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Influence Of Innovative Strategies On Performance Of Supermarket Chains In Nairobi County, Kenya
No full textThe supermarkets retail sector in Kenya are operating in environment that is potentially
vulnerable to competitive actions and so they need effective strategies to determine the way in
which they intend to compete in the market place. Further, new entrants in the retail sector are
emerging every year with different innovative strategies that are pushing the market leaders out
of their market share. This study examined the influence of innovative strategies on performance
of large supermarket chains in Kenya. The study specific objectives sought to examine the
influence of product differentiation strategy, product diversification strategy, pricing strategy and
product promotion strategy on performance of supermarket chains. The theories that informed
the study are theory of disruptive innovation and diffusion of innovation theory. The study
employed a descriptive research design. The target population was the 9 major supermarkets in
Nairobi County as they have chains and thus enabled the study to make significant comparisons
across the chains. The respondents included management, supervisors and staff. Primary data
was collected by means of a structured questionnaire. Diagnostic tests included multi collinearity,
heteroscedasticity and normality test. The study conducted a regression analysis to determine the
relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The test of significance was
tested at 0.05 significance level. The regression of coefficients results show that product
differentiation strategy and performance of supermarket chains in Nairobi County, Kenya is
positively and significantly related (β=0.106, p=0.022). Product promotion strategy and
performance of supermarket chains in Nairobi county, Kenya were positively and significantly
related (β= 0.096, p=0.027). Pricing strategy and performance of supermarket chains in Nairobi
county, Kenya were positively and significantly related (β= 0.010, p=0.000). Product
diversification and performance of supermarket chains in Nairobi county, Kenya were positive
and significant (β =0.224, p=0.830). The study rejected the hypothesis on product differentiation
strategy, product promotion strategy and pricing strategy on the performance of supermarket
chains. However the hypothesis on product diversification strategy was not rejected. The study
concluded that product differentiation strategy, product promotion strategy and pricing strategy
were the key strategies that largely affected the performance of supermarket chains. The study
recommend on that the supermarkets should highly adopt in depth product promotion strategies
by adoption of mass product promotion with the use of technology adoption, advertising, online
presence, publicity. In differentiation strategies, firms should ensure they use innovation and
creativity to redesign their products to create a market barrier. This includes aligning of product
repackaging, renaming resizing and product extensions. In pricing strategies, supermarkets with
the CBD should aim at specialization order to increase their profit margins. The supermarkets
should also use product pricing to ensure they tap the market hence withstanding competition
and having a high market survival rate
Effect Of Debt Financing On Financial Performance Of Listed Non-Financial Firms In Kenya
No full textThis study sought to examine the effect of debt financing on the
financial performance of non-financial firms listed on the Nairobi
Securities Exchange in the five-year period 2013 to 2017. Using a
sample of 23 listed non-financial firms data was collected from
published financial statements of the sampled firms and analysed
statistical using the panel data regression method. The independent
variables were short-term, medium term and long-term debt while the
explained variable was return on equity. Three control variables, firm
size, sales growth and growth opportunities, were included and
considered as having an effect on the relationship between the
independent and dependent variables. The study results observed that
medium-term debt had a negative and statistical significant
relationship with return on equity. Long-term debt had a positive but
statistically insignificant relationship while short-term debt had a
negative relationship with return on equity
Prof Mugenda is KCA University’s new Chancellor
No full textFormer Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor Prof Olive Mugenda has been appointed as the new KCA University Chancellor.
Prof Mugenda will replace Prof Arthur Eshiwani whose term as the varsity’s chancellor ended on December 31, 2019
Block Chain Technology: Smart Contract Application in the Real Estate Industry in Kenya
No full textBlock chain is widely known as the underlying
technology powering bitcoin. However, with the wide usage of
technology, the block chain based smart contracts are being used
to serve a wide range of data set such as financing, purchasing,
leasing, sale and management of property transactions. This
research embarked on determining the applicability of smart
contract in the real estate industry. The researcher explored the
usage of smart contract in management of property, purchasing,
leasing and sales. Data was collected using secondary data from
different articles and journals. From the findings revealed that,
the real estate industry is transforming fast and there is need to
have all the data in one place to reduce cases of fraud and
simplify the title deed record process. Smart contract eases the
lack of trust between the buyer and seller since with block chain,
data is more transparent and there is accurate record keeping. It
also provides an opportunity for auto-confirmation by the land
registries and enhances transparency. It was further revealed
that with smart contracts, several entitles can modify the
database including tenants, owners, investors and lenders.
Recommendations indicate the real estate industry should adopt
block chain due to its usefulness and ability to create a difference
in the industr
Make housing affordable across Kenya
No full textWhat you need to know:
Construction loans are much preferred. Incentives available to mortgagors should be extended to construction loans.
