Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration
http://repository.dkut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/110
2024-03-28T22:01:09ZFirm Level Performance Factors Of Coffee Cooperative Societies In Kenya And The Mediating Role Of Entrepreneurial Orientation
http://repository.dkut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/4647
Firm Level Performance Factors Of Coffee Cooperative Societies In Kenya And The Mediating Role Of Entrepreneurial Orientation
Irungu, Maina
Coffee is the most traded agricultural commodity globally. It is produced within the tropics by countries in South and Central America, Africa and Asia and consumed mainly by countries in the Northern hemisphere. In Kenya coffee is mainly produced by small scale farmers’ cooperative societies. In the past years these cooperatives performed so well and were producing a lot of high quality coffee until 1988 when the International Coffee Organization’s quota system collapsed which made the global coffee prices to become extremely unstable. This coincided with introduction of structural adjustment programmes championed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These adjustments affected the coffee cooperatives negatively – the country’s average annual coffee production decreased from 130, 000 tonnes to about 40,000 tonnes. The coffee cooperatives performance has declined since that time. Various interventions by development agencies and the government have not helped much. A study is therefore necessary to come up with solutions to this problem as the coffee cooperatives support over 700 000 families. This study sought ways of improving the performance of the coffee cooperatives in Kenya. This study was carried out in 283 factories coffee factories selected randomly through a combination of stratified and simple random sampling. Structured questionnaires were administered for data collection. The study used descriptive research design to investigate the firm–level factors (coffee production level, coffee quality, diversification into non-coffee business, intergration along coffee value chain and entry into non-traditional coffee markets) that influence the performance of coffee cooperatives. The mediating effect of the entrepreneurial orientation on the association between the performance of the cooperatives and the factors was evaluated. The performance was measured in terms of the income to the cooperative society, number of active members and proportion of income spent on community projects. The entrepreneurial orientation was measured using five dimensions;- risk taking, proactiveness, innovativeness, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics, inferential statistic and regression analysis. The study found out that the level of coffee production had the greatest influence on the performance with a coefficient of correlation of (r=0.991), coffee quality (r=0.1048), diversification to non-coffee businesses (r=0.9042) and entry into non-traditional coffee markets had (r = 0.98). The level of integration along the coffee value chain had a positive but insignificant effect on performance of cooperative societies. In addition, the study revealed that entrepreneurial orientation mediates the association between firm level factors and performance. This was evident by the coefficient of determination (R2) of 45.29 before mediation which increased to 60.60 after mediation. The hypothesis testing was done using F-values and all calculated values were above 3.84 leading to the rejection of null hypothesis that each of the four factors named above had no effect on the performance of a coffee cooperative. The study concluded that increasing production of quality coffee and engaging in diversification to non-coffee businesses as well as exploring and exploiting non-traditional markets would make a coffee cooperative perform better. The study recommends that cooperatives produce more coffee of high quality and target the nontraditional markets so as to improve their performance. The cooperatives should diversify into non-coffee businesses to cushion themselves from effects of poor weather and unstable and unfavourable global prices.
