Effect of Market Innovation on Performance of the Cement Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Abstract

Marketing innovation refers to the implementation of new marketing methods and models that would significantly change the product design or packaging, product placement or pricing. Market development is worried about enhancing the blend of target markets and how picked markets are best served. The objective of the study was to determine whether market innovation affects the performance of the cement manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study was guided by the theory of marketing. It adopted descriptive research design. The target population was all the department heads in all the nine cement manufacturing firms. The total number of departments in all the firms was 79. All the 79 respondents were included in the study since the target population was small.  Primary data was collected through closed-ended questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, specifically frequencies, percentages and means were used. Further, inferential statistics; that included the correlation and regression analysis were also used to assess the relationship between the study variables. The findings revealed that market innovation positively and significantly affect performance of the cement manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study concluded that market innovations have a positive and significant effect on performance of the cement manufacturing companies in Kenya.  The cement industry in Kenya need to invest more on market innovation. This point out the need for the cement manufacturing firms in Kenya to innovate their marketing programs in order to sustain high performance. Such programs should focus on better ways of meeting customer’s needs; enhancing product design, and embarking strategies of strengthening their competitiveness.