The paper attempts to explore the role of networks in small firms' internationalization in Tanzania. It notes that while firm internationalization has been studied extensively, inquiry into how small firms enter foreign markets and the strategies they use has not received much attention. The study is further motivated by the fact that export performance of developing countries is alarmingly low, and hence there is need for African governments to create an environment that will stimulate small firms' competitiveness in the current globalized export markets if the millennium development goals are to be attained. This requires capacity building of the actors in order to take advantage of the benefits of the market access strategies under the global partnership for development. One such approach is to promote partnering and networks. The Tanzanian exploratory study has revealed that networks eliminate small firms ownership disadvantages and their perceived psychic distance, thereby facilitating their entry into foreign markets.

Neither market orientation nor the possible link to performance is easily achieved and in various countries companies may organize differently to cope with the information-processing and customer-responding challenges. Nationwide surveys in banks in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden indicate that a path to performance involves innovations such as "supported empowerment" though there are differences in the antecedents of market orientation. Thus the most distinct Scandinavian ways to improvements may be found in Sweden. Especially Swedish banks and to a lesser extent Finnish banks are upfront in their use of "the technology of customer-focusing". Nevertheless, the overall analyses based on rigorous structural equation modeling lead to the estimation of a model reflecting causal relationships which seem to be independent of nationality.

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Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of product innovation on the performance of coffee cooperatives in Kenya. Methodology: A descriptive research design was applied. The target population of this study was 525 coffee cooperative societies in Kenya registered with the Commissioner for Cooperatives and licensed by AFFA (Coffee Directorate) as at 30th of October 2016. The sample size was 227 respondents. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from the selected respondents. Findings: The results of the study revealed that product innovation and performance are positively and significantly related (β=0.631, p=0.002). This indicated that developments of new products are essential for the improvement of the coffee cooperatives’ performance. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The study recommended adoption of technology for the development of new services, new functions, and formation of new alliances. The study further recommended an organization to employ and develop a high technology for its product in order to determine strategic position to adopt the differentiation position or the cost leadership position. This study is recommended as it will benefit scholars and researchers who will gain insight on the influence of product innovation on performance of coffee co-operatives hence use it as a source of reference for other researches. The results of this study will contribute new knowledge which will provide the government and other stakeholders with better ways of managing co-operatives and improving their production.

The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of marketing innovation on the performance of coffee cooperatives in Kenya. A descriptive research design was applied. The target population of this study was 525 coffee cooperative societies in Kenya registered with the Commissioner for Cooperatives and licensed by AFFA (Coffee Directorate) as of 30th of October 2016. The sample size was 227 respondents. Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from the selected respondents. The results revealed that marketing innovation and performance are positive and significantly related (?=0.674, p=0.001). This implied that significant changes in product design and packaging led to a positive change in the performance of coffee cooperatives. The study affirms that to improve performance by targeting the customers, constant improvements in how the company promotes its new products to capture the attention of new customers is a key aspect to be considered. The study recommends the management employ skills in developing clear operating procedures to run the business successfully, coordinate different areas of the business to achieve results and the ability and design jobs to suit staff capabilities and interests.