2019-02-01T00:00:00ZInfluence Of Management Functions On The Performance Of Agricultural State-Owned Corporations In Kenya
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Influence Of Management Functions On The Performance Of Agricultural State-Owned Corporations In Kenya
Kabiru, Felistus Chepchirchir
The origin of agricutlural State Owned Corporations (SOCs) in Kenya can be traced back to the colonial period. Management functions have impacted on the performance of SOCs. This study explored influence of management functions (planning, organizing, controlling, leading and directing) on the organizational performance with a focus on SOCs in the agricultural sector. To achieve this, the study set: to explore the effects of planning as a management function on organizational performance; to scrutinize the effects of organizing as a management function on organizational performance; to evaluate the effects of leading as a management function on organizational performance; to assess the effects of controlling as a management function on organizational performance and to develop a road map for state owned organizations performance in Kenya. A descriptive research design was used. The target population consisted of 150 state-owned corporations. A random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 30 corporations out of the 150 State-owned Corporations in Kenya. Data was collected through administration of a questionnaire which was administered through the ‘drop and pick later method’. The questionnaire was divided into six sections to cover the objectives of the study thoroughly and consisted of structured questions. Secondary data from journals and information from the state-owned corporations’ websites was also collected. Data was coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation which was achieved by use of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and Microsoft Excel 2007. Findings were presented in graphs charts, pie charts and tables. Findings indicated that all the management functions examined in the study (planning, organizing, leading and controlling) have a bearing on organizational performance of state corporations. It was inferred that, taking into account the Balanced Score Card Model, each function influences different dimensions of the organization performance perspectives (financial perspective, customers’ perspective, and learning and growth perspective, internal processes perspective) differently. That is, some exert a strong influence on a particular perspective and a weak influence on a different perspective. The study further established that organizing had the greatest impact, followed by leading, controlling and lastly planning had the least impact. A sectoral analysis showed that organizing had the greatest impact. Overall, the study concludes that controlling exerts the most positive influence on performance of state corporations, though the influence is minimal. It is inferred that management in these corporations do not perform the key management functions especially planning and leading with the requisite professionalism and due diligence. Their actions in executing the planning and leading function adversely affect the performance of the corporations, while their actions in organizing and controlling function only improves performance to a small margin. The study recommends among other measures the government to ensure that management appraisals are done regularly in every state corporation with a focus on evaluating the management’s performance in the key functions of planning, organizing, leading and controlling.
2019-03-01T00:00:00ZDeterminants Of The Likelihood Of Adoption Of Concentrated Solar Power Technology By Tea Factories In Kenya
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Determinants Of The Likelihood Of Adoption Of Concentrated Solar Power Technology By Tea Factories In Kenya
Magu, David Muchunu
This study focused on the Kenyan tea industry which has been faced with the challenge of identifying a sustainable source of process heat energy. Sixty five of the factories managed by Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) use fuel wood and minimal fuel oil for process heat generation. Both these sources are not sustainable due to their high costs, depletion and negative impact on the environment. This challenge threatens future survival of the industry, Kenya foreign exchange earnings and the livelihood of the 600,000 small scale tea farmers. One source of heat energy that has been recommended for the industry is the concentrated solar power technology (CSPT). This is a renewable energy source that can be used to replace about thirty per cent of the wood and oil sources. It would be cheaper, more environmental friendly and would greatly enhance the survival of the tea industry and by extension the livelihood of the farmers. However, despite its apparent benefits and promise, by 2013 the CSPT technology had not been adopted by any of the 66 tea companies under KTDA. The general objective of this study was to investigate the determinants of the likelihood for the adoption of Concentrated Solar Power technologies by the Kenyan tea factories run by KTDA. Specifically the study investigated the effect of the variables CSPT attributes, CSPT awareness, organization complexity, access to finance and standardization on the likelihood of the adoption of CSPT by tea factories managed by KTDA. The target population was all the sixty six factories managed by KTDA while the respondents were factory unit managers of the 66 tea factories.. The study was a cross-sectional survey taking a quantitative approach with descriptive and inferential statistical outcomes. This adoption study was anchored on the diffusion of Innovations theory. Other theories applied were UNESCO awareness raising model, the World Bank’s commercial financial instruments for renewable energy model, and the ISO guide on standardization. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire which was piloted in four private tea factories to test its reliability and validity. The questionnaires were delivered and picked by the researcher and a 100% response rate was attained. A binary logistic regression model was used to analyse data, making use of IBM SPSS statistics version 23 and STATITICA version12 software to generate statistics that enabled hypothesis testing. Most of the managers (89%) were not aware of the concentrated solar power technology but all had the education level necessary for CSPT training. On testing the hypotheses, CSPT attributes, CSPT awareness, organizational technical capacity, and CSPT standardization were found to be statistically significant with a likelihood to influence the adoption of CSPT. CSPT attributes were found to be the most likely variable to influence adoption of CSPT by the tea factories, followed by CSPT awareness, CSPT standardization and organizational technical capacity respectively. Access to finance was not found to have a significant likelihood of influencing the adoption of CSPT. In conclusion there is minimal adoption of CSPT among tea factories managed by KTDA mainly due to lack of awareness of its existence and its benefits over wood and oil sources of heat energy. The managers and technicians in the factories have basic education but need specialized training on CSPT. Standards on the quality of the technology and its installation were also found to be key in minimizing uncertainty among the potential users and therefore enhance chances of adoption. The researcher recommends massive awareness creation campaigns on CSPT particularly through exhibitions, electronic publications, workshops, newspapers and brochures. Training courses in-house or abroad should be arranged for technical staff to enable them for CSPT adoption. There is also need to ensure CSPT products and the service providers are ascertained as to their adherence to quality standards and practices.
