The Effect of Business Development Services on Performance of Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises in Kenya

Abstract

Small and Medium Enterprises have been regarded to play significant roles of job creation, poverty alleviation and economic development of many countries worldwide. These enterprises are however affected by many different factors. How these factors manifest singly or jointly is therefore a key concern for these organizations. Vital among these factors are business development services that affect how organizations produce and sell their finished goods. There is however a dearth of studies focusing on effects of aspects of business development services on organizational performance in Kenya. This study aimed at establishing how market access, procurement services and infrastructure facilities affect performance of small and medium manufacturing enterprises in Kenya. The study adopted a cross sectional survey design and examined primary data collected from 150 enterprises in Nairobi. Inferential statistics were used to interrogate relationships between independent variables and performance while descriptive statistics were used to determine distribution, central tendency and dispersion and hence establish conformity to linear regression requirements. Contrary to expectation, market access did not show any relationship but procurement services and infrastructure facilities each had a positive and significant influence on performance of the enterprises. The study also determined that the joint effect of the three variables on performance is greater than their individual effect. This study therefore concludes that since procurement services and infrastructure facilities showed a positive influence on performance of small and medium manufacturing enterprises in Kenya, the enterprise studied should adopt strategies that enhance procurement and improve infrastructure facilities to experience better performance.