BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, CORPORATE IMAGE, COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE OF LARGE MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA

Abstract

Firms’ performance differs from firm to firm in the same industry with some firms achieving higher
levels of performance than others which can be connected to the type of competitive strategies a
firm adopts. The never-ending changes today calls for firms to continuously monitor their business
environment with a view to creating strategies that will make them different from their competitors
and improve their corporate image in the eyes of their customers. The study sought to determine
how business environment and corporate image affect the relationship between competitive
strategies and the performance of large manufacturing firms in Kenya. It was guided by positivist
philosophy and a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The target population was large
manufacturing firms in Kenya where a structured questionnaire was utilized to collect data.
Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The study found that the joint influence of
competitive strategies, business environment and corporate image on performance of large
manufacturing firms in Kenya was statistically significant. Manufacturing firms should adopt
competitive strategies in response to business environment and craft strategies to enable them
position themselves better than competitor. The firms can indirectly improve performance by
maintaining a good corporate image also.