The Influence of Idea Generation on Business Growth: Evidence from Ibadan, Nigeria

Idea generation (ideation) is at the root of creative and innovative endeavours as creative ideas lead to innovative outcomes. Identifying creative ideas is a function of knowledge and practice, whether individually, in a group or outside of those sources. Entrepreneurial practice reveals that ideas can be sourced from entrepreneurs, their employees and customers thus impacting business growth, especially in an emerging entrepreneurial society like Nigeria. This study aimed to reveal how three different sources of idea generation influence business growth in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. The survey purposively sampled 195 entrepreneurs, 71 males (36%) and 124 females (64%), judged to engage in creative businesses. The age range is as follows: 20-25 years (14), 26-30 years (69), 31-35 years (52), 41-45 years (18), 46-50 years (4) and 51 years and above (3). Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Results revealed a significant number of the sample agreeing that there is a significant influence between individual, corporate and customer-centred ideation on business growth of the sampled entrepreneurs and consequently seek ideas from these sources. This study suggests the creation of awareness of the import of ideational skills among current and budding entrepreneurs and their employees through training to engender continuous creative and innovative growth in Nigerian businesses. Government and policy makers are to provide incentives and policies for business growth around the power of ideation. Limitations are also discussed.