Do Budgeting Practices Affect Saving Behaviour among Small Scale Entrepreneurs in Kenya? Evidence from Kisumu Central Constituency

World Bank Development Indicators' most recent data reveals that the nation's Gross Domestic Savings as a proportion of gross domestic product(GDP) was 11.09 percent in 2017, 11.64 percent in 2018, 11.25 percent in 2019 and 12.83 percent in 2020. This shows that the country’s domestic savings is increasing but relatively low. As a result of this the country presents a significant development challenge. Individuals need to learn the basic knowledge of financial areas so that people may make knowledgeable financial decisions about how to earn, spend, save, manage, and invest their money. The purpose of this study was to answer if budgeting practices has an effect on saving behavior among small scale entrepreneurs in Kenya.  The study's particular objectives were to; establish the influence of monitoring spending, financial planning and tracking spending pattern on saving behavior among small entrepreneurs. The study was guided by Life Cycle Theory and Financial Literacy Theory. Correlational research design was employed in the study. The target population comprised of 914 registered small entrepreneurs in Kisumu town central constituency who have been in business for at least 2 years. The study adopted Yamane sampling technique and obtained 278 respondents. Open-ended and closed-ended structured questionnaires were employed to gather primary data. To test reliability of the questionnaire, the study piloted 28 respondents who were excluded in the final study. The study then used Cronbach’s Alpha to test reliability. The results showed that budgeting practices (α=0.828) and budgeting practices (α=0.870) all had a strong alpha value of above 0.7 which indicates that the instrument is reliable. The study findings revealed that; monitoring spending was significant (β= .376; p=.000˂ 0.05) that is an increase of 1 unit in monitoring spending causes an increase of .376 units in saving behavior, financial planning was significant (β= .333, p=.000˂0.05) that is an increase of 1 unit in financial planning causes an increase of .333 units in saving behavior  and tracking spending pattern was also significant (β= .179, p= .000˂0.05) that is  an increase of 1 unit in monitoring spending terms causes an increase of .179 units in saving behavior. There was a strong positive and significant association between budgeting and saving behavior thus rejecting the null hypothesis. The study concludes that budgeting practices enhances saving behaviour of small entrepreneurs in Kenya and recommends that small scale entrepreneurs should practice all aspects of budgeting which includes monitoring spending, financial planning and tracking spending pattern should be among small scale entrepreneurs in Kenya. This will enable them to compare what they have spent with regard to what they had planned thereby helping them improve their saving behavior

Do Budgeting Practices Affect Saving Behavior among Smallscale Enterpreneurs in Kenya? Evidence from Kisumu Central Constitency

World Bank Development Indicators' most recent data reveals that the nation's Gross Domestic Savings as a proportion of gross domestic product(GDP) was 11.09 percent in 2017, 11.64 percent in 2018, 11.25 percent in 2019, and 12.83 percent in 2020. This shows that the country’s domestic savings is increasing but relatively low. As a result of this, the country presents a significant development challenge. Individuals need to learn the basic knowledge of financial areas so that people may make knowledgeable financial decisions about how to earn, spend, save, manage, and invest their money. The purpose of this study was to answer if budgeting practices affect saving behavior among small-scale entrepreneurs in Kenya.  The study's particular objectives were to; establish the influence of monitoring spending, financial planning, and tracking spending patterns on saving behavior among small entrepreneurs. The study was guided by Life Cycle Theory and Financial Literacy Theory. A correlational research design was employed in the study. The target population comprised 914 registered small entrepreneurs in Kisumu town central constituency who have been in business for at least 2 years. The study adopted the Yamane sampling technique and obtained 278 respondents. Open-ended and closed-ended structured questionnaires were employed to gather primary data. To test the reliability of the questionnaire, the study piloted 28 respondents who were excluded from the final study. The study then used Cronbach’s Alpha to test reliability. The results showed that budgeting practices (α=0.828) and saving behavior (α=0.870) all had a strong alpha value of above 0.7 which indicates that the instrument is reliable. The study findings revealed that; monitoring spending was significant (β= .376; p=.000˂ 0.05) that is an increase of 1 unit in monitoring spending causes an increase of .376 units in saving behavior, financial planning was significant (β= .333, p=.000˂0.05) that is an increase of 1 unit in financial planning causes an increase of .333 units in saving behavior and tracking spending pattern was also significant (β= .179, p= .000˂0.05) that is an increase of 1 unit in monitoring spending terms causes an increase of .179 units in saving behavior. There was a strong positive and significant association between budgeting and saving behavior thus rejecting the null hypothesis. The study concludes that budgeting practices improve the saving behavior of small entrepreneurs in Kenya and recommends that small-scale entrepreneurs should practice all aspects of budgeting practices which includes monitoring spending, financial planning, and tracking spending patterns. This will enable them to compare what they have spent concerning what they had planned thereby helping them improve their saving behavior

FINANCIAL LEVERAGE AND PERFORMANCE OF LISTED FIRMS IN A FRONTIER MARKET: PANEL EVIDENCE FROM KENYA

This paper investigates the relationship between financial leverage and the financial performance of listed firm in Kenya. We use annual data for the period 2007 – 2011. Using various panel procedures, the study finds reasonably strong evidence that financial leverage significantly, and negatively, affects the performance of listed firms in Kenya (ROA, β = - .0438, p = .0350) and Tobin’s Q, β = -.5144, p = .0124). However, financial leverage negative but insignificant effect on ROE, β = -.0176, p = .5765). Unit root test results indicate: all the variables are integrated of order zero (p = .000). Second, because the performance of firms depends on other things than just their financial leverage, we control for the effects of those other variables by including them in our models. In this respect, the findings suggest that asset tangibility (β = .2302, p = .0215) and ownership concentration (β = -.0057 (p = .0353) are important determinants of performance measured in terms of Tobin’s Q. The study concludes that; that financial leverage is an important negative predictor of financial performance measured in terms of ROA and Tobin’s Q; ownership concentration is a pertinent negative predictor of financial performance measured in terms of Tobin’s Q and asset tangibility is a significant positive predictor of performance measured in terms of ROE and Tobin’s Q

Do Budgeting Practices Affect Saving Behaviour among Small Scale Entrepreneurs in Kenya? Evidence from Kisumu Central Constituency

World Bank Development Indicators' most recent data reveals that the nation's Gross Domestic Savings as a proportion of gross domestic product(GDP) was 11.09 percent in 2017, 11.64 percent in 2018, 11.25 percent in 2019 and 12.83 percent in 2020. This shows that the country’s domestic savings is increasing but relatively low. As a result of this the country presents a significant development challenge. Individuals need to learn the basic knowledge of financial areas so that people may make knowledgeable financial decisions about how to earn, spend, save, manage, and invest their money. The purpose of this study was to answer if budgeting practices has an effect on saving behavior among small scale entrepreneurs in Kenya.  The study's particular objectives were to; establish the influence of monitoring spending, financial planning and tracking spending pattern on saving behavior among small entrepreneurs. The study was guided by Life Cycle Theory and Financial Literacy Theory. Correlational research design was employed in the study. The target population comprised of 914 registered small entrepreneurs in Kisumu town central constituency who have been in business for at least 2 years. The study adopted Yamane sampling technique and obtained 278 respondents. Open-ended and closed-ended structured questionnaires were employed to gather primary data. To test reliability of the questionnaire, the study piloted 28 respondents who were excluded in the final study. The study then used Cronbach’s Alpha to test reliability. The results showed that budgeting practices (α=0.828) and budgeting practices (α=0.870) all had a strong alpha value of above 0.7 which indicates that the instrument is reliable. The study findings revealed that; monitoring spending was significant (β= .376; p=.000˂ 0.05) that is an increase of 1 unit in monitoring spending causes an increase of .376 units in saving behavior, financial planning was significant (β= .333, p=.000˂0.05) that is an increase of 1 unit in financial planning causes an increase of .333 units in saving behavior  and tracking spending pattern was also significant (β= .179, p= .000˂0.05) that is  an increase of 1 unit in monitoring spending terms causes an increase of .179 units in saving behavior. There was a strong positive and significant association between budgeting and saving behavior thus rejecting the null hypothesis. The study concludes that budgeting practices enhances saving behaviour of small entrepreneurs in Kenya and recommends that small scale entrepreneurs should practice all aspects of budgeting which includes monitoring spending, financial planning and tracking spending pattern should be among small scale entrepreneurs in Kenya. This will enable them to compare what they have spent with regard to what they had planned thereby helping them improve their saving behavior

OWNERSHIP CONCENTRATION AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF LISTED FIRMS IN KENYA: AN ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS USING PANEL DATA

In this study, we use panel methodology comprising 53 firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange to establish the effect of ownership concentration on financial performance of these firms for the period 2007 to 2011. Before empirical estimations were conducted, the data series were subjected to unit root tests to establish their stationarity conditions and where a series is found to be non-stationary at levels, it was differenced until it become stationary. The study findings revealed that on average, firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange enjoy a return on equity and return on assets of about 16.5 percent. The sectors that registered the highest return on equity included insurance, commerce and construction at 20.8 percent, 19.3 percent and 20.1 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the sectors that registered relatively higher return on assets include commerce, telecommunications and manufacturing with average ROA of 23.0 percent, 20.0 percent and 25.4 percent; respectively. The study also found that the highest ownership concentration is 96.310 %, while the lowest is 11.040%, with an average ownership concentration of 64.286 % and variability of 17.292 % implying that the percentage of shares held by those considered as large shareholders range between 96.310 % and 11.040 %, with a mean of 64.286 % and finally the results of correlation analysis revealed non-significant relationship between ownership concentration and performance of firms at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. On the other hand, from the panel regression analysis results, ownership concentration was found to be negatively related to all the three measures of performance in firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange namely ROE, ROA and Tobin’s Q with coefficients of -0.0005, -0.0002 and 0.0057 respectively. The adjusted R squared for the return on equity, return on assets and Tobin’s Q models were 77.32%, 88.52% and 85.94% respectively

CORPORATE SIZE, PROFITABILITY AND MARKET VALUE: AN ECONOMETRIC PANEL ANALYSIS OF LISTED FIRMS IN KENYA

In corporate finance, the size of a firm is a primary factor in determining the success of a firm due to economies of scale. While, previous studies have confined their analyses on either a single industry or a few firms, in this study, we consider a rather comprehensive sample of firms that represent a sufficiently broad range of firm sizes in all sectors of Kenyan economy hence amplifying the importance of the study. Global corporate size literature shows plausable but mixed relationship between firm size, profitability and market value. The effect of corporate size on profitability and market value in a frontier market using panel methodology is unknown. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of corporate size on profitability and market value of listed firms in Kenya. In this study, data for companies which were active in Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) between the years 2010 to 2014 has been used. Unit root test results indicate that all the variables are integrated of order zero (p = .000) meaning that they were stationary at levels. Panel correlation and multiple regression methods are used in the empirical estimations. Results indicate that there is a positive significant relationship between firm size and profitability, that is, return on equity (β = .012, t = 2.585) impying that value that a unit change in firm size leads to an increase in return on equity of firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange of 0.012, all things being fixed whereas firm size insignificantly positively predicts profitability, that is, return on asset (β =.012, t = 1.659). In addition, the results show that corporate size has no statistically significant impact on firm market value (β = -.011, t = -.225) under random effects specification

Role of Strategic Investment Approaches on Efficient Performance of Real Estate firms in Kenya

Resources like time, organizational efforts and materials require efficient management in order to achieve greater outputs. Every organization need to reduce waste in these resources to the minimum possible so as to produce high quality services and products. The real estate industry has been evolving overtime from the traditional conventional bricks and mortar industry to be more dynamic and operational, focusing on access and outcomes rather than ownership. Investors who do not develop creative and cost-effective strategies of accessing operational experience and innovation are likely to have diminishing returns on their investments. This paper illustrates how efficiency in operations is influenced by how investors select a combination of their investment portfolio. The study reviews and analyses the concept of operational efficiency of real estate investment firms in Nairobi county and suggests ways in which it can be improved in future through strategic decision making. This article sought to establish the effect of strategic investment approaches on efficient performance of real estate investment firms in Kenya, the study period being 2018-2022. Strategic investment approaches were the independent variable and efficient performance the dependent variable thus analyzing the relationship between the two variables. Theoretical literature links strategic investment approaches to investment performance both positively and negatively with some scholars stating that there is a positive relationship between the two while other scholars contradicting. Correlational survey design and census sampling method were used to draw 231 registered real estate investment firms in Kenya's capital city of Nairobi. Primary data was gathered using structured questionnaires to collect data from 231 operations managers and analyzed by regression analysis. The findings of the study indicated that strategic investment approaches is positively correlated to efficient performance at (p<0.05) and R² of 60.3% indicating that 60.3% change in efficient performance is caused by strategic investment approaches while 39.7% will be explained by other factors. The study revealed that strategic investment approaches is a strong driver of operational efficiency thus recommends that the firm’s strategic intelligence teams should proactively integrate strategic innovation and move away from the old ways of creating and managing real estate

EFFECT OF MORTGAGE FINANCING ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA

The financial performance of commercial banks has been unstable as evidenced in Annual Supervision Report of 2011 to 2020, where the Return on Assets (ROA) rose to 6.2% in 2012 from 3% in 2011; and to below 3% in the years 2016 to 2020. Literature reveals that commercial banks’ lending criteria are pro-cyclical, implying a less strict lending criteria during the real estate boom, and very strict during burst; resulting in likely underestimation of the default risk on loans during periods of high demand by the commercial banks. The objective of the study was to establish the effect of mortgage financing on the n financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya for the period 2015 to 2022. Using secondary balanced panel data from 27 mortgage-offering banks in Kenya, with 189 data points and employing moderated multiple regression to achieve the study objectives. The regression analysis revealed that the independent variables explained 86.69% (R2 = 0.8669, p-value = 0004) of variance in of financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya, the coefficient of mortgage financing is 0.004434, (p=0.0004); implying that a unit increase in mortgage loan would result to significant increase in the return on assets by 0.004434 units. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. The study concluded that an increase in the amount of mortgage loans offered as well as other activities that augment the total value of mortgage loans extended by the commercial banks leads to a significant improvement in the financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya. The study recommends that commercial banks in Kenya should target to increase the amount of mortgage offered as well as other activities that augment the total value of mortgage loans extended in order to improve their financial performance. JEL: D10; D14; G21  Article visualizations

CORPORATE SIZE, PROFITABILITY AND MARKET VALUE: AN ECONOMETRIC PANEL ANALYSIS OF LISTED FIRMS IN KENYA

In corporate finance, the size of a firm is a primary factor in determining the success of a firm due to economies of scale. While, previous studies have confined their analyses on either a single industry or a few firms, in this study, we consider a rather comprehensive sample of firms that represent a sufficiently broad range of firm sizes in all sectors of Kenyan economy hence amplifying the importance of the study. Global corporate size literature shows plausable but mixed relationship between firm size, profitability and market value. The effect of corporate size on profitability and market value in a frontier market using panel methodology is unknown. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of corporate size on profitability and market value of listed firms in Kenya. In this study, data for companies which were active in Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) between the years 2010 to 2014 has been used. Unit root test results indicate that all the variables are integrated of order zero (p = .000) meaning that they were stationary at levels. Panel correlation and multiple regression methods are used in the empirical estimations. Results indicate that there is a positive significant relationship between firm size and profitability, that is, return on equity (β = .012, t = 2.585) impying that value that a unit change in firm size leads to an increase in return on equity of firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange of 0.012, all things being fixed whereas firm size insignificantly positively predicts profitability, that is, return on asset (β =.012, t = 1.659). In addition, the results show that corporate size has no statistically significant impact on firm market value (β = -.011, t = -.225) under random effects specification

Role of Strategic Investment Approaches on Efficient Performance of Real Estate firms in Kenya

Resources like time, organizational efforts and materials require efficient management in order to achieve greater outputs. Every organization need to reduce waste in these resources to the minimum possible so as to produce high quality services and products. The real estate industry has been evolving overtime from the traditional conventional bricks and mortar industry to be more dynamic and operational, focusing on access and outcomes rather than ownership. Investors who do not develop creative and cost-effective strategies of accessing operational experience and innovation are likely to have diminishing returns on their investments. This paper illustrates how efficiency in operations is influenced by how investors select a combination of their investment portfolio. The study reviews and analyses the concept of operational efficiency of real estate investment firms in Nairobi county and suggests ways in which it can be improved in future through strategic decision making. This article sought to establish the effect of strategic investment approaches on efficient performance of real estate investment firms in Kenya, the study period being 2018-2022. Strategic investment approaches were the independent variable and efficient performance the dependent variable thus analyzing the relationship between the two variables. Theoretical literature links strategic investment approaches to investment performance both positively and negatively with some scholars stating that there is a positive relationship between the two while other scholars contradicting. Correlational survey design and census sampling method were used to draw 231 registered real estate investment firms in Kenya's capital city of Nairobi. Primary data was gathered using structured questionnaires to collect data from 231 operations managers and analyzed by regression analysis. The findings of the study indicated that strategic investment approaches is positively correlated to efficient performance at (p<0.05) and R² of 60.3% indicating that 60.3% change in efficient performance is caused by strategic investment approaches while 39.7% will be explained by other factors. The study revealed that strategic investment approaches is a strong driver of operational efficiency thus recommends that the firm’s strategic intelligence teams should proactively integrate strategic innovation and move away from the old ways of creating and managing real estate