Effect of Cost Efficiency Restructuring Strategy on Financial Performance of Coffee Cooperative Societies in Meru County

Abstract

This study sought to assess the effect of cost efficiency restructuring strategy on organizational performance of coffee cooperative societies in Meru County. The study was guided by the resource based theory. The research targeted top management team in the 42 coffee cooperative societies in Meru County, the study adopted a descriptive research design with a sample size of 121 participants who were the managers of the cooperatives, the study utilized census to get information from the respondents. The data gathering tools were structured questionnaire including both open-ended and closed-ended questions, as well as a quantitative part using a 5-point Likert scale. Quantitative methods which included measures of central tendency and dispersion such as Mean and standard deviation, as well as inferential statistics were used for data analysis and interpretation. The data collected was presented through; Textual method a narrative description of data gathered and Tabular Method a systematic arrangement of information into columns and rows. Finally, SPSS Version 27 was used to process and analyze the collected data, and its results informed the report's discussion, conclusions, and recommendations. The study established that cost efficiency restructuring had a positive significant relationship with the financial performance of coffee cooperative societies in Meru County. The study concluded that elimination of non-profitable products/services and reduction of inventory, improvement of business strategy through innovation management enhances financial performance. The study recommended that the organization should consider purchase of new equipment to cater for most profitable market niche. The current study suggests that further studies should be done that focus on different turnaround strategies on organizational performance