Influence of Market Development on Performance of Coffee Cooperative Societies in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Organizations operating in the business environment require a plan to help them get a competitive edge and improve their performance. Evidently, the constantly rising level of competition and the influx of new enterprises into the cooperative societies sector make it necessary for every cooperative society to develop strategies in order to ensure better and more enhanced performance. Specifically, the goal of this study was to determine the impact of growth strategies on the performance of coffee cooperative societies in Tharaka Nithi County. This was guided by the objective; to examine the influence of market development on the performance of coffee cooperative societies in Tharaka Nithi County. It was based on agency theory. A descriptive study technique was used, with a target population of 340 respondents drawn from the 34 coffee cooperative societies in Tharaka Nithi County as the participants. The population was divided into three separate strata, each of which consisted of a large number of highly trained society employees who will work together as a team. In order to choose a representative sample of 204 respondents from each stratum, stratified random selection was used. In order to gather information, respondents were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires. Data was analyzed using both descriptive statistics like mean as well as standard deviation and inferential statistics which included correlation and regression analysis. The research discovered a significant positive association between diversification strategy, product development strategy, market penetration strategy, market development strategy and performance of coffee cooperative societies in Tharaka Nithi County. Its regression analysis found that the collective usage of growth strategies was responsible for 45.6 percent of the variations in performance of these coffee cooperative societies. Based on the findings, diversification strategy had the largest impact on performance followed by market penetration while market development and product development strategy had the least influence on performance of coffee cooperative societies in Tharaka Nithi County. It is therefore, recommended that managers and shareholders of the cooperative societies that are yet to adopt growth strategies should adopt them to remain competitive and profitable in this turbulent business environment.