SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA

This study examined the effect of social entrepreneurship on the performance of selected small-scale enterprises in Nigeria. Specifically, this study sought to determine how social innovation and social value creation influence enterprises’ performance. The research adopted a descriptive survey design, with the population consisting of 71,288 small-scale enterprise operators, from which a sample of 399 respondents was drawn using snowball sampling. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire designed on a five-point Likert scale to capture the variables under study. We tested the hypotheses using regression analysis to establish the nature and significance of the relationships. The findings revealed that: Social Innovation has a positive and significant effect on the performance of small-scale enterprises in Nigeria (β = 0.295, p = 0.000) and social value creation has a positive and significant effect on the performance of small-scale enterprises in Nigeria (β = 0.528, p = 0.000). In conclusion, the success of small-scale enterprises is no longer solely determined by financial capital or traditional business practices but also by the ability to creatively respond to social needs while generating economic benefits. The study recommends that policymakers and enterprise development agencies should actively support and promote initiatives that encourage social value creation among entrepreneurs. This is because creating value for society significantly boosts enterprise performance.