| dc.description.abstract | Strategic management is a major contributor to the success of any organization. It is not limited to larger companies or organization in specific sectors but to all. Due to the advances in technology and the opportunities being created, a whole new sector is being created, that of technology companies. These companies provide services by use of new means and forms of communications. Many of the founders and managers in such organizations may not have knowledge of strategic management or business related academic background. The purpose of this study was to establish the level of adoption of strategic management practices by technology startup companies in Kenya and its influence on their performance. The study was anchored on four theories namely, resource based view of the firm, the contingency theory, profit maximization and competition based theory and survival based theory. The research design employed in this study was survey method. The target population was technology startup companies that are based in Nairobi and have operations in Kenya. The sample consisted of 32 technology startup companies. The researcher used a questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument. The study relied on primary data that was obtained from questionnaires that were distributed to the companies. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Frequency distribution table were used to summarize the data that was received from the respondents. From the findings, the study did establish that majority of the companies did not have employees with a business related academic background and also are not managed by employees who have experience in managing an organization. It was noted that adoption of strategic management is more in line with product strategies compared to other areas like human resource, marketing. Those who were interviewed also indicated that their strategic decisions are affected by both internal and external factors. The study found out also that the organizations believe that the adoption of strategic management has had an influence on the performance of their organizations. The study concludes that majority of the organizations have adopted strategic management practices in their operations. However this has not happened fully for most of them across the whole organization. Most of the focus of the organizations has been in product strategy and operations. The study has also concluded that adoption of strategic management practices has an influence on the performance of the organization. The study recommends that technology startup companies should focus on creating strategies that would help them gain a competitive advantage and also help in improving their performance. While coming up with these strategies, they should focus on both external and internal factors within the organizations. They should also focus on strategies that are critical to their operations as a whole. This study will help those forming policies to understand the importance of strategic management on technology startups. It will help them formulate policies that will facilitate the adoption of strategic management by such companies. The study confirms the various theories on strategic management and its influence on performance. It adds to the existing body of knowledge of strategic management. This study will help those intending to or running technology startup companies to understand the importance of strategic management and how it can influence their performance. | en_US |
