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Strategic Choice, Organizational Learning, Top Management Team Processes and Firm Performance: A Critical Literature Review
(2016-01) Ayuya, Angeline Mukokho; Ombaka, Beatrice
Organizations are in a constant search for ways of distinguishing themselves from rivals and competitors in a bid to outperform them and secure sustained competitive advantage. It has been argued that organizations that will truly excel in the future will be those that discover how to tap people’s commitment and develop the capacity to learn at all levels in an organization. The advantage maybe seen as resting in the strategic choices that these organizations make including the choice to engage in organizational learning and to ultimately transform into learning organizations. Strategists (TMTs) within a strategic group must share commonalities in determining strategic direction of their firms and in nurturing and deploying resources to realize chosen strategies. It is explicit that organizational outcomes including organizational culture, organizational learning and performance are a function of the strategic choices that organizations make. These strategic choices have been termed by population ecologists as response strategies to environmental opportunities and threats. Other researchers have taken the stance that strategic choices are constrained by the environment in the environment dependence and determinacy framework. It has been separately argued and determined that strategic choices are to a great extent influenced by leadership, goal agreement, the level of cohesion and the collective vision of TMTs. These TMT processes have a bearing on organizational learning and consequently performance. Various conceptual linkage shave been identified between the variables of the study. However, these linkages have neither been concretized nor integrated. This paper seeks to verify the conceptual linkages between the variables and to develop a conceptual framework for interrogating the joint influence of Organizational Learning (OL) and TMT processes on the relationship between strategic choices and firm performance.
The Influence of External Stakeholders and Expansion Strategies on the Relationship between Organisational Resources and Firm Performance
(2013) Mahasi, John; Awino, Z. B.; Pokhariyal, G. P.; Ombaka, Beatrice
For decades, the field of strategic management has focused on the determination of drivers of performance and the causes of variation in performance within and between firms. The frameworks so far identified such as resources, external stakeholders and expansion strategies provide partial explanations to performance. This paper seeks to investigate the drivers and causes of variation in performance from a resource based perspective while considering the joint influence of external stakeholders and expansion strategies. According to the resource based theory, resources are central to a host of organisational actions and outcomes. Resources determine a firm’s response capabilities and response strategies, growth and expansion strategies and can ultimately be leveraged to secure superior performance. Stakeholder theorists have argued that paying attention to and satisfying stakeholder needs is essential to organisational success. However, the influence of stakeholders on firm performance has seldom been articulated. The effect of expansion strategies such as diversification and internationalization on performance has been investigated. The literature review done and the conceptual model developed establish the moderating effect of external stakeholders and the intervening role of expansion strategies on the relationship between resources and performance. The findings will provide useful insights to managers on factors affecting performance and the manner in which they affect performance. This will help refocus strategic effort towards improved performance of the institutions and contribute to the steadily growing knowledge on the drivers of firm performance and causes of variation in firm performance and could possibly guide future research.
The Influence of Government Policies on Tourism Performance in West Pokot County. International Journal of Scientific Research and Management (IJSRM) 7(5), 483-489.
(2019) Tulel, Cherop Patricia; Ombaka, Beatrice; Kariuki, Ann
The study focused on the influence of government policies on tourism performance in West Pokot County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following variables: policy framework, provision of infrastructure, provision of amenities and conducive taxation strategy. The theory guiding this study was consumer choice theory. Descriptive research design was used for the study. Target population consisted of employees of hotels, officials of tour firms and officers in the ministry of tourism in the County Government of West Pokot. Systematic stratified sampling was used and a total of 41 respondents selected. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that government policies should have a conducive taxation strategy to attract more investors in the tourism industry, local governments play an important role in promoting sustainable tourism development by providing infrastructure and amenities hence increasing tourism performance to a very large extent. The study recommends that government policies should be friendly. Another study could be done on challenges facing domestic tourism which was not part of the study.
The Influence of Government Policies on Tourism Performance in West Pokot County.
(2019) Tulel, Cherop Patricia; Ombaka, Beatrice; Kariuki, Ann
The study focused on the influence of government policies on tourism performance in West Pokot County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following variables: policy framework, provision of infrastructure, provision of amenities and conducive taxation strategy. The theory guiding this study was consumer choice theory. Descriptive research design was used for the study. Target population consisted of employees of hotels, officials of tour firms and officers in the ministry of tourism in the County Government of West Pokot. Systematic stratified sampling was used and a total of 41 respondents selected. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that government policies should have a conducive taxation strategy to attract more investors in the tourism industry, local governments play an important role in promoting sustainable tourism development by providing infrastructure and amenities hence increasing tourism performance to a very large extent. The study recommends that government policies should be friendly. Another study could be done on challenges facing domestic tourism which was not part of the study.
The Effects of Destination Marketing on Tourism Performance in West Pokot County
(Rift Valley Technical Training Institute, 2020) Tulel, Cherop Patricia; Ombaka, Beatrice; Kariuki, Ann
Tourism is an ever-growing service industry with great development potential. It has become one of the most important drivers of socio-economic development worldwide and has attracted interest for research. Many nations rely on tourism industry as a key source for foreign exchange, private sector growth, infrastructure development, and poverty alleviation in terms of employment opportunities and improvement of the welfare of the people in tourist destinations. According to United Nation World Tourism Organization, development agencies and policymakers are increasingly advocating tourism as an effective way to reduce poverty in least-developed countries. However, lack of proper marketing strategies is a challenge in many county governments, posing further challenge in tourism performance. The general objective of the study was to assess the effect of destination marketing on tourism performance in West Pokot County. Specifically, the study sought to establish the influence of awareness creation, developing new markets, advertising and branding on tourism performance in west Pokot County. To achieve these objectives, descriptive research design was used. Target population consisted of employees of hotels, officials of tour firms and officers in the ministry of tourism in the County Government of West Pokot. Purposive sampling technique was used and a total of 41 respondents selected. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that 41.8 % of the changes in tourism performance in West Pokot County was attributed to destination marketing. The P- value was 0.000 indicating that destination marketing had a significant influence on tourism performance of west Pokot County. The study recommends that destination marketing should be promoted by all the stakeholders involved and the funds allocated to destination marketing should be increased. This will promote the performance of tourism since destination marketing increases awareness among domestic and foreign tourists.
Influence of Fiscal Asymmetric Decentralization on Household Effects—A Review of Recent Literature.
(2019) Munyua, Cyrus M.; Muchina, Stephen; Ombaka, Beatrice
The study is in line with Oates (1951), where fiscal decentralization is explained as the delegation of income and con-sumption powers from the central government to the devolved units, both local and national levels within the framework of decentralization. Fiscal decentralization is considered to be the panacea in eradicating poverty, particularly in devel-oping countries. This review entails the assessment of the influence of fiscal asymmetric decentralization on household effects. Specifically, the review looks at the interaction between budget efficacy, fiscal policy, and county treasury man-agement and household effects. Despite the fact that scholarly work has been conducted on all the concepts, arguably inadequate attention has been given to the influence of fiscal asymmetric decentralization on household effects. Further-more, scanty information was found on revenue disparity or financial planning attributes. In addition, not much has been done on fiscal control by subnational governments and self-fiscal reliance as counties continue to rely on funding from the national governments although counties have considerable potential to generate their own revenue. The challenges of comprehensive results are observed, and the study concludes that it appears critical to focus more on analysis that will establish the link of control theory and practice, which will need more firm and integrative study process.
Influence of Fiscal Federalism as Budget Efficacy on Household Income in Kenya
(2019-05-31) Munyua, Cyrus M.; Muchina, Stephen; Ombaka, Beatrice
The Theory of federalism suggests that a fiscal decentralization negatively affects the size of a government budget. Indeed, the size of the national budget in Kenya has been ballooning ever since the inception of fiscal decentralization. What is of concern to this study is its efficacy and ultimate effect on household income. The importance of the hypothesis of fiscal federalism was tested by adopting the Survey and Evaluation Program (NASSEP V) frame that the Kenya Bureau of Statistics currently operates to conduct household-based in Kenya. The study employed an inductive ex post facto cross sectional quantitative survey design. Secondary panel data was collected from County Treasuries while Primary data was collected through household surveys and Fiscal and Monetary Departments of county assemblies. The study established a significant association between budget efficacy and household income as indicated by a beta coefficient of 0.9021 and a p’ value of 0.000. The beta coefficient has positive sign, which indicates that there is a direct relationship between budget efficacy and household income. An increase in budget efficacy is expected to have a positive influence on household income. The findings of this study are expected to empower citizens through access of information on the real meaning and effects of fiscal asymmetric decentralization while policy makers will know the strength of the correlation between fiscal asymmetry and household effect in order to match monetary policy with the needs of lower government levels for implementation of the country’s financial framework.
