Effect of Mergers and Acquisitions on Organizational Competitiveness in Agrochemical Industry in Kenya

Abstract

Over the past few years private players' involvement had grown, and their diligent labor in creating goods and going worldwide had spurred tremendous growth in the advertising sector. The agrochemicals businesses had merged through mergers and acquisitions in order to enhance their market share, decrease operational costs, prevent redundancy, and expand their trade into undeveloped geographical areas. The cost of goods and services might have gone up as a result of mergers and acquisitions, there might have been a communication gap because the two merging companies might have had different cultures, and there might even have been an increase in unemployment in some cases because a company might have decided to get rid of the underperforming resources of the other company, which might have resulted in employees losing their jobs. The study's objective was to determine how mergers and acquisitions affected organizational competitiveness in Kenya's agrochemical sector. The following specific objectives served as the study's direction: to evaluate how market expansion affected organizational effectiveness; to examine how effective governance affected organizational effectiveness; to examine how adequate human resource levels affected organizational competitiveness; and to assess how production capacity affected organizational competitiveness among Kenya's agrochemical industry. The study's core research subjects were managers and employees of Nairobi's agrochemical companies, utilizing a cross-sectional research design. The study gathered information from 281 respondents as its sample SR using multi-stage sampling techniques. Questionnaires were used to collect data on employees, and scheduled interviews were used to collect data on managers. Content analysis techniques were used to examine qualitative data. Quantitative data was categorized and coded using a code book made in accordance with the research variables. The data was examined using SPSS version 25 (Statistical Packages for Social Sciences) descriptive findings showing positive means and standard deviation obtained by all variables. Additionally, inferential statistics are presented in form of a correlation analysis conducted to determine the effect of production capacity, effective governance, HR adequacy, and market extensions on organizational competitiveness. The results indicate strong positive relationships between these factors and organizational competitiveness. Increasing production capacity, implementing effective governance practices, investing in HR adequacy and expanding into new markets were all found to enhance organizational competitiveness. The statistical analysis supports these findings, with significant correlation coefficients and a regression model that explains a significant portion of the variance in organizational competitiveness. The chapter emphasizes the importance of focusing on these factors to improve organizational competitiveness and achieve long-term success. The study recommends that policy makers should encourage research into alternative pesticides and fertilizers and regulate the use of agrochemicals to minimize their negative impact on the environment and human health. Companies and organizations in the industry should take responsibility for the safety of their products and provide incentives for sustainable agricultural practices. The government should regulate the use of agrochemicals and invest in research and development of alternative pesticides and fertilizers. Other stakeholders should raise awareness and support research on sustainable agricultural practices.