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Reverse Logistics Practices and Their Effect on Competitiveness of Food Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Received: 15 December 2015    Accepted: 25 December 2015    Published: 8 January 2016
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Abstract

Increased global warming and environmental degradation, has caused concern for governments, societies and business organizations even in Kenya. Kenya’s, manufacturing industry is one of the main contributors to economic growth. Unfortunately, it has also caused environmental deterioration. Consequently business managers have increasingly begun to realize the need to be environmentally accountable for their activities. Reverse logistics is a green supply chain management practice that enables companies to manage wastes and improve their competitiveness as their environmental efficiency is enhanced. This research aims to examine the relationship between reverse logistics and competitiveness of food manufacturing firms in Kenya. To fully understand this issue the research investigates the reverse logistics practices adopted by the various companies and then examines whether these practices have any effect on firm competitiveness of food manufacturers in Kenya. A cross- sectional survey was conducted among 130 food manufacturing firms that are listed in the Kenya Association of Manufacturers directory. The response rate was 73.8%. Primary data was collected through questionnaires. Factor analysis was used examine the construct validity while multivariate liner regression was employed to test criterion validity. The results of this research indicated that, the adoption of reverse logistics practices would enhance the competitiveness of Kenya’s food manufacturing firms. Further this study found that due to lack of awareness on the importance of sustainability, there is a low level of adoption of reverse logistics practices in Kenya. This study recommends that organizational managers should appreciate the environmental issues and adopt reverse logistics practices. This is important as it would curb waste, enhance cost savings thus increasing competitiveness. This study further recommends that the government and all stakeholders in the manufacturing sector should carry out public awareness campaigns on the importance of environmental conservation as it would encourage the locals to become active drivers towards the adoption of reverse logistics practices.

Published in International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences (Volume 3, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijefm.20150306.14
Page(s) 678-684
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Green Supply Chain, Reverse Logistics, Firm Competitiveness, Food Manufacturing Firms, Kenya

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Mwaura Anne, Letting Nicholas, Ithinji Gicuru, Orwa Bula. (2016). Reverse Logistics Practices and Their Effect on Competitiveness of Food Manufacturing Firms in Kenya. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences, 3(6), 678-684. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20150306.14

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    ACS Style

    Mwaura Anne; Letting Nicholas; Ithinji Gicuru; Orwa Bula. Reverse Logistics Practices and Their Effect on Competitiveness of Food Manufacturing Firms in Kenya. Int. J. Econ. Finance Manag. Sci. 2016, 3(6), 678-684. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20150306.14

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    AMA Style

    Mwaura Anne, Letting Nicholas, Ithinji Gicuru, Orwa Bula. Reverse Logistics Practices and Their Effect on Competitiveness of Food Manufacturing Firms in Kenya. Int J Econ Finance Manag Sci. 2016;3(6):678-684. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20150306.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijefm.20150306.14,
      author = {Mwaura Anne and Letting Nicholas and Ithinji Gicuru and Orwa Bula},
      title = {Reverse Logistics Practices and Their Effect on Competitiveness of Food Manufacturing Firms in Kenya},
      journal = {International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences},
      volume = {3},
      number = {6},
      pages = {678-684},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijefm.20150306.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20150306.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijefm.20150306.14},
      abstract = {Increased global warming and environmental degradation, has caused concern for governments, societies and business organizations even in Kenya. Kenya’s, manufacturing industry is one of the main contributors to economic growth. Unfortunately, it has also caused environmental deterioration. Consequently business managers have increasingly begun to realize the need to be environmentally accountable for their activities. Reverse logistics is a green supply chain management practice that enables companies to manage wastes and improve their competitiveness as their environmental efficiency is enhanced. This research aims to examine the relationship between reverse logistics and competitiveness of food manufacturing firms in Kenya. To fully understand this issue the research investigates the reverse logistics practices adopted by the various companies and then examines whether these practices have any effect on firm competitiveness of food manufacturers in Kenya. A cross- sectional survey was conducted among 130 food manufacturing firms that are listed in the Kenya Association of Manufacturers directory. The response rate was 73.8%. Primary data was collected through questionnaires. Factor analysis was used examine the construct validity while multivariate liner regression was employed to test criterion validity. The results of this research indicated that, the adoption of reverse logistics practices would enhance the competitiveness of Kenya’s food manufacturing firms. Further this study found that due to lack of awareness on the importance of sustainability, there is a low level of adoption of reverse logistics practices in Kenya. This study recommends that organizational managers should appreciate the environmental issues and adopt reverse logistics practices. This is important as it would curb waste, enhance cost savings thus increasing competitiveness. This study further recommends that the government and all stakeholders in the manufacturing sector should carry out public awareness campaigns on the importance of environmental conservation as it would encourage the locals to become active drivers towards the adoption of reverse logistics practices.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Reverse Logistics Practices and Their Effect on Competitiveness of Food Manufacturing Firms in Kenya
    AU  - Mwaura Anne
    AU  - Letting Nicholas
    AU  - Ithinji Gicuru
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijefm.20150306.14
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    JO  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20150306.14
    AB  - Increased global warming and environmental degradation, has caused concern for governments, societies and business organizations even in Kenya. Kenya’s, manufacturing industry is one of the main contributors to economic growth. Unfortunately, it has also caused environmental deterioration. Consequently business managers have increasingly begun to realize the need to be environmentally accountable for their activities. Reverse logistics is a green supply chain management practice that enables companies to manage wastes and improve their competitiveness as their environmental efficiency is enhanced. This research aims to examine the relationship between reverse logistics and competitiveness of food manufacturing firms in Kenya. To fully understand this issue the research investigates the reverse logistics practices adopted by the various companies and then examines whether these practices have any effect on firm competitiveness of food manufacturers in Kenya. A cross- sectional survey was conducted among 130 food manufacturing firms that are listed in the Kenya Association of Manufacturers directory. The response rate was 73.8%. Primary data was collected through questionnaires. Factor analysis was used examine the construct validity while multivariate liner regression was employed to test criterion validity. The results of this research indicated that, the adoption of reverse logistics practices would enhance the competitiveness of Kenya’s food manufacturing firms. Further this study found that due to lack of awareness on the importance of sustainability, there is a low level of adoption of reverse logistics practices in Kenya. This study recommends that organizational managers should appreciate the environmental issues and adopt reverse logistics practices. This is important as it would curb waste, enhance cost savings thus increasing competitiveness. This study further recommends that the government and all stakeholders in the manufacturing sector should carry out public awareness campaigns on the importance of environmental conservation as it would encourage the locals to become active drivers towards the adoption of reverse logistics practices.
    VL  - 3
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    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Business Administration, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Nyeri, Kenya

  • School of Management and Leadership, Management University of Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Department of Accounting and Finance, Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Nyeri, Kenya

  • Department of Business and Economics, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

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