EFFECT OF INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL ON FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF SAVINGS AND CREDIT COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN KENYA

Abstract

The business environment within which the SACCOs operate has been very volatile. The increasing importance of intellectual capital as the main assets for organizations in the changing knowledgebased economy, where IC played an important role in the existence and continuity of those organizations, in addition to locating it between competitors. The study determined the effect of intellectual capital disclosure on financial sustainability of savings and credit cooperative societies in Kenya. The study specifically established the effect of human capital, structural capital, relational capital and customer capital on financial sustainability of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Kenya. This study was hinged on stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory, resource-based theory, human capital theory and constraint induced financial innovation theory. The study adopted descriptive research design. The study target population was the management staff in the SACCOs in Kenya. Nassiuma (2000) formula was used to obtain the desired sample size of 315 for the study with the population of 1737. Stratified proportionate random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. The primary research data was collected from the management staff working at Saccos in Kenya. In this study drop and pick method is preferred for questionnaire administration so as to give respondents enough time to give well thought out responses. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 25.0). All the questionnaires received were referenced and items in the questionnaire were coded to facilitate data entry. After data cleaning which entailed checking for errors in entry, descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean score and standard deviation were estimated for all the quantitative variables. Inferential analysis was also done using correlation and regression analysis (multiple regression analysis). Finally, information was presented inform of tables and graphs. Relational capital was found to affect financial sustainability of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Kenya very greatly. The study established that integrated communication systems and operations automation affect financial sustainability of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Kenya to a great extent. The study found that employee’s competence and qualifications affect financial sustainability of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Kenya to a great extent. The study found that customer capital influences financial sustainability of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Kenya greatly. The study concluded that customer capital had the greatest effect on financial sustainability of SACCOs in Kenya, followed by relational capital, then human capital while structural capital had the least effect on financial sustainability of SACCOs in Kenya. The study recommends that managers should therefore seek to understand their clients’ background, discover their priorities, know their tastes and likes to ensure they serve them well thus creating a long-term business relationship with them, culminating in the SACCOs financial sustainability. Also, SACCOs should take part in corporate social responsibility activities as a way of relational capital initiative which will create goodwill and thereby spurring the firm’s performance.