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Factors Influencing Adoption of Innovative Strategies on SME’s In Kenya: A Case of Kabete Town Kiambu County
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)This research is aimed at establishing the factors that influence the adoption of innovative strategies in SME’s in Kenya as they are perceived to be one of the engines that drive the economy. The specific objectives of this study are: To determine whether human capital influence innovation on SME’s in kabete town , To determine whether organizational capital influence innovation on SME’s in kabete town, To determine whether Discovery influence innovation on SME’s in kabete town. To determine whether exploit influence innovation on SME’s in kabete town
The research questions were: How does human capital affect innovation on small and medium enterprises in Kenya? Does organizational capital affect innovation on small and medium enterprises in Kenya?Does discovery affect the adoption of innovative strategy on small and medium enterprises in Kenya? And does Exploitation affect the adoption of innovation strategy on small and medium enterprises in Kenya? From the sampling frame a representative sample of 64 enterprises was obtained randomly and structure questioner and interviews were used to gather primary data. The obtained data was analyzed and translated into meaningful information with frequency distribution tables used to draw up conclusions.
The literature review gave more information about the factors influencing the adoption of innovative strategies on small scale enterprises in Kenya though a indepth review on the human capital, organizational capital, the discovery of business idea and the exploitation of the business itself. The research used a descriptive research design in collecting the data from the selected respondents and used stratified sampling technique to select a sample that represented the entire population of 637 enterprises of which a sample of 64 was used. A carefully crafted questionnaire was constructed and tested in order to detect any ambiguities
The findings indicated that majority of the respondents answered the questionnaire to the researchers expectation with 86%. The researcher found that there was no statistical significant between human capital, organizational capital, discovery and exploit in relation to innovation. The researcher therefore concluded that even though there was a great relationship between the independent variable and dependent variable in other parts of the world where a similar study was conducted Kenyan SMEs posted a different outcome. Therefore the researcher recommended a further and a different approach in conducting the same research since majority of the SMEs in Kenya did not understand what innovation was all about and the measures used to evaluate innovation were not applicable in Kenya
Factors Affecting the Success of SMEs (A Case of Tailoring SMEs, Uhuru Market Nairobi)
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting the success of Small and Medium Enterprises in Uhuru Market Nairobi. The study was guided by the specific research questions: How does the entreprenuer characteristics influence the success of SMEs? What is the effect of business environment on SMEs success? What is the effect of internal business environment on SMEs? The population of this study consisted of tailoring SMEs in Uhuru Market. A sample size of 120 SMEs was used as the representative of the entire population which is 120 SMEs. However, only 71 SMEs responded. Primary data was used for this study to achieve the stipulated objectives. Simple random sampling was used to get the exact sample size. The data analysis techniques that were used were descriptive and inferential techniques. Descriptive statistics was used to display characteristics of the location, spread, and shape of the array of data. Quantitative analysis was done through editing and coding of filled questionnaires, data entry then cleaning of the data and finally analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Presentations of findings were mainly in tables, charts, and graphs.
The research procedure begun with a pilot survey, this helped to identify the questionnaire’s suitability regarding the ability to answer the questions at hand and meet my overall objective. Adjustments and recommendations from the pilot survey were then incorporated to come up with a final questionnaire. The process of data collection was enhanced by the use of research assistants (RAs) drawn from business class and trained on the use of the research tools.
The research findings revealed that majority of the respondents agreed that the characteristic of an entreprenuer such as the; age, gender, and education had no significant influence on the success of small tailoring businesses in Uhuru Market Nairobi. The study further revealed that majority of the respondents agreed that; legal and regulatory framework, access to external financing and human resource capacity affected the success of their businesses. Finally, the study revealed that internal factors such as the marketing skills, innovation, and entrepreneurial readiness are positively correlated to the success of SMEs.
The study concludes that demographic factors do not have a significant influence on the success of tailoring business. Additionally, the study concludes that legal and regulatory framework such as the government policies and access to external and alternative sources of financing affect the success of SMEs in the tailoring business. The study further concludes that marketing skills, Innovation, and entrepreneurial readiness affect the success of SME.
