Information Source Accessibility and Usage as dDeterminants of Business Performance of Community Banks in Osun State, Nigeria

Oa Fadehan

doi:10.4314/gjds.v7i1.61404

Abstract

The paper discusses an investigation on the relationship between information source accessibility and business performance of the community banks over a six-year period. The Expost-Facto Survey design was used in collecting data from 258 managers of 43 functioning community banks at the time of study with a retrieval rate of 80%. The data were analyzed using both the descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that the customer source was the most used of all the information sources. The personal sources were also preferred to the impersonal sources while information accessibility had a positive relationship with the banks’ business performance. The study therefore recommended the creation of greater awareness of information relevance and sourcing using formalized information packaging and managing systems.KEY DESCRIPTORS: Information Source Accessibility, Information Source Usage, Business Performance, Information Provision Productivity, Community credits.

Highlights

Community banks were primarily set up in Nigeria to cater for the financial needs of small scale producers throughout the country (Mabogunje, 1982)
Further elucidation on the mission statements of the banks revealed them as instruments designed to promote rural development through the provision of banking and credit services, development of disciplined banking habits and promotion of spirit of community ownership and use of economic assets among others (National Board for Community Banks, n.d.)
Information sourced by an individual and in organizations are not just gathered for ‘gathering sake.’. Rather, such information is viewed as being task oriented, job relational or is employed to execute specific task or tasks with a view to having some measurable results or outcomes. It is in the light of the above that this study has investigated the relationship between information source accessibility and utilization and business performance of community banks in Osun State, Nigeria over a six year period (1996 – 2001) while field data was collected in the year 2002

Summary

Introduction

Community banks were primarily set up in Nigeria to cater for the financial needs of small scale producers throughout the country (Mabogunje, 1982). Further elucidation on the mission statements of the banks revealed them as instruments designed to promote rural development through the provision of banking and credit services, development of disciplined banking habits and promotion of spirit of community ownership and use of economic assets among others (National Board for Community Banks, n.d.). Organizations such as the community banking systems require adequate flow of information for survival. This has been proved by literature over the years. It is in the light of same reason that Marchand and Horton (1986) further opined that businesses have been induced to add an information oriented approach to productivity improvement in order to gain competitive advantage both locally and internationally

Methods

Results

Conclusion