dc.description.abstract | Global competitive pressure is driving the growth of international business and the
establishment of multinational corporations (MNCs) across geographies. Considering that
internationalization consumes substantial management time, resources, and expertise,
firms strive to select strategies that assure superior performance and competitive
advantage in their new markets. Over the last few years, Kenya has experienced an influx
of multinational fashion retailers seeking alternative markets for their products. These
multinationals are motivated by the expanding middle class, growing consumerism, and
supportive infrastructure. The objective iof ithe istudy was to determine the relationship
between market entry strategies and the performance of imultinational ifashion iretailers iin
iNairobi. The study population was made up of 13 multinational fashion retail companies.
The researcher collected data from the entire ipopulation. The research was carried out
using a descriptive cross-sectional survey. Semi-structured questionnaires with closedended
and open-ended questions were used to obtain primary data. Descriptive statistics
were used to analyze the data. The study's findings revealed that multinational fashion
retailers in Nairobi pursued a variety of strategies to enter into the Kenyan market.
Majority of the firms began by directly exporting their products before venturing fully.
Once they had established sufficient demand for their products, they pursued strategies
such as franchising, joint ventures with local firms, and FDI. The descriptive statistics
indicated a high extent of agreement by multinational fashion retailers that exporting,
franchising, joint venture and FDI market entry strategies yielded various financial and
non-financial performance ibenefits. The study concluded that pursuit of exporting,
franchising, joint venture, and FDI market entry strategies yields financial and nonfinancial
value to firms. As such, multinational fashion retailers benefit from exploring
entry into new markets using any of the four strategies in response to growing dynamism
in their markets of origin. The study recommends that policymakers enact policies that
support foreign firms to invest in the country while also protecting existing players from
unfair competition. It also recommends that when multinational fashion retailers consider
entering new markets, they should adopt a low-risk entry strategy such as exporting to
assess the viability of a foreign market before venturing using other strategies. | en_US |