Influence of Strategic Innovation Practices on Performance of Entrepreneurial Businesses in Kenya: Acase of SMEs in Nairobi County
Keywords:
Product Innovation, Service Innovation, PerformanceAbstract
Strategic innovation is critical for firms that are in pursuit of improved performance and their reward is often an increase in their profits and their market share. Process of strategic innovation is strongly associated with organizational learning and refers to ability of organization to generate, accept and implement new ideas, processes, products or services. The primary goal of process innovation is to generate a notable increase in productivity or to drive down costs significantly. This approach can help organizations achieve major reductions in process cost, improvements in quality, service levels and other business objectives. Strategic innovation is contributor to creation of new markets and products for the market, however even after the benefits of strategic innovation has been established the impact of strategic innovation on performance of SMEs has remained misunderstood. The specific objectives of the study were; to establish the effect of Service innovation on the performance of SMEs in Nairobi County, to establish the effect of product innovation on the Performance of SMEs in Nairobi County. The study adopted the use of mixed method approach research design which is the application of both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes. Result findings from literature-based review indicated that innovation had positive and significant influence on the performance of SMEs. It was recommended that innovation information should be available particularly to regulatory and advisory bodies for guidance to the SMEs on the need to craft and employ sound strategies geared towards continuously embracing innovativeness since innovation leads to improved financial performance.
Keywords: Product Innovation, Service Innovation, Performance.
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