STRATEGIC HUMAN CAPITAL, PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION, CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP, AND HUMAN LEARNING AS DRIVERS OF PERFORMANCE IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN KENYA

Keywords: Strategic Human Capital, Product Diversification, Customer Care Relationship, Human Learning.

Abstract

Strategic management is an essential element of contemporary businesses. Firms have embraced these drivers to enhance performance and competitive advantage. Constant environmental changes underline the need for strategies to respond and remain competitive. The study investigates the effect of strategic management drivers on the performance of confectionary manufacturing industries in Kenya. Strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship management, and organizational learning are the drivers examined. This study employed a descriptive research design to select a sample of 124 employees from the target companies. The data was analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression models. The results indicate that strategic management drivers significantly affect the performance of the confectionary manufacturing companies. The findings indicated that strategic human capital, product diversification, customer relationship management, and organization learning have a positive and significant effect on the performance of these firms. Strategic human capital and organizational learning had a significant effect, while the influence of product diversification and customer relationship management was moderate. The study concludes that strategic management drivers can help companies enhance organizational performance. The results from this study imply that companies should embrace implementing these drivers to boost performance.

JEL Classification Codes: M1, L200, L66, L25, M41.

References

Abdullah, T.M.C. (2010). Profit maximization theory, survival-based theory, and contingency theory: A review on several underlying research theories of corporate turnaround. Jurnal Ekonom, 13(4), 136-143.

Alkhafaji, A., & Nelson, R. A. (2013). Formulation, Implementation, and Control in a Dynamic Environment. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203862582

Argyris, C. (1992). On Organisational learning. Blackwell.

Argyris, C., & Schön, D. (1978). Reading organizational learning: A theory of action approach. Massachusetts: Addison Wesley.

Badaracco, J. (2016). The “maximize profits” trap in decision making. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/09/the-maximize-profits-trap-in-decision-making

Berry, L. L. (1983). Relationship marketing,” in Berry, L.L., Shostock, G.L. and Upah, G.D. (Eds), Emerging Perspectives on Services Marketing, American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL, pp. 25-8.

Bitner, M. J. (1992). Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. Journal of marketing, 56(2), 57-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299205600205

Blomqvist, K., & Kianto, A. (2007). Knowledge-Based View of The Firm – Theoretical Notions and Implications for Management. Tec novation, 25(5), 497-504.

Chuang, G. (2015). The structure of strategic thinking: A lexical and content analysis. Journal of Applied Management Studies, 6(1) 13–34.

Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. (2014). Business research methods. Mcgraw-hill.

Davenport, T. O. (1999). Human capital. Management Review, 88(11), 37.

Eide, E., & Showalter, M. (2010). Human capital. In D. Brewer & P. McEwan (Eds.)

Economics of Education (pp. 27-32). S Elsevier

Elnaga, A., & Imran, A. (2013). The effect of training on employee performance. European journal of Business and Management, 5(4), 137-147.

Gardner, K. L., Dowden, M., Togni, S., & Bailie, R. (2010). Understanding uptake of continuous quality improvement in Indigenous primary health care: lessons from a multi-site case study of the Audit and Best Practice for Chronic Disease project. Implementation Science, 5(1), 1-14.

Grant, R.M. (1996). The Knowledge-Based View of the Firm", In C. W. Choo & N. Bontis (Eds.), Oxford: Oxford University Press. The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organizational Knowledge: 133-148.

Hamel, G., & Prahalad, C. K. (2013). Strategy as stretch and leverage. Harvard Business Review, 71(2), 75-84. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/1993/03/strategy-as-stretch-and-leverage

Han, J. K., Kim, N., & Srivastava, R.K. (1998) Market orientation and organizational performance: Is innovation a missing link? Journal of Marketing, 62 (October), 30- 45.

Harrison, R. T., & Leitch, C. M. (2005). Entrepreneurial learning: Researching the interface between learning and the entrepreneurial context. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 29(4), 351-371. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00089.x

Heather, W., Fernando, M., Siti, K., Yusoff, A., & Azam, N. (2020). Human capital practices impact organizational performance. European Journal of Human Resource Management Studies, 4(2), 1-19. Retrieved from https://oapub.org/soc/index.php/EJHRMS/article/view/799

Iravo, M., Ongori, J., & Munene, C. (2013). Factors affecting the performance of hotels and restaurants in Kenya. A case of Kisii County. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 4(12), 897-928. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9285

Jafar, H., Muda, I., Zainal, A., & Yasin, W. (2010). Profit maximization theory, survival-based theory, and contingency theory: A review on several underlying research theories of corporate turnaround. Jurnal Ekonom, 13(4), 136-143.

Kajongwe, C. (2020). Dynamics of customer relationship management and performance of manufacturing small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zimbabwe. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, 4(5), 4 – 15.

Ketchen, D., & Short, J. (2016). Mastering strategic management. Minnesota, University of Minnesota Libraries

Kothari, C. R., & Garg, G. (2014). Research methodology methods and techniques (3rd ed.). New Age International (P) Ltd.

