The Effect of Ecopreneurship on Organisational Performance as Moderated by Firm Size among Selected Foods and Beverages Manufacturing Firms in Lagos State and Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The efficiency and effectiveness of management in Food and Beverage Manufacturing Firms (FBMF) can be gauged by their organizational performance. Studies have shown that manufacturing activities in Nigeria have resulted in significant negative environmental consequences, such as degradation of natural environments, depletion of ozone layers, and the release of harmful substances. These outcomes have had a detrimental impact on the performance of Food and Beverage Manufacturing Firms, leading to reduced profitability, declining market share, low productivity, and sluggish sales growth. These outcomes suggest a lack of adequate implementation of ecopreneurship practices, including environmental expenditure, corporate environmental responsibility, non-adherence to environmental regulations, eco-innovation, and pro-environmental orientation. Furthermore, based on the reviewed extant literature, it was found that, prior literature gave little consideration to the moderating role of firm size on ecopreneurship and organisational performance nexus. Therefore, this study examined the effects of ecopreneurship on organisational performance of FBMF moderated by the firm size. This study adopted a quantitative approach. Using a survey research design, data were collected from a sample of 415 employees of 10 selected FBMF in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria. The respondents were selected using Simple random sampling technique. Hierarchical Multiple Linear Regression Analysis (HMLR) was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that, at 0.05 significance level, ecopreneurship had significant effect on organizational performance of selected food and beverage manufacturing firms in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria (Adj.R2 = 0.86, F(5, 364) = 459.20, p < 0.05). And the effect of ecopreneurship on organisational performance was not significantly moderated by firm size (β = -0.00, ∆R 2 = 0.00, ∆F = 1.38, p > 0.05). By implication, the findings of this study emphasize the importance of ecopreneurship across all sizes of FBMF. Implementing ecopreneurship practices not only drives performance but also enhances sustainability efforts and provides a competitive advantage in the market. Based on the findings, it was recommended that management of selected FBMF in Lagos and Ogun States should continuously work on policies that can enhance their capacity to adopt environmentally friendly manufacturing processes, audit their existing ecopreneurship environment, identify vulnerable areas, and implement best practices.