GLOBALISATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING SMALL AND MEDIM ENTERPRISES IN EDO STATE.

This study examined the impact of globalisation on the performance of manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Edo State, Nigeria. The research specifically investigated the effects of economic, technological, political, and cultural dimensions of globalisation on SME performance. A total of 231 structured questionnaires were distributed and retrieved from owners of selected manufacturing SMEs in Oredo Local Government Area, Benin Metropolis. Both descriptive and inferential statistics, including regression analysis, were conducted using SPSS version 22. The findings revealed that economic globalisation (B = 0.567, p = 0.000) and technological globalisation (B = 0.219, p = 0.005) have strong positive and significant effects on SME performance, indicating that access to global markets, investment, and technology diffusion enhances competitiveness. Cultural globalisation (B = 0.122, p = 0.048) was found to exert a modest but significant positive influence, showing that cultural exposure improves product innovation and market adaptability. However, political globalisation (B = 0.002, p = 0.979) showed no significant effect, suggesting limited institutional impact on SME international integration. Based on these findings, the study recommends that policymakers strengthen trade facilitation, support technology adoption, foster cultural branding, and reform governance structures to enhance SME participation in the global economy.