EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION STRATEGIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF TEA FIRMS IN NANDI COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of technological innovation strategies on the performance of tea firms in Nandi County, The study was anchored on Rodger’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory.  This study used a descriptive survey research design, the target population for this study comprised the 19 tea firms in Nandi County, Kenya with a focus on 114 managers at the top, middle, and lower-level management. This study, being descriptive in several characteristics, couple with the fact that it targeted a relatively large population geographically spread in Nandi County, the researcher developed and used a  questionnaire as the key data collection instrument. Data collected were quantitative. Quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. The descriptive statistical tools including Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and MS Excel helped the researcher to describe the data and determine the extent used. Inferential analysis involving correlation analysis was carried out to examine the relationship between variables while regression analysis was performed to establish the strength of the variables against the dependent variables. The correlation analysis results showed that there existed a positive and significant relationship between technological innovation strategies and firm performance (β = 0.587; P-value < 0.05). Regression analysis results showed that technological innovation strategies influenced firm performance (β = 0.384: P-value < 0.05).