Corporate Entrepreneurship, Innovation Climate, and Performance of Large Firms in Nigeria’s Retail Sector

This research empirically examines the mediating role of innovation climate in the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship practices and performance of large retail firms in Nigeria, with data drawn from Lagos and Abuja, representing South West and North Central geopolitical zones. Large retailers in Nigeria face growing competitive threats from informal trade and digital commerce platforms, making internal entrepreneurship a critical strategic response mechanism. A quantitative cross-sectional design was adopted with 210 store managers, business development officers, and innovation leads as respondents. Partial least squares SEM was employed. Corporate entrepreneurship was assessed through strategic renewal, new business venturing, and proactiveness dimensions. Innovation climate was measured through creative latitude, risk tolerance, and knowledge exchange indicators. Performance was assessed through same-store sales growth, new revenue stream development, and customer base expansion. Findings indicate that strategic renewal and proactiveness exert the strongest indirect effects on performance through innovation climate, while new business venturing showed direct performance effects that bypassed climate mediation. Risk tolerance and creative latitude dimensions of innovation climate were the most powerful performance mediators. These findings contribute to the corporate entrepreneurship literature by identifying climate as the critical psychological environment enabling entrepreneurship-performance translation in large Nigerian retailers. Recommendations include establishing intrapreneurship programmes, redesigning performance appraisal to reward initiative, and creating cross-functional innovation taskforces. Keywords: corporate entrepreneurship, innovation climate, firm performance, retail sector, Nigeria.