CORPORATE STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE OF TEA INDUSTRY IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA
CORPORATE STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE OF TEA INDUSTRY IN KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA
Gorreti Wairimu Wangai - Department of Business Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Dr. Mary Namusonge - Department of Business Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
A corporate strategy is a move made by a business to achieve its objectives and greater organization performances. It’s about how corporations add worth in a variety of industries. The tea sector is currently confronting issues that are jeopardizing its success. Decline in profits, low returns to farmers, decline in sales and market share amid high operational costs have led to poor performance of tea industry. The industry performance has also been affected by the rise in prices of manufacturing, exchange rates of dollar, consumer preferences for other drinks, price variations, market abundance, market inelasticity, customer needs for standardization procedures, variations in weather situations, and the presence of an unpredictable political situation in the market among other challenges. To remain afloat, it is important to think of strategies that will bring growth and improve performance of tea industry. The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of corporate strategies on performances of tea industry in Kiambu County, Kenya. The specific objective was to investigate the influence of market development on performance of tea industry in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study was anchored on Resources Based View Theory and Balance Score Card model. The target population of the study was 710 employees working in the five factories at Limuru in Kiambu County. These consisted of 102 senior level employees, 186 middle level employees and 422 junior level/supervisory employees. The sample size was 128 staffs. The study used a descriptive research design with the goal of gathering complete and accurate data in order to achieve the study’s goal with pinpoint accuracy. Questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the selected sample. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) program based on descriptive, correlational and regression analysis where level of significance was assessed using 0.05 as the threshold. Ethical standards were duly followed during this study. The study established that there was a positive but significant (p<0.05) association between market development and organization performance (r =.456, p = 0.000< 0.05). The study found that market development significantly influences organization's performance. This study recommended that tea industry in Kiambu County, Kenya should use market development strategies to attract customers to engage with the services and products offered by the tea industry.
