EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURIAL CAPACITY STRATEGIES AND SALES VOLUME OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN SOUTH EAST, NIGERIA

The study examined entrepreneurial capacity strategies and sales volume of small and medium scale enterprises in South East, Nigeria. Specifically, the study ascertained the level of innovativeness and risk taking among SMEs in South East, Nigeria; examined the effect of innovativeness on sales volume of SMEs in South East, Nigeria; determined the influence of risk taking on sales volume of SMEs in the South East, Nigeria.The unit of analysis for this study was operators of SMEs in South-East, Nigeria.The researcher adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of study were 7,789(small scale businesses registered with CAC) and 203 (medium scale businesses registered with CAC) in the South East, Nigeria. With a known population,Yamane (1967) formula was adopted to select 516 sample size. However, from the 516 copies of the questionnaire administered, 494 copies were completed and returned. Proportionate and purposive sampling technique were adopted for the selection of respondents. Questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency and percentage distribution.The method of data analysis was multiple linear regression analysis model (test of hypothesis). The empirical result revealed that innovativeness and risk taking significantly affect sales volume of the selected small and medium scale enterprises in the South East, Nigeria. The researcher therefore, concluded that SMEs in South East, Nigeria integrate most of the entrepreneurial capacity dimensions into daily operation and that entrepreneurial capacity has significant positive effect on sales volume of SMEs in South East, Nigeria. The researcher recommended among others that managers of SMEs should improve their sales volume by maximizing opportunities existing in their business environment amongst others. This will help to boost sales volume as well as growth and survival in a long-run of operation