The study recommends that SMEs in tailoring industry needs to consider specific demographic factors that influence the success of tailoring businesses. The study also found out that for an enterprise to be successful, access to finance is essential because it will enable a firm to expand the existing businesses, improve operations, and support a business competitive strategy. Therefore the study recommends that SME owners should identify sources of finance that is flexible, quick, and affordable. The study recommends that the government and other stakeholders should come to the rescue of the failing tailoring industry by imposing trade tariffs on cheap imports from Asia. Finally, the study recommends that owners of tailoring SMEs should participate in forums that encourage information exchange to improve their performance. Furthermore, the study calls for SMEs owners to be more innovative regarding delivery, production, and marketing of their products. The study finally concludes by suggesting on further studies that need to be done because the current study narrowed down few factors hence leaving out other factors that can be researched on
Influence of Strategic Management Strategies on Organizational Performance of Private Construction Firms in Nairobi County
No full textA Project Reported Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The main objective of the this study was to investigate the influence of strategic management strategies on performance of construction companies in Nairobi county, Kenya. The specific objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of cost leadership strategies, differentiation strategies and focus strategies on organizational performance of construction companies in Nairobi county.
The importance of study was to help the construction firms and their top management to evaluate the influence of strategic management on their overall performance. The study will assist the managers to come up with competitive strategy as it will show the benefits of having a good and effective strategy; The study will help the construction firms to be more effective and efficient, therefore the clients will benefit from saving costs and having a better and improved end products; The academicians and researchers will be able to use this study as a reference point and able to further develop more knowledge about the construction industry in Kenya. This study will further assist organizations to do further research on other similar and relevant areas.
The research design was descriptive in nature. The population comprised of owners and top management. Stratified sampling technique was used to select the sample in which 237 respondents were chosen. The employees were categorized into two categories namely owners and management staff. Information was collected using a questionnaire developed by the researcher. The questionnaire developed was pilot tested and refined before being administered to the respondents. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation, with the help of SPSS Software as an analytical tool.
The study findings suggest that cost leadership strategies needs to be adopted when it comes to the construction sector because the study findings show that this can facilitate competitiveness creation and encourage better overall performance of the construction firms. Differentiation strategies also need to be developed and make sure that the firms are offering unique and quality products and services of high value proposition and this can promote firms in the construction industry. These strategies have the capacity to facilitate development in performance of these construction firms and also boost their sales and profits in the market.
The study also found out that focus strategies can be able to transform and grow the construction firms because they enable them to come up with effective strategies. All the resources and energies of the company are directed towards a specific market or segment of the construction market. This can facilitate the comprehension of the firms goals and objectives. This can also develop the general overall performance of construction firm and this will in turn be reflected in their growth.
The correlation analysis was done the researcher. There was positive relation between cost leadership, differentiation strategy and focus strategy. The organizational performance was positively correlated with all the independent variables. The highest correlation was with cost leadership strategy with coefficient of 0.452, second was differentiation strategy with coefficient of 0.381 and third was focus strategy with coefficient of 0.280. The findings were all positively correlated though they were not significant.
The study concludes that cost leadership contributes the most to the organizational performance and greater advantage is achieved if construction firms combine the generic strategies as opposed to achieving pure strategies. The study has drawn a conclusion that Cost leadership strategy achieved purely can lead to the growth overall organizational performance. In addition, cost leadership strategies combined with differentiation strategies and focus strategies achieve growth in sales, profit and overall performance.
The study recommends that construction firms should careful carry out a cost benefit analysis and invest in technology that would encourage development of new products and innovation, which would lead better quality products and services which in turn be a cost saver for firms, which in turn they can charge a premium price to gain higher profits
The Role of Human Resource Management Practices on Employee Commitment: A Case Study of International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Science in Organization Development (MOD)The purpose of the study was to assess the role of human resource management practices on employee commitment at ILRI. The study was guided by the following research questions: To what extent does training and development practices affect employee commitment at ILRI? To what extent do employee performance evaluation practices affect employee commitment at ILRI? To what extent do employee compensation strategies affect employee commitment at ILRI?
The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population was a total of 420 employees working at ILRI Nairobi. The study applied stratified random sampling technique to select a sample size of 42 respondents. The study adopted questionnaire method to collect data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software was used for data analysis. The data was cleaned, coded, categorized per each of the research variables and then analyzed using frequencies and percentages and regression analysis to establish the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The findings were presented using figures and tables.
