INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF MEDIUM MANUFACTURING BUSINESSES IN NORTH CENTRAL NIGERIA

This study investigated the effect of innovation on sustainability of medium manufacturing businesses in North Central Nigeria, specifically examining product innovation, process innovation, market innovation, and technology innovation. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted, covering the entire population of 243 medium manufacturing businesses using the census sampling approach. Multiple regression analysis revealed that all four innovation dimensions significantly affect sustainability: product innovation (p-value .001 < α 0.05); process innovation (p-value .000 < α 0.05); market innovation (p-value .000 < α 0.05); and technology innovation (p-value .002 < α 0.05). The study concluded that these innovation sub-variables are significant predictors of sustainability and recommended that medium manufacturing businesses in North Central Nigeria should adopt innovation strategies to enhance competitiveness, increase profitability, and foster long-term resilience.