Knowledge Acquisition and Resource Exploitation of Indigenous Oil and Gas Companies in Niger Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between knowledge acquisition and resource exploitation of indigenous oil and gas service companies in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Primary data was generated through structured questionnaire. The methodology used was quantitative and a cross-sectional survey method was adopted in the investigation of the study variables. The population of this study consisted of 332 (Three Hundred and Thirty Two) staff members of 26 highly functional/ active operational indigenous oil and gas service companies operating in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A sample size of 181 was determined using Taro Yamen sample size determination formula. The reliability of the instrument was achieved by the use of the Cronbach Alpha coefficient with all the items scoring above 0.70. The hypotheses were tested using the Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefficient with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22.0. The findings of the study revealed that there is a significant relationship between knowledge acquisition and resource exploitation of indigenous oil and gas service companies in Niger Delta, Nigeria. The study recommends that indigenous oil and gas companies should foster relationships with critical stakeholders such as customers and suppliers and develop networks that may bring valuable information to the company, and opportunities to get new ideas from external parties should never be neglected. The managerial implications follow that if a firm enjoys a broad and connected client network it can facilitate the emergence of ambidexterity by stimulating higher levels of trust internally. However, if this firm is heavily dependent on teams to develop ambidextrous abilities in a self-managing and contextual fashion, trust may prove to be detrimental.