THE INFLUENCE OF REVERSE LOGISTICS ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AMONG MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA

Today globally, countries and manufacturing entities alike are concerned with

environmental sustainability. Execution of reverse logistics strategies has been

contemplated as a feasible alternative to mitigate the negative environmental

effects of manufacturing. However the question has been whether implementing

reverse logistics creates competitive advantage for manufacturing entities.

Specifically, the study objective was to establish the influence of reverse logistics

on competitive advantage among manufacturing firms in Kenya. Using

correlation cross-sectional survey design, primary data were collected among

KAM registered manufacturing firms in Kenya using a semi-structured

questionnaire. A response rate of 44.4% was attained. Covariance-based,

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used in data analysis. Results from the

hypothesis test revealed a statistically significant influence of reverse logistics on

a firm’s competitive advantage. The study thus confirmed that implementation

of reverse logistics strategies would lead firms to experience increased customer

loyalty, increased market share, improved brand recognition and an increase in

revenues. The study recommended that manufacturing firms should implement

reverse logistics as an integrated intervention consisting of outsourcing,

collaborative enterprising, green strategies and closed-loop supply chain

approaches to achieve organizational and environmental benefits. The study

further recommended that implementation of reverse logistics should be guided

by a process that requires identifying the uniqueness of resources the

organization has and strategically placing these resources in a manner that

builds comparative advantage. The study suggested that future researchers could

replicate this study using direct measures for all the study variables. Further

making intra-industry or intra-sectoral comparisons would also be useful in

generating knowledge on the implementation of reverse logistics.