ASSESSMENT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED BANKS IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the technological capability and environmental performance of selected banks in Ondo State, Nigeria. Specifically, it evaluated technological capabilities of the selected banks; it examined inhibitors to the development of technological capabilities of the selected banks; investigated the level of environmental performance of the selected banks; and evaluated the cause-effect relationship between technological capability and environmental performance of selected banks in the study area. Resource-based View (RBV), Knowledge-based theory and the Theory of Adoption and Diffusion of Innovation served as the theoretical foundation for this study. The total population for this study is 485 banks. A sample size of 217 was derived from the population using Krejcie and Morgan (1970). The study made use of muti-stage sampling technique which initially selected four banks (two each from first and second generation banks) in the study area. The data collected were analyzed using both the descriptive (frequency and percentage distributions and mean score ranking) and inferential statistics (Regression analysis). The study found out the highest consideration is for ‘priority for developing new products and services to corporate clients’ (4.961) as among the construct for product innovation. In process innovation, ‘commitment to fast and un-bureaucratic processes’ (4.820) has the highest attention of the banks whereas ‘management’s attitude towards change’ (4.768) was dominant under organisational innovation. Also, the finding of this study revealed that leadership and employee support (4.833), project management skills (4.794), macroeconomic environment (4.416), learning culture (4.365), technical personnel availability (4.309), duration of training programs (4.305) and firm’s planning and control of the technology acquisition (4.228) have very high influences on technology capability and are under the control of the selected banks. Government support (4.052) occupied the last positions and it is the only factor that is beyond the control of the banks. In addition, the study established that technological capability moderately predict environmental performance of the selected banks in the study area such that 19.2 per cent of the changes in environmental performance is caused by technological capability variables. Hence, there is a significant cause-effect relationship between technological capability and environmental performance of selected banks in the study area. Based on these findings, the study recommended that banks need to strengthen their product innovation strategies through improvement of it processes to attain the level of other technological capability areas.