EBENEZER AKINSANYA OKE2022-12-102022-12-102021https://nerd.ethesis.ng/handle/123456789/567The study analysed the extent of which strategic entrepreneurship was practiced among small and medium scale enterprises in South-west Nigeria; and, examined the determinants of strategic entrepreneurship practices in the enterprises. It also investigated the influence of strategic entrepreneurship on the operational performance of the enterprises and determined the effect of strategic entrepreneurship on the firms’ financial performance. Furthermore, the study assessed the challenges confronting the practice of strategic entrepreneurship in the enterprises. These were with a view to evaluating how strategic entrepreneurship enhanced organisational performance of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) in South-west Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and used primary and secondary sources of data. The population for the study consisted of 23,290 owners/managers of enterprises in South-west Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used. At the first stage, three (3) states, namely: Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states were purposively selected out of the six states in South-west Nigeria because of the concentration of enterprises in the three states. At the second stage, three (3) Local Government Areas (LGAs) were purposively selected from each of the selected states because of the concentration of enterprises in the area, giving a total of nine (9) LGAs. Using Slovin’s formula, a sample size of three hundred and ninety-three (393) enterprises was randomly selected from the population. In addition, proportionate stratification method was used to obtain the sample from the selected Local Government Areas (LGAs). A structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents who were owners/managers of the selected enterprises. The secondary data were obtained from pamphlets and official releases of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in addition to already existing literature. The data collected were analysed with descriptive statistics: means score, graphs and inferential statistics: Pearson correlation. The results showed that 58.6% of the enterprises in South-west Nigeria were beyond average level in the practice of strategic entrepreneurship while 41.4% of the 374 enterprises were below average. Specifically, opportunity recognition (75.6%), judgment (79.8%), innovation (81.0%), and creativity (75.0%) were prominent strategic entrepreneurship practices in the firms. The study also showed that the determinants of strategic entrepreneurship in the SMEs were government policy (t = 3.50, p < 0.01), competitor (t = 3.13, p < 0.01), technology (t = -8.89, p < 0.01), resources (t = 2.76, p < 0.01) and culture (t = 2.10, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the study established that strategic entrepreneurship strongly influenced the operational performance of the SMEs (t = 16.84, p < 0.01) in the study area. Also, the study established that strategic entrepreneurship had a significant effect on the financial performance of SMEs in South-west Nigeria (t = 8.87, p < 0.01). Finally, the study found that the major challenges encountered in the practice of strategic entrepreneurship included accessing of funds for the business (84%), unstable government policies (76%), inadequate customer database (64%), unstable business environment (61%), and government interference (54%). The study concluded that the practice of strategic entrepreneurship had a notable effect on the performance of small and medium scale enterprises in the study area.