Assessment of Information Sources and Services Provided for the Business Needs of the Micro and Small Scale Enterprises in North West Zone, Nigeria.

Abstract

Business information consists of every factor influential to business operation. It is influenced by a set of political, economic, social and technological factors which are largely outside the control and influence of a business. The general objective of this study was to investigate into business information sources and services of micro and small business enterprises in the North-West geo-political zone of Nigeria. The survey research method was adopted for the study. From the parent population of micro and small business enterprises, seven municipal areas of the geopolitical zone were randomly sampled. Research instrument used for collecting data was the questionnaire which was constructed along the theoretical frame of the study. Hypotheses were formulated to provide basis for inferences from the analysed data. The findings showed that the effective provision of business information towards the need of small business enterprises requires more articulated services to fill the existing gap. Significant correlation was observed between the entrepreneurs’ awareness of required information for their business and their access to such information. It was observed that accessibility of business information is significantly related to availability of the information, the awareness and visibility of sources and services.