The study found that there was a significant relationship between training and development and employee commitment. Most respondents were in agreement that training and development enhanced employee performance. Many of the respondents agreed that participation in training increased their level of commitment towards the organization. The study also found that respondents were neutral towards the management support on training and development as a measure of employee commitment.
The study found a significant relationship between performance evaluation and employee commitment. Majority of the respondents found that performance evaluation enhances productivity of employees which in turn raises their level of commitment to the organization. It was found that respondents strongly agreed on the need of having a performance management system. However few respondents were neutral when responding to performance management and its sustainability of good performance.
The study revealed that there was a significant relationship between employee compensation and employee commitment. Majority of the respondents strongly agreed that, competitive remuneration enhances employee commitment. Most respondents strongly agreed that annual company performance bonus had an effect on employee commitment. Few employees were neutral, when they responded to, incentives and good wages enhanced employee commitment. However majority of the respondents strongly agreed that symbolic gifts (caps’ badges, t-shirts) enhanced employee commitment.
The study concludes that training and development, performance management and competitive remuneration are significant factors and have positive effect in increased employee commitment. Initiatives taken under each of the factors such as; the opportunity to participate in training programs, having and effective performance management system and offering incentives and good wages and benefits administration respectively all had a positive outlook on employee commitment.
The study recommends that organizations should drive learning through career, peer counselor seminars that enrich employees’, encourage growth and career development of employees by coaching, and by helping employees to achieve their personal goals. The study further recommends an improvement on employees working environment by providing a safe and healthy working environment with modern office facilities and equipment, this will increase the level of employee motivation. On competitive remuneration the study recommends an implementation of employee reward and recognition programs that will seek to award employee efforts raise motivation level and increase commitment
Factors Influencing Relationship Investing In Kenya: A Case of the Capital Markets
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The main objective of this study was to determine the factors that influence relationship
investing in the Kenyan capital markets. Specifically the study sought to determine how the regulatory and policy environment, the corporate governance practices and the level of investor participation influence relationship investing in the Kenyan capital markets. In addition, it sought to determine the effect of shareholder composition on the same.
The study was a descriptive research. The population for the study comprised of players in the Kenyan capital markets who include: stockbrokers, investment banks, fund managers, investment advisors, custodians & authorized depositories, listed companies, securities exchanges, and central depositories. Stratified random sampling was employed to select a sample of 73 firms from the strata. Three regulators (Securities Exchange, Central Depository and Settlements Corporation and Capital Markets Authority) were also involved.
A combination of primary and secondary data was used with primary data being collected using a questionnaire that contained both structured, semi-structured questions as well as open-ended questions and a structured interview guide. The data collected was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively.
On regulatory and policy environment, the study revealed that the regulatory framework in
Kenya restricts shareholder influence with the laws failing to address the role of shareholders in business decisions. It was further revealed that were unaddressed legal and regulatory issues regarding relationship investing in the Kenyan capital markets. Legal and regulatory barriers may hinder institutional shareholders from actively participating in shareholder activism.
On corporate governance practices, study revealed that the respondents strongly agreed that effective communication is important for maintaining relationships with stakeholders and that the impact of the company’s operations on society and the environment should be considered by the board of management. The study further revealed that the adoption of international standards in corporate governance maximizes shareholder value while at the same time promoting and protection of shareholder rights. Mandatory voting by institutional investors, if adopted, would address the challenges that relationship investing seeks to address in listed companies. Relationship investing was found to be an ultimate solution to frequent board and internal wrangles amongst listed firms. However, the respondents disagreed that relationship investing interfered with transparency and accountability of the board to the shareholders.
It was established that active shareholder participation should be encouraged especially from Institutional investors. The findings also showed that it would be appropriate for pension funds, through their investment managers, to play a role in the corporate governance of the listed companies they invested. It was also found that shareholders’ participation in major decisions should be made mandatory for all listed companies, that shareholder solicitation of proxy votes should be allowed for listed firms. The study further established that institutional and block shareholders should be accorded preferential treatment than for the minority and foreign shareholder. Finally, the study established that the interest of shareholders to participate in governance issues is purely to ensure return of investment and sustained dividend pay-out. On the shareholder composition, the study revealed that efforts should be directed at ensuring that firms grow in size with increased number of owners. The managers should be
protected from unnecessary direct interference by the shareholders as a way of enhancing firm performance. The level of concentration in shareholding was found to affect the performance of a company in the capital markets with concentrated ownership and control systems leading to poor corporate performance. The study further established that there was a significant relationship between ownership concentration and firm performance in the Kenyan capital markets. Majority of the respondents indicated that there were unaddressed issues regarding shareholders’ composition and relationship investing. Such issues included poor shareholding structure, impatience in the investors, and lack of clear measure in regards to shareholding structures.
