1.0 INTRODUCTION:

A nation’s wealth and growth is measured by the performance and survival of small and medium scale enterprise operating in the country. The survival of enterprises (SMEs sector) is the impetus of the growth and development of a country’s wealth. The contribution of enterprises to a country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is well acknowledged and extensively research on by scholar(s) all over the world. But the survival of these enterprises is being threaten by the harsh operating environment as reported by National Bureau of Statistics (2024). Harsh operating environment contextually refers to government policies and decision that influence, direct and sharp the operational performance of businesses within the country, and by extension the survival or otherwise of such businesses (Nku,2023). The unfriendly operating business environment is experienced mostly in developing countries like Nigeria, where government actions or in-actions has let to the closure and death of so many small and large-scale businesses all over the country. Government policies in the last two years has strangulated start-up business and brought well established business to their knees and struggling for survival. The high mortality rate of businesses in Nigeria in the last two years,has been attributed to the sudden removal of oil subsidy, high cost of capital and the surging inflationary rate (24.7%) as reported by NBS (2025), which has compel scholar(s) to innovatively and aggressively seek for alternative survival strategies for enterprises that are assumed to be the life wire of any economy, this assumption has gain traction both in public and private sector of the economy.

The adoption of corporate entrepreneurship has been advocated by scholar(s) as a survival strategy to rejuvenate and bring back to operation those enterprises in the intensive care unit. Corporate entrepreneurship is the process where established enterprises develop and maintain internal entrepreneurial activities within the existing business by introducing entrepreneurial culture across all cadre and department in the business organization. It is a deliberate effort for renewal via innovation and business development, venturing for sustainability and competitive advantage for survival.

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) reinvigorate, renovate, revitalizes and rejuvenate an enterprise from stagnation or collapsing. It is the introduction of entrepreneurial activities into an existing enterprise, by turning new ideas into profitable realities and making an entrepreneur to function as an employee rather than an employer in order to salvage the business from death, by introducing entrepreneurial activities into the business venture (Adeyeye, 2018).

Intrapreneurship is restorative and can revitalize dying business to counter stagnation, when face with turbulence and challenging operating environment like Nigeria business environment, an enterprise could explore either corporate venturing or strategic entrepreneurship as a survival strategy.

The steady decline in the number of registered enterprises in Nigeria from 41.5millionin 2017 to 38.7 million in 2025 (NBS, 2025; CAC, 2025), has ignited the quest to search for alternative survival strategy for enterprises survival and sustainability in a bushiness environment characterized by uncertainty, lack of basic infrastructure and erratic government policies like Nigeria.

The continues declined of registered enterprises in Nigeria post a great negative consequence to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment rate, local resource utilization and a downward review of entrepreneurial activities and entrepreneurship development in the country.

This paper review conceptually the best survival strategy to be adopted by registered enterprises in Nigeria to curb the high mortality rate of these businesses operating in a hostile business environment.

Specifically, the objectives of this paper are:

1. To review conceptually how the adoption of corporate venturing strategy enhance the survival of enterprises operating in the study area, Nigeria.

2. To examine conceptually how the adoption of strategic entrepreneurship approach serve as a viable survival option for enterprises operating in an erratic business environment like Nigeria

2.0 CONCEPTULIZATION:

Conceptualization deals with the different meaning given by different scholars to the variables being studied and how the variables are conceptualized within the context of the research work. It is the process of defining and contextualizing a concept. defining ones concept with words and examples, and arriving at a precise verbal meaning (Marcus, 2017). In this paper, concepts such as enterprise survival strategy, corporate entrepreneurship, corporate venturing and strategic entrepreneurship were conceptualized and operationalized within the contexts of the study, to establish a link between previous work done in this area and what this study intends to carry out.

2.1 Concept of Enterprise Survival Strategies

Enterprises are established and operated within a system, the interaction of the enterprise with its system determine to a large extend the performance and survival of the enterprise. The continues existence and functioning of the enterprise is a function of other situational variable within the system. The essential focus of any business is survival, the business adopt and choose different options and method to over come challenges for its continues existence. Survival are ways or methods adopted by an enterprise to remain operational in the face of challenges in it’s operating environment. It is the unique way an enterprise maneuver the difficulties in it operating space while achieving it set goals and objectives (Nku, 2023).