2019-03-01T00:00:00ZBehavioural Biases Of Real Estate Investors And Investment Performance In Kenya
http://repository.dkut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/4644
Behavioural Biases Of Real Estate Investors And Investment Performance In Kenya
Kuria, Allan Muchemi
Kenya is the world’s top performer in terms of real estate transparency and there has been a phenomenal growth in real estate investment in Kenya in the last ten years (2005-2016), with returns that way outdo the returns in the security markets. Despite this, in Kenyan market, which yields a 6% returns in East Africa remains the fastest growing compared to other emerging markets in Uganda and Tanzania. This study explored the behavioural biases of real estate investors in the Kenyan Market and assess the moderating role of financial literacy. The specific objectives of this study were; to explore the influence of heuristic based behavioural biases on the real estate performance in Kenya, to find the effect of prospect based behaviour biases on the performance of real estate investments in Kenya, to find the effect of investment behaviour based on herding on the performance of real estate investments in Kenya, to find the effect of market factors based behaviour biases on the performance of real estate investment in Kenya and finally, to assess the significance of financial literacy as a moderating factor between the real estate investors behavioural biases and investment performance in Kenya. Hypothesis for each regressor variable were developed and empirically tested. The study was guided by heuristics theory, prospect theory, herding theory and investment market theory. The study adopted a positivism research philosophy and a descriptive research design. The area of study was Nairobi, Kenya as it has the highest number dwellers as well as the highest demand for real estate in Kenya. A list of 284 registered real estate agents was obtained from the Estate Agents Registration Board (EARB). A multistage sampling approach was used to obtain a sample of 426 real estate investors in Nairobi region. Information was sought from the estate investors in Nairobi Kenya. Data was collected using a questionnaire and the Likert summated scale as the measurement scale from the investors. A pilot was conducted and test of reliability using Cronbach alpa coefficient was done. Descriptive analysis was made, generate and interpret the frequency Table. Measure of central tendency and dispersions were conducted using Mean (x) and Standard deviation (S.D) respectively. Principal component analysis, varimax rotation and orthogonal were used to test the construct validity. Test of factorability was conducted using Kaiser Meyer Olkin test. Tests of Sphericity was done using Bartlett’s tests using Chi Coefficients and associated p-values. This data was transformed to continuous data and the returns tested for Gaussian assumptions using numerical Kolmogorov- Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk (W) statistics. In the case of predictors, test of independence using Durbin Watson (d) statistic, test of multicollinearity using Variance Inflation Factor and Tolerance, test of heteroscedasticity using p-p plots was done before subjecting the data to bivariate linear and finally multiple linear regression. To test study hypothesis, Model R2, ANOVA Statistics and Regression coefficients were generated and interpreted. Results were presented using interactive Tables, and figures. The results indicate that heuristic bias, prospect bias, herding bias and market based bias influence the performance of real estate industry. The results also indicate that financial literacy moderates the influence of the behavioural biases on the performance of real estate industry in Kenya. Based on these findings, the study recommends that when evaluating investments, investors should avoid at barely looking at the risk and return characteristics of that individual investment. Further, the study recommends that the Estate Agents Registration Board (EARB) which is the regulatory body for estate agency practice in Kenya and other individual and institutional market players use these findings as a basis of investor education and minimization of noise trading in the Kenyan real estate markets.
2019-03-01T00:00:00Z