ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
The service industry plays a key role in economic development through employment opportunities and contribution to revenue stream for governments. But the sector registers poor performance due to lack of financial resources to fund its operations, and even after having service charters and using technology there has been no change. It is thought that using competencies might change the trend of poor performance; therefore this study sought to investigate the effect of core competencies on performance of organizations in the service industry by concentrating on Micro Cap Holding. A cross-sectional design was adopted and 63 respondents picked using simple random sampling technique from the target of 645 employees. The data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires were analyzed through descriptive, correlation and regression analysis. The study results revealed a strong positive and significant effect between core competence and performance. The study recommended that service industry players adopt core competencies so as to increase their performance.
Ahuja, I. P. S. (2011). Managing research and development for core competence building in an organization. Journal of technology management & innovation, 6(1), 58-65
Akgun, A. E. (2020). Team wisdom in software development projects and its impact on project performance. International Journal of Information Management, 50, 228-243.
Arasa, R., & Gathinji, L. (2014). The relationship between competitive strategies and firm performance: A case of mobile telecommunication companies in Kenya. Journal of Business and Management, 16(6), 93-105.
Awad, A. (2018). The Effect of Human Resources Competencies on a Firm Performance: A Marketing Perspective (With Reference to Firms Located in UAE). Asian Business Research, 3(1), 60.
Brinckmann, J., Salomo, S., & Gemuenden, H. G. (2011). Financial management competence of founding teams and growth of new technology–based firms. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 35(2), 217-243.
Coff, R., & Kryscynski, D. (2011). Invited editorial: Drilling for micro-foundations of human capital–based competitive advantages. Journal of management, 37(5), 1429-1443.
Cooper, D., & Schindler, P. (2010). Business Research Methods New York: McGraw.
Dao, B., & Nguyen, P. H. C. (2020). Analysis of Corporate Governance Index Using ASEAN Balanced Score Card and Firm Performance. Research Journal of Finance and Accounting, 11(6)
Dirisu, J. I., Iyiola, O., & Ibidunni, O. S. (2013). Product differentiation: A tool of competitive advantage and optimal organizational performance (A study of Unilever Nigeria PLC). European Scientific Journal, 9(34)
Dror, S. (2008). The Balanced Scorecard versus quality award models as strategic frameworks. Total Quality Management, 19(6), 583-593.
Darwish, S., & Abdeldayem, M. M. (2019). Risk Management and Business Ethics: Relations and Impacts in the GCC. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 10(10), 489-504.
Dzisi, S., & Ofosu, D. (2014). Marketing strategies and the performance of SMEs in Ghana. Marketing, 6(5), 102-111.
Gakenia, N. J., Muathe, S. M., & Bula, H. (2015). Organizational resources and performance of mobile phone companies in Kenya. Unpublished PhD Thesis
Godwin-Opara, M. (2016). A Resource-Based Perspective on Financial Resource Strategies for Small Business Sustainability (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).
Grant, R. M. (1996). Toward a knowledge?based theory of the firm. Strategic management journal, 17(S2), 109-122.
Hou, S. I. (2014). Health education: theoretical concepts, effective strategies and core competencies. Health promotion practice, 15(5), 619-621
Jabbouri, N. I., & Zahari, I. (2014). The role of core competencies on organizational performance: an empirical Study in the Iraqi Private Banking Sector. European Scientific Journal, 1, 130-139.
Jiang, K., Lepak, D. P., Hu, J., & Baer, J. C. (2012). How does human resource management influence organizational outcomes? A meta-analytic investigation of mediating mechanisms. Academy of management Journal, 55(6), 1264-1294
Juma, E. M., & Okibo, W. B. (2016). Effects of strategic management practices on the performance of public health institutions in Kisii County, Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 4(4), 531-538.
Kabue, L. W., & Kilika, J. M. (2016). Firm resources, core competencies and sustainable competitive advantage: An integrative theoretical framework. Journal of management and strategy, 7(1), 98-108
Kaleli, K. (2016). Management Competence, Firm-level Institutions, Human Resource Management Bundles and Performance of Companies Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Kozlenkova, I. V., Samaha, S. A., & Palmatier, R. W. (2014). Resource-based theory in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 42(1), 1-21.
