TITLE:
Innovation Strategies and Firm Performance: Evidence from Kenyan Manufacturing Firms
AUTHORS:
Kamara Tejan Andrew Rollings, Dusingize Jean Paul, Mokete Ntahleng Idlert, Berté Zié Kalifa, Messangan Maynard, Ishaku Hanatu
KEYWORDS:
Innovation Strategies, Firm Performance, Product Innovation, Organisational Innovation, Marketing Innovation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.14 No.4,
June
29,
2026
ABSTRACT: This study investigates the correlation between innovation strategies and firm performance within manufacturing firms in Kenya, concentrating on four dimensions: product, process, organizational, and marketing innovation. The analysis utilizes firm-level survey data obtained via structured questionnaires and employs multiple regression techniques to assess the reported correlation between innovation activities and financial performance outcomes. The findings reveal that product innovation exhibited the most significant positive correlation with ROI, succeeded by process innovation, whereas marketing innovation also demonstrated a positive coefficient. Organizational innovation exhibited a positive correlation but lacked statistical significance in the presented model. These findings indicate that innovation is significant for firm performance, yet its importance varies across different dimensions. The article interprets the empirical model as a ROI-based specification, as ROI is the dependent variable presented in the regression output, despite the paper’s questionnaire conceptualizing firm performance more comprehensively. The findings must be regarded as reported associations rather than causal effects due to the cross-sectional design, self-reported measures, potential common-method bias, possible reverse causality, and internal inconsistencies in certain aspects of the reported paper output.