Strategic alliance and the performance of small and medium enterprises in North Central, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the effect of strategic alliance on the sales performance.Strategic alliance was investigated using technology strategic alliance,production strategic alliance and learning strategic
alliance.The study adopted the sectional survey design, thereby making the questionnaire the main instrument of data collection.
The study employed the spearman’s rank order correlation method with the aid of SPSS 23.0 to analyse the formulated hypotheses. From the data analysis, the study revealed that marketing and distribution strategic alliance significantly affect sales performance of SMEs in North Central Nigeria, there is significant relationship between technology strategic alliance and product innovation of SMEs in North Central Nigeria; there is significant relationship between production strategic alliance and competitive advantages of SMEs in North Central Nigeria and there is significant relationship between learning strategic alliance and product innovation of SMEs in North Central Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that for SMEs to stay competitive, expand sales capabilities and innovative, SMEs should ally strategically through technology, learning, marketing
and distribution alliances.