Influence of executive business training on the growth of small and medium sized enterprises: a case of executive education program of Strathmore business school

Abstract

This study set out to explore the influence of Executive Business Training on the growth of SME's. The key rationale of the study was to establish whether there is a relationship between entrepreneurial focused executive education and business growth. The specific objectives were; to establish how marketing training influences the growth of these enterprises, to determine how the influence financial management training influences their growth, to establish how human resource management training influences their growth and finally to investigate how corporate governance training influences the growth of these enterprises. An investigation was launched using a descriptive research design. The sample population comprised the graduands of the Owner Manager Program at Strathmore Business School for the years 2010 to 2012. The data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results of the study show that executive education programs enhance enterprise growth. The data analyzed indicated evidence in revenue increase, better staff retention, increase in the number of firms with a marketing strategy and stronger perception among the entrepreneurs in their ability to interpret financial numbers and access finance for their enterprises. The key recommendations arising from this study include the need for the Government through ministries with the SME portfolio to explore and implement incentives to SME‟s to encourage them participate in executive education programs.