The study therefore concludes that the Kenyan capital market faces issues in corporate
governance which has affected relationship marketing in Kenyan capital markets. In addition the study concluded that investor participation is key to relationship investing in Kenyan markets. In addition, it concluded that the Kenyan capital market has faced issues in regulation and policy in regards to relationship investing and finally that regulatory and policy environment are a key factor in relationship investing in Kenyan capital markets.
It was established that active shareholder participation should be encouraged especially from Institutional investors. The findings also showed that it would be appropriate for pension funds, through their investment managers, to play a role in the corporate governance of the listed companies they invested. It was also found that shareholders’ participation in major decisions should be made mandatory for all listed companies, that shareholder solicitation of proxy votes should be allowed for listed firms. The study further established that institutional and block shareholders should be accorded preferential treatment than for the minority and foreign shareholder. Finally, the study established that the interest of shareholders to participate in governance issues is purely to ensure return of investment and sustained dividend pay-out.
The study therefore concludes that the Kenyan capital market faces issues in corporate
governance which has affected relationship marketing in Kenyan capital markets. In addition the study concluded that investor participation is key to relationship investing in Kenyan markets. In addition, it concluded that the Kenyan capital market has faced issues in regulation and policy in regards to relationship investing and finally that regulatory and policy environment are a key factor in relationship investing in Kenyan capital markets
To Assess the Impact of External Financial Auditing on Corporate Governance in Banking Institutions in Kenya
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Award of Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) DegreeThe purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of external financial auditors on corporate governance in banking institutions. The research questions of the study are; To what extent have accuracy of financial reporting affected corporate governance in the banking institutions in Kenya?, What impact has Bank’s compliance to international reporting standard had on corporate governance in the banking institutions in Kenya? To what extent has fraud prevention affected corporate governance in the banking institutions in Kenya?
A descriptive research design was used and the study will obtain and described the views of the respondents from banks in Nairobi, in line with establishing the challenges facing auditors in corporate governance. The study will incorporate both quantitative and qualitative research design so as to gain a better knowledge and in-depth understanding of the results. The target population for this study auditors in the 49 bank in Kenya and only 41 responded giving a response rate of 84%
On analysis of the first objective it was established that most respondents agreed that the assessment of internal control is critical in corporate governance and investors place trust on the audited reports before deciding to invest. It was also established that the firm has employed independent experts to audit its statements. However, respondents disagreed that board influence the auditing of the financial statement.
On analysis of the second objective it was revealed that most respondents agreed that the organization has executed auditing according to worldwide auditing requirements, and stake holders are interested in bank’s compliance to international reporting standard, it was also revealed that the banks have adhered to international reporting standard and external auditor outsourced are objective, unbiased, and competent in verifying materials. However respondents strongly disagreed that have suffered losses due to failures to comply with international reporting standard.
On analysis of the third objective it was revealed most respondents agreed that the all bank accounts are reconciled on regular basis and stakeholders are concerned about fraud cases in the industry. The findings also show that audit committee is appropriately structured to ensure its independence and it issues alert to fraud opportunities within the organization. Majority also agreed that auditors play a role in detecting fraud in the organization and fraud occurrences get reported to the audit committee as a matter of
course. The firms have also taken necessary action to mitigate fraud. However, most respondents disagreed that audit committee involved in allegations of fraud made by employees and third parties.
The study concluded that an assessment of internal control is seen as a critical factor in corporate governance and as such in the banking sector investors place trust on the audited reports before deciding to invest. In addition, the commercial banks in Kenya adhere to auditing practices according to worldwide auditing requirements, this is fostered by the fact that stake holders are interested in bank’s compliance to international reporting standard. The study also concluded that the role of auditors in detecting fraud in the organization is undoubtedly the most important in fraud prevention.
The study recommended that banks need to ensure that they undertake a critical assessment of internal control in order to ensure that ethics in corporate governance is upheld. Commercial banks in Kenya should continuously adhere to auditing practices according to worldwide auditing requirements. The banks need to maintain compliance to international reporting standard and adhere to international reporting standard. There is a need for all bank to undertake a regular accounts reconciliation on regular basis in order to be able to detect crime and fraud cases in the industry. There is also a need for the audit committee to undertake appropriate measures to ensure independence. The institutions also need to involve the audit committee when there is an allegations of fraud made by employees and third parties. For further studies, this research recommends that there is a need to undertake a study to determine the impact of corporate governance on the financial performance of banking institutions
Credit Access from Commercial Banks and Growth of Small and Micro Enterprises in Nairobi Central Business District
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)Lack of access to credit is a major constraint inhibiting the growth of the SMEs sector. The issues and problems limiting SMEs acquisition of financial services include lack of tangible security coupled with an inappropriate legal and regulatory framework that does not recognize innovative strategies for lending to SMEs. Limited access to formal finance due to poor and insufficient capacity to deliver financial services to SMEs continues to be a constraint in the growth and expansion of the sector. Formal financial institutions perceive SMEs as high risk and commercially not viable and as a result only a few SMEs access credit from formal financial institutions.
The purpose of this study was to analyse the effects of credit access from commercial banks and growth of small and micro enterprises operating in Nairobi Central Business District. The study sought to answer the following research questions; How does collateral requirements by commercial banks affect growth of SMEs? How does financial information required by Commercial Banks at the appraisal stage affect growth of SMEs, How does interest rates charged by Commercial Banks affect growth of SMEs? and how has interest rates capping affected uptake of credits by SMEs?
This study used descriptive survey research design and targeted a population of 838 respondents operating SMEs in the Nairobi Central Business District. A sample size was computed using Yamane (1967) formulae. 225 respondents were interviewed from each shop selected. Questionnaires were used to obtain important information about the population. The study used both primary and secondary data. Primary data is the information the researcher obtained from the field. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered using the drop and pick method. Descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviation and frequency distribution was used to analyze the data.
In addition to descriptive statistics regression was conducted to establish the effects of credit access and growth of SMEs. Quantitative technique was used to analyze the closed-ended questions where a computer program (SPSS software) and MS Excel was used. Tables and figures were used appropriately to present the data collected for ease of understanding and analysis. This enabled the researcher to summarize responses for further analysis and to facilitated comparison. Qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis and presented in prose form.
The research established that a unit increase in collateral requirements would lead to a decrease in growth of SMEs by a factor of - 0.417, and that there was strong negative correlation between SMEs growth and development and collateral requirements where the correlation value = 0.653. The effect of financial information on credit access from Commercial Banks showed that a unit change in knowledge on financial information promoted growth of SMEs by a factor of 0.596. The study also found a strong positive correlation between SMEs growth and development and knowledge on financial information where the correlation coefficient was 0.633. E2More so a strong negative correlation between SMEs growth and development and high interest rates was found as the correlation coefficient was - 0.602. Lastly the study also found a strong negative correlation between SMEs growth and development and interest rates capping (correlation coefficient = -0.648).
The study concludes that Collateral requirement has been one of the major hindrances for SMEs access to credit from commercial banks. Majority of the SMEs owners do not have sufficient collateral which is a major requirement for credit access. SMEs encounter problems of raising capital, accessing finance and accessing credit. Majority of the businesses obtain start-up capital from self-financing. Most SME owners lack adequate financial information and literacy to evaluate the cost of credit and the various financial products offered by Banks, most SMEs borrowers borrowed only a small amount of money from the financial institutions. The current banks’ lending rates have discouraged many SMEs owners to go for short term and long loans for their businesses, SMEs owners were not satisfied with the lending terms because of high interest rates, short repayment period and long-time taken to process the credit facility. Interest rate capping in Kenya has led to a high degree of exclusion from small loans for SMEs and that Interest rate capping is harmful to SMEs, interest rate caps reduce returns on saving which ultimately reduce both the quality and quantity of investment.
The study recommends for revision of loan interest rates with a view of accommodating all borrowers at different economic levels. Offering of financial training seminars and workshops for entrepreneurship skill acquisition and loan investment and servicing, total nullification of interest capping in Kenya and formulation of repayment schedules that are flexible and highly adjusted to accommodate SME cash flow pattern.