According to Afu (2023) enterprises survival strategies is the methods or decisions taken by enterprises owner to navigate economic downturns, obstacles and other hurdles in the operating environment to stay afloat and operate profitably. It involves navigating the inconsistent government monetary and fiscal policies, erratic energy supply, poor infrastructural network and unhealthy competitions in the business environment.

Enterprise survival means the continuous existence of enterprises in the face of turbulence and uncertainty and still operating and rendering services to the society optimally. It is the art of endurance, durableness and resilience on the part of the enterprise to steer and sail through the harsh and terrible unfavourable operating business environment such as multiple and high tax imposition, increasing spate of insecurity in the land, poor contract enforcement, lack of protection for minority investors and extremely poor infrastructural facilities which are daily confronting the operational efficiency and optimal performance and survival of businesses across all sector of the Nigerian economy (Detiem,2023).

Enterprise survival strategy is a tactical manipulation and navigation of stringent government policies, poor infrastructural facilities and harsh operating environment of business in Nigeria which has push most enterprise out of operation. It is a strategic plan of action put in place to slain through the tough and very unbearable operating environment of businesses by enterprises especially micro and small start-up business mostly in urban centers in Nigeria (Usman, 2022).

2.1.1 Concept of corporate Entrepreneurship:

According to Kabiru (2021) corporate entrepreneurship is the practice of promoting entrepreneurial culture and innovation within an existing business organization. It is the strategy of encouraging employees to act like entrepreneurs by developing new business ideas and processes that contributes to the enterprise’s competitiveness and sustainability.

Corporate entrepreneurship (CE) is a conscious and calculative effort by enterprise owners to introduction entrepreneurial behaviour into an existing business enterprise for competitiveness and pro-activeness in order to remain buoyant in a competitive business environment. CE revolves around developing new business, new process and products inside an existing business enterprise to create value and generate new revenue for the survival of the enterprise (Zara, 2024).

There are two main pathways an enterprise can adopt as it survival strategy through corporate entrepreneurship as seen figure 1.

Figure 1: Pathways of Corporate Entrepreneurship

Figure 2.1 reveal the strategic survival options available to enterprises operating in a turbulent and challenging business environment like the study area. An enterprise can leverage either of the survival strategic option to navigate the turbulence in the operating business environment to remain afloat and nu-suffocated by other environmentals’.

2.1.2 Concept of Corporate Venturing

Corporate venturing connote capital venture investment activities (CVI), which means adding to or investing in a new business within an existing business. It is the investment of the enterprise capital in an external start-up business. A process where an established enterprise collaborate or take direct equity stake in a micro but innovative business by providing both financial and technical assistance, and shielding the small business from undue competitions while achieving strategic benefit such as developing new capabilities which are very crucial in surviving harsh operating business environment (Morris et al, 2012).

According to Kabiru (2023) corporate ventures are internally launched new ideas that developed into separate units or division of a business mostly within the same line of business for the existing enterprise to have an edge over and above it competitors by having a large share of the business line. This practice solidifies an existing enterprise to overcome both internal and external environmental challenges and assisting the enterprise operate maximally.

Corporate venturing as a survival strategy helps the existing enterprise deepens it roots and expand it tentacles within a particular business line, by extending it investment both technically and financially to support and groom a new business idea into a profitable organization. This survival strategy saves the existing business from liquidation, bankruptcy and inconsistent government policies like in the study country, Nigeria. Enterprises that have adopted cooperate venturing as a survival strategy are usually not cut unaware of frequent changes in government policies or other situational environmental variables that usually post a threat to the survival of the enterprise, because the enterprise has created multiple channels of financial inflows from different investment opportunities that can withstand shocks and survived environmental threats (Adeyeye, 2018).

