Change Management and Performance of Companies Listed in Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya

Abstract

Globally, companies are faced with rapidly changing business environment which has a significant effect on organizational performance. Notably, majority of organizations are unable to effectively manage operations/processes in the face of the changing technological arena, which has an impact on their competitiveness. In Kenya, there are a number of companies that have either collapsed or stagnated as a result of their inability to manage change effectively. It is therefore, important for organizations to adopt appropriate technology to be able to manage change in this turbulent and disruptive age to gain a competitive edge. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of change management on performance of companies listed in NSE in Kenya when moderated with technology as it has brought changes on how companies conduct their operations/processes in order to survive in the dynamic business environment. The theories that underpinned the study were; three-step change theory, model of organizational culture, chaos and complexity theory, contingency theory, open systems theory, technology organization environment model and industrial organization economics theory. The study objectives sought to establish the effect of organizational culture on performance of companies listed in NSE, determine the effect of organizational strategy on performance of companies listed in NSE, determine the effect of organizational structure on performance of companies listed in NSE, assess the effect of organizational management on performance of companies listed in NSE and finally, to establish the moderating effect of technology in the relationship between change management and performance of companies listed in NSE. A cross sectional survey design was used on 64 companies listed in the NSE in Kenya. The sample size was 38 companies from (2013-2017) as at 30th June, 2017. Purposive sampling technique for 4 senior managers namely, Chief Executive Officers, divisional heads in Human Resource, Finance and Marketing in the listed companies in NSE were targeted with a sample size of 152 managers. Pilot study was conducted on 15 respondents and reliability coefficient(r) was above the recommended threshold of 0.7.The study used five point Likert Scale to measure change management and performance. Secondary data was obtained from published sources and primary data from the semi-structured questionnaire. The analysis comprised descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, hypotheses testing and regression analysis using ANOVA. Overall, findings indicated that there was significant positive effect on change management and performance of companies listed in NSE. The findings established that there were significant positive effect of organizational culture, strategy, structure, management on performance of companies listed in NSE. The study further reported that there was a significant moderate effect of technology in the relationship between change management and performance of companies in NSE. The study concluded that there was an effect of change management on performance of companies listed in NSE. The study recommended that the management should adopt the usage of technology as it is critical in change management. Further studies may re-look at other moderating or mediating variables that may affect change management on performance of companies listed in NSE in Kenya.