It is important for the government to set up policies that will ease microfinance credit to SME’s. These policies should be in line with both the owners of SME’s and financial institutions in order to prevent putting hindrances to potential and credit worthy customers who seek to expand or start up a business
Relationship between Voluntary Disclosure and Value of Listed Insurance Companies in Kenya
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the School Of Business in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between voluntary disclosure and value of listed insurance companies in Kenya. The study sought to answer the following research questions: How does the investment policy voluntary disclosure affect the value of listed insurance companies in Kenya? How does financial information voluntary disclosure affect the listed insurance companies’ value? How does non-financial voluntary disclosure affect the listed insurance companies’ value? How does governance information disclosure affect the value of listed insurance companies?
A causal research design was deemed appropriate when intending to establish whether a change in independent variable causes a change in the dependent variable and specific to this study voluntary disclosures (independent variable) and firm value (dependent variable) of the insurance companies listed in NSE. This study target population consisted of the all the 47 insurance companies in Kenya as at date December 2016. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the insurance companies to be included in the study and out of 47 companies which are quoted in NSE, only top six companies were studied for a 5 year period from 2011 to 2015. Data was collected from their financial statements and analysis was done using Spss and presented inform of tables.
An analysis to determine how investment policy disclosure affects firm value established that investment policy voluntary disclosure explains a small proportion (15%) of the firm value. The strength of the regression investment policy voluntary disclosure in determining the firm value was found to be positive and significant.
Secondly, an analysis to determine how financial voluntary disclosure affects firm value established that coefficient of determination (Adjusted R squared) was 0.101 therefore financial disclosure alone explains 10.1% of the insurance firm value and the weight of the regression for financial voluntary disclosure and firm value was determined and found to be positive and significant.
Thirdly, an analysis to determine how non-financial voluntary disclosure affects firm value established that the Coefficient of determination (Adjusted R squared) was 0.045. This implies that non-financial disclosure alone explains 4.5% of the insurance firm value. Lastly, analysis to determine how governance voluntary disclosure affects firm value established that governance voluntary disclosure explains a small proportion (12%) of the firm value.
The study concluded that firms need to observe a set clear investment policy that should be understandable to all stakeholders since the study proves that information related to investment policy is of great importance to the value of the firm. It can also be concluded that financial information disclosure is important to the firm image and consequently its value. To avoid speculation by investors and other stakeholders, insurance firms need to clearly substantiate where their capital come from and any policy followed and incase of any constraints posed by the capital it need to well stipulated. Further, it is of utmost importance to disseminate both qualitative and quantitative non-financial information to minimize speculation. For confidence reasons, this study concludes that governance information such as governance structure, costs and skills composition need to be told. Different investors possess varying level interests and have ways to achieve their interest (benefits), for example, multiple directorships may be a signal to a chance of benefiting from skills from different sectors and consequently adopt strategies which are deemed to attain company’s financial sustainability.
The study recommended that investors in the insurance business need to be furnished with the details of their investment whereabouts. Also, listed insurance companies should be guided by the financial policies defined and scrutinized by investors in advance so as to be used as a benchmark. Non-financial information sharing is also crucial in decision making from the stakeholders’ perspectives. Listed companies need to engage employees and managerial skills in their operations since companies revolve around them. Further, governance information needs to be disclosed even with the slighted changes in any structure, composition or cost involved. Insurance companies should also consider separating of ownership and management among listed insurance companies. For further studies, it was recommended that similar studies be done in different sectors of the economy. It would also be better to include more companies in future studies since the current study only concentrated on the listed companies thus negating those insurance companies are operating privately
The Relationship between Capital Structure and Financial Performance of Tourism Finance Corporation Subsidiaries in Kenya
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between capital structure and financial performance of Tourism Finance Corporation (TFC) Subsidiaries in Kenya. The study sought to answer the following questions: what are the components of capital structure? Does debt ratio has any significant effect on the financial performance of Tourism Finance Subsidiaries in Kenya? Does asset tangibility has any significant effect on the financial performance of Tourism Finance Subsidiaries in Kenya? Does asset turnover has any significant effect on the financial performance of Tourism Finance Subsidiaries in Kenya?