Corporate venturing service as a potential gateway for existing and large enterprises to solidified their dominance by acquiring smaller and very innovative start-up business in the long-run, as they position strategically as the market leader. It helps to bolster the corporate image and reputation of the existing enterprise by presenting it as the leader in innovation, thereby enhancing the enterprises perceived quality and value among consumers and potential partners in the line of business. Gaining access into new and emerging market is a survival strategy when the old market is saturated with similar products from competitors which can leads to decline sales and low revenue inflows into the existing enterprise which is a strong signal for death.

Enterprises operating within the study area can deliberately take up shares by investing financially or otherwise into smaller and start-up business, which service as a buffer and security for the old enterprise to survive the turbulence in the operating business environment, interns of innovations, new technology, emerging market, merger and outright acquisition of the smaller business and as a new source of financial inflows to the old enterprise (Ahmed et al, 2025).

According to Morris et al (2012), corporate venturing could be implemented through any of or a combination of the strategies as seen in figure 2.

Figure 2: Corporate Venturing Strategies for Enterprises Survival

Internal Corporate Venturing:

Internal venturing as a survival strategy is the creation or establishment of a new business line within the existing enterprise. This new business may be sited outside the vicinity or domicile within the same structure of the old enterprise but with some level of autonomy. This new business idea is usually driven by new technology and emerging market and customer preference, giving the old enterprise a conglomerate appearance thereby creating a product for every market and every pocket (Yusuf,2022).

According to Ahmen (2024) internal corporate venturing are mostly designed to promote and foster entrepreneurial mindsets and culture within the existing business entity. The newly created venture leverage and strive on the existing business assets to survive and scale-up operations. The internal venture enjoys the enterprise existing customers based and market channels thereby growing a culture of entrepreneurship within the enterprise.

External Corporate Venturing

External corporate venturing is a deliberate survival strategy by a firm to invest or acquire a young firm in its early growth stage and introduce innovative mindset and culture that scale-up the new business opportunities. This strategy sometime is meant to foster partnership between startups, by proving funds, resources, access to market, while the startup brings it innovative ideas and creative spirit (Abang et al., 2025).

According to Bature and Abang (2015) external corporate venturing is a survival strategy employ by a firm to explore new opportunities by going into other lines of business which is outside or be-young the core area of the current business which allows for the exploration of new markets and business models, which often leads to the discovery of new opportunities for growth, sustainability and stability in the business impaired.

Cooperative/ Collaborative Corporate Venturing

Cooperative otherwise called collaborative corporate venturing is strategy to create or go into a join ownership to established an entirely new venture with one or two other innovative firms, leveraging on new business opportunities or emerging market.

Collaboration corporate venturing involves two or more business entities coming together to establish, fund and managed a business idea, leveraging on their technical-know-how, financial strengths and expertise to provide solution or solve a particular problem in the society. This new business created can serve a particular purpose and cease to exist after solving the purpose it was created or become a sustainable business entity jointly owned by the parent firms as strategy for survival changes and difficulties the operating business environment (Adeyeye, 2018).

2.1.3 Strategic Entrepreneurship:

According to Nku (2023) strategic entrepreneurship also known as strategic renewal is an array of entrepreneurial activities, behaviour and initiatives that are adopted and capitalized upon, for the pursue of competitive edge among other competitors. It the art of taking entrepreneurial actions by engaging in a simultaneous opportunity seeking and competitive advantage seeking behaviours by designing and implementing entrepreneurial strategies to create value while making entrepreneurial profit.

Strategic entrepreneurship as a survival strategic is aim at transforming the enterprise through the renewal of ideas that are in- build for enterprise to dominate the market by having competitive advantage, thereby placing the enterprise in a competitive position in the market place (Ojonugwu et al, 2024).

Strategic entrepreneurship is a survival strategy adopted by firms due to uncertainty and the complexity in the operating environment of business. It is adopted to encourage flexibility in the operation of the business, changing strategy and moving from one approach to another in response to the changes in the business ecosystem. When current approach or strategy fails, a new strategy or approach can be adopted to follow and catch-up the business tread as a survival strategy. The flexibility of this strategy allows enterprises to continuously renew their competitive strength by promptly identifying and taking advantage of emerging opportunities by deploying their resources and technical strength over and above other competitors.

