The Influence of mass customization capabilities on operational performance of multinational manufacturing firms in Kenya

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the Degree of Master of Commerce (MCOM) at Strathmore UniversityThe manufacturing sector in Kenya is faced with stiff competition from local and international sources. Customer needs are not only dynamic but also heterogeneous hence a firm must find ways to provide goods that match the needs of a target market at a given time. In order to survive, manufacturing firms need to build mass customization capabilities that will enable them to meet dynamic and diverse customer needs for a particular market. The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of mass customization capabilities on operational performance of multinational manufacturing firms in Kenya. The specific objectives included: to examine the extent of adoption of mass customization capabilities by multinational manufacturing firms in Kenya, to assess the influence of solution space development on operational performance of multinational manufacturing firms in Kenya, to establish the influence of robust process design on operational performance of multinational manufacturing firms in Kenya and to assess the influence of customer choice navigation on operational performance of multinational manufacturing firms in Kenya. Data was collected by use of questionnaires from the target population of 93 multinational manufacturing firms in Kenya. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results showed that solution space development was the most widely adopted mass customization capability followed by robust process design then customer choice navigation as evidenced by their overall mean scores. On influence of each mass customization capability on operational performance, solution space development and robust process design were not statistically significant in explaining changes in operational performance while customer choice navigation had a significant positive influence on operational performance. Results on the synergetic influence of mass customization capabilities on operational performance however showed that customer choice navigation and robust process design had a significant positive influence on operational performance while solution space development was not statistically significant. The study however had limitations, in that it was cross sectional and therefore was not expected to capture mass customization capabilities developments and operational performance changes that come with the passage of time since these variables are not static