The study employed descriptive research design to examine the study purpose and the existing associations between the independent and the dependent variables considered. The study used secondary data which was extracted from the audited financial reports and management accounts acquired from the TFC and the individual finance departments of the subsidiaries. The population of the study comprised of all the five TFC Subsidiaries in Kenya as at 30th June 2016. Data was analyzed by use of time series and regression analysis approaches.
The study found out that debt and equity are the major components of capital structure for the TFC subsidiaries in Kenya. The study has established that there is no statistically significant effect of debt ratio on the financial performance of TFC subsidiaries in Kenya. The study has also found out that there is no statistically significant effect of asset tangibility on the financial performance. Lastly, the study has found out that there is a statistically significant effect of asset turnover on the financial performance of financial performance.
The study recommends a comparative study to be conducted to establish different capital structure components so as to recommend an optimal capital structure. This study recommends the use of other variables such as debt to equity ratio and return on capital employed. Further research can be conducted using primary data. Data over a long period of time (say 10 years) can be considered for a further study on this area covering all the commercial state corporations in Kenya
The Influence of Social Media Marketing On Consumer Behaviour: A Case of Britam Holdings Limited
No full textA Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The main purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of social media on consumer behaviors. The study will be guided by the specificobjectives; to establish how social media influence the consumer behavior, toinvestigate various tools of social media that directly influence the buyer behavior and to establish how social media target customer identification within consumerbehavior. A descriptive research design was accorded into this study. The sampling frame was obtained from Britamwith the approval of the management to access their customers who interact via the social media with the company. The study used stratified sampling technique. At 95% confidence level was used to determine a sample size of 95 respondents from a target population of 2000 customers.Questionnaires were used to collect primary data after a pilot test. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the data. The data was described using means, frequency distribution and percentages. Inferential statistics such as correlation analysis was used to discover if two variables are related. Findings from the correlation analysis denoted absence of significant relationship between influence of social media on consumer behaviour and channels of social media that directly affected consumer behaviour due to the fact that P-value = 0.126 which is higher than the recommended P-value of 0.05.In addition, findings offered coefficient of determination (R square) = 0.039. This designated that 3.9% of the variation in consumer behavior are explained by influencing factors, social media channels and social media marketing. Since, R-square = 0.039, it entailed that the goodness of fit of the model is very weak since R-square is less than 0.1.Hence a conclusion was drawn that there is a significant linear relationship between factors influencing consumer behavior and consumer behavior as P-value is less than 0.05.
Findings from the study revealed lack of significant relationship between social media channels and social media targeting consumers since P-value = 0.437 which is way higher than the standard 0.05.Findings from linear regression analysis which involved three essential variables including influencing factors, social media channels and social media targeting demonstrated that there is a significant moderate positive linear relationship between influencing factors social media channels that affect consumer behavior and social media targeting as an essential element of digital marketing. This is due to the fact that it’s P-value = 0.036 and correlation coefficient = 0.197 which shows existence of a significant relationship. Findings from the study revealed that the correlation analysis revealed that there is no relationship between consumer behavior and social media targeting because P-value =0.065 is greater than the recommended 0.05. However, findings from linear regression analysis which involved three essential variables including influencing factors, social media channels and social media targeting demonstrated that there is a significant moderate positive linear relationship between influencing factors social media channels that affect consumer behavior and social media targeting as an essential element of digital marketing. In conclusion, the studyrevealedthat there is no significant relationship between influence of social media marketing and consumer behavior.The findings revealed lack of significant relationship between social media channels and social media targeting because of P-value = 0.437 which is way higher than the standard 0.05.However,further findings from linear regression revealed that the linear regression model, Y= Y= 5.714 - 0.002IF + 0.005C - 0.071T at 95% level of confidence demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between influence of social media marketing and consumer behavior due to the fact that P-value = 0.036 which is less than the recommended 0.05. The study concluded that influencing factors, social media channels and social media targeting play integral roles in influencing consumers behavior in all directions either positively or negatively over the traditional means of communications. The study recommends integration of social media marketing communication tools and consistency in the message communicated via social media tools. In addition, recommendations for further study should include involvement in marketing research with a core purpose of delivering per consumer needs, as well as gaining an understanding of trending social media activities so as to meet demands of changing technological world