Relationship between Strategic Change Interventions and Performance of Commercial State Corporations in Kenya

Abstract

For organizations to remain in operation, they have to be in a state of change. This is done with the view to balance with the environment. Researches have shown that managers who fail to adopt changes will ultimately be forced to shut down their operations. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between strategic change interventions and performance of commercial state corporations in Kenya. Specific objectives were to establish the relationship between technology adoption, dynamic environmental scan, participatory stakeholder involvement and adaptive organization structure interventions and performance of commercial state corporations in Kenya. The last objective was to investigate the moderation effect that Board composition has towards the relationship between strategic change interventions and performance of commercial state corporations in Kenya. The study adopted a cross section survey research design. The target population was fifty five (55) commercial state corporations in Kenya. A sample of forty eight (48) commercial state corporations was used for the study. These were obtained through stratified random sampling. The respondents of this study constituted CEO’s, Finance Managers and HR Managers of each of the sampled commercial state corporations. The correspondents of the study totaled to one hundred and forty four (144). Collection of data was conducted with the aid of questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were hand delivered to the respondents in the respective institutions by the help of research assistants. The research assistants self-administered the questionnaires to the 144 respondents of the sampled commercial state corporations. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24 and Microsoft Excel. Regression models were fitted and hypothesis testing was carried using standard F and t tests. The study found that technology adoption interventions have a significant positive influence on performance of commercial state corporations in Kenya. Further, dynamic environmental scan interventions were found to have significant positive influence on performance and therefore, this means that State corporations that respond to dynamic and hostile environment will have a competitive edge and hence better performance. Participatory stakeholder involvement interventions were also found to have positive and significant influence on performance in the commercial state corporations in Kenya. When stakeholders are involved in activities they are further encouraged to support all the activities of the organizations. Additionally, adaptive organization structure interventions were found to positively and significantly influence performance of commercial state corporations in Kenya. Board composition was found not to have a significant moderating influence on the relationship between strategic change interventions and performance. Overall, strategic change interventions were found to have a significant positive influence on performance of commercial state corporations in Kenya. The study concludes that to enhance performance of commercial state corporations, these strategic change interventions should be adopted. Therefore, from the findings the study concludes that the greater the adoption of strategic change interventions in the corporations, the greater the effect on their performance. The study recommends enhanced use of strategic change interventions that are geared towards improving performance of commercial state corporations in Kenya. The study adds new knowledge on strategic change interventions from the context of commercial state corporations and the role of Board composition in the relationship between strategic change interventions and performance of commercial state corporations in Kenya.