ENTREPRENEURIAL DECISION MAKING STYLES AND THE GROWTH OF SMALL MEDIUM-SIZED MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES IN NAIROBI, KENYA
Abstract
Small and Medium Enterprises are recognized as important drivers of economic growth, productivity, innovation and employment and are widely accepted as key aspect of economic growth. Despite the considerable attention paid on SMEs growth, to date no theories have been able to adequately explain why some SMEs grow while others fail. Research has suggested that entrepreneurial decision making styles could be a contributing factor but this line of thought has not been investigated empirically. This study investigated the effect of entrepreneurial decision making styles and the growth of small medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Nairobi, Kenya. The objective was to determine the associations between intuitive and analytical decision styles and growth of manufacturing SMEs in Nairobi County. The study adopted descriptive research design and it targeted 34 manufacturing SMEs in Ruaraka Sub County. The participants were owner managers and assistant managers. Population census was used to get the study participants. Questionnaires were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis with the aid of SPSS. Regression analysis was done with the help of basic regression model. The results showed that there was a strong positive relationship between the intuitive decision making style and the growth of SMEs. That there was a weak relationship between the analytical decision making style and the growth of SMEs. The study concluded that entrepreneurial the intuitive decision making style has a positive effect on the growth of manufacturing SMEs in Nairobi. The study recommended that providerfs of business development services (BDS) should include decision making style in their training programs to assist entrepreneurs in focusing on critical decision making styles. The entrepreneurs should be made aware of their own decision making styles’ strengths and weakness, this can assist in the growth of SMEs.
Key Words: Decision Making Style, SMEs, Growth of businesses
CITATION: Karitu, B., & Namusonge, M. (2019). Entrepreneurial decision making styles and the growth of small medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Nairobi, Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 6 (3), 132 – 144.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v6i3.1302
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