AI adoption in Nigerian SMEs — research support
Qualitative interview coding, word-frequency analysis, evidence tables, and structured chapter architecture for technology adoption research.
01 / 05 — The research focus
The research examined why Nigerian SMEs adopt or resist AI tools.
The project explored technology adoption dynamics in the Nigerian small and medium enterprise context — specifically the factors that drive or inhibit adoption of AI-based tools, including cost, capability, trust, and the nature of the competitive environment.
The research used a qualitative approach: semi-structured interviews with SME owners and managers across different sectors, with the aim of capturing the complexity of adoption decisions that quantitative surveys tend to flatten.
02 / 05 — Coding architecture
The coding scheme was designed to answer the research questions, not just organise content.
MMK developed the qualitative coding architecture — a structured scheme that mapped from research questions to primary codes, from primary codes to sub-codes, and from sub-codes to indicators observable in interview transcripts. This architecture ensured that the coding process would produce outputs connected to the research argument, not just an organised catalogue of interview content.
The scheme was documented in a coding manual available for audit alongside the final research output.
03 / 05 — Analysis outputs
Word-frequency outputs provided triangulation, not the primary finding.
Word-frequency analysis was used as a triangulation tool — to verify that the themes emerging from interpretive coding were also reflected in the frequency distribution of language across the interview corpus. Where the two methods diverged, the interpretive coding took priority, and the divergence was noted and explained in the methods chapter.
Evidence tables were constructed to display the connection between coded interview segments and the thematic findings reported in the chapters — providing the examiner with a transparent evidence trail.
04 / 05 — Literature integration
Adoption literature was mapped to the Nigerian SME context, not just cited.
The literature review was structured around existing technology adoption frameworks — TAM, UTAUT, and contextual extensions — and then assessed against what the Nigerian SME context adds, challenges, or complicates in each framework. This comparative approach produced a literature review with a genuine argument rather than a catalogue of existing studies.
05 / 05 — Deliverable package
Chapters, coding outputs, inventories, and evidence tables — structured for examination.
The full package included: literature review chapter with gap argument, research design and methods chapter, findings and discussion chapters, word-frequency output documentation, coding output summaries with interview segment extracts, evidence tables linking coded content to findings, and a full appendix with data inventory and coding manual. Each component was structured to allow independent review without the researcher present to explain the connections.
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