CORPORATE STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN A RECESSED ECONOMY IN NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA

Purpose: The study aimed at investigating the corporate strategies of construction firms in Niger Delta, Nigeria and its contribution to the performance of construction firms with a view to promoting the implementation of these strategies in a recessed economy. Design/methodology/approach: The data for this research were sourced from construction firms in Niger Delta, Nigeria through interviews and purposive questionnaire survey. The methods of data analysis include mean score, simple percentage and correlation analysis. Findings: The results of the analysis revealed that 74.5% and 25.5 % of the firms experienced low and moderate employment growth respectively. Analysis showed that 74.5%, 18.2 % and 7.3% of the firms experienced low, moderate and high financial growth respectively. The top three corporate strategies that have significant correlation with firm’s performance are research and investment in industries that boom during an economic recession; networking with people and other corporate entities; and entry in emerging markets. Research limitations/implications: Only one hundred copies of questionnaire were administered and fifty five valid copies were returned and used for analysis. It implies that the results may not be generalised for the whole country but can be used by firms in the study area and also serves as a bed rock for further studies Originality/value: This study filled this gap created by limited study on corporate strategies and performance of construction firms in Nigeria in general and Niger Delta in particular as revealed by the literature review and recommended that firms should place much emphasis and implement those key corporate strategies that have significant correlation with firm’s performance to prevent gambling with many strategies that might not give desired results.