An investigation of the strategic planning practices of horticultural exporters in Kenya

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine the strategic planning practices adopted by horticultural exporters in Kenya and to establish the challenges that the horticultural exporters face in their strategic planning practices. The study was a descriptive research, the research targeted all firms in the horticultural industry in Kenya that export fresh fruits and vegetables, a sample size of 50 firms and a response rate of 92% was achieved. The population of interest was all firms in the horticultural industry in Kenya that export fresh fruits and vegetables, 50 companies selected from a list of horticultural companies that export fruits and vegetables registered with Horticultural Crops Development authority as at August 2005. Primary data was collected using questionnaires addressed to each respondent and administered using the drop and pick method and appointments made to see the respondents where further clarification was sort. The respondents in the study were either chief executive officers or top managers i.e. the respondent could be a chief executive officer, the deputy or a head of department. This is because it is these top managers who were most familiar with and involved in the strategy practices in their companies. Statistical package on social science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data and the results presented using descriptive statistics like percentages, frequencies mean and standard deviation. An interpretation of the findings revealed that strategic planning practices adopted by horticultural exporters in Kenya were highly informal and similar to those proposed in strategic management theory, and also to those reported in literature from studies conducted in other industries. A number of factors were found to influence on the strategic planning practices of the firms studied, such as company age, company size, company ownership, the caliber of senior management this firms. These findings agree with those quoted in strategic management theory and literature. There is a great deal of congruence between strategic planning as promulgated by strategic management theorists and strategic planning practices performed by the practitioners in real life.