Enterprise that adopt strategic entrepreneurship are flexible enough to move their strategy from strategic management to strategic entrepreneurship, because strategic management deals with recourse optimization and exploitation of existing competitive strength but strategic entrepreneurship focuses on an enterprise strength to continuously renew their competitive advantage based on the emerging opportunities.

According to Marris et al (2007) strategic entrepreneurship is the ability of a firm to continuously renew it strategic to gain competitive advantage in a very competitive market environment, by always monitoring the changes in the operating business environment both vertically and horizontally. An enterprise needs to developed and sustained an entrepreneurial culture that can engage in strategic entrepreneurial activities such as strategic planning, strategic innovation and innovation techniques like ideation, design thinking, scouting among others,using tools like strategic foresight, SWOT analysis, trend analysis and portfolio examination of the project and the innovative idea to identify and explore emerging opportunities in the market place, aim at having a competitive advantage over other competitors.

Kazim (2022),an enterprise adopting strategic entrepreneurship aim at pursuing superior performance through opportunity seeking and advantage seeking can take on any of the five distinct forms of strategic entrepreneurship as depicted in figure 3.

Figure 3: Forms of Strategic Entrepreneurship

Strategic Renewal:

Marris et al (2007) the survival of an enterprise in a complex and ever changing operating environment depends on the enterprise ability to continually evolved to remain relevance and competitive through the adoption of strategic renewal approach.Through strategic renewal, an enterprise revitalize to align with emerging and situational changes in the market place like change in demand, technology advancement.It is a process that assist an enterprise navigate the turbulence in the operating environment for survival.

Strategic renewal is a technical steps which assist enterprise to realign it core strategy, approach, resources and capabilities to meets emerging challenges in the operating environment and capitalizing on it strength to utilizes new opportunities to have competitive edge in the market. Strategic renewal demand the enterprise to be proactive to identify and respond timely and adequately to changes in macro-operating environment by fostering newness and agility within and around the enterprise (Azyaby and Mahzari,2022).

Enterprises operating in the study area can adopt strategic renewal approach as a survival strategy to overcome and cope with technology advancement, government hike is electricity tariff, high cost of energy and the scotching inflationary rate, that has lets to the death of many enterprises in Nigeria.

Sustained Regeneration:

Sustained regeneration is an entrepreneurial practice where an enterprise introduce a new products and services or enter a new market with emerging opportunities. A practices that allows an enterprise to maintain competitive advantage aim at achieving long-term capital goal through continuous innovation and constant self renewal, leading to new opportunity and remaining relevant in a rapid changing business environment (Umrani, 2016).

Adim and Poi (2022) sustain regeneration is a firm capacity to consistently innovate and evolve over time by adopting new strategies to stay afloat in the market environment. It is the most common form of strategic entrepreneurship where enterprises constantly and regularly evolve by introducing new products and services to displace old product thereby shifting demand and attracting demand to it new line of business or products as a survival strategy to over come harsh operating environment conditions.

Domain Redefinition

Kuratko and Audretsch (2009) domain redefinition is a survival strategy adopted mostly in saturated market, where an enterprise re-creates and developed a new market to have competitive advantage over its competitors, and remain safe and relevant in turbulent operating business environment. Such an enterprise creates a new product market arenas where new product categories are display and showcase to new buys.

Domain redefinition is an entrepreneurial strategy for an enterprise to mutate and create a new product or service market arena where the competitors are yet to identify and explore for market shares in the arena. To remain afloat and compete favourable, enterprise in the study area can always redefine their domain by creating and developing new products and services market where less competition exist and dominate such market arena to overcome harsh economic and political factors in their operating environment.

