STRATEGIC COST LEADERSHIP IMPACT AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS GROWTH IN AFRICA

Abstract

Competitive advantage is one of the essential components of business growth, but the COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial effect on consumer behavior, while also giving rise to intense competition within the business environment in Africa, making competitive advantage and business growth a challenge. Consequently, firms have been compelled to make strategic choices such as cost leadership capability in order to navigate these challenges. This research therefore examines the effect of cost leadership capability on the business growth of listed and selected consumer goods companies in Nigeria the highly populated and one of the major economies in Africa. The investigation considered  a cross-sectional survey method, and a total of 20 consumer products firms were identified and evaluated based on their capitalization criteria and continuous dividend payments. From this group, seven companies were chosen for further analysis. The sample size of 378 and to resolve the problem of non-response, appropriate measures were taken, leading to the inclusion of an additional 113 respondents, representing 30% of the original sample resulting in a final sample size of 491. A total of 480 copies of questionnaire was found useful which is a response rate of 98%. The hypothesis was examined by regression analysis. The study result indicate that cost-leadership capability is an effective tool that is statistically significant and positive to business growth (β = 0.809, t = 23.904, P<0.05). The research findings indicate that applying cost-leadership capability in a firm helps attain a stronger competitive position and has a favorable impact on business growth. This research, therefore recommends that there is a need for technology adoption to cut production costs and establish a durable competitive advantage.