ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF SMALL, MEDIUM AND LARGE CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN NIGER - DELTA, NIGERIA

Purpose: The call for the sustainability of construction firms in Niger Delta, Nigeria cannot be over emphasized. This study assessed the economic performance of small, medium and large construction firms in Niger Delta, Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach: Survey design approach was adopted in this study. Data were obtained using 1179 copies of structured questionnaire, administered by the researcher and research assistants. The Data were collected on a five-point scale of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 and were assigned to the options of very low growth, low growth, moderate growth, high growth and very high growth respectively. Methods of data analysis were simple percentage, and mean score, Kruskal Wallis test and Bonferroni dunnett test.

Findings: This study revealed that the overall level of employment growth among construction firms in Niger-Delta is moderate. The result of the study also showed that the level of employment growth among large construction firms is higher than the level of employment growth among small and medium construction firms in Niger- Delta. Further, the overall level of financial turnover growth of construction firms in Niger Delta is moderate. The level of financial turnover growth of small, medium and large firms is also moderate. This study also revealed that the level of financial turnover growth of large construction firms is higher than the level of financial turnover of small, and medium construction firms in Niger- Delta. This study evaluated the net income growth of construction firms in Niger Delta, Nigeria and found out that there is moderate level of net income growth among the construction firms in Niger- Delta. Finally, the study showed that the level of net income growth of large construction firms is higher than the net income growth of small, and medium construction firms in Niger- Delta.

Research Limitation: This study adopted subjective measure to evaluate annual employment growth, annual financial turn-over and net-income growth of construction firms in Niger- Delta, Nigeria over a period of ten years (2007-2017) on a five-point scale.

Originality/value: The outcome of the article will help constructions firms and construction stakeholders at large to know the level of economic performance of small, medium and large construction firms and make better decisions as far as construction activities are concerned in Niger- Delta, Nigeria.