Organizational Rejuvenation:

According to Covin and Miles (1999) organizational rejuvenation is an entrepreneurial survival strategy to improve or sustain it competitive position in the market place by modifying existing internal process, resources, capability and structural re-configuration, Its involves a complete re-organization of a firm in terms of it structure, process, system modification and capacity blending to enhance it competitive standing in the changing operating environment of business.

It is a deliberate effort by enterprise to improve and sustained it competitive advantage in an erratic operation environment through a complete turnround of enterprises operations in terms of structural re-configuration, sources and disbursement of funds, capacity utilization and efficiency of operations aim at exiting the declining stage of the enterprise. This survival strategy assist the enterprises to rejuvenate itself by creating new processes that will enhance the identification and exploitation of new and emerging opportunities that will give the enterprise a competitive standing in the market place.

Business Model Reconstruction:

Business model reconstruction is an entrepreneurial strategy for enterprise revitalization and reshaping to adapt to changing market conditions in order to overcome certain environmental impediments. It involves changing the enterprise existing operational, financial and administrative structure to improve operational efficiency, cash flows and the profitability level of the enterprise to gain competitive edge in a turbulent business environment. A complete overhauling of a business operations to create, deliver and capture value and space (Eze, 2018).

Alexandra (2024) business model reconstruction is an enterprise survival strategy for superior performance by redesigning and re-directing the core business activities in order to improve on the operational efficiency of the enterprise that put the business on better position to compete favourable among other competitors in the same line of business.

Enterprises operation in the study area can adopt business model reconstruction as survival strategy, by reshaping their businesses to adapt to the challenging operating environment the current government policies has affected the ease of doing bushiness in the country.

2.1.3 Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework illustrates the link between independent variables and dependent variables. The study presented a framework that shows the link between predictory variables (corporate venturing forensic and strategic entrepreneurship) and the criterion variable (Enterprise Survival) as depicted in figure 4.

Figure 4: Conceptual framework for the study

The study model was design to measure the direct relationship between IVs (Corporate venturing and Strategic Entrepreneurship technique) and DV (Enterprises Survival).

2.2 Empirical Review:

Nur Alam and Tjare (2016) examined and explained the effect of corporate entrepreneurship on the performance of small and medium scale businesses in South- Sulawesi- Indonesia, using three dimensions; innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking ability. Relaying on primary source of data, data was collected from 36 small and medium scale enterprise in the study area with the instrumentality of the questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed using the generalized structural component analysis (GSCA) to validate the formulated hypotheses for the study, and the result reveal that, overall corporate entrepreneurship shows a significant positive effect on the performance of small and medium scale businesses in the study area. Specifically, the level of positive effect on the performance of small and medium scale businesses varies in line with the dimension tested, with innovativeness having more effect on SMEs performance than proactivess and risk-taking ability of the SMEs. By implication, innovativeness as a dimension of corporate entrepreneurship enhances business performance in the study area. The study recommends the adoption of corporate entrepreneurship dimensions, particularly innovativeness to enhance SMEs performance in the study area.

The study used entrepreneurial orientation dimensions (Innovativeness, risk-taking and proactivness) as proxies of corporate entrepreneurship to measure the performance of SMEs in the study area. The current study did not focused on SMEs performance but rather on enterprises survival, using the dominant corporate entrepreneurship dimensions (Corporate venturing and strategic entrepreneurship) as a viable option for survival by enterprise in the study area. The study was conducted in south sulawesi- Indonesia, current study was conducted in Nigeria. The study was an empirical paper, where data were collected from primary sources and analyzed using the generalized structural component analysis (GSCA) to validate the conjuncture postulated. Current study used conceptualization as a research approach to download articles (from world recognize database like emerald, elsevier, sage, springer among other) to review previous works done in this area of interest. Meaning that current study is a conceptual paper while previous study was an empirical paper.

Kwinje et al. (2020) study examined how the use of corporate entrepreneurship strategy has enhance the survival of small to medium scale Tourism enterprises in Zimbabwe. The study adopted the quantitative methodology, where 150 samples were drawn from the study population. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analysis the collected data for the study. Statistical package for social science (SPSS) was used to test the formulated hypotheses of the study. The findings reveal that corporate entrepreneurship strategy contribute to a large extent to the survival of small to medium Tourism enterprises in Zimbabwe.

