Top Management Team Heterogeneity, Group Cohesion, Competitive Repertoire Complexity and Performance: Evidence from Kenyan Food and Beverage Manufacturers

Abstract

This study sought to evaluate the relationship between top management team (TMT) heterogeneity, group cohesion, competitive repertoire complexity and firm performance. This study argued that top management team heterogeneity could affect performance positively or negatively due to the increased ability to deploy a wide range of strategies and increased divisions respectively. Group cohesion was also associated with positive and negative firm performance depending on the group context while competitive repertoire complexity was associated with mixed performance effects. A cross sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 53 large food and beverage manufacturing firms through primary and secondary data which was analyzed through multivariate regression analysis. The study established that TMT heterogeneity, group cohesion and competitive repertoire complexity jointly affected all performance measures except environmental performance. This implied that organizations needed to approach TMT heterogeneity and competitive repertoire complexity cautiously and undertake measures to foster cohesion in the TMT to enhance performance.