Effect of Unrelated Diversification Strategy on Organizational Performance among Star-Rated Hotels in the Kenyan Coast
Ikisiri
Despite its growth, potential contribution to the economy and being an integral part of tourism destinations, the performance of the hotel sector has remained susceptible to both domestic and global uncertainties. Most of the studies conducted in developed countries concentrate majorly on manufacturing firms. This creates a gap in developing countries. This study was guided by the following objective: To examine the effect of unrelated diversification strategies on organizational performance among star-rated hotels on the Kenyan coast. An embedded mixed method comprising a descriptive survey and explanatory research design was used. The study was conducted on the Kenyan coast. Stratified random sampling techniques were used to select the hotels, Purposive sampling was used to select Strategic managers and random sampling technique was adopted to select both middle and lower-level managers. Data was collected through a questionnaire and interview schedule. 383 questionnaires were distributed and 29 managers were interviewed. Descriptive statistics and simple linear regression were used to analyze data. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically. 354 questionnaires were dully filled representing a 92.7% return rate while 29 general managers interviewed represented 80.6%. The simple regression model result showed that R-squire = 0.558. This means that 55.8% of performance is explained by conglomerate and collaboration diversification strategies. The result indicated that conglomerate diversification strategies (p-value < 0.0001) and collaboration diversification strategies (p-value = 0.031) are significant predictors of the performance of star-rated hotels on the Kenyan Coast. The null hypothesis was tested and rejected. According to the findings, the study recommends that hotels wishing to increase or retain their financial position and market share and also achieve economy of scale even during business turbulence should employ an unrelated diversification strategy. This will ensure hotels' high performance and sustainability during business distress such as the COVID-19 pandemic or decline in product lifecycle
Upakuaji
Marejeleo
Adner, R., & Zemsky, P. (2016). Diversification and performance: Linking relatedness, market structure, and the decision to diversify. Strategy Science, 1(1), 32-55.
Ampofo, J. A. (2020). Contributions of The hospitality industry (Hotels) in the development of Wa municipality in Ghana. International Journal of Advanced Economics, 2(2), 21-38.
Ansoff, H. I. (1987). The emerging paradigm of strategic behavior. Strategic Management Journal, 8(6), 501-515.
Arte, P., & Larimo, J. (2022). Moderating influence of product diversification on the international diversification-performance relationship: A meta-analysis. Journal of Business Research, 139, 1408-1423.
Atieno, L., & Sangoro, O. (2023). Effects of Conglomerate Diversification on Sustainability of Public Universities in Kenya. Journal of Business, Economics and Management Research Studies, 1(3), 48-62.
Baloch, Q. B., Maher, S., Iqbal, N., Shah, S. N., Sheeraz, M., Raheem, F., & Khan, K. I. (2022). Role of organizational environment in sustained organizational economic performance. Business Process Management Journal, 28(1), 131-149.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120.
Cerrato, D., La Rocca, M., & Alessandri, T. (2023). When does unrelated diversification increase performance? The effects of financial context and contingencies. Management Decision, 61(13), 1-25.
Chen, Y. (2021). Economics of tourism and hospitality: a micro approach. Routledge.
Deng, X., Tian, Z., Li, J., & Abrar, M. (2012). The diversification effects of a firm's political connection and its performance implications: Evidence from China. Chinese Management Studies, 6(3), 462-487.
Government of Kenya (2017). National Tourism Blueprint 2030. Nairobi, Kenya.
Gyan, A. K., Brahmana, R., & Bakri, A. K. (2017). Diversification strategy, efficiency, and firm performance: Insight from emerging market. Research in International Business and Finance, 42, 1103-1114.
Harjito, D. A., Astuti, U. K., Pahlevi, R. W., & Said, J. (2021). Corporate Diversification and Financial Risk-Return Performance of Indonesian Companies. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 20, 1-12.
ILO (2020). Hospitality and Tourism Sector Labour Outlook. International Labour Organization
Itami, H., Kagona, T., Yoshihara, H., & Sakuma, A. (2019). Diversification strategies and economic performance. In Anatomy of Japanese Business (pp. 319-351). Routledge.
Kinyagu, J. K. (2021). Diversification Strategy and Financial Performance of Kenya National Police Deposit Taking Sacco (Doctoral dissertation, University of Nairobi).
KNBS. (2020). 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census: Counting Our People for Sustainable Development and Devolution of Services. Nairobi: KNBS.
Konina, N., Vladimirova, I., & Stonehouse, G. (2021). The evolution of conglomerates in the digital era: Adapting strategies to the requirements of the fourth industrial revolution. Digital Strategies in a Global Market: Navigating the Fourth Industrial Revolution, 145-155.
Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
Lee, C. Y. (2017). Product diversification, business structure, and firm performance in Taiwanese property and liability insurance sector. The Journal of Risk Finance.
Lichtenthaler, E. (2005). Corporate diversification: identifying new businesses systematically in the diversified firm. Technovation, 25(7), 697-709.
Mammen, J., Alessandri, T. M., & Weiss, M. (2021). The risk implications of diversification: Integrating the effects of product and geographic diversification. Long Range Planning, 54(1), 101942.
Mendoza-Abarca, K. I., & Gras, D. (2019). The performance effects of pursuing a diversification strategy by newly founded nonprofit organizations. Journal of Management, 45(3), 984-1008.
Mishra, A., & Akbar, M. (2007). Empirical examination of diversification strategies in business groups: Evidence from emerging markets. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 2(1), 22-38.
Mota, J. H., Almeida, S. C., Pardinha, J., & Campos, A. M. (2014). The effect of related and unrelated diversification on the financial performance of hotel business groups: the Portuguese case. Revista Turismo & Desenvolvimento, (21/22 Vol. 4), 85-96.
Neffke, F., Hartog, M., Boschma, R., & Henning, M. (2018). Agents of structural change: The role of firms and entrepreneurs in regional diversification. Economic Geography, 94(1), 23-48.
Odwori, P. O., Murunga, F., Kendagor, R., & Njeri, J. K. (2022). Economic Impacts of Covid-19in Kenya: An Assessment of Hospitality and Lodging Sectors in Tranzoia and Nandi Counties. African Journal of Education, Science and Technology, 7(1), 326-343.
Omaliko, E., & Okpala, N. (2022). Impact of corporate diversification on sustainability of listed health care firms in Nigeria. Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 22(4), 59-69. DOI: 10.9734/AJEBA/2022/v22i430558
Oyewobi, L. O., Windapo, A. O., & Cattel, K. S. (2013). A framework for identifying construction companies’ best practice: a panacea for corporate performance failure. Proceedings of the CIB World conference 5-9 May, Brisbane, Australia.
Putri, N.K., & Pan, W. (2022). The impact of global diversification as growth corporate strategy to performance: An investigation on
Shuhidan, S. M., Said, J., Mokri, S. H., & Kazemian, S. (2016, August). Market orientation within technological companies: Risk based approach. In 2016 3rd International Conference on Computer and Information Sciences (ICCOINS) (pp. 43-48). IEEE.
Snell, S., & Morris, S. (2014). Building dynamic capabilities around organizational learning challenges. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 1(3), 214-239.
Statista, “China: tourism industry revenue 2018 | Statista”, Statista, 2020. [online], Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/2360 40/revenue-from-tourism-in-china/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2020].
Sun, W., & Govind, R. (2017). Product market diversification and market emphasis: Impacts on firm idiosyncratic risk in market turbulence. European Journal of Marketing, 51(7/8), 1308-1331.
Tien, N. H., & Ngoc, N. M. (2019). Related and Non-related Diversification Strategy of Domestic Business Groups in Vietnam. International journal of advanced research in engineering and management, 5(7), 12-17.
Triaa, W., Gzara, L., & Verjus, H. (2016, August). Organizational agility key factors for dynamic business process management. In 2016 IEEE 18th Conference on Business Informatics (CBI) (Vol. 1, pp. 64-73). IEEE.
UNWTO. (2020). Supporting Jobs and Economies Through Travel & Tourism: A Call for Action to Mitigate the Socio-economic Impact of COVID-19 AND Accelerate Recovery. Madrid, Spain: UNWTO.
Wegwu, M. E. (2020). Diversification Strategies And Business Performance In A Competitive Industry. JournalNX, 6(08), 190-199.
World Travels and Tourism Council (2020) Impact of pandemic on travel and tourism, Retrieved from: https://www.wttc.org/priorities/crisis-preparedness/pandemics/ [Access on March 14, 2020]
Zheng, C., & Tsai, H. (2019). The moderating effect of board size on the relationship between diversification and tourism firm performance. Tourism Economics, 25(7), 1084-1104.
Copyright (c) 2025 Jacob Owenga Kitoto, PhD

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.