This study was geographically restricted to Zimbabwe and focused on Tourism enterprises only using different dimension to assess the survival rate of enterprise in the study sectors of the economy. Quantitative methodology was deployed to elicit data from 150 respondent in the study population. Current study was carried in Nigeria involving all registered enterprise in Nigeria. The study review conceptually corporate venturing and strategic entrepreneurship as viable survival option available to enterprise operating in the volatile study area, Nigeria.

Effect of corporate entrepreneurship dimensions on SMEs performance in Holeta town, Ethiopia was investigated by Gemechu et al (2021). Survey research design was employed in designing and administering173 questionnaire to the unit of analysis in the study population. Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used, descriptive statistics was used to analyzed the demographic characteristics of the respondent while the stata statistical tool was was to test the formulated hypotheses for the study. The result of the analysis indicate that all of the exploratory variables used were statistically significant and had a positive relationship with small and medium scale enterprise performance in the study area.

Adeoye (2022) investigated the influence of corporate entrepreneurship on firm productivity and total out put level. Cross-sectional research survey was deployed as a research design to collect three hundred and seventeen samples from a study population of five hundred and thirty-four firms in the agricultural value chain, representing 59.4% of the study population. Simple percentage, table, means and standard deviation was employed to analyzed the data collected for the study while the second-generation structural equation model, specifically smart PLS was deployed to validate the stated hypotheses for the study. The finding of the study reveals that firm renewal through innovativeness and risk-taking influence productivity and and high level of output, scale up the enterprise volume of production, sales and profit margin.

2.3 Theoretical Review:

Scholarly articles are build around theories that serves as the sub-stratum upon which the paper is anchored on, and the thesis of the paper draws it strength on the basic assumptions of the theory.

2.3.1 Dynamic Capabilities Theory:

This paper is rooted on the basic assumptions of the dynamic capabilities’ theory of an entrepreneur. The theory was propounded by David et al (1997). The trust of this theory lies on the capability of an entrepreneur or an enterprise to be flexible enough to respond swiftly to situational and environmental dynamics in its operation space, in order to remain relevant and gain competitive edge over its competitors. An enterprise internal resource and capabilities most be renewed always and innovatively fit-in and aligned with the continuous changes in the operating business environment to sustain competitive advantage in a dynamic business line or market.

The theory holds that an enterprise must have the ability to engage in adapting, integrating and redesigned it’s micro and macro environmental resources, skills and operational competence to catch-up with the velocity and intensity of changes in the operating environment. It’s emphasizes the ability of the enterprise to react in the same proportion and timely too, to external changes in the operating environment for sustainability, competitive advantage and survival.

3. METHODOLOGY:

This paper reviewed conceptually the two dominant forms of corporate entrepreneurship as viable options for enterprise survival in the study area, Nigeria. The paper specifically examine how the adoption of corporate venturing (Proxies by internal venturing, external venturing and Collaborative venturing) as a form of corporate entrepreneurship can server as a viable survival strategy for enterprises operating in the study area or the adoption of strategic entrepreneurship (Proxies by strategic renewal, sustain regeneration,Domain redefinition, organizational rejuvenation and business model reconstruction) as the most viable survival strategy by enterprise in the study area. In order to achieve the study objective, the paper relies mostly on secondary documentations of previous research work done in this area of interest. Scholarly articles in this field were downloaded from world best database like Emerald, Elsevier, Sage, Taylor and Francis among others, and critically reviewed in line with the study objective as a conceptual paper.

4. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS:

More attention is shifting to corporate entrepreneurship as a survival strategy, by both small and well-established firm, and this trend is well acknowledge by scholars the world over.

