Job Satisfaction Effects on Employee Performance in Food Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Abstract

Purpose: This research aimed at examining effects of job satisfaction on employee performance in food manufacturing firms in Kenya and decomposed job satisfaction into work, salary, supervision as well as growth and development as investigation constructs. Methods: The study adopted post-positivism philosophy and employed explanatory research design with stratified proportionate sampling technique. A sample of 384 respondents from a target population of about 12476 employees was obtained using Fishers (1991) formula from 50 food manufacturing firms and a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire used to collect primary data for hypothesis testing. Findings: The study findings revealed that job satisfaction had positive strong relationship with significant effect on employee performance as tcal=24.79>tcrit=1.96 at p=0.000. Therefore, null hypothesis that job satisfaction has no significant effect on employee performance was rejected. The regression outcome of β=0.832, p=0.000 indicate that a unit enhancement in knowledge management infrastructure results in employee performance enhancement by 0.832 units. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study concluded that job satisfaction affects employee performance. Management of the firms should entrench measures that enhance job satisfaction to support employee performance.