Relationship between Entrepreneurial Marketing Mix and Growth of Jua Kali Enterprises in North Imenti Sub County

Abstract

Small and Medium Enterprises are the key drivers of the country’s economy. The government is tasked with spurring growth of SME’s through provision of supportive legal structure and conducive policy environment. However, growth of these small and medium enterprises predominantly depends on proper configuration of entrepreneurial marketing mix practices. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of entrepreneurial marketing mix on the growth of jua kali Enterprise in North Imenti Sub County, Meru County. Specifically, the study assessed the relationship between pricing, promotion, distribution, product and growth of jua kali enterprises in North Imenti sub-county, Meru County. The study employed the resource based view theory, Kirzner’s “alert” theory of entrepreneurship and the 4P’s Marketing Model. The population comprised of one hundred and twenty eight (128) owner managers of jua kali enterprises operating within North Imenti Sub County, Meru County and registered by Micro and Small Enterprises Authority Kenya (MSEA-K). A stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample of ninety seven (97) jua kali Enterprises from the target population. A structured questionnaire was administered after which data was entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. The questionnaire was tested for validity and reliability. A pre- test was carried out to test for reliability. The results were analyzed using both descriptive (frequencies and percentage) and inferential statistics (Pearson Correlation, One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Regression analysis). The study established that product strategy affects growth of jua kali enterprises hence rejecting the hypothesis concluding that product strategy significantly affects SME’s growth. The study found a strong positive relationship between distribution strategy and SME’ growth. The null hypothesis was rejected hence concluding that distribution strategy has significant linear relationship to growth of jua kali SMEs. The study found an intermediate positive relationship between promotion strategy on growth of jua kali sector and rejected the null hypothesis hence concluding that promotion strategy affect growth of jua kali SMEs. The study found that pricing affects the growth of jua kali enterprises to a moderate extent in North Imenti constituency. Therefore, rejecting the null hypothesis and concluding that pricing strategy has a significant linear relationship with growth of jua kali SMEs. The objectives of the study were achieved. The study recommends need for SMEs to invest in research and development for products innovations, define clearly distribution channels as well as public, private and NGO’s partnerships dedicated to sourcing for sustainable market for products and services. Finally, more research for identification of customer specific needs. The study is valuable to entrepreneurs as they seek for better strategies to grow their enterprises.