EXAMINING THE ROLE OF LEARNING ORIENTATION ON COMPETITIVENESS OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA
Abstract
Learning orientation is a key strategic undertaking that helps to improve the competitiveness of any business undertaking. This study aimed at examining the role of learning orientation and what moderating role that top management commitment will have on competitiveness of manufacturing firms in Kenya. Manufacturing sector is a very dynamic and vibrant and this calls for the players in the industry to be vigilant and creative in order to serve the market appropriately. To achieve the set objectives, hypotheses were developed and tested. The theoretical grounding of the study basically relied on the dynamic capabilities and upper echelon theories. The study adopted descriptive survey design that targeted 134 manufacturing firms who were members of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Machakos and Central Kenya Region Chapters of which a census was undertaken. Primary data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire that were administered to the management of the manufacturing firms that were under investigation and this generated both quantitative and qualitative data. The data collected was edited, coded, processed and analyzed using SPSS version 26 for both descriptive and inferential statistics generation. The study adopted various analysis to determine the relationship that existed. Regression analysis done was used to determine the relationship between the hypothesized variables and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) used to establish the relationship between the independent and dependent variable. The overall study findings revealed that learning orientation has a positive and statistically significant role on competitiveness of manufacturing firms in Kenya whereas the top management commitment has a positive moderating role. Based on the findings the study concludes that manufacturing firms should encourage learning and knowledge management amongst the staff as this lead’s commitment to goals of the organization and serving the customers appropriately. In order for the firm to be competitive it calls for top management commitment in regard to allocation of resources, staff being involvement in all undertakings and them being allowed to be independent in their operations as this encourages them to serve dedicatedly and resources should be availed that are necessary for the firm to serve its clients diligently.
Key words: Competitiveness, Dynamic Capabilities, Learning Orientation, Manufacturing Firms, Top Management Commitment
CITATION: Gogo, J. G., Deya, J., & Odollo, L. (2024). Examining the role of learning orientation on competitiveness of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 11 (3), 672 – 692. Http://dx.doi.Org/10.61426/Sjbcm.v11i3.3038
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v11i3.3038
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