Corporate Sustainable Growth in a Pandemic Period: The Role of Growth Opportunities

Abstract

The outbreak and spread of the Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought with it uncertainty in business environment. The COVID-19 pandemic which has attracted considerable global attention has negatively affected business operations and national economies. To this end, this study examined the role of growth opportunities in mitigating the negative effect of COVID-19 pandemic on corporate sustainable growth. The study adopted <i>an ex post facto</i> research design and obtained data from financial statements of manufacturing companies for pre- and post-COVID-19 periods. The population of the study consists of all 76 manufacturing companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE). The Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) Regression was used as the method of data analysis. Findings of the study show that COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative effect on sustainable growth of listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria. The HLM analysis also indicated that higher growth opportunities mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on corporate sustainable growth. The finding further reveals that market intensity has a positive and significant effect on corporate sustainable growth. The study recommends that companies should exploit growth opportunities and increase marketing and sales promotions to survive in the post COVID-19 period.