Ebena Micah¹, Maduabuchi Romanus Ihekoronye² , Deghinmotei Alfred-Ugbenbo³, Patrick Kanayo Osemene²

¹Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Care, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bayelsa Medical University, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State; ²Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Administration, Faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State; ³Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Bayelsa Medical University, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

For correspondence:-  Maduabuchi Ihekoronye   Email: rihekoronye@oauife.edu.ng

Received: 19 February 2026        Accepted: 19 September 2026        Published: 30 September 2026

Citation: Micah E, Ihekoronye MR, Alfred-Ugbenbo D, Osemene PK. Developing a framework for the expansion of community pharmacy operations in Nigeria: A Delphi study. Trop J Pharm Res 2026; 25(9):1275-1283 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v25i9.11

© 2026 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To develop and validate a framework to assess readiness for business expansion by community pharmacies.

Methods: A three-round Delphi process was conducted with 16 community pharmacy experts selected by the snowballing method, aimed at building consensus on key indicators of readiness to scale. The study instrument was a 4x4 matrix developed by mapping four Ansoff’s product-market growth strategies against four analysis domains of Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT). Each matrix cell contains expert-validated indicators of readiness, scored on a 5-point Likert scale. Psychometric validation of the framework utilized a pilot test involving 12 randomly selected community pharmacists. Cronbach’s alpha reliability, split-half and McDonald’s Omega coefficients were determined.

Results: The draft framework contained 80 items, of which 5 were removed and 6 were revised following round 1 survey. Round 2 survey achieved consensus on 71 items. The final round removed 3 of the 4 non-consensus items, while one was revised, yielding a final 72-item framework. The framework demonstrated excellent internal consistency and reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha (0.987), split-half (0.981), and McDonald’s omega (0.985) confirming its psychometric strength.

Conclusion: This framework enables community pharmacists to align growth strategies with organizational capabilities and external conditions, and could be adapted to other business contexts

Keywords: Ansoff’s matrix, Business expansion, Community pharmacy, Scale up operations, SWOT analysis

Impact Factor
Thompson Reuters (ISI): 0.6 (2023)
H-5 index (Google Scholar): 49 (2023)