COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE AND THE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF SMES IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the effect of competitive intelligence on the sustainablegrowth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South-South Nigeria, focusing onbenchmarking, customer reviews, and scenario planning. Adopting a descriptive survey researchdesign, data were collected from 384 SME owners and senior managers across the six states in theregion using a structured Likert-scale questionnaire. The results, analyzed with descriptivestatistics and multiple regression analysis in SPSS 25, revealed a strong positive relationshipbetween competitive intelligence practices and sustainable growth, with an R² value of 0.745indicating that the three predictors collectively explained 74.5% of the variation in SME growth.Benchmarking emerged as the most influential factor, followed by scenario planning and customerreviews, all of which had significant positive effects. The findings underscore competitiveintelligence as a core strategic capability that enables SMEs to enhance efficiency, meet customerneeds, and adapt to market uncertainties. The study concludes that embedding competitiveintelligence in operations is vital for achieving long-term SME success and recommendscontinuous benchmarking, structured customer feedback mechanisms, and regular scenarioanalysis to strengthen competitiveness and resilience.