Strategic Leadership and Business Turnaround in Distressed Nigerian SMEs: Lessons from South West Nigeria

This study examines the strategic leadership behaviours and turnaround management approaches employed by entrepreneurs who have successfully reversed the decline of distressed small and medium enterprises in South West Nigeria, with particular reference to cases in Lagos, Ogun, and Osun States. Business distress and failure are pervasive in the Nigerian SME sector, yet some owner-managers successfully navigate financial distress, market contraction, and operational crises to restore viability. Understanding the strategic leadership practices associated with successful turnaround offers practical value for entrepreneurs, business advisors, and financial institutions. The study employs a qualitative comparative case study design, examining eight documented SME turnaround cases across manufacturing, retail, and services sectors. Data were collected through in-depth retrospective interviews with turnaround entrepreneurs and supplementary interviews with key stakeholders including creditors and employees. Cross-case analysis applied a turnaround management framework. Findings identify four recurring strategic leadership behaviours in successful turnarounds: decisive cash flow triage through rapid cost reduction and deferred non-essential expenditure, stakeholder relationship rebuilding particularly with key suppliers and anchor customers, strategic repositioning through market niche consolidation, and rapid team restructuring focused on retention of operationally critical staff. The speed and sequencing of these behaviours is shown to be as important as their content. Recommendations include the incorporation of turnaround management modules in the professional development programmes of Nigerian banking relationship managers who support distressed SME clients. Keywords: strategic leadership, business turnaround, distressed SME, South West Nigeria, entrepreneurial management.