Challenges faced by small and medium enterprises in strategy implementation in Nairobi city county
Abstract
There is vast knowledge on strategic plans and strategy planning as put forward by
various scholars and researchers. Other researchers have studied on the strategic
planning practices of various organizations. While these research studies emphasize the
importance of strategic plans, they do not give details of some of the challenges of
strategy implementation. This study therefore sought to fill the existing research gap by
carrying out a survey on the challenges faced by Small and Medium enterprises in
strategy implementation in Nairobi City County. A survey of small and medium
enterprises within Central Business District (CBD) of Nairobi city was undertaken. Data
were obtained from 30 respondent firms. Data were collected through questionnaires.
Results were analysed through descriptive statistics, cross tabulations, Pearson
Correlation and analysis of variance. It was established that inadequate finances,
government regulation, competition and organization structure pose the greatest
challenge to strategy implementation. In contrast, organizational culture, lack of
management support and lack of clear communication strategy affected strategy
implementation process to a small extent. Age of the enterprise can be both an asset and
a liability in the strategy implementation process. As an asset, organizational age can
enhance a firm‟s ability to attract financial resources. As a liability, age can promote
status quo preference and entrench structural rigidities which in turn impede strategy
implementation process. It was also established that nature of enterprise ownership is
associated with a firm‟s ability to access financial resources. The study established that
external environment factors largely affected strategy implementation process than
internally based factors. Based on findings of the study, it was concluded that successful
implementation of strategy require addressing access to funds, gathering market
intelligence and monitoring the regulatory environment. It was recommended that future
studies need to adopt longitudinal research design to investigate challenges to strategy
implementation. In addition, there is need for widening the geographic scope of the
study to include the entire Nairobi City County and beyond. It was further
recommended that managers should redesign organization structure whenever a new
strategy is prepared; and to gather and share market intelligence with organizational
members.
Publisher
University of Nairobi