TALENT ATTRACTION AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN FAMILY OWNED RETAIL BUSINESSES IN THE NAIROBI METROPOLITAN REGION

Abstract

Family owned retail businesses tend to perform poorly after the exit of their founders.  This study aimed at examining the relationship between talent attraction and the performance of family owned retail businesses in the Nairobi metropolitan region. The study adopted the Trait Activation Theory as proposed by Henry Murray to elucidate the phenomena of Talent Attraction. The research population consisted of 438 branch managers and their deputies drawn from 219 retail companies in the Nairobi Metropolitan Region in Kenya. The sample consisted of two hundred and seventy-four managers and their deputies who were chosen from family owned retail stores in the Nairobi metropolitan region that have more than 8 branches. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data. The study adopted a quantitative research design. Regression analysis was used with the SPSS software used in data analysis. The Pearson's R-correlation was used to determine the strength and direction of the relationship between the variables. The study found that family-owned retail stores saw a significant improvement in performance following the acquisition of talent (β = 0.380, p 0.001), and thus concluded that talent attraction enhanced organizational performance.