Influence of production technology innovation strategy on business success: A case of fresh produce exporters in Kenya
Keywords:
business success, production technology innovation strategy, technology innovationAbstract
Despite the fact that recent advances in technology offers opportunity for increased efficiency and business success in many sectors, Kenya’s agribusiness sector has not fully enjoyed increased benefits associated with technological advancement. Hence, the purpose of this study was to establish the influence of production technology innovation strategy on business success, with a focus on the fresh produce export industry in Kenya. The study used a descriptive correlational survey research design. Using a target population of 725 management level employees, the study narrowed to a sample size 258 respondents and employed stratified random sampling. Data was collected using structured questionnaires while results were presented using tables and figures. Additionally, multiple regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between the study variables. The study revealed that
production technology strategy, that included production technology use, production technology innovation inclusion and technology innovation training have a statistically significant influence on firm success with (β=0.469, p=0.005; β=0.403, p=0.005 & β=0.452, p=0.005), respectively. As such, the study concluded that production technology innovation strategy has significant influence on Business success among fresh produce exporters in Kenya. The study recommends that the management of export produce firms in Kenya should emphasize more on technology use in their production, as well as revamp their technology inclusion, training and innovation.
References
Adam, M.C., Farber, A., & Khallil, T, (2000). Financing Technological Innovation. Management of
Technology II, Institute of Industrial Engineers, USA.
Al-Awawdeh, W. (2011). Impact of Using Training Strategy on the Performance of Employees at the
Administrative Departments at Al Al-Bayt University. Al-Manarah for Research and Studies,
(5), 75-108.
Asoegwu, S.&A. Asoegwu.A. (2007). an Overview of Agricultural Mechanization and Its
Environmental Management in Nigeria. Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR
Ejournal. Invited Overview No. 6. Vol. IX. May, 2007.
Barney, J. (March 1991). Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. Journal of
Management. 17 (1): 99–120.
~ 43 ~
The University Journal Volume 3 Issue 2 2021 ISSN: 2519 – 0997 (Print)
Batt R., & Colvin A. J. (2011). An employment systems approach to turnover: human resources
practices, quits, dismissals, and performance. 54 695–717. 10.5465/AMJ.2011.64869448.
Behaghel, L., Gignoux, J., Kamugisha, R. & Kugonza, J. (2017). The Impact of Farmer-to-Farmer
Training on Agricultural Productivity in Uganda. Retrieved from
Caitlin, S. S. (2014). Agricultural Technology Adoption in West Africa. Texas, OH: Texas A&M
University.
Cavalcante, Sérgio. (2013). Understanding the Impact of Technology on Firms' Business Models.
European Journal of Innovation Management. 16. 285-300. 10.1108/EJIM-10-2011-0085.
Christensen, C. M. (1997). The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to
Fail. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Christensen, C. M. (15 December 2015). The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause
Great Firms to Fail. Harvard Business Review Press.
Collard-Wexler, Allan, & Jan De Loecker. (2015). "Reallocation and Technology: Evidence from
theUS Steel Industry." American Economic Review, 105 (1): 131-71.
Damanpour, F. (2010). An Integration of Research Findings of Effects of Firm Size and Market
Competition on Product and Process Innovations. British Journal of Management, 21, 996-
Diamantidis, Chatzoglou, Prodromos, & Anastasios. (2014). Employee post-training behaviour and
performance: Evaluating the results of the training process. International Journal of Training
and Development. 18. 10.1111/ijtd.12034.
Diao, X., Cossar, F., Houssou, N., & Kolavalli, S. (2014). Mechanization in Ghana: Emerging demand
and the search for alternative supply models. Food Policy, 168-181
Drummond MF, Sculpher MJ, Claxton K, Stoddart GL & Torrance GW. (2015). Methods for the
economic evaluation of health care programmes (4th Ed.). Oxford University Press: Oxford,
UK
Falola, H., Osibanjo, A., & Ojo, I. (2014). Effectiveness of Training and Development on Employees'
Performance and Organization Competitiveness in the Nigerian Banking Industry. Bulletin of
the Transilvania University of Braşov, 7(1), 161-172.
FAO. (2016). Agricultural Mechanization: A Key Input for Sub-Saharan Africa Smallholders.Int. Crop.
Management, 23.
