Differential Advantage as a Correlate of Organizational Competitiveness: A Study of Selected Small-Scale Enterprises in Aba, Abia State of Nigeria

Abstract

This study sought to ascertain if there is correlation between differential advantage and organizational competitiveness. A cross sectional survey research design was adopted in the study to determine the nature of the situation under investigation. All small-scale enteiprises operating in Aba, Abia State of Nigeria formed the area of this study. However, because there are too many of them and the difficulty in accessing all, the researcher purposely selected the four dominant types for investigation. They are: Tailoring, shoe making, Leather bag and Hat producers. For the fact that the population is known, a proportional and systematic random sampling technique was employed to select representatives from each group and this gave a sample frame of 260. Questionnaire served as the instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was validated and tested for reliability before administration to respondents. Out of the 260 copies of questionnaire distributed to respondents, only 240 were properly completed and retrieved. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in this study. Data were presented in frequency and simple percentage tables, which formed the basis for the analysis. The three null formulated hypotheses were tested with Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation statistical tool aided by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results from test of the three hypotheses shows that competitiveness of selected small-scale enterprises correlates significantly with low cost of production (R = 0.517), high skilled labor (R = 0.665) and new technology (R = 0.634) at 0.01 level (2-tailed). The results informed the rejection of the null Hypotheses 1, 2 and 3 in favor of the alternatives. This result shows that differential advantage correlates significantly with competitiveness of small-scale enterprises. The study recommends that business organizations should take advantage of high skilled labour, low cost of production and new technology to rise above competition. They should as well understand that differential advantage as a strategy should be durable, neither imitable or transferable nor transparent or easily replicable. It should be flexible to accommodate changes and sustained over time for it to be effective.