Construction loans, which are essentially personal loans, are secured against future salaries and, in some cases, to pension benefits
Determinants Of Financial Performance Among Second Tier Commercial Banks In Kenya
No full textThe main objective of this research was to assess the determinants of financial performance among the second tier commercial banks in Kenya. The Profitability of commercial banks and their performance has become an important topic of research. However, it is difficult for the management and shareholders to find the right measure to evaluate their banks given the availability of many variables that have been utilized by various scholars to pinpoint factors influencing the financial performance of banks. This dilemma leaves researchers without a satisfactory position and opens up a gap for further analysis of the financial performance among the second tier commercial banks. The research objectives were asset quality, leverage, capital adequacy and liquidity. The study was guided by the trade-off theory, agency theory, modern portfolio theory and the efficient market hypothesis theory through the theoretical review, empirical review and conceptual framework. A descriptive research design was used to target all the 10 second tier commercial banks in Kenya. Secondary data on the identified inquiry variables were collected for five years between 2014 to 2018. Data from all the 10 second tier commercial banks in Kenya was analysed using STATA on the panel data regression model. Housman test was done to determine which panel regression model was appropriate for the study. Diagnostics tests conducted were multi collinearity, auto-correlation heteroscedasticity and normality for the residuals. The findings were exhibited in a tabular form. The study findings showed that leverage and capital adequacy had a significant negative effect on the financial performance of the banks. However, asset quality has a positive insignificant effect while Liquidity had a negative insignificant effect on return on equity. The study recommends that policymakers should ensure that they adhere to the financial safety net by limiting moral hazard risk and limiting bank failures. The second tier Commercial banks can still increase their debt to equity ratio so as to have more capital reserves to survive a financial crisis. The study further recommends for an increase in capital adequacy ratio in all the second tier commercial banks in Kenya to boost their stability and save them from financial stress and also ensure they maintain adequate capital to cushions the banks about any potential losses hence protecting the interest of bank’s depositors and other lenders and this will enhance financial performance among second tier commercial banks
Association between dietary behaviours and weight status of school children: results from the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE) -Kenya
No full textABSTRACT Background: Sub-Saharan African countries are undergoing rapid urbanization resulting in vast changes in dietary habits. Dietary practices involving excess energy intake have been associated with overweight/obesity. We assessed the dietary behavior of children and their relationships with weight status. Methods: Data was collected in Kenya, as part of the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment (ISCOLE). The study recruited 563 children aged 9–11 years from 29 schools in Nairobi. A seven-day food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. Dietary behaviors such as consumption of breakfast, school lunch, meals prepared/eaten away from home, emotional eating and snacking while watching television were also assessed. Body mass index (BMI-for-age and sex) was used as the indicator of weight status. Results: Of the sample, 53.5% were girls; 20.8% were classified as overweight/ obese; 72.9% ate meals out of home regularly; 55.2% ate lunch provided by the school; and only 76% had breakfast on all weekdays. Eating more when happy, eating fried foods while watching television, and consumption of vegetables were positively associated with BMI. Majority of overweight children were female (56.6%) and the type of school attended predicted BMI, F(6, 536) = 18.371, p < 0.0001, R2 = 0.171. BMI was negatively associated with consumption of cakes/pastries (χ2 = 14.7, V = 0.165, p = 0.023), potato crisps (χ2 = 21.6, V = 0.197, p = 0.003), and fast foods (χ2 = 13.5, p = 0.036). ANOVA results revealed no significant differences in the consumption of foods with BMI except for vegetables (p = 0.003). Conclusions: Children have healthy diets rich in fruits and vegetables and low in energy-dense foods. Also, less healthy diets were observed in children with CONTACT Lucy-Joy Wachira [email protected] Department of Physical Education, Exercise and Sport Science, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya CHILD AND ADOLESCENT OBESITY 2021, VOL. 4, NO. 1, 1–22 https://doi.org/10.1080/2574254X.2020.1842014© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Lower BMI. There is need for interventions targeting the overweight/obese children, particularly those of higher SES
The Effect Of Interest Rate Capping On Profitability Of Tier One Commercial Banks, In Kenya
No full textThe step taken in capping interest rates and setting a floor on deposit rates has a very noble objective, but in practice it has ended up with very adverse consequences. Some other countries have tried this before and evidence shows that in such countries the ratio of credit to GDP is lower than the regional average. The purpose of the study was to address the effect of interest rate capping on profitability of tier one commercial banks, in Kenya, a case of selected commercial banks in Nairobi.. The specific objectives were to address the effect of asset shifting, credit access and nonperforming loans on profitability of tier one commercial banks in Kenya. The research design was descriptive design. The target population was staff in the selected banks. The sampling design was stratified random sampling design. During data collection, questionnaires were the main data collection method. After data collection, the data was analyzed by adopting quantitative technique. Presentation was done inform of diagram such as tables, pie charts and bar graphs. The study found that in asset shifting, presence of interest cap may discourage supply of funds to the financial system considering of fixed returns. This was found to limit the banks from realizing high revenues ultimately affecting profitability. Based on the credit access, the interest cap increases the problem of adverse selection as it restricts lenders‟ ability to price discriminate, as a result, interest caps prompts the banks to charge interest on flat rate regardless of good borrowers or bad borrowers. The study recommends that bank administrators should consider identifying alternative sources of revenues when striving to attain profitability considering that the presence of interest cap may discourage supply of funds to the financial system because of fixed returns
Innovative Strategies And Performance Of Cement Manufacturing Firms In Athi River Zone
No full textThe aim of this study was to assess the influence of innovative strategies on performance of large
manufacturing firms in Kenya. The objective scope include influence of process innovation
strategy, product innovation strategy, technology innovation strategy and service innovation
strategy on organizational performance of cement manufacturing firms in Kenya. The objectives
was used as they are involved with various forms of innovation. The study concentrated on the
influence of innovation strategies on organization performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya.
