Influence Of Strategic Management Drivers on Organizational Performance of Non-Governmental Organizations in Samburu County, Kenya

Abstract

The organizational performance of Kenyan NGOs has been negatively affected by an overall increase in expenditures, a decline in funding, and declining employment opportunities. The general objective was to investigate the influence of strategic management drivers on the organizational performance of non-governmental organizations in Samburu County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to examines the influence of organizational culture, competencies of employees, management structure, and donor fund management on the organizational performance of non-governmental organizations in Samburu County, Kenya. The resource-based view theory, agency theory, and contingency theories were the main theories of the study. The study employed a descriptive research design targeting 81 NGOs in Samburu County, involving 66 directors, 89 operations managers, and 107 program coordinators was selected through simple random sampling. A pilot study involving 8 NGOs in Laikipia County tested the research tools. Validity was assessed through content, criterion, and construct validity, while reliability was measured using the Cronbach alpha coefficient. Data analysis included descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations), Pearson correlation, and multivariate regression, with results presented through model summaries, ANOVA, and regression coefficients. The findings reveal that while NGOs in Samburu promote staff diversity (92% agreed) strong work values (90% agreed), policy frameworks (89% agreed, 40% agreed), and cost control (86% agreed), they struggle with internal communication (89% disagreed), limited staff interaction (89% disagreed), lack of managerial respect (92% disagreed), and absence of funding models (86% disagreed). Hypothesis testing showed all four predictors significantly influenced NGO performance: organizational culture (β=0.251, p=0.002), employee competencies (β=0.433, p=0.017), management structure (β=0.516, p=0.004), and donor fund management (β=0.354, p=0.022). Management structure had the strongest impact, followed by employee competencies, donor fund management, and lastly, organizational culture. It is thus recommended that to enhance organizational culture, the management develop structural policies that will determine the flow of information from the management to the staff. On the established management structures, the recommendations are that there should be a consensus developed by both the management and staff on their interaction. