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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Size, structure and performance of private Nigerian manufacturing enterprises
Author:Inegbenebor, A.U.
Year:1995
Periodical:The Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies
Volume:37
Issue:1
Pages:13-26
Language:English
Geographic term:Nigeria
Subject:small-scale industry
Abstract:Based on interview data collected in 1988 from a sample of 41 small and medium-scale manufacturing firms, employing between 10 and 200 persons, in the Midwestern Zone of Nigeria, the author examined variables of size (total number of employees), structure (specialization, formalization of procedures, regulation of activities, centralization of decisionmaking authority) and performance. Centralization emerged as a structural characteristic that distinguished effective from noneffective firms. In smaller enterprises, centralization had a positive relationship with economic performance, but in large firms, centralization was inversely related to effectiveness. The findings also indicated that structure is important for the success of an enterprise and that there is a minimum degree of specialization and regulation of activities which is optimal for an enterprise depending on its size. While some structuring of activities is necessary for effectiveness, it was also found that rapid increase in this variable could be dysfunctional in relatively small firms. In particular, formalization of structures and procedures in small firms could be dysfunctional for economic performance. Bibliogr., sum.
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