Influence of lean-green practices on the relationship between innovations and performance of medium hotels in the Kenyan cities

Abstract

Firms are initiated and propelled to profit maximization, necessitating adoption of unique strategies to achieve better performance. Acting strategically can help firms respond to turbulent environment. Studies had revealed high mortality rates of SMEs during early stages globally and previous studies in hospitality have not addressed lean-green practices as a strategy to improve on performance and competitiveness. This article explored the influence of lean-green practices on the relationship between innovations and performance of medium hotels in Kenyan cities. The article is anchored on Natural Resource Based View theory. The article adopted pragmatic philosophical research paradigm and employed mixed method, concurrent triangulation research design. The study population was 534 managers of medium hotels in Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu cities and a sample size of 229 respondents was enumerated using stratified random sampling technique. Data collection employed a questionnaire and the data was saved in Ms-Excel for case variable screening and cleaning. Data analysis employed Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 21). Pearson’s correlation and regression models were used to analyze quantitative data. The findings indicated that innovations had a significant positive influence on performance of medium hotels in Kenyan cities (β=.610, t=10.982, p˂ .05). Lean-green practices had a significant positive influence on performance (β = .664, t = 15.495, p ˂ .05) and moderates the relationship between innovations and firm performance. The study concluded that incorporation of lean-green practices as a strategy can be relied on to improve performance. The study recommends incorporation of lean-green practices in production matrix. These findings are beneficial to; entrepreneurs and managements in hotel industry, academia and government policy makers. The study suggests further studies to be conducted in other sectors other than in the hospitality industry to determine if similar results would be obtained.