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The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the multinational oil companies (MOCs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of the global memorandum of understanding (GMoU) on development of rural women's traditional enterprises in the Niger Delta region. A total of 2,400 women were sampled across the region. Results from the use of a combined propensity score matching and logit model indicate that the GMoU model of the CSR has recorded significant success in supporting farming and fishing transformation generally, but has also undermined those initiatives that focused on empowering rural women in traditional enterprises, due to the cultural and traditional context in the region. This causes both direct harm to women and their children, and wider costs to African economies. It implies that if the GMoU interventions are not targeted to raise women's economic status and to deter aggression, invariably they may contribute towards reducing the participation of women in economic, political and social development and, by extension, dampen efforts in deterring poverty and achieving the sustainable development goals in sub‐Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to estimate the productivity change of Nigerian insurance companies and to rank the companies analysed in the sample according to their productivity score. This benchmark exercise provides the companies analysed with a view of how their relative productivity can be upgraded. For this purpose, the non-parametric Luenberger productivity model is used. For comparative purposes, the non-parametric Luenberger–Hicks–Moorsteen productivity indicator is also used. The companies are ranked according to their total productivity for the period 1994–2005, using both models, which produce variations in the respective results. Economic implications arising from the study are derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely believed that a common pattern exists in the closure of small firms in Africa. Typically, these firms are reported to die in their first three years of life. Like any generalisation, this view fails to take into account probable variations across segments of the small business sector. A few recent reports on small firms in Nigeria and in southern Africa draw attention to this limitation. In this paper, we draw on the experience of privately incorporated firms in Nigeria to report a closure pattern that diverges significantly from that of the sector generally. Our finding that only a small fraction of the closures occurred in the infancy of the firms has implication for research and policy on small businesses. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the contending issues in the literature is the question of what determines the growth of micro and small enterprises (MSEs). In this article a sample of 37 firms, established in Eastern Nigeria about four decades ago, is used to evaluate why some firms grow while others stagnate. The study shows that only a few of the sample firms had grown into larger categories, while the majority had either stagnated or closed entirely. The case histories of the successful firms are examined, and it appears that they were able to grow because of their adoption of innovative management strategies which are generally uncommon amongst MSEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between small‐medium enterprises and employment in Nigeria. Annual data extracted from the ILO, WDI and CBN databases from 1991 to 2019 was subjected to various econometric techniques. The summary of findings that erupted in this work is as follows. Commercial banks loans to SMEs stimulate a significant employment creation in Nigeria. SMEs jobs have a significant positive contribution to employment creation in the country. Steaming from the findings of this study, whenever these policymakers want to create employment, policy and programmes that drive the expansion of SMEs oriented jobs should be implemented in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the roles of interdependence and policy variations across firms in the causality between bank size and profitability in Nigeria, using second‐generation estimators and the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel Granger non‐causality test. The findings support different business strategies and policy variances across banks. Causality is found non‐existent in the cases of 11 banks. A unidirectional causality from size to profitability is established in two banks while evidence of a unidirectional causality is established from profitability to bank size in the other two banks. This study concludes that cross‐sectional dependence and policy variations across firms matter in the bank size–profitability nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing the usual profit criterion to evaluate performance of the commercial parastatals in Nigeria, as revealed in the case of Kwara State, the enterprises are a failure. The differences in the management of the parastatals and similar but private enterprises may have accounted for differences in performance. Among the features of management of the parastatals are the role of government in the appointment of chief executives without necessary regard to merit; the relatively poor conditions of service as obtained in the civil service; and the huge debts owed the parastatals by governments. To improve performance, the following measures should be adopted. There is need to remove commercial parastatals from the civil service to attract quality management staff while government control should be substantially relaxed. Improved funding should be guaranteed through the financial houses while government should settle their debts to the organizations. The issue of privatization is worth proper consideration with a view to selling the companies to the private sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increased number of studies of the internationalization of emerging‐market multinationals (EMNCs), Latin American and Asian firms have dominated the focus of such studies, while the study of the internationalization process of sub‐Saharan African firms in the international business literature is quite limited. Therefore, this article examines the motivations and location patterns of the internationalization process of four Nigerian firms through a multiple case study approach. The findings show that the internationalization of the Nigerian firms is a recent phenomenon, but the foreign investment pattern reflects a pan‐African investment strategy. However, the findings also reveal that the firm‐specific advantages that had been accumulated in the domestic market, coupled with home‐country factors and regional‐/host‐market factors, were key determinants of the motivations and location patterns in the internationalization process of Nigerian firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the United States Agency for International Development in cooperation with two Nigerian banks, has introduced a $15 mortgage and small/medium scale businesses loan in Nigeria. The loan is aimed to provide long-term credit to business operators with partner banks, Fidelity Bank and Zenith Bank.