Farrington, J. (2015). Machanization policy and the Impact of Tractors in South Asia- A Review,
Tropical Development Research Institute, Overseas Develpmet Administration, London, UK:
Small Farm Equipment.
Fresh Produce Exporters in Kenya (FPEAK), (2018). Export Statistics Report. Horticulture Crops
Directorate, Kenya.
Hartono, E., Holsapple, C., &Jin, H. (2011). The role of technological know-how in c-commerce
success. Decision Support Systems 51(1):77-87.
Hjertberg, T., Stolt, R., Poorkiany, M., & Johansson, J. (2015). Implementation and management of
design systems for highly customized products – state of practice and future research.
Melbourne, AU: Mc Grawhill.
Garetti, M., & Taisch, M. (2012). Sustainable manufacturing: Trends and research challenges
Production Planning & Control, 23(2–3), 83–104.
~ 44 ~
Kaluyu & Muriuki Influence of Production Technology …
Gawer, A., & Cusumano, M. A. (2014). Industry platforms and ecosystem innovation. Journal of
Product Innovation Management, 31(3), 417–433.
Griffins, R.W. (2012). Management: Principles and Practices.Thomson South-Western.
Guan, J. C., Yam, R. C. M., Tang, E. P. Y., & Lau, A. K. W. (2009). Innovation strategy andperformance
during economic transition: Evidences in Beijing, China. ResearchPolicy, 38(5), 802–812.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2008.12.009
Guisado-González, M., Guisado, T. M. & Sandoval, P. Á. (2013), “Determinants of Innovation
Performance in Spanish Hospitality Companies: Analysis of The Coexistence of Innovation
Strategies”, The Service Industries Journal, 33(6), 580-593.
Gunday G., Ulusoy G., Kilic K. & Alpkan L. (2011). Effects of Innovation Types on Firm Performance.
Int. J. Production Economics 133 (2011) 662–676.
Hajar (2015). The Effect of Business Strategy on Innovation and Firm Performance in Small industrial
Sector. The International Journal of Engineering and Science (IJES), 4(2), 1-09.
Harrison, R. (2010). Employee Development. Silver Lakes, Pretoria. Beekman Publishing.
Imran, Asma & Ahmad, Sajjad & Nisar, Qasim & Ahmad, Umair. (2014). Exploring Relationship
among Rewards, Recognition and Employees' Job Satisfaction: A Descriptive Study on
Libraries in Pakistan. Middle East Journal of Scientific Research. 21. 1533-1540.
5829/idosi.mejsr.2014.21.09.21720.
James, F. & Steven, C. (2013). California Agriculture”, Journal of Agribusiness, 3(2), 282-288.
Karabulut, T.. (2015). Effects of Innovation Strategy on Firm Performance: A Study Conducted on
Manufacturing Firms in Turkey. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 195. 1338-1347.
1016/j.sbspro.2015.06.314.
Kariuki, I. (2014). Codes of Conduct and Marketing Strategies in Kenya's Horticultural Sector.
European journal of Business and Management. Vol.6, No.33.
Kim, D.G. & Choi, S.O. (2018). Impact of Construction IT Technology Convergence Innovation on
Business Performance. Sustainability, 10(6), 39-52.
Kimosop, B. (2016). Agribusiness. Naivasha, KE: ICPAK Forum.
Knight, Caroline & Patterson, Malcolm & Dawson, Jeremy. (2016). Building work engagement: A
systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of work engagement interventions.
Journal of Organizational Behaviour. 38. 10.1002/job.2167.
Koc, T., & Bozdag, E. (2009). The impact of AMT practices on firm performance in manufacturing
SMEs. Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 25(9), 303–313.
Krajnak, M., Baskova, R., & Vojtas, L. (2013). An Integrated Approach for Project Management of the
Wooden Constructions using CNC Production. International Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management 2(1), 8-14.
Latruffe, L. (2010). Competitiveness, Productivity and Efficiency in the Agricultural and Agri-Food
Sectors. OECD, Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, OECD Food, Agriculture
and Fisheries Working Papers. 10.1787/5km91nkdt6d6-en.
Leiponen, Aija & Helfat, Constance. (2009). Innovation objectives, knowledge sources, and the benefits
of breadth. Strategic Management Journal. 31. 224 - 236. 10.1002/smj.807.
Lin, F., & Chen, Y. (2012). A simulation model with synchronization manufacturing stations,
Management Decision, 50 (7), 1308 – 1325
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2021 The University Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
