ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE AND COMPETITIVENESS OF FABRICS RETAILING VENTURES IN ABUJA

Abstract

Fabrics retailing ventures in Nigeria operate in a highly competitive and dynamic business environment where survival and growth depend largely on entrepreneurial culture. However, despite the sector’s vibrancy, many retailers in Abuja continue to struggle with sustaining competitiveness, largely due to limited innovation, weak market foresight and constrained risk appetite. This study therefore investigated the effect of entrepreneurial culture on the competitiveness of fabrics retailing ventures in Abuja. Adopting a cross-sectional survey design within a quantitative framework, data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 303 fabrics retailers drawn from a population of 1,236 members of National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers (NUTGTWN in 2023). A structured questionnaire, validated by experts and confirmed reliable with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.80, served as the main instrument of data collection. Descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted at a 0.05 significance level. The regression results (R² = 0.73) revealed that innovativeness and proactiveness exert significant positive effects on competitiveness, competitive aggressiveness showed a marginally significant influence, while risk-taking was positive but statistically insignificant. The findings affirmed the Resource Based View (RBV) that entrepreneurial culture constitutes a strategic intangible resource critical for competitiveness. The study concludes that fabrics retailers in Abuja gain competitiveness primarily by leveraging innovation and proactive market positioning, while excessive risk-taking is undermined by structural and institutional barriers. It recommends that retailers strengthen their innovation and market intelligence capacities, while policymakers reduced regulatory bottlenecks that lower the cost of entrepreneurial risk.