Influence of Logistics Communication on Performance of Construction Firms in Kenya

Abstract

Construction industries in Kenya are considered to be the driving force to the country’s social economic development goals. This is in line with the country’s vision 2030 blueprint that recognizes construction as a key pillar towards a sustainable development of the country. In the recent past, the country has immensely benefited through construction related activities and this phenomenon have created job opportunities, seamless logistics systems as well as capacity building in all spheres of the economy. Despite considerable positive contribution of construction firms in the country, cases of project delays have escalated and this has created time overruns and loss of money. This study focused on the influence of logistics communication on performance of construction firms in Kenya. A descriptive research survey was used as a design to help the researcher plan and organize the applicable methodological aspects of the study. This in return created in-depth analysis of the data. The target population for the study was 150 employees working at Zakhem construction Kenya limited. The researcher used stratified random sampling method since the target population was heterogeneous. To this extent therefore, the sample size was derived using Slovin’s formula n꞊ N÷1+N (e2). A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was administered to the sample chosen. Both descriptive and inferential analysis was done using SPSS version 22. The study found out that logistics communication have a strong correlation and significantly influence the performance of Zakhem construction Kenya limited with R=0.569, P=0.000˂0.05. This denoted that when the firm applies logistics communication the performance improves positively prompting the firm to make positive strides in the business. The study also showed that, a unit improvement in logistics communication would lead to a 0.784 increase in the performance of Zakhem construction Kenya limited. The study concludes that logistics communication creates explicit cooperation to all the parties involved in transactional activities of construction firms in Kenya. The study recommends that the company should embrace vibrant communication to ensure smooth information flow to all logistics functions in the organization. Further, the study recommends the firm to invest heavily on information and communication infrastructure systems so as to enhance information sharing with other stakeholders of the company. Lastly, the study recommends that the firm should devise an effective logistics communication plan in order to have a clear communication structure that all employees ought to follow.