Strategic renewal as a dimension of strategic entrepreneurship according to Marris (2007) has safe many small scale businesses from going into extinction, due to the ability of the business to renew it products and services, and position itself on the path of growth and sustainability while enjoying a competitive edge in a very competitive operating environment. The adoption of strategic renewal enables the enterprises to distinguish themselves from other firms, enhancing their competitive standing in the market place while capturing new grounds and other market segment for sustainability. As a survival strategy, enterprises operating in harsh business environment most always strike a balance between their internal capabilities and the continuous changes in business environment there operates, in order to fit-in and remain relevance in the operating business space.

According to Menahem et al (2013) the enterprise flexibility and capacity to align it internal operations with external rates of environmental changes exerts a significant positive effect on the enterprise competitive advantages and survival in the business space it operates.The adoption of strategic renewal by enterprise is aim at addressing performance shortfalls and threat of extinction, by renewing their processes and products to match the new demand trend and consumer preference save the business from dying.It is a pathway that enterprise adopt to alter and transformed their strategic intent and capacity to meets emerging environmental and market dynamics for competitive advantages and enjoy a large market share. Strategic renewal option have proved to be a more viable survival option for firms, than other corporate entrepreneurship dimensions due to its flexibility and ease of adoption, by enabling firms align their capabilities, resource and internal policies to fit with technology advancement, government fiscal and monetary policies and other business environmental changes that could affect the enterprise performance and survival. Strategic renewal enable the enterprise to adapt to environmental changes by fostering innovativeness, improve processes and realign the firm resource and capability to meet the new trend.

Nomlala and Mukur (2022) findings established a statistical significant relationship between sustained regeneration, as a dimension of strategic entrepreneurship and enterprise performance and survival in a competitive operating business environment. The study holds that, an enterprise continuous innovation leads to a steady introduction of new products and services, and the discovery of new market for growth and sustainability. The results of this study support the current body of knowledge that enterprises involves in continuous innovation are must likely to survive and performed optimally irrespective of the turbulent operating conditions. The adoption of sustained regeneration as survival strategy put the enterprise on the path of continuous growth and high performance by meeting new market demand and customers satisfaction thereby competing competitively.

Strategic entrepreneurship dimensions mostly sustained regeneration assist firms to be proactive in redesigning and redirecting the their policies, resources and programme to meet the rapid changes in the market place like changes in demand, technology advancement, shortfall in raw material and sudden changes in government policies that usually impact negatively on the enterprises performance and survival.

Ojukwu et al (2020) findings reveal that corporate venturing dimensions like internal, external and collaborative venturing is aim at creating a new business within or outside the vicinity of the existing business with full or limited control, with the view of creating multiple channels of cash inflows for the mother enterprises, thereby bringing financial stability to the enterprise and not necessarily high performance in the line of business or a revitalization or rejuvenation of the existing business entity for survival or for competitive advantage. Corporate venturing mostly leads to business expansion either in the same line of business or venturing into other emerging business lines or new business opportunities for growth, expansion and sustainability. It is adopted to enhance enterprise performance through acquisition of innovative start-up or merger to introduce entrepreneurial culture of proactiveness, innovativeness and risk-taking in all cadre of the business unit for expansion and optimal performance.

Kabiru and Ahem (2023) findings reveals that strategic entrepreneurship dimensions like organizational rejuvenation and business model reconstruction are mostly deployed as a survival strategy to thwart business stagnation through reconfiguration and reconstruction of the business internal processes for self renewal and to gain large market shares in a competitive and erratic business settings. Strategic entrepreneurship place enterprises on self alert in response to environmental dynamics to overcome economic downturn or to avoid crashing.

The reviewed literature reveals the high effectiveness of corporate entrepreneurship as a survival strategy for businesses especially strategic entrepreneurship, which focuses on enterprise renewal and rejuvenation for optimal performance and survival.

Strategic entrepreneurship as a viable survival strategy is a continuous re-evaluation and revitalization of an enterprise strategic operational procedures to re-enforce entrepreneurial culture of creativity and innovation, giving the enterprise the leeway to simultaneously seek for opportunities in the operating environment while seeking for competitive advantage in terms of market shares and market dominance The adoption of strategic entrepreneurship has prove to be more portent as a survival strategy than any other corporate entrepreneurship approach, any firm leveraging this strategy is involve in continuous renewal and regeneration to matched it strength and capabilities with the evolving market and environmental dynamics for competitive advantage and making long-term entrepreneurial profit. Enterprise survival hinges significantly on it’ ability to navigate and blends it resources and capabilities with the changes, either technology, economic, political or environmental, to stay afloat in its operating space and compete favourable with other enterprises.