Kumlachew, Y.M. (2021). Determinants of profitability and financial sustainability of saving and credit cooperatives in Eastern Ethiopia. International Journal of Rural Management, 17(2), 239-261. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973005220980599

Lopokoiyit, M. C., Amurle, G. S., & Gakure, R. W. (2013). Strengthening industry-university linkages through public-private partnerships in capacity building. US-China Education Review, 761.

Mahoney, J. (1995). The management of resources and the resource of management. Journal of Business Research, 33 (2), 91-101. https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-2963(94)00060-R

Martínez‐Costa, M., & Jiménez, D. (2009). The performance effect of HRM and TQM: a study in Spanish organizations. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 29(12), 1266-1289. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443570911005992

Mohamad, S. H., Othman, N. A., Jabar, J., & Majid, I. A. (2014). Customer relationship management practices: The impact on organizational performance in SMEs of food manufacturing industry. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(13), 35-48. Retrieved from https://iiste.org/Journals/index.php/EJBM/article/view/12677

Mohamad, S. H., Othman, N. A., Jabar, J., & Majid, I. A. (2014). Customer relationship management practices: The impact on organizational performance in SMEs of food manufacturing industry. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(13), 35-48.

Muiga, G. W., & Namusonge, M. (2020). Strategic management drivers and performance of tier three commercial banks in Kenya. International Academic Journal of Human Resource and Business Administration, 3(9), 146-165.

Mutea, R. (2016). Effects of organizational learning on organizational performance. A case of Mpesa Foundation Academy. Thesis, United States International University-Africa.

Muthoka, M., Oloko, M., & Obonyo, L. (2017). Strategic management drivers and performance of the Kenya owned tourism state corporations the mediating role of strategy implementation. European Journal of Business and Strategic Management, 2(3), 1-28. Retrieved from https://www.iprjb.org/journals/index.php/EJBSM/article/view/311

Narver, J. C., Park, S. Y., & Slater, S. F. (1992). Market orientation, information, and marketing strategies. In American Marketing Association Summer Educators Conference.

Ndung’u, S. K. (2019). Product Diversification and the Financial Performance of Manufacturing Companies in Kenya. Journal of Economics and Finance, 10(6), 43-50.

Njuguna, V. N., Kwasira, J., & Orwa, G. (2018). Influence of product diversification strategy on performance of non-financial firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 6(6), 60-83. Retrieved from https://ijecm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/665.pdf

Oladimeji, M. S., & Udosen, I. (2019). The effect of diversification strategy on organizational Performance. Journal of Competitiveness, 11(4), 120–131. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2019.04.08

Pels, J. (1999). Exchange relationships in consumer markets? European Journal of Marketing, 33(1/2), 19-37.

Phapruke, U. (2012). Influences of knowledge acquisition and information richness on firm performance via technology acceptance as a moderator: evidence from that e-commerce businesses. Journal of Academy of Business and Economics, 2(1), 33-42.

Phillips, J. J. (2005). Investing in Your Company’s Human Capital: Strategies to Avoid Spending Too Little or Too Much. New York: Amacom.

Sanni, O. H. (2016). Impact of learning organization on organizational survival in some selected Nigerian manufacturing firms. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 4(4), 28–35. Retrieved from http://www.apjmr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/APJMR-2016.4.4.2.05.pdf

Schultz, T. W. (1961). Investment in human capital. The American Economic Review, 51(1), 1-17.

Seleim, A., Ashour, A., & Bontis, N. (2007). Human capital and organizational performance: a study of Egyptian software companies. Management Decision, 45(4), 789-801. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740710746033

Tessema, A. D. (2014). The Impact of Human Capital on company performance Case of the footwear Sector in Ethiopia. Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, 6(2), 76-103. Retrieved from https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jbas/article/view/169095

Thomas, H., Smith, R. R., & Diez, F. (2013). Human capital and global business strategy. Cambridge University Press.

Uğurlu, Ö. Y., & Kurt, M. (2016). The impact of organizational learning capability on product innovation performance: Evidence from the Turkish manufacturing sector. EMAJ: Emerging Markets Journal, 6(1), 70–84. https://doi.org/10.5195/emaj.2016.99

Valmohammadi, C. (2017). Customer relationship management: Innovation and performance. International Journal of Innovation Science, 9(4), 374-395. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJIS-02-2017-0011

Vonkrogh. G. (1998). Tacit knowledge conversion: Controversy and advancement in organizational knowledge creation theory. Organization Science, 20(3), 635 – 652.

Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An introductory analysis, (2nd Ed.). Harper and Row

Zigmund, W.G. (2010). Exploring marketing research, seventh edition, Dryden press.

Published
2023-10-16
How to Cite
Muriithi, A., & Muathe, S. M. (2023). STRATEGIC HUMAN CAPITAL, PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION, CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP, AND HUMAN LEARNING AS DRIVERS OF PERFORMANCE IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN KENYA. American International Journal of Social Science Research, 14(1), 20-32. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijssr.v14i1.2099
Section
Original Articles/Review Articles/Case Reports/Short Communications