Fiscal Asymmetric Decentralization Conundrum: Influence of County Cash Management on Household Effects in Kenyav
(2020) Munyua, Cyrus; Muchina, Stephen; Ombaka, Beatrice
This study aims at determining the influence of county cash management on household effects in Kenya. This is a qualitative research that has utilized both primary and secondary data from county governments and the National Treasury respectively. The sample has been developed from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics list of households in Kenya. The result indicates that effective cash management would enhance household welfare, leakages and lack of prioritization among others notwithstanding. The study concludes that there is need to enhance oversight of the treasury management across governments. The capacity of treasury managers should also be improved to secure fiscal discipline.
Influence of Strategic Physical Resources on Performance of Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises in Kenya.
(Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, 2019-05-13) Muturi, Moses Murimi; Ombaka, Beatrice; Muchiri, Joseph
ABSTRACT Article History Received 1st April 2019 Accepted 13th May 2019 Purpose This study sought to determine the influence of strategic physical resources on performance of small and medium manufacturing enterprises in Kenya. Anchored on the Resource Based View (RBV) theory the study adopted positivism research philosophy descriptive and causal-effect research designs. Design/methodology/approach The population for the study comprised of the management staff of the 350 small and medium manufacturing enterprises registered by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) where a sample of 183 participants was chosen using stratified sampling method. The study tested for content validity as well as reliability using internal consistency of the questionnaire using Cronbach alpha coefficient. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and regression analysis to conclude that physical resources have a significant influence on performance of small and medium manufacturing enterprises in Kenya. Findings Consequently the study recommended that the management of SMEs should ensure that they invest significantly in these resources so as to maximise on the performance of these firms. However the conclusions reached in this paper were based on data collected from small and medium manufacturing enterprises in Kenya. For this reason, the results of the study suffer from generalizability since they may not be inferred on other firms other than manufacturing firms in the sector with similar characteristics. Originality/value The findings of this study significantly contribute to the existing pool of knowledge regarding the concept of intellectual capital and its implications on organizational performance. Scholars and other researchers would find the outcomes of this study relevant as reference material to advance in their research.
Participatory Communication Strategies Used in the Implementation of Public Water Projects in Murang'a County, Case Study of Northern Collector Tunnel, Kenya.
(2020-05-14) Maina, Bernard Muhoro; Biwott, Caroline; Ombaka, Beatrice
Development communication plays a major role in informing and influencing the behavior of the receiver of information. Effective development communication motivates people to participate in planned activities, changing the behavior and attitudes of people and empower them tofocus on interactions between different stakeholders to address a common problem. Community involvement is a very important aspect in implementation of any project. Without community buy-in, a project may never get off the ground or will not be accepted once it is completed. Community involvement is regarded as a nuisance and is ineffectively addressed,or there is a lack of knowledge as to how to engage the community. Either way, the results can be disastrous and would lead to delays in construction, loss of money, filing of law suits, disgruntled citizens providing negative comments to the media or non-acceptance of the revitalization project, the very thing that was supposed to be remedied. The study sought to establish Participatory Communication Strategies used in implementation of public water projects in Murang'a County, study of Northern Collector Tunnel. The Study was anchored on the theory of Kinkaid Convergence Model of Communication. The design was descriptive survey. Target population was 192,589 households. Krejcie and Morgan sampling formula was used to arrive at 384 respondents. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that participatory communication strategies play a critical role in the implementation of public water projects. The study recommends the involvement of community grouping, meeting with opinion leaders and the use of various media platforms including radios, local newspapers, and television and billboard illustration will go a long way in facilitating the successful implementation of Northern Collector Tunnel project.

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