Influence of Management Style and Entrepreneurial Culture on the Performance of Family Owned Matatu Businesses in Nairobi; Kenya
Abstract
In Kenya the transport sector plays an important role in integrating the various sectors of the economy. Matatus sector is one of the country’s informal industry that provide service to millions of people each day and are essentially the backbone of the transportation system in Kenya. Matatus account for an estimated 80% of the total public transport in the country. However there is lack of proper management skills by the owners especially in the family owned Matatu business. Total failure by the regulatory authorities in properly playing their part, and excessive interference by various tertiary unauthorized groups are the main challenges facing the Matatu transport sector. Both the investors (family) and their employees are not trained or well developed for the long term need of the industry. These investors are not economically and technically capable of dealing with the dynamics and frequent changes that take place within the industry. From these trend, the study sought to examine the influence of management style and entrepreneurial culture on the performance of family owned Matatu business in Nairobi, Kenya. Descriptive design was adopted by the study. The target population of the study comprised of 7000 Matatu owners in Nairobi and a sample size of 364 registered Matatu owners were selected using random sampling method. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data that was compared to secondary data and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis model was used test the relationship between the factors affecting matatu business and performance. The study found out that management style and entrepreneurship culture had a positive and significant effect on the performance of family owned Matatu Business in Nairobi. The study concluded that management style and entrepreneurial culture is a crucial field within the environment of the Matatu business. It was recommended that regulators bodies ought to be included in future research on Matatu sector.
Keywords: Management style, entrepreneur culture, Performance and Matatu Sector
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