Product development and financial performance in the soft drinks industry in Uganda: case of crown beverages ltd

Abstract

The study was designed to examine examined the influence of product development on the financial performance in soft drinks industry using a case study of Crown Beverages. The study was guided by the three objectives that is, to examine the .influence of product design on financial performance of Crown Beverage Limited, to examine the influence of product quality on financial performance of Crown Beverage Limited and to assess the influence of product lines on financial performance of Crown Beverage Limited. A cross-sectional research survey design was used for the study since data was collected as single point in time and this enabled the researcher to collect detailed and in-depth data from respondents. The researcher used questionnaire and interview guide to collect data from the respondents and the sample size of 134 respondents was selected. The findings of the study indicates that there is a strong positive linear relationship between product design, product quality and product lines and financial performance (r = .994). Product design, product quality and product lines account for 98.7% variance of financial performance. These findings were subjected to an Anova test and found significant ((F = 3454.299, p < .05). In addition the coefficients of each product development indicators show that product design, product quality and product lines influences financial performance (p < .05). Product quality positively affects financial performance (t = 3.330) followed by product lines (t = 3.1 05) and lastly product design (t = 2.647). The study recommends that product development process should involve all staff in soft drink companies and the focus should be on product construction, packaging, branding, product positioning and usage testing should be an integral component of product development in the soft drink industries sector. In short, improving product development can lead to good financial performance.