5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

5.1 Conclusion:

The objective of the paper was; to examine the most viable survival option for enterprises operating in turbulent business environment like Nigeria. Conceptually, the paper reviewed corporate venturing and strategic entrepreneurship options, as dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship. Findings from the reviewed articles reveals that, scholar(s) are in agreement on the significant positive effect of both corporate venturing and strategic entrepreneurship on the performance and survival of enterprise facing challenging operating environment like Nigeria. While corporate venturing strategy direct the enterprise effort toward business expansion and consolidation through acquisition and merger of innovative start-up, resulting in high performance in terms of profit margin and sales volumes, strategic entrepreneurship direct the enterprise strength and resources toward surviving tough and turbulent operating environment through constant renewal, rejuvenation and business model reconstruction to gain competitive advantage in a competitive operation environment. Seeking and utilizing more opportunities, dominating the operating market space and providing new and innovative products and services to meet the dynamic and ever-changing customers needs, is the core of business sustainability and enterprises survival, which is the hallmark of strategic entrepreneurship.

The reviewed articles holds that, enterprises gasping for survival should considered adopting strategic entrepreneurship as a more viable survival option due to its flexible approach in allowing the enterprise to innovate, mutate and reposition itself for better and quality service delivery to the dynamic market, while enjoying a large share of the market and gaining competitive edge over other competitors. This position is in agreement with the work of other scholars (Kabiru and Ahem, 2023; Ojukwu et al., 2020; Nomlala and Mukur, 2022), whose findings and recommendations advocate the adoption of strategic entrepreneurship as an option for surviving an erratic operating business environment through continuous innovation and revitalization of the enterprise operational model to overcome stagnation and situational difficulties.

Strategic entrepreneurship has been canvass by scholars, as the most viable path to escape firm mortality and to survive challenging and hostile operating business environment like the study area, Nigeria. Survival connote the continuous existence of a business enterprise over a period of time and its ability to carryout it daily operations while achieving it core mandate of being in existence. An enterprise most be in existence, and capable of sustaining it daily operations before it’s performance can be measured. Enterprise performance is subject to enterprises survival, enhance, enterprise operating in a turbulent business environment with erratic power supply, inconsistent government policies and poor infrastructural facilities like the study area, struggle to survive first before considering optimal performance. Therefore, for survival purposes, research findings reveals that, the adoption of strategic entrepreneurship is a more viable option than corporate venturing option. Menahem et al (2013) also recommends that, enterprise faced with threat of survival should adopt strategic entrepreneurship option while enterprise focusing on business expansion and consolidation should adopt corporate venturing option.

5.2 Recommendation:

On the strength of the reviewed articles and the finding therein, this paper recommends the following:

1. The adoption and deployment of strategic entrepreneurship dimensions (Strategic renewal, sustained regeneration, domain redefinition, organisation and business redefinition) to revive any struggling enterprise from the intensive care unit, and put it on the path of growth and sustainability through a simultaneous opportunity seeking action and advantage seeking action. Continuous renewal and rejuvenation assist the enterprise to formulate, impalement and deliver superior services and strategy that put the enterprise in advantageous position among its competitors.

2. Strategic entrepreneurship dimensions should be adopted as the most viable option for enterprise to navigate the murky and erratic business environment of the study area and position themselves to pull ahead of their competitors for survival purposes while corporate venturing option should be adopted for enterprises expansion and consolidation purposes.

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Received on 27.05.2025 Revised on 07.07.2025

Accepted on 21.08.2025 Published on 07.11.2025

Available online from November 17, 2025

Asian Journal of Management. 2025;16(4):343-352.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5763.2025.00053

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