DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION STRATEGIES ON GROWTH OF INDIGENOUS BUSINESSES IN SOUTH-EAST, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of digital transformation strategies on the growth of indigenous businesses in South-East Nigeria, focusing on business automation and e-commerce adoption as predictors of employee productivity and sales performance. A survey research design was adopted with a sample size of 365 respondents selected from indigenous businesses, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and simple linear regression. The findings revealed significant positive effects across all variables, as business automation significantly improved productivity levels (β = 0.641, R² = 0.411, p < 0.001) and e-commerce adoption boosted sales performance (β = 0.622, R² = 0.387, p < 0.001).The study concludes that digital transformation strategies significantly enhance the performance and sustainability of indigenous businesses and recommends increased investment in digital tools, employee training, and integrated digital systems to improve competitiveness in the evolving business environment