Browsing by Author "Kariuki, Francis K."

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Entrepreneurial Networking Strategic Renewal and Performance of Youth-Owned Agro-Processing Small and Medium Enterprises in Selected Counties in Kenya
(2021-12-24) Kariuki, Francis K.; Kyalo, Teresiah; Ombaka, Beatrice
The current business environment has become very dynamic, and this comes with threats and opportunities. Some of the factors that pose a challenge in this environment are new entrants, loss of competitive advantage, or rapid change in technology. In Kenya, SMEs suffer the same fate despite the critical role they play in the country. Most youth business startups fail in their third year, and very few enterprises have grown into large formal organizations. To survive in this dynamic environment, entrepreneurial networking becomes an important strategy that can be adopted by organizations. The objective of this study was thus trying to examine the influence of entrepreneurial networking strategic renewal on the performance of youth-owned SMEs. The specific objectives were membership in social networks, professional networks, business networks, and social networks and their influence on SMEs’ performance. The research design adopted was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The study targeted youth-owned agro-processing SMEs registered by the Ministry of Trade and Industry from four County Governments namely, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, and Nyandarua. The population that constituted the sampling frame was 287 youth-owned enterprises. Quantitative data were collected by the use of a structured questionnaire. The overall model study was R2 = 0.092, meaning that entrepreneurial networking strategies explained 9.2% of the variation in SMEs’ performance. The study coefficients indicated that holding all other factors constant, changing entrepreneurial networking strategies by one unit would result in a 0.324 change in the performance of youth-owned agro-processing SMEs. The value of t is 6.095, which was >2, and the p-value of 0.000 which implied that there was a statistically significant influence of entrepreneurial networking strategies on performance. The study concluded that entrepreneurship networking influences the performance of the youth-owned agro-processing SMEs in Kenya. This study recommends there is a need for SMEs to further establish networks outside their business cycle.
Moderating effect of social media on relationship between entrepreneurial networking and performance of youth owned agro processing SMEs in Kenya
(2020) Ombaka, Beatrice Elesani; Kariuki, Francis K.; Kyalo, Teresia
This paper was anchored on a pragmatic research paradigm. The study used a cross-sectional survey where a self-semi structured questionnaire was administered to collect the primary data from the target population who were youth-owned SMEs. The study was limited to 135 youth-owned enterprises where 357 employees were selected randomly to form the study sample; the key respondents of the study were limited to owner-managers of small and micro enterprises and top management employees. The questionnaires were tested for reliability and validity. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that there is a significant relationship between youth-owned. The study revealed that entrepreneurship networking has a significant effect on the performance of the agro-processing SMEs owned by the youths. However, there is a need for SMEs to further establish networks outside their business circle and seek networks with other bigger firms in the market. The study, therefore, recommends that there is a need for SMEs to invest more in social media marketing and networking of the SMEs for improved performance.
Nexus Between Capacity-Building Strategic Renewal and Performance of Youth-Owned Agro-Processing Small and Medium Enterprises in Selected Counties in Kenya
(2022-05-30) Kariuki, Francis K.; Kyalo, Teresia; Ombaka, Beatrice Elesani
For the success of any business, there is a need for continuous improvement of the competitive advantage. The ever-changing economic environment is a big challenge for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) especially those that don’t possess strategic plans. In the recent turbulent times caused by globalization, SMEs are facing challenges and this has seen a number of them collapsing. The purpose of this study was to examine the nexus between capacity-building strategic renewal and performance of youth-owned agro-processing SMEs in selected counties in Kenya which variables of the study were investment training, management skills training, and bookkeeping training. The study was anchored on transformation learning theory and the research design adopted was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The study targeted youthowned agro-processing SMEs registered by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the four County Governments namely, Nyeri, Kirinyanga, Murang’a, and Nyandarua. The sampling frame was 287 and the population under study was 287 youth-owned agro-processing SMEs. The study gathered primary data using a semi-structured questionnaire with predetermined questions and highly standardized techniques of recording. The findings of the study were presented by the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. From the findings, the overall model of the study was R2 = 0.498, meaning that capacity-building strategies explained 49.8% of the variation in performance. The study coefficients was 0.834, tis 19.141, which was >2, and a p-value of 0.000 which implied that there was a statistically significant influence of capacity-building strategies on the performance of youth-owned agro-processing SMEs. In conclusion, it was noted that capacity-building influences the performance of the youth-owned agro-processing SMEs in selected counties in Kenya. This study recommends that there is a need for SMEs to further establish capacity-building strategies.