Strategic Approach and Organization of Agricultural Small and Medium Enterprises Distribution Channels in Lubumbashi: An Empirical Research
Lubangi Bidwaya Joyce,
Mbayo Kabango Christian
Issue:
Volume 9, Issue 4, December 2023
Pages:
94-102
Received:
5 September 2023
Accepted:
26 September 2023
Published:
8 October 2023
Abstract: In the present competitive market universe, enterprises develop or adopt many strategies to set up a competitive advantage to overcome their rivalry by improving and making their offers unique. According to the targeted performance, those strategies can be crafted at different levels of the firm's operations, such as the organization level, functional level, product level, marketing level, supply chain level (supply, manufacturing, and distribution), etc. By stating so, it appears that the distribution channel stands as an appealing option to enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises (SME) dealing in the agricultural industry. These enterprises are coping with many market issues, like a lack of infrastructure, better competition deployment, high product perishability, etc. This reality highlights the special fact that the enterprise's choices and actions oriented toward objectives and goal achievement should be methodically applied through a strategic approach. Therefore, this study empirically investigates the impact of implementing the strategic approach on the distribution channel organization of SME. To this end, two specific objectives were pursued: (1) to analyze the impact of implementing the strategic approach on the organization of the distribution channel, and (2) to verify both the application of the strategic approach and its significance in boosting manager satisfaction. The findings of the research hypotheses are validated using primary data collection through a survey questionnaire applied to a sample of 36 SME pulled by performing a simple random sampling. Afterwards, an econometric study through linear modeling and composite index analysis was conducted to this same end. The feedback on the survey questionnaire completion reveals that only 31 SME, i.e., 86.11% of respondents, completed this task. Consequently, statistical and econometric analysis was conducted on the collected data. Using linear modeling, it has been demonstrated that the implementation of the strategic approach positively affects the organization of the agricultural SME distribution channel. Moreover, this use of strategic approach, added to its importance, reveals a statistically significant effect on manager satisfaction.
Abstract: In the present competitive market universe, enterprises develop or adopt many strategies to set up a competitive advantage to overcome their rivalry by improving and making their offers unique. According to the targeted performance, those strategies can be crafted at different levels of the firm's operations, such as the organization level, functio...
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