scholarly journals Moderating Effect of External Operating Environment on the Relationship Between Corporate Strategies and Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi City County, Kenya

2019 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Alexander Irungu Wanjiru ◽  
Stephen Makau Muathe ◽  
Jane W. Kinyua-Njuguna

Theoretical literature in strategic management describes performance as outcome of firm’s strategic objectives, which are developed and executed at the corporate level of management. Conceptual propositions also suggest that the external operating environment of a firm influences the relationship between its corporate strategies and performance. This paper examines the direct effect of corporate growth strategies on performance of large manufacturing firms in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The strategies under study are market development, product development and diversification. The paper also examines the moderating effect of external operating environment on the relationship between corporate growth strategies and performance of the large manufacturing firms. The authors adopted indicators of competitive position, consumer behaviour and credit accessibility to measure external operating environment.Multistage probability sampling technique was used to select study sample of 189 firms. One hundred forty eight firms responded where primary data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study findings indicate that corporate growth strategies have a positive and significant impact on a firm’s performance. It also found out that external operating environment has a moderating effect on the relationship between corporate growth strategies and firm performance. The study has important implications for managers and policy makers of the manufacturing firms.


Author(s):  
Karani Anthony Muriithi ◽  
Odari Sammy ◽  
Noor Shalle

The manufacturing sector in Kenya is faced by the challenges of performance and unstructured supply chain strategy. Further, the manufacturing sector growth in 2014 was 3.4% compared to a 5.6% growth in 2013 (Waiguru, 2015). This slow growth in manufacturing sector performance can be attributed to several environmental uncertainties such as the general election, high production costs, supply disruptions, political stability, unavailability of raw materials or demand fluctuations, technological changes, employees’ strikes, financial risk, terrorism and competition from imported goods (KNBS, 2018).The purpose of the study was to determine the moderating effect of environmental uncertainties on the relationship between risk hedging supply chain strategy and performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study utilized descriptive research design. The target population was 829 managers from manufacturing firms around the country. A sample of 270 managers was selected using stratified random sampling. Results indicated that risk hedging supply chain strategy explained 63.8% of the total variations in performance of manufacturing firms. In addition, risk hedging supply chain strategy had a positive and significant effect on firm performance (β=0.675, P < .000). With introduction of moderating variable (environmental uncertainties); risk hedging supply chain strategy explained 34% of the total variations in performance of manufacturing firms. This denoted those environmental uncertainties had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between risk hedging supply chain strategy and performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study concluded that risk hedging supply chain strategy had a positive and statistically significant effect on performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study further concluded that environmental uncertainties lower the effect of risk hedging supply chain strategy on firm performance. The study recommends that manufacturing firms should strengthen aspects related to risk hedging supply chain strategy. The firms should particularly strengthen safety stock, suppliers’ management and quality. The improvement of these aspects is expected to enhance performance of the manufacturing firms. This study further recommends that manufacturing firms should factor in environmental uncertainties related to demand, supply and technology when implementing supply chain strategies.


Author(s):  
Anthony Muriithi Karani ◽  
Sammy Odari Namusonge ◽  
Ishmail Noor Shalle

The purpose of the study was to determine the moderating effect of environmental uncertainties on the relationship between lean supply chain strategy and the performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study utilized a descriptive research design. The target population was 829 supply chain managers or directors from manufacturing firms around the country. A sample of 270 supply chain or procurement managers was selected using stratified random sampling. Results indicated that lean supply chain strategy explained 60.7% of the total variations in the performance of manufacturing firms. In addition, lean supply chain strategy had a positive and significant effect on the performance of manufacturing firms. With the introduction of moderating variables (environmental uncertainties); lean supply chain strategy explained 33% of the total variations in the performance of manufacturing firms. This denoted those environmental uncertainties had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between lean supply chain strategy and performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study concluded that lean supply chain strategy had a positive and statistically significant effect on the performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary B. Awino ◽  
Dominic C. Muteshi ◽  
Reginah K. Kitiabi ◽  
Ganesh P. Pokhariyal

The study tested the impact of organization culture on the on the relationship between firm-level strategy and performance of food and beverage manufacturing firms in Kenya. The opinion of the CEO/MDs from 125 firms in this sector was sought by application of a structured questionnaire; the collected data was analysed using hierarchical regression analysis. The paper stated hypothesis that organizational culture has a significant effect on the relationship between firm-level strategy and performance. The results supported the hypothesis. Therefore, firm development of strong organization culture to support firm-level strategy for higher performance is paramount. These findings will contribute to government policy formulation for sector’s expansion and competitiveness and management drives in building a positive organization culture to support firm-level strategy for improved performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel-Alejandro Ibarra-Cisneros ◽  
María del Rosario Demuner-Flores ◽  
Felipe Hernández-Perlines

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to study the moderating effect of absorptive capacity, defined as the set of organizational routines and processes through which companies acquire, assimilate, transform and exploit knowledge to produce a dynamic organizational capacity (Zahra and George, 2002), in three strategic orientations: market orientation; technology orientation and entrepreneurial orientation and their positive relationship in the performance of the medium and large Mexican manufacturing firms. Likewise, it is determined whether these three combined SOs influence firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe data was collected from 171 medium and large-sized Mexican manufacturing firms. The proposed hypotheses are tested using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsDespite the importance of knowledge for the development of firms, the results indicate that the moderating effect of absorptive capacity is only present in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. That is, firms cannot take advantage of knowledge simultaneously between the three strategic orientations. For their part, market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation exert a positive influence on firm performance.Practical implicationsThe main practical implication for the manufacturing industry is that they must develop mechanisms to detect what kind of knowledge affects each strategic orientation, in this way it can make the absorptive capacity influence the relationships between SO and FP.Originality/valueThe main contribution consists of studying the moderating effect of the absorptive capacity on the relationship between three strategic orientations and firm performance, and not concentrating solely on the simultaneous use of these strategies as is commonly done.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-73
Author(s):  
Thi Thanh Binh Dao ◽  
Thi Kim Anh Tran

Corporate governance is one of the most vital issues in this compound environment at present, which is indicated by the fact that the success or failure of firms strongly depends on performance of the control that board of directors and executive board, take on corporations’ activities. This issue has attracted a variety of researches worldwide, and become a popular buzz lately, however there is still limited researches on this topic in Vietnam. In this paper, we focus on manufacturing sector, one of the most important industries in Vietnam economy, which account for 41.2% of total GDP in 2012. By using stakeholder theory and Kitamura’s paper as a corner stone, a model using OLS regression and log functional form for production function, showing the relationship between some external factors and internal factors including corporate governance is built. From the result of the research, it has been found out that internal factors (corporate governance) significantly affect the firm’s performance, whereas external factors (market share) do not really show any influence. In term of production function, this manufacturing sector still benefits from an increase of capital but not that of labor.


Author(s):  
María J. Martínez-Romero ◽  
Rubén Martínez-Alonso ◽  
M. Pilar Casado-Belmonte ◽  
Alfonso A. Rojo-Ramírez

The aim of this chapter is to analyze the moderating effect of family management on the relationship between R&D inputs and R&D outcomes, that is, R&D productivity. Using a longitudinal sample of 337 Spanish privately held manufacturing firms, the results show that in general terms, although family managed firms invest less in R&D than their non-family managed counterparts, they reinforce the conversion of R&D inputs into R&D outcomes. Moreover, the findings reveal that the strengthening effect of family management on R&D productivity is contingent upon the level of R&D expenditures. Thus, this chapter contributes to shedding some light into the debate regarding innovation management in privately held family firms.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document