THESE TITLE: Expansion Strategies and Financial Performance of Savings and Credit Co-Operative Societies in Turkana County, Kenya
STUDENT NAME: Napua Shadrack Lomuria
SUPERVISORS:
1. Dr. Kadian Wanyonyi Wanyama
2. Dr. Laura Catherine Mamuli
ABSTRACT:
Studies in the SACCO sector have recently received a lot of attentions globally and locally. The SACCOs have experienced growth and diversification in the range of products and services in the market. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of expansion strategies and financial performance of SACCOs in Turkana County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: to establish the effect of market penetration expansion strategies on financial performance of SACCOs; to establish the effect of diversification expansion strategies on financial performance of SACCOs; to determine the effect of market development expansion strategies on financial performance of SACCOs and to assess the effect of product development expansion strategies on financial performance of SACCOs in Turkana County. The study was anchored on the Resource Based Theory and Igor Ansoff‘s Theory. The research designs of the study were descriptive and correlational research designs. Target population was 234 respondents consisting of 35 SACCOs managers and 199 Secretariat drawn from the 35 SACCOs in Turkana County. Purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used. The questionnaire was used as the data collection instruments. This study employed the Cronbach‘s alpha coefficient as a measure of reliability of research instruments at threshold of 0.7 and above. The study used construct validity and content validity. Data analysis and interpretation was based on descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics using SPSS version 22. Results of the study were that: market penetration expansion strategies, diversification expansion strategies, market development expansion strategies and product development expansion strategies all had a positive, linear and significant (p-value?0.05) effect with the financial performance of SACCOs. Market penetration expansion strategies (B = 0.828), diversification expansion strategies (B=0.502), market development expansion strategies (B = 0.679) and product development expansion strategies (B = 0.472) had different degrees of effect on the financial performance of SACCOs. It was concluded that as the company invests more and implements market penetration expansion strategies, the financial performance of SACCOs improves. The following were the recommendations of the study: the management of SACCOs should invest more and implement market penetration expansion strategies and diversification expansion strategies since the two had more effect on the financial performance of SACCOs. Organizations should upscale investment in market development expansion strategies and product development expansion strategies since results from other studies do indicate that these strategies improve economies of scale of SACCOs if well implemented. The SACCOs should use a combination of competitive pricing strategies, advertising, and sales promotion to enhance their performance. The findings of the study would go a long way in helping the SACCOs in Turkana County to improve their performance through sound and robust strategic management strategies. The study will provide an opportunity for organizations, particularly SACCOs to understand and apply expansion strategies in addressing financial performance challenges. The knowledge gained would be used to improve financial performance of SACCOs in Turkana County, Kenya.
