Abstract:
Financial performance deals with measuring the results of a firm’s operations which is reflected in its
profitability as well as return on investment. Financial performance of Primary Marketing Co-operatives is
influenced by many factors both within and outside the respective Co-operatives scope. Kenyan Marketing
Co-operatives provide opportunities for employment, resource mobilization and suitable structured
development all aimed at reduction of poverty levels and impacting positively on the lives of people. The
above goals are greatly hampered by the myriad of challenges faced by Primary Marketing Co-operatives
resulting to slow growth, underperformance and ineffective service delivery. This study therefore sought to
examine how members’ characteristics influence financial performance of Primary Marketing Co-operatives
in Nyeri County. The study employed four theories that included Agency Theory, Stewardship Theory,
Stakeholder Theory and Resource Based Theory. The study took a descriptive research design. Census was
done where all the Secretary Managers from 44 Primary Marketing Co-operative Societies in Nyeri County
were the respondents. A self-administered, questionnaire was used to collect data from the target
respondents. The study achieved a response rate of 80%. Data analysis was conducted using statistical
package for social sciences (SPSS) to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequencies and
percentages were generated from the data and presented using frequency distribution tables while linear
regression analysis was done to establish relationship of each parameter of the independent variable in the
study. The data was tested for linearity using correlation coefficient (r) and multicolinearity using Variance
Inflation Factor (VIF) respectively. A bivariate linear model was used to assess the influence of members’
characteristics on financial performance of Primary Marketing Co-operatives. The study findings revealed
that members’ characteristics has positive and significant effects on financial performance of Primary
Marketing Co-operatives. The study recommends that Primary Marketing Co-operatives should focus on
enhancing positive aspects of member characteristics in order to improve their financial performance
