Effect of Product Innovation on the Performance of Cement Manufacturing Firms in Kenya
Keywords:
product innovation, performance of cement firms, cement manufacturing firmsAbstract
This study examined the effect of product innovation on performance of the cement manufacturing firms in Kenya. It adopted a descriptive research design. The target population was all the department heads in all the cement manufacturing firms in Kenya. All the 79 department heads participated in the study. The response rate was 74%. Primary data was collected through closed-ended questionnaires. Questionnaire validity was ensured while reliability was determined using Cronbach's Alpha. Descriptive statistics; frequencies, percentages and means were used. Further, inferential statistics; correlation and regression analysis were used to assess relationship between variables. The correlation results indicated that there is a significant positive association between product innovation and performance of the cement manufacturing companies in Kenya, (r = 0.544, P = 0.000). Regression results also indicated a significant relationship, (R2 = 29.6%, P = 0.000). The null hypothesis (H01) was rejected since the p-value was 0.000<0.05. The study concluded that there is a positive and significant effect of product innovation on performance of the cement manufacturing firms in Kenya. Results have implications on technical specifications of products, product research and development, customer-centric product features, and enhancement of the existing products in all the cement manufacturing firms in Kenya.
Keywords: product innovation, performance of cement firms, cement manufacturing firms
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