Product Development and Process Improvement in Small and Medium Food Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi City County, Kenya

International Journal of Economics and Management Studies

© 2020 by SSRG - IJEMS Journal

Volume 7 Issue 1

Year of Publication : 2020

Authors : Evans T. Mwasiaji

10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V7I1P103

How to Cite?

Evans T. Mwasiaji, "Product Development and Process Improvement in Small and Medium Food Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi City County, Kenya," SSRG International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, vol. 7,  no. 1, pp. 18-26, 2020. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V7I1P103

Abstract:

This study investigated product development and process improvement for Small and Medium food manufacturing firms in Nairobi, Kenya, considering that the country's manufacturing output has stagnated at about USD 5 billion for over ten years, and the current proposal to support the sector to increase its G.D.P. share to 15% by the year 2022. Data were collected from 56 management staff. Mean responses received on a Likert scale of 1 – 5 for each tested item were calculated forall the respondents. The results showa significant difference in firms' level of performance on various product improvement imperatives. To establish the level of firm performance about the tested items, a one-way analysis of variance was conducted on the mean response on the data collection items. A mean response at 3.31 and a standard deviation at 0.80 were established.The study recommends that all the product development processes within the sampled firms be reengineered to undertake a quality improvement journey because their current methods seem inadequate to attain and sustain high quality in a competitive business environment. Thisstudy is useful in progressing knowledge and designing policies to enhancethe competitiveness of food manufacturing S.M.E.s in support of Kenya's big four agenda and vision 2030.

Keywords:

Product Development, Process Improvement, S.M.E.s, Quality, Food Processing. Competitiveness.

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