The theories that informed the study are organizational control theory, disruptive innovation
theory, technology acceptance model, diffusion innovation theory and resource based view
theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design where the unit of analysis was 5
cement manufacturing firms in Athi River Zone. Consequently, the unit of observation was the
staff at the managerial position and these included senior managers, middle level managers and
supervisors from each firm. The target population was all the 269 senior management, middle
level management supervisors and staff in the 5 cement manufacturing firms in Athi River Zone.
Yamane (1967) sample determination formula was used to obtain 135 respondents. Test of
hypothesis was done at 95% confidence interval. This study conducted correlation and regression
to weigh the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The regression of
coefficients results show that technological innovation strategy and performance is positively
and significantly related (β=0.197, p=0.001). The results further indicated that process
innovation strategy and performance are positively and significantly related (β= 0.205, p=0.000).
The results further indicated that product innovation strategy and performance are positively and
significantly related (β= 0.183, p=0.002). Lastly, results showed that service innovation strategy
and performance were positively and but insignificantly (β =0.031, p=0.585). The study sought
to examine the influence of strategic innovations and performance of cement manufacturing
firms in Athi River Zone. The study concluded that strategic innovations played a significant role
on cement manufacturing firms. This is because there existed a positive and significant
relationship between technological innovation strategy, process innovation strategy, product
innovation strategy and service innovation strategy on cement manufacturing firms. The study
recommends that the manufacturing firms should invest in innovative technology so as to survive
intense competition currently experienced in the manufacturing sector.Finally, it is recommended
that manufacturing firms should invest in automating routine tasks so as to improve efficiency in
the production process. The study further recommends that the firms should adopt business
process reengineering and embark on minimizing waste in the manufacturing process
Factors Affecting Cashflow Of Manufacturing Firms Listed At The Nairobi Securities Exchange
Get PDFCash flow is the life blood of any business. Firms with inadequate cash flow experience difficulties in growing their business as they struggle to fund their basic operations. A firm has to invest either in working capital, assets or in other ways but if it lacks cash flows it’s not in a position to do so. Manufacturing firms require a lot of cash flows to run their operations. These manufacturing firms require a lot of machines for production as well as a lot of cash to buy raw materials. Also, a huge amount of cash is paid out as salaries and wages as the manufacturing sector is labor intensive. Manufacturing firms are faced with many challenges especially in managing their cash flows. Therefore, the researcher in this study sought to establish the factors that affect cash flow in manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objectives, to establish how investments affect cash flow in manufacturing firms listed in the Nairobi stock exchange, to find out how inventory controls affect cash flow in manufacturing firms listed in the Nairobi stock exchange, to determine how profitability affect cash flow in manufacturing firms listed in the Nairobi stock exchange. The researcher used descriptive research design to describe the factors affecting cash flow in manufacturing firms listed in the Nairobi stock exchange. A firm should be able to generate enough cash flows from its operations. If a firm is not able to cover its current liabilities with cash generated from operations, it will have cash challenges in financing its operations. A cash flow ratio of one show that the firm has healthy cash flows and a ratio of less than one shows that the firm does not have enough cash flows to finance its operations. The study covered a period of five years from 2012 to 2017.The methodology for the study was descriptive research design. The study employed population census as the listed firms were very few for the researcher to employ sampling. The listed firms were nine. Secondary data was used in the study. The data was extracted from published financial statements which included statement of financial position, statement of cash flows and statement of comprehensive income. Data was analyzed using STATA software and panel data analysis methods were used. Analyzed data was presented using figures and tables. The study findings revealed that there is a positive relationship between cash flows and investments as measured by net capital expenditure, profitability as measured by return on assets. There is a negative relationship between cash flows and inventory control as measured by inventory turnover. The study also established that there is a positive relationship between cash flows and profitability of a firm as measured by return on Assets (ROA). cash flows in all the firms have the same trend expect for Eveready East African ltd. The study concluded that manufacturing firms should exercise inventory control, invest wisely and also manage profitability of assets to ensure that the firm has enough cash flows to fund its operations