MEDIATING ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ORIENTATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KEY FIRM FACTORS AND THE PERFORMANCE OF COFFEE COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN KENYA

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between key firm factors and the performance of coffee cooperative societies in Kenya. Methodology: This study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study was 1052 small holder coffee factories in Kenya. The research was done in the entire country which was divided into 18 strata from where 283 factories were sampled and studied. The sampling was multistage sampling which combined simple random sampling and stratified sampling methods. Results: The regression results revealed that firm level factors had a positive and significant effect on entrepreneurial orientation. In addition, entrepreneurial orientation had a positive and significant effect on performance of coffee cooperative societies in Kenya. The influence of the firm level factors on performance was insignificant in the presence of the mediating variable, entrepreneurial orientation. The hypothesis results revealed that entrepreneurial orientation affect the relationship between firm level factors and performance Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that factories should be proactive in business practices. They should also be risk takers and be innovative. They should practice autonomy and be competitively aggressive in business. This would serve to improve their performance.