Browsing by Author "BEATRICE OMOLO"

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    ASSET MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN NAIROBI COUNTY, A CASE OF NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES’ COMPANIES
    (THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN AFRICA, 2025-09) BEATRICE OMOLO
    This thesis examined the impact of asset management practices on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within the Nairobi County with reference to the non-alcoholic beverage industry. The economy of Kenya is predominantly based on SMEs which fail to compete with regard to profitability, market share and ROI where the management of human, financial, infrastructure and temporal resources is poor. Using Human Capital Theory, Resource-Based View, Theory of Constraints and Pecking Order Theory, the study was based on mixed-methods design. Structured questionnaires were used to gather quantitative data of 105 respondents and semi-structured interviews with key informants were used to provide qualitative insights. Descriptive analysis revealed that time and human resource management were most important areas of concern and financial management practice was usually inflexible. Inferential conclusions were made to the effect that time management (b = 0.760, p < 0.001) and human resource practices (b = 0.329, p < 0.003) had a significant positive impact on performance, and hard financial controls had a negative effect. The regression model predicted 91% of the VME (R2 = 0.910) and ANOVA scores verified its global significance (F(24, 80) = 33.80, p < 0.001). Thematic analysis demonstrated that five issues recurred, namely; asset acquisition, employee involvement, infrastructural gaps, time bottlenecks, and performance outcomes, which validated and put the quantitative results into perspective. This work finds that the role of integrated asset management is central to the competitiveness and sustainability of SMEs. It advises SME owners to pursue practices in finance that are flexible, invest in sustained development of personnel, and enhance time management systems. Policymakers ought to grant infrastructural facilities and specialized training to increase the resilience and the long-term development in the sector.