Industry 4.0 Technology Adoption and Market Scalability of Small and Medium Enterprises in Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between i4.0 technology adoption and market scalability of small and medium enterprises in Southwest, Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to; examine the level of awareness of small and medium entrepreneurs of i4.0 technology in Southwest, Nigeria, evaluate the challenges of adoption of i4.0 technology by small and medium entrepreneurs in Southwest, Nigeria, determine the facilities required for the adoption of i4.0 technology by small and medium entrepreneurs in Southwest, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive research design of the survey type. Multistage sampling techniques was used to select the samples of one thousand two hundred (1,200) respondents from the owners of MSMEs in Southwest, Nigeria. Structure questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Findings of the study revealed that, majority of the small and medium entrepreneurs do not awareness about i4.0 technology in Southwest, Nigeria, the challenges identified as the problem confronting the adoption of i4.0 technology in Southwest Nigeria, which are lack of expertise about i4.0 technology, financial challenges, unstable power supply. The study concluded that, there is significant relationship between i4.0 technology adoption and number of markets covered by small and medium enterprises in Southwest, Nigeria; Based on the findings of this study, it therefore recommended that, owners of MSMEs in Southwest, Nigeria should embrace the adoption of i4.0 technology to increase their profitability.