ANTECEDENTS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN FITNESS SECTOR IN NAIROBI COUNTY

Abstract

This study sought to establish antecedents of entrepreneurship and their effects on performance of SMEs in fitness sector in Nairobi County. The predictor variables were entrepreneurial training, networking, technology adoption and financial access and the dependent variable was performance of SMEs. The research adopted a descriptive research and a sample of all the 118 fitness SMEs that are formally registered by Nairobi City County licensing office and operating in Nairobi County. The study administered survey questionnaires to the owners or managers of the fitness firms who have been in the service for approximately three years or more with inferential statistics used to determine the relationships among variables. The analysis showed that financial access has the strongest positive influence on firm performance in addition; networking is positively correlated to firm performance. Entrepreneurial training and technology adoption showed a strong relationship with firm performance. The study recommends that firms should seek after networks to share ideas, relevant knowledge, skills and unique resources to succeed in a competing environment. These networks provide a platform through which gyms/health clubs should harness what they don’t possess to better their operations