The Role Of Employee Behaviour And Organizational Structure In The Relationship Between Strategic Planning And Competitive Advantage Of Large Manufacturing Firms In Kenya
Abstract
Several studies have been carried out in the past to find out how strategic planning
and competitive advantage are connected and the causes of differences in competitive
advantage among firms. Scholars have argued that competitive advantage can
emanate from either internal or external sources and is usually in several forms which
include; valuable resources, the position held within the industry, position within the
marketplace, operating at lower costs than rival firms, differentiation, capabilities and
dynamic capabilities. The debate on what causes differences in competitive advantage
is still on. This study sought to advance knowledge and was based on the premise that
strategic planning influences competitive advantage both directly and also indirectly
by way of the intervening influence of employee behaviour and the moderating effect
of organizational structure. The overall purpose of the research was to determine
whether the association between strategic planning and competitive advantage of
large manufacturing organizations is influenced by employee behaviour and
organizational structure. Out of this overall purpose, four specific objectives were
formulated with corresponding four hypotheses which were tested at 95.0%
confidence level. The study was underpinned by the goal-setting theory, the
competitive advantage typology/theory, the resource-based theory, dynamic
capabilities theory and contingency theory. The study used a positivist research
paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design. Data collected from 122 large
manufacturing firms was tested using a 5-point Likert-type scale. The data received
was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypotheses were tested
using both simple and multivariate regression analysis as well as hierarchical analysis
for mediating and moderating effects. The findings indicate that overall strategic
planning has a statistically significant influence on competitive advantage and that
employee behaviour completely mediates the relationship between strategic planning
and competitive advantage. The findings further reveal that organizational structure
has a partial moderating effect between strategic planning and competitive advantage
and that the joint influence of employee behaviour and organizational structure is
different from the influence of individual variables on the relationship between
strategic planning and competitive advantage of large manufacturing organizations. In
the joint influence, employee behaviour had the highest contribution followed by
organizational structure. The results of this research lend support to previous enquiries
and seem to support all the theories used to underpin the study. The study has added
to knowledge in the field of strategic management by establishing the mediating
influence of employee behaviour and the moderating effect of organizational
structure. Managers will use the results of this research to monitor the crucial
competitive advantage drivers in their firms especially relating to employee behaviour
and organizational structure. The thesis suggests comparable studies to be undertaken
in other industries, other contexts and even in small to medium manufacturing firms.
Besides, longitudinal studies can be carried out in large manufacturing firms so as to
authenticate the results obtained from this cross-sectional study. The study has offered
direction for policy makers and owners of large manufacturing firms. Finally, areas
for further research have been highlighted in terms of context, other variables and
performance indicators to be tested.”
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Subject
Employee BehaviourRights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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