Organizational Capital and Financial Performance; What is the Mediation Effect of Firm Innovation: Evidence from Insurance Firms in Kenya

Purpose: following the Resource Based View Theory, this study explored whether firm innovation mediated the upshot of organization capital on firm performance in Kenyan insurance firms. Design / Methodology: the research surveyed 49 insurance firms in Kenya using explanatory research design. The hypotheses testing used Structural Equation Modelling. Findings: The outcome revealed that organization capital positively influences firm innovativeness and that firm innovation partially arbitrates the association between organization capital and performance of the firm. Practical implication: the outcome of the research suggested that for insurance firms to be innovative organization capital should be enhanced in terms of availability in the systems, databases, files, licenses or patents which is termed very important for implementation of innovation since such knowledge is the result of humdrum routine of employees, reminds usage process, flexible in usage for new contexts and more significantly it improves employees technology skills thus resulting to a better performance by the firm

Resource Use Efficiency in Poultry Production in Bureti District, Kenya

Poultry production is one of the most important economic activities to the smallholder farmers of Kenya. However, constraints are evident which have resulted in low production of poultry and poultry products to meet population demand and for socio-economic sustainability of the livelihoods. The objective of the study was to determine resource use efficiency, optimal production levels, production systems of small-scale poultry farmers in Bureti district, Kenya. Primary data were obtained using a set of structured questionnaires from 300 representative farmers drawn from the study area using cross-sectional sampling techniques. Data were analyzed by Cobb-Douglas production function. The results showed that the resources used in poultry production were underutilized while others were over utilized. The efficiency indicators for poultry feeds (0.0603) showed that poultry feeds were inefficiently used. Labour efficiency indicator (-0.091) showed that farmers were not only grossly inefficient in the use of the resource but also over utilized it while the efficiency indicator (60.86) for poultry equipment implied the resource was inefficiently utilized. It is recommended that farmers should use inputs more efficiently (particularly feeds which were being inefficiently utilized) by reducing their levels of employment.Economic Efficiency, Resource Use Efficiency, Small-Holder Poultry Farmers, Kenya, Livestock Production/Industries,

Environmentally Sustainable Supply Chain Practices, Organisation Culture on Firm Performance. A Mediation Approach

Sustainability is increasingly turning into a strategic business project that firms are recognizing that sustainable carry outs can be economical and ought to make fresh income streams as well as enhance client and worker gratification. Despite this, sustainability and performance of firms have received little research attention. Using Natural Resource-Based View and stakeholder theory, research main purpose was to determine the mediating effect of organization culture on the association amid environmentally sustainable supply chain practices and firm performance. This study used descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the hypothesis. Data collected from 281 Kenyan manufacturing firms were used to test study hypotheses. From bias-corrected bootstrapping Structural Equation Modeling, results showed that organization culture variable fully mediates the association amid environmentally maintainable supply chain methods on the performance of manufacturing firms. Thus, the study infers that a strong organizational culture in the organization leads to the enhanced implementation of environmentally sustainable supply chain practices in the organization which in turn increases the performance of manufacturing firms. Without organization culture, these practices may go unheeded and not contribute to improved performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. Consequently, this study recommends that the managers of these firms should build an organizational culture with environmental concerns in all their processes. This study hence contributes to theory and practice by the inclusion of organizational culture and also extends natural resource-based view and stakeholder theories of a firm

Effect of Land Characteristics on Poverty Levels among Tea Farming Households in Konoin Sub-County, Kenya

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of land characteristics on poverty levels among tea farming household in Konoin sub-county. The objectives of the study were to determine the effect of farm land size, diversified land use, increased land size under tea and diversified tea crop variety on poverty levels of tea farmers. To achieve the purpose of the study, the hypothesis tested was: farm land characteristics (farm land size, diversified land use, increased land size under tea and diversified tea crop variety) do not have significant effect on poverty levels among tea farmers. The sample that took part in the study was 380, selected from a target population of approximately 36,000 small-scale tea farming households. The sample was selected proportionately from 12 tea catchment areas. Generalized Linear Model (GLM) and censored Tobit regression models were used to analyze data. The farm land characteristics; farm size, land tenure, diversified land used, increased land size under tea and diversified tea crop variety were found to significantly influence the poverty levels among the tea farmers. These characteristics led to better incomes, more odds of the household being above the poverty line and where the household was poor, reduced likelihood of being deeply in poverty and less effort was required in lifting them out of vicious poverty. As a recommendation, interventions targeting on diversified land use, diversification of crop varieties, land consolidation and less subdivision, and adoption of fast maturing crops should inform policy formulation targeting poverty reduction in smallholder tea farming households. Keywords: Small-scale Tea farming, Land characteristics, Poverty, smallholde

Is Housing Gap a Consequence of Willingness and/or Eligibility to Mortgage Financing by Respondents in Uasin Gishu, Kenya?

