Effect of Forward Vertical Integration and Retail Strategy Implementation on Execution Excellence in Equator Bottlers Company Owned Kiosks, Kisumu, Kenya

Abstract

Advantages of forward vertical integration to businesses notwithstanding, its benefits in relation to execution excellence accruable to company owned retailing businesses were not recognized. Retail strategy implementation, operationalized through right execution daily in the soft drink industry being relatively new concept received dismal empirical attention. No similar studies were reported in Kisumu, Kenya, where company owned kiosks revealed low productivity. The relationship between forward vertical integration and execution excellence; and effect of retail strategy implementation on execution excellence remained unknown. The main purpose was to establish effect of forward vertical integration and retail strategy implementation on execution excellence in Equator Bottlers Company owned kiosks, Kisumu, Kenya. Specific objective were to: establish effect of forward vertical integration on execution excellence; and investigate effect of retail strategy implementation on execution excellence in company owned kiosks. The conceptual framework related forward vertical integration and retail strategy implementation to execution excellence in a descriptive research design study. The target population was 205 company owned kiosks as at January 2013. A total of 56kiosks were purposely selected because they had glass door merchandisers. After pre-testing the instrument using 5 kiosks, the sample size was 51 kiosks where operators were contacted. The instrument was reliable at Cronbach's alpha a = .74. Pearson correlation results found: forward vertical integration significantly (p=.000) positively correlated to execution excellence; and retail strategy implementation significantly (p=.000) positively correlated to execution excellence in Equator Bottlers company owned kiosks. Meaning both forward vertical integration and retail strategy implementation positively influence execution excellence. The study concluded: forward vertical integration had significant positive effect on execution excellence; and retail strategy implementation had significant positive effect on execution excellence in Equator Bottlers company owned kiosks. The study recommended: effective utilization of forward vertical integration; and improving retail strategy implementation for continual execution excellence in the franchise territory. The study might be .significant in aiding top management in making strategic market decisions and adding knowledge to academic fields of strategic marketing and strategic management.