An Empirical Survey on the Effect of Strategic Thinking on the Performance of Agribusiness Companies Listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya

Abstract

The Agribusiness sector in Kenya is the backbone of the economy and contributes to about 30% of the annual GDP. However, although the agribusiness sector plays an important role in the economy, and the government is putting great efforts into supporting it, there have been myriad challenges. From the literature reviewed, the impact of strategic thinking on the performance of Agribusiness Companies has not been fully ascertained. Against this scholarly gap, this study sought to investigate the effect of strategic thinking on the performance of agribusiness companies listed on the Nairobi securities exchange in Kenya. The study applied a mixed research method and was anchored on the Liedtka Strategic Thinking Model and the Balanced Scorecard Model. The target population was all the six-agribusiness companies listed on the Nairobi securities exchange in Kenya. The respondents were 120 management staff including the directors, the heads of departments, middle and lower or supervisory level managers. Quantitative data from the close-ended questions were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 28.0). Qualitative data gathered from the open-ended questions were clustered into themes and then broad categories developed. To determine the strength of the model, R2 was used. F – Statistic computed at 95% confidence level and hypothesis test based on P-values of 5% significant level. The results indicated that strategic thinking positively affects the performance of agribusiness companies listed on the Nairobi securities exchange in Kenya. The study recommends that strategic thinking be enhanced in organizations by investing in leadership development programs that promote cognitive and analytical skills, enabling leaders to identify opportunities and mitigate risks, while envisaging possible solutions to unknown future challenges