Kyengo, J. M., Muathe, S. M. A., & Kinyua, G. M. (2019). Marketing capability and firm performance: an empirical analysis of food processing firms in Nairobi city county, Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 6(1), 544-555.
Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Health promotion practice, 16(4), 473-475
Lin, Y., & Wu, L. Y. (2014). Exploring the role of dynamic capabilities in firm performance under the resource-based view framework. Journal of business research, 67(3), 407-413
Maniscalco, J., Gage, S., Teferi, S., & Fisher, E. S. (2020). The Pediatric Hospital Medicine Core Competencies: 2020 Revision. Introduction and Methodology. Journal of hospital medicine, 15(7), 389-394.
Marcusson, L., & Lundqvist, S. (2015). Applying a Core Competence Model on Swedish Job Advertisements for IT Project Managers. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management (IJITPM), 6(2), 1-17.
Mokhtari, H. (2016). Performance evaluation of Iran’s Province of Golestan public libraries, by balanced score card. Research on Information Science and Public Libraries, 22(3), 335-353.
Makau, S. M., Wawire, N. W., & Ofafa, G. A. (2013). An empirical study on the relationship between organizational factors and adoption of ICT among health related SMEs in Nairobi, Kenya. International Journal of Arts and Commerce, 2(3), 1-16.
Muathe, S. M. A. (2010). The determinants of adoption of information and Communication technology by small and medium Enterprises within the health sector in Nairobi, Kenya. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Kenyatta University.
Mugo, I. N., Namusonge, G. S., & Sakwa, M. M. (2016). Effect of organizational core competences on performance in the insurance industry in Kenya. Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 3(4).
Murgor, P. K. (2014). External environment, firm capabilities, strategic responses and performance of large scale manufacturing firms in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Mwithi, J. M. (2016). Effect of Leadership Competencies on Performance of State Corporations in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, COHRED, JKUAT).
Ng, H. S., & Kee, D. M. H. (2018). The core competence of successful owner-managed SMEs. Management Decision.
Ng, H. S., Kee, D. M. H., & Ramayah, T. (2019). Examining the mediating role of innovativeness in the link between core competencies and SME performance. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development.
Njoroge, J. G., Muathe, S., & Bula, H. (2015). Human capital resource and performance of mobile phone companies in Kenya. International Journal of Education and Research, 3(10), 409-420.
Njoroge, P. M. (2015). Marketing strategies and the performance of small and medium enterprises in Matuu town, Machakos county, Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
Ogaji, S. M. (2019). Employees' Competence and Business Performance: A Study of Selected Hotels in Keffi. Business Excellence and Management, 9(4), 5-17.
Ren, S., Eisingerich, A. B., & Tsai, H. T. (2015). How do marketing, research and development capabilities, and degree of internationalization synergistically affect the innovation performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)? A panel data study of Chinese SMEs. International Business Review, 24(4), 642-651.
Sultan, A., & Srivastava, S. (2018). Studying role of marketing competence in the firm level competitiveness. International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 11(4), 415-432.
Tapinos, E., Dyson, R. G., & Meadows, M. (2011). Does the balanced scorecard make a difference to the strategy development process?. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 62(5), 888-899.
Yang, C. C. (2015). The integrated model of core competence and core capability. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 26(1-2), 173-189.
Zaim, H., Ya?ar, M. F., & Unal, O. F. (2013). Analyzing the effects of individual competencies on performance: A field study in services industries in Turkey. Journal of Global Strategic Management, 7(2), 67-77.
In-Text Citation: (Moga & Muathe, 2020)
To Cite this Article: Moga, S. K.-E., & Muathe, S. M. A. (2020). Performance of Firms in the Service Industry in Kenya: Does Core Competencies Matter in micro Cap Holding? International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(12), 277–295
Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode