Managers’ Perception of Environmental Sustainability in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs): Implication for Competitive Marketing Advantages for Sachet Water Manufacturers in Anambra State, Nigeria.

Abstract

This study examines managers’ perception of environmental sustainability practices among Nigeria’s SMEs with a case of the sachet water manufacturers in Anambra State. Nigeria. The study adopted survey design and used primary data. The population for the study is all the 321 sachet water firms registered with NAFDAC in Anambra State, Nigeria. The 321 managers of the sachet water firms formed the sample. The instrument for data collection is Likert-type questionnaire, tested for Cronbach Alpha reliability at 0.87. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, and percentages were used in answering the research questions while the Z-test was used to analyse the hypotheses. The results shows that the perception of managers of sachet water firms towards their environment is negative; there is significant difference in the perception of managers of sachet water firms on maintenance of healthy environment in the factory and the society; managers’ perception have significant effect on ensuring that water supplies are uncontaminated; managers’ perception have significant effect on properly disposal of waste from sachet water firms; the managers’ perception have significant effect on maintaining hygienic environment. The study concludes that managers of sachet water firms in Anambra State, Nigeria have poor perception about maintenance of hygienic environment within the area they operate. The environmental agencies in Nigeria should set up a recycling mechanism for waste management in Nigeria. This will help for the reuse of the polyethene sachets and reduce the amount of their non-biodegradable materials in the environment.

Keywords: SMEs, Water, environmental sustainability, Nigeria.