International Market Entry Strategies , Organizational Characteristics and the Performance of Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Abstract

The study was on the influence of internatio nal market entry strategies on the performance of manufacturing multinationals in K enya. Mode of entry into an international market is the channel which an organization employs to gain entry to a new international market. The choice for a particular entry mode is a critical determinant in the successful running of a foreign operation. Therefore, decisions of how to enter a foreign market can have a si gnificant impact on the results . The descriptive research design was used in this study . There are 213 Mul tinational Corporations in Kenya out of which 108 firms are in the manufacturing sector . The study use d a questionnaire as the preferred data collection tool and the r esults indicated that manufacturing multinationals used various international market str ategies to venture into business. Regressi on results indicated that entry strategies had an influence on performance (ROA) of the firm. The study concludes that manufacturing multinational firms used more than one entry strategy to venture into business t o probably enhance the firm’s performance. It was poss ible to conclude that all entry strategies had a nega tive and significant relationship with performance of firms while organization characteristics had positive and significant relationship with perform ance . The study recommended that the multinationals firms to c arry out research on the entry strategies before venturing into international market to ensure they use the appropriate entry strategy to enhance the organization performance. The study also rec ommends that the management to evaluate the factors to consider when choosing an entry strategy thoroughly so as to make sure they know the market very well and that the management to evaluate the factors influencing the choice of market entry modes . This is to ensure that they choose the best mode