Despite significance of mortgage financing, previous research indicated that at best only 3% of households in urban areas in Kenya were eligible for mortgage financing. The study sought to establish the role of socio-economic factors (income level, rental income and education level) on willingness or/and eligibility to mortgage financing. The study adopted explanatory research design. Target population was obtained in the records of all the 16 financial institutions licensed by Central Bank of Kenya offering mortgages in Uasin Gishu County. Purposive and convenience sampling was used in picking the 16 Financial Institutions and 749 respondents respectively. Structured questionnaires and a Double Hurdle Model were employed. Income level and rental income positively and negatively influenced willingness to participate in mortgage financing respectively. Income level and rental income significantly and positively influenced eligibility. The findings are important to the Uasin Gishu Government, financial institutions and other stakeholders in making appropriate policies. Keywords: Mortgage financing, willingness, eligibility, double hurdle model, Uasin Gishu, Keny

Does CEO Traits Influence Innovation? Evidence from the Kenya Banking Sector

Empirical research on firm innovation has provoked mixed reactions from various scholars in the recent past. The main purpose of this study is to determine the influence of CEO traits on innovation among financial institutions in Kenya on the basis of upper echelons and optimism theories. The study used the design of the explanatory survey. The survey data for 130 stratified financial firms were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis. The findings indicate that the CEO's optimism, humility, and narcissism all had a positive effect on firm innovation. The consequences are that innovation in financial institutions is increasing when CEOs are optimistic, humble and narcissistic. The results suggest that, in order for financial institutions to be innovative, they need to have the CEOs who are optimistic and who epitomize visionary objectives to be committed to innovation. Likewise, they should have CEOs who are humble enough to involve key stakeholders and a narcissistic CEO who can stand decisively for organizational change in the form of innovation. This study is important in understanding how the CEO's personality contributes to firm innovation

Profit efficiency among kenyan maize farmers

The profit efficiency (PE) of maize farming and its determinants are estimated using the true random effect (TRE) approach. A survey of maize farmers was conducted in Uasin Gishu, one of Kenya's top maize-producing regions. Clearly, maize farmers can increase their profits based on the mean PE of 0.62. In terms of profitability, maize farming is elastically affected by the price of maize, but inelastically affected by the price of inputs. In households where the head of household is male, household sizes are larger, and farm sizes are larger, inefficiencies of profit are significantly reduced. Despite this, factors such as the distance between home and the maize farm, soil characteristics, maize diseases, along with natural disasters significantly increase profit inefficiency. According to the findings of the study, maize prices are more effective targets for developing supportive policies than input prices. To significantly increase PE, farmers would benefit from programs designed to improve their production and management skills to preserve soil health and minimize damage caused by disease and natural disasters. Furthermore, increase in PE would be achieved by improving farm size through land-use policies

Impact of dairy hubs on smallholder welfare: empirical evidence from Kenya

Abstract This paper identifies the factors that affect farmers’ decision to participate in a dairy hub. It also examines the impacts of dairy hub participation on rural household welfare measured by farm yields and net returns in Kenya. The study utilises farm-level data of 826 Kenyan small-scale dairy farmers. The casual impact of dairy hub participation is estimated by utilising endogenous switching regression. This helps in estimating the true welfare effect of dairy hub participation by controlling the role of selection problem on participation decision. The empirical results indicate that farmers’ education, extension services, credit access, landholding, tropical livestock unit, distance to dairy hub, off-farm work and household size mainly determine participation in dairy hub. It was also found that dairy hub participation significantly increases yields and net returns

Board Leadership, Chief Executive Officer Optimism and Firm Innovation

Purpose - Following the resource dependence and optimism theory, the study explored whether Chief Executive Officer (CEO) optimism moderates the link between board leadership and firm innovation in the financial sector. Design/Methodology - 130 financial institutions in Kenya were surveyed using cross-sectional and explanatory designs. Hypothesis testing utilized both moderated hierarchical regression models and mod-graphs. Findings - The results revealed that the board member’s openness and independence positively influence firm innovation. The moderated hierarchical regression results and figures in the mod-graphs reveal that CEO optimism enhances the association between the board member’s openness, independence, and firm innovation. Practical Implications - The results suggested that for financial institutions to be innovative, board members should be open to each other in terms of the private ideas as well as being independent about decisions made to spur the growth of the firms. Additionally, such boards should appoint CEOs who are optimistic about being innovative