Abstract
Any economy relies on micro and small-sized firms to drive economic growth and social welfare. Research shows that they make up a big fraction of enterprises, employ more people than larger ones, contribute to a nation's GDP, and stimulate innovation. However, micro and small enterprises (MSEs) have significant mortality rates, especially in Kenya. Good management techniques, access to funding sources of business ideas, and owners' or managers' educational and professional qualifications have been shown to improve their survival. This study examines how business size moderates inclusive marketing and MSE survival in Nyamira county, Kenya. Structured questionnaire, random stratified sampling, positivist philosophical framework, and explanatory design yielded 249 respondents. We tested the hypothesis with hierarchical regression. Research indicates that inclusive marketing does not significantly impact MSE survival (β = -0.026, p = 0.314). Inclusive marketing was found to be negatively and statistically significant (β = -0.056, p = 0.002). We can conclude that company size moderates the association between inclusive marketing and MSE performance, improving MSE business survival. This study suggests that micro, small, and medium-sized companies (MSEs) are more sustainable as they grow. Larger SMEs will survive better than smaller ones because firm size moderates the association between inclusive marketing and MSEs' business survival. The study examines business size and MSE survival in an emerging market, unlike prior studies that used developed market data. This study supports the growing body of evidence that such a strategy is not fully relevant to emerging countries like Kenya due to economic, business, and cultural differences.
Key words: Inclusive business model, micro and small enterprises, survival, firm size.