios. Last of all, technological culture speeds-up organisational activities and makes organisations optimally agile in its communication and networking processes. Thus, technological culture enhances entrepreneurial competitiveness toward improving success potentials and should be adopted.
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