Abstract:

This study examines the relationship between innovative mindset and organizational sustainability of Small and Medium enterprises in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study adopted the cross-sectional survey of the quasi-experimental design while the probability simple random sampling techniques were used to ensure equal chance of being selected. The theoretical foundation was built on the Resource Based View Theory of the firm. The population of the study consist of 1,200 owner/managers and supervisors of the small and medium enterprises operating in Rivers State, Nigeria. The sample size of 300 participants was derived, using the Taro Yemen sample size determination formula. The study made use of 50 selected accessible enterprises in Rivers State. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire survey on the respondents while the data analysis was done using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient with the aid of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21. The study revealed that a positive significant relationship exist between the predictor variable (innovative mindset) and the criterion variable (organizational sustainability). This was evidence from the fact that the null hypotheses tested were all rejected, giving room for the acceptance of the alternate hypotheses. Based on the revelation, the study concludes that SMEs chief executives, managers and employees should be entrepreneurial innovative in practicing organizational sustainability by initiating a strategic actions and campaigns towards achieving eco-innovation, that will thrive small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. The study therefore, recommends that Small and Medium Enterprises should adopt the application of sustainability initiative goal (2030) by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development on industry, innovation and infrastructure aimed at building resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation for sustainable performance.