Abstract:
Kenya is the third largest tea producer and the leading exporter of black tea in the world. The black CTC is exported in bulk form. Kenyan tea is acclaimed globally as a high quality product, available all year round and it is primarily used for blending teas from other origins. This makes Kenyan tea lack visibility in the world market eroding its competitiveness. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of strategic management practices on competitiveness of Kenyan tea. The specific objectives of the study included influence of market development, product development, strategic planning and strategic alliances on competitiveness of Kenyan tea. The research was based on both primary and secondary data. The study was guided by theories related to competitiveness which included theory of international competitiveness, theory of competitive advantage, Resource-Based theory, new trade theory, Strategic Management theory and Product Life Cycle theory. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The study targeted organizational population consisting of all one hundred and forty two (142) member organizations of the East African Tea Trade Association who participate in the tea auction at Mombasa. The accessible population comprised of four (4) top managers from the 142 organizations translating to five hundred sixty eight (568).The sample size consisted of one hundred and five (105) organizations where the four top managers were drawn from translating to four hundred and twenty (420) managers which was obtained using Slovin’s formula (1960). The main instrument used to collect primary data from the sampled respondents was a questionnaire. A pilot study was conducted to test the validity and reliability of the research instrument. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was determined by use of Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha (α). Collected data was further prepared for analysis using Statistical Package for social sciences (SPSS) to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. The response rate was at 80%. Regression results indicated that the strategic management practices were statistically significant in explaining competitiveness of Kenyan tea. The data analysed revealed an Adjusted R2 of 0.639 signifying that 63.9% of variations in competitiveness of Kenyan tea is influenced by market development, product development, strategic planning and strategic alliances .The P- Value of F statistics indicated that all the independent variables jointly are significant in influencing the competitiveness of Kenyan Tea. The study concludes that strategic management practices influenced competitiveness of Kenyan tea. The study recommends managerial and policy adjustments in line with strategic management practices to enhance competitiveness of Kenyan tea.
