INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP ON PERFORMANCE OF STATE CORPORATIONS IN KENYA

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of corporate entrepreneurship on performance of state corporations in Kenya.Methodology: The study adopted an explanatory research design.  The population of the research consists of the 187 state corporations in Kenya as at 2013. The unit of analysis was the state corporation. A purposive sample of 55 commercial state corporations was included in the study. The study used primary data gathered using questionnaires. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in the analysis of data. Reliability and validity tests were conducted to determine the internal consistencies of the variables under investigation. The data was analyzed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics produced frequencies, trends, means and percentages while inferential statistics produced regression and correlation results which showed the causal relationship among the variables. Results were presented on frequency tables and charts.Results: The study findings indicated that there was improved firm performance which was linked to corporate entrepreneurship. Results showed that companies initiated actions to which competitors responded to, the firms had a tendency to be ahead of other competitors in introducing novel idea or products and the companies strived in identifying new markets to sale products. Results indicated that risk taking, innovativeness, competitive aggressiveness and organizational factors were key determinants of firm performance for commercial state corporations in Kenya. The study findings also indicated that the companies had a strong tendency to increase the market share by reducing competitors through competitive marketing strategies, the companies spent substantial amount of financial resources in sales promotion and the companies actively searched for significant opportunities to improve market share.Policy recommendation: The study recommends to the management of firms that corporate entrepreneurship should be pursued as a competitive and performance improvement strategy by all firms regardless of size. This is because corporate entrepreneurship influences firm performance positively. For corporate entrepreneurship to thrive, firms need to put in place an environment with support systems, structures and resources that encourage employees to behave entrepreneurially. The management should therefore ensure that they engage all the employees as they embrace corporate entrepreneurship to ensure that all staffs are working towards achieving the same objective and company goal. The study is a justification of the fact that an organization with competitive innovativeness skills has a deep understanding of the business enterprises which catapults their growth to a large extent. The study recommends that the management should use technology in controlling the production cost while maintaining competitive prices as it results in continued profitability of a firm and therefore growth. Managers should be efficient time managers with a control on the firm cost of operation to help provide a working schedule and competitive prices which fit the client needs.