Influence of Proactive Work Behavior on Employee Performance in Kenya’s Savings and Credit Cooperatives

Abstract

The world has become so competitive due to globalization; a fact that has led to many organizations striving to strategically position themselves to meet the dynamic nature of customer needs to stay relevant in the market. This study shall benefit the management by providing insight on Proactive Work Behavior among employees in the organization, Government, scholars and academicians, consultants and customers. The main objective of the study was to assess the Influence of Proactive Work Behavior on Employee Performance in Kenya’s Sacco Sector. The independent objectives for the study included; To explore the influence of Taking Charge, Employee Voice Expression, Employee Orientation, Innovation, Perceived Supervisor Support on Employee Performance in Kenya’s Sacco Sector. This study addressed these shortcomings by establishing the influence of Proactive Work Behavior on Employee Performance with emphasis on the role of employees in improving performance. While the SACCO sector has progressively grown and expanded, as evidenced by the diversification of products and services offered, little has been done if any, to tap into the potential of employees to maximize on the same issues. The study sought to find out the relationship between Proactive Work Behavior and Employee Performance. This study was guided by seven variables including; Taking charge, Employee Voice Expression, Employee Orientation, Innovation and, Perceived Supervisor Support as a moderating variable and Employee Performance as the dependent variable. The study also discusses the background of the study, theoretical review, empirical review, and conceptual framework, critique of the empirical literature, summary and research gaps. It also discusses methodological issues related to the research, further explains key components of the research methodology such as; research design, population of the study, sample size, sample and sampling techniques, data collection instruments and procedures, pilot testing, data analysis and data presentation methods. The aforementioned issues were highlighted in order to lay the ground for the performance related activities such as field work, data collection, coding, editing, analysis and reporting. A survey data of 174 Kenyan Sacco’s was used to explore the existing relationship between Proactive Work Behavior and Employee Performance. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. Both primary and secondary data were used in this study. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires, which were prepared and analyzed with the help of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) AMOS version 21. The target population for this study included employees in middle and high cadre positions and those in the marketing and product development departments. Stratified Random sampling method was used to select the sample size. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The study used a sample of 384 employees as highlighted above. The study findings revealed that Proactive Work Behavior significantly influences Employee Performance in Kenya’s Sacco Sector, however innovation had a negative posting showing that it did not directly influence employee performance in the sector. The analysis of the study was conducted using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modeling. The study recommended that there is need for the policy makers in Kenya’s Sacco Sector to consider setting up platforms that allow Proactive Work Behavior to thrive. There is also need to find out why innovation has not been embraced in Kenya’s Sacco Sector.