IMPACT OF GREEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP ON SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AMONG MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN LAGOS AND OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

With escalating global demands for cleaner, sustainable business models, green entrepreneurship has become a sustainable approach for enhancing long-term business competitiveness. This study seeks to explore the effect of green entrepreneurship on sustainable competitive advantage among manufacturing companies in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria. The study is grounded on two complementary theoretical frameworks namely the Institutional Theory and the Resource-Based View (RBV). A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used. We sampled 300 manufacturing companies and achieved 221 valid responses, corresponding to a 73.67% response rate. The sample covered five primary sectors: Food & Beverage (35%), Textiles & Apparel (20%), Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (18%), Building Materials (15%), and Electronics/Electrical (12%). Data were collected through structured questionnaires on 5-point Likert scales, which were analysed with IBM SPSS v27. The analytical methods used were descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, multiple regressions, as well as independent t-tests. The result of the regressions indicated that green entrepreneurship strategies renewable energy adoption (β = 0.325, p = 0.002), waste management (β = 0.279, p = 0.005), eco-innovation (β = 0.198, p = 0.029), as well as sustainable supply chain (β = 0.405, p = 0.000) positively contribute significantly to sustainable competitive advantage. It is concluded that green entrepreneurship greatly contributes to higher competitive advantage in the Nigerian manufacturing environment and provides actionable recommendations for companies as well as policymakers for sustainable growth. The study advises manufacturing companies to step up investments in eco-innovation as well as sustainable supply streams, while policymakers are advised to intervene with incentives and infrastructure support for green transitions.