| dc.description.abstract | This study was designed to document environmental scanning practices in Kenyan
large manufacturing firms. The study had two main objectives:
1. To establish the environmental scanning practice (s) in large manufacturing
firms in Kenya.
2. To find out the factors behind the use of the environmental scanning methods
in practice.
To achieve these objectives primary data was collected using structured
questionnaires from a sample of 100 manufacturing firms picked from the Kenya
Industrial Research & Development Institute's (KIRDI) directory. One questionnaire
per large manufacturing firm was administered to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
or a senior manager. A drop and pick later approach was adopted and on many
occasions the researcher discussed the contents of the questionnaire with the
respondents. A total of 32 firms responded positively giving a response rate of 32%.
The data was analysed with the aid of SPSS software. Simple descriptive statistics
were used to present this data. Relationship tests were done to determine the influence
of scanning on performance. Kruskal-Wallis or betjes.known as the H-test was used to
determine any significant differences.
The objectives of this study have been met. The manufacturing companies in Kenya
do use environmental scanning practices due to the uncertainties and turbulence in the
business environment. They only differ on how they conduct the environmental
scanning exercise with most preferring market intelligence.
The findings of this study further revealed that manufacturing firms have been
successful over the last five years, recording above average levels of performance.
This confirms the literature review that the manufacturing industry is going through a
transition as a result of the stable macro-economic environment, government
intervention in promoting export opportunities among others, which have increased
investor confidence. | en |
