EFFECT OF SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE STRATEGIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FLORICULTURAL FIRMS IN KENYA

Abstract

The floriculture industry encounters diverse, ever new and high frequency challenges, which if not well managed will cause business closure, great losses and recovery challenges. In Kenya, floricultural firms are exposed to varied disruptions, bottlenecks and delays in their supply chain ecosystem, and this was worsened by the global Covid-19 pandemic. It is therefore crucial for firms to employ the right resilience strategies to prepare for such disruptions in responding and recovering faster to continue operating and improve performance. However whether, how and which resilience strategies affect performance in floricultural firms is a topic that remain under-explored. Using the Complex Adaptive System, Relational, Contingency and Agency theories together with the empirical literature, the study sheds light on the relationship between resilience strategies and firm performance. The specific objectives were to establish: the effects of supply chain collaboration, flexibility, agility and risk management strategies on the performance of floricultural firms in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive and correlation research design. Target population was 101 flower firms. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. Using SPSS, descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out using ordinal multiple regression and correlation analysis. The study findings will guide the various businesses that are rethinking their business model and finding solutions to survive business disruptions affecting supply chains, by providing information on how to develop the right resilience strategies to deal with unforeseen disruptions and improve their performance. KEY WORDS: Supply Chain Collaboration, Supply Chain Flexibility, Supply Chain Agility, Supply Chain Risk Management, Performance Kenya.