Marketing Incumbency and Business Innovativeness in the Print Media Industry

The growing complexity of market competition has pushed legacy firms to reconsider how their historical advantages translate into innovative capabilities. However, in Nigeria, many incumbent firms particularly in the newspaper industry struggle to align entrenched market positions with sustained innovation. A key issue is the strategic underutilization of marketing incumbency variables such as brand recognition, market experience, and distribution dominance, resulting in limited innovation across products, processes, and markets. Hence, this study examines the impact of marketing incumbency on business innovativeness in the Nigerian newspaper industry, focusing on firms operating in Kwara State. The specific objectives of the study are to: examine the impact of brand recognition on product innovation; assess the influence of market experience on process innovation; and evaluate the effect of market penetration on market innovation. A descriptive research design was adopted for the study. Convenience sampling was employed to gather data from a sample of 75 respondents, determined using the Yamane’s sample size formula. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used for analysis. The study employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation   (PLS-SEM) to test the hypotheses using Smart PLS version 4.0, evaluating both the measurement and structural models. The findings revealed that brand recognition significantly influenced product innovation; market experience had a significant impact on process innovation; and market penetration significantly influenced market innovation. The study concludes that marketing incumbency has a significant and positive impact on business innovativeness in the Nigerian newspaper sector. This study recommends that legacy media firms strategically convert historical market advantages into innovation assets by investing in agile product development, enhancing operational systems, and targeting emerging market segments with tailored service offering.