Influence of innovativeness on performance of food and beverage manufacturing enterprises in Nairobi City County

Abstract

Increase in global competition, ever-changing technologies and unstable business environment as a result of globalization, market liberalization and Covid 19 impact on businesses, have made firms search for other means of survival and growth. Food and beverage manufacturing enterprises are also experiencing these challenges. This is demonstratedbythedecreaseincontributiontoGDP,rangingfrom13.6%intheearly1990sto7.6%in2020,thereby raising doubt on whether the sector is capable to meet the goals of Vision 2030. Different studies around the world havesuggestedtheadoptionofentrepreneurialpracticesaspartofthesolution.However,thefindingsofthesestudies have been inconclusive. The objective of this study was to establish the influence of Innovativeness on performance of food and beverage manufacturing enterprises in Nairobi City County. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. The target population was one hundred and thirty-eight food and beverage manufacturing firms registered underKAMby2020.Acensuswasconductedanddatawasobtainedusingaquestionnaire.Datawasanalyzedusing simpleand multipleregressionanalysis withthehelpofSPSSversion25.0.Hypothesiswastestedusingt-statisticat 5% significance level. The study found that innovativeness had a positive influence on performance (regression coefficient0.446,p-valueof0.000).Thestudyrecommendsthatfirmsshouldassesstheirabilitytoembracenewideas andprocessesthat willleadtodevelopmentofnewproducts,services,marketsortechnologies.Innovativenessplays an essential role in doing away with challenges associated with businesses.