Sustainable Entrepreneurship Factors Influencing Performance of Clearing and Forwarding Firms in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The development of SDGs has presented as opportunity for business across the world to adopt sustainable business practices. The promotion of sustainable practices in business has been strengthened through the adoption of sustainable entrepreneurship practices. Sustainable entrepreneurship practices focus embraces the social, financial and environment principles in pursuing and exploiting business opportunities. The need for firms in various sectors to adopt sustainable entrepreneurship practices has increasingly been championed for the benefits that it offers. Despite this push, the contribution of sustainable entrepreneurship factors on performance of clearing and forwarding firms(C&F) is largely unknown. This current study to investigate the sustainable entrepreneurship factors influencing performance of clearing and forwarding firms in Kenya. Resource based theory, dynamic capability theory, hoselitz sociocultural theory, competition theory, Schein organization culture and transaction cost theory provided the framework to test the study objectives. 1128 junior, middle level and senior level managers formed the target population from C&F firms operating in the Nairobi Metropolitan. 375 managers formed the sample size of the study. In summary, the study indicated that performance of clearing and forwarding firms is dependent on sustainable entrepreneurship factors. The study showed that performance of C&F firms is determined by the adoption of social, cultural and environmental entrepreneurship. Performance of C&F firms is also dependent on the use of innovative information by business. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that performance of C&F firms is not dependent on the entrepreneurial management support that exists in such organization. Organization culture was also demonstrated to be a moderator to sustainable entrepreneurship performance. The study concludes that the performance of C&F firms is largely dependent on socio-cultural entrepreneurship, environmental entrepreneurship and innovative information and support mechanisms. First contribution is in providing conceptual clarity on sustainable entrepreneurship performance of C&F firms. Secondly, managers are better placed to understand the aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship that they should put emphasis on to improve performance of C&F firms. The third is in methodological contribution-the instruments were tested for validity and reliability and will be used in future studies to test the same variables in other studies. Suggested areas of further study to understand further what caused Simpson paradox which was observed in joint model.