EFFECT OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY AND GREEN INNOVATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE FIRMS IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

THE CALL FOR AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MEDIUM OF TRANSFORMING RAW MATERIALS TO TANGIBLE GOODS HAS GAINED INCREASING RECOGNITION OWING TO THE MANNER IN WHICH MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES PROCESS THEIR RAW MATERIALS, THEREBY ADVERSELY IMPACTING ON THE ENVIRONMENT. HOWEVER, ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE, WHETHER INTERNALLY OR EXTERNALLY, IS IMPERATIVE FOR ACHIEVING OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE. THEREFORE, THIS STUDY ASSESSED THE RELATIONSHIP THAT MAY EXIST BETWEEN ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY (ACAP), GREEN INNOVATION (GIN) AND PERFORMANCE IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE FIRMS IN LAGOS STATE. THIS IS WITH A VIEW TO PROVIDING MORE INFORMATION ON THE LEVEL OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY AND GREEN INNOVATION IN THE FIRMS. A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED AMONG STAFF OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE FIRMS. THE STUDY ADMINISTERED 368 QUESTIONNAIRES OUT OF WHICH 282 WERE RETRIEVED FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS. BOTH DESCRIPTIVE (MEAN FREQUENCY AND STANDARD DEVIATION) AND INFERENTIAL ANALYTIC TOOLS/ PARTIAL LEAST SQUARE – STRUCTURAL EQUATION METHODS (SEM) USING SMART PLS 3.2.7 STATISTICAL SOFTWARE WERE EMPLOYED. THE LEVEL OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY AND GREEN INNOVATION OF THESE FIRMS WAS ANALYSED USING MEAN RESPONSE RANKING. THE RESULT SHOWED EXPLOITATION RANKING HIGHEST WITH 6.525, WHILE GREEN MANAGERIAL INNOVATION RANKED HIGHEST WITH 6.388 FOR THE LEVEL OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY AND GREEN INNOVATION RESPECTIVELY. ALSO, THE STUDY REVEALED THAT ORGANISATIONAL FACTOR WAS RANKED THE HIGHEST DETERMINANT FACTOR INFLUENCING GREEN INNOVATION WITH A VALUE OF 6.271. THIS RESEARCH FURTHER SHOWS THAT REALISED ACAP HAS MORE INFLUENCE COMPARED WITH POTENTIAL ACAP, WHILE GREEN MANAGERIAL INNOVATION IS MORE RELEVANT IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE FIRMS IN LAGOS. HOWEVER, THE HYPOTHESIS WAS TESTED WITH PLS-SEM, AND THE RESULTS REVEALED THAT THERE IS A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACAP, GIN, AND FIRM’S PERFORMANCE. FURTHERMORE, THE STUDY REVEALED THAT GIN PARTIALLY MEDIATES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACAP AND PERFORMANCE; THEREFORE, THERE IS COMPLEMENTARY MEDIATION SINCE THE INDIRECT EFFECT, AND THE DIRECT EFFECT ARE BOTH SIGNIFICANT AND POINT IN THE SAME DIRECTION. THESE FINDINGS ARE GOOD REFERENCES FOR PRACTITIONERS AS THEY IDENTIFY DEFINITE ACTIONS THAT CAN ENHANCE ACAP AND GREEN INNOVATION, THEREBY CONTRIBUTING TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF INNOVATIVENESS AND PERFORMANCE. THIS RESEARCH COMPLEMENTS EARLIER STUDIES WHICH CALLED FOR THE EXPLORATION OF THE ROLE OF ACAP AND GREEN INNOVATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FIRMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. WHILE AVAILING NEW AVENUES FOR FURTHER MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH.