THE ROLE OF CUSTOMER VALUE CREATION IN DRIVING SALES PERFORMANCE OF MEDIUM-SIZED CARBONATED SOFT DRINK MANUFACTURERS IN NAIROBI COUNTY KENYA

Abstract

Food and beverage firms in Kenya face persistent challenges such as poor data integration, weak feedback management, and limited technology adoption, which constrain their sales performance. This study focused on examining the role of customer value creation in driving sales performance among medium-sized carbonated soft drink manufacturing firms in Nairobi County, Kenya. Customer value was conceptualized as the extent to which firms deliver superior benefits, meet customer expectations, and foster loyalty through value-driven strategies. The investigation was anchored in the Customer Perceived Value Theory, which maintains that sales performance improves when firms provide offerings that consumers regard as more valuable than available substitutes. A descriptive research design was employed, drawing on a target population of 86 personnel, of whom 71 completed the survey, resulting in a commendable response rate of 82.6%. The sample was derived using stratified and simple random techniques, and the primary research instrument was a structured questionnaire. Data collation and subsequent analysis were executed in SPSS (version 27), using descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and diagnostic tests for normality, homoscedasticity, and multicollinearity. The subsequent inferential analysis established that customer value exerted a substantive and statistically significant positive impact on sales performance (β = 0.483, p < 0.001), thereby indicating that firms concentrating on value-generating mechanisms-specifically product quality, equitable pricing, and comprehensive customer satisfaction-realize enhanced sales results. These findings corroborate the prevailing literature that designates value as a pivotal facet of Customer Relationship Management, a facet critical to the acquisition and maintenance of competitive advantage. Moreover, a moderated regression analysis revealed that technology infrastructure exerts a reinforcing effect on the nexus between customer value and sales performance (B = 0.198, p < 0.001), thus amplifying the model’s overall explanatory capacity. Findings indicate that the utilization of technology-enabled systems magnifies the impact of value creation by supporting near-instantaneous responsiveness and finer congruence with client expectations. This study therefore asserts that the deliberate creation of customer value constitutes a pivotal strategic mechanism for lifting sales outcomes within the Kenyan carbonated soft drink sector and that technology infrastructure constitutes a necessary underpinning. This implies that managers and practitioners should deliberately commit to value-driven customer engagement, sealing the customer-facing processes within technology-enhanced customer relationship management frameworks, and institutionalizing continuous capability development for all personnel, such that the delivery of superior, consistent customer experience becomes the norm. Continuous and embedded employee training converts tacit customer knowledge into enduring differentiation, customer loyalty, and sustained superior revenue streams. Future research should widen the scope to diversified industrial contexts and adopt longitudinal inquiry frameworks that track the influence of evolving customer value configurations on performance metrics across successive epochs.