Assessing the Impact of Digitalization on the Performance of Manufacturing Sector in Nigeria

This study investigates the impact of digitalization on the performance of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria, focusing on key performance indicators such as revenue growth, operational efficiency, and profitability. Given the increasing role of digital technologies in global industrial competitiveness, this research evaluates how Nigerian manufacturers are leveraging digitalization to drive performance. The study adopts an ex-post facto research design, using secondary quantitative data from the audited financial reports of five publicly listed Nigerian manufacturing firms covering the period 2020 to 2024. Panel Least Squares regression was employed to analyze the data. Findings reveal that operational efficiency (OPEF) has a statistically significant and negative coefficient (β = -0.7650, p < 0.000), indicating that improved operational efficiency often enabled by digital tools significantly enhances firm performance. However, revenue growth (RVGR) was statistically insignificant (β = 0.0125, p = 0.6748), suggesting that revenue increases alone do not drive performance without efficient digital integration. The model’s high R-squared value of 0.82 confirms strong explanatory power. The study concludes that digitalization enhances operational performance more than just revenue metrics and recommends targeted investment in digital infrastructure, skill development, and government incentives to accelerate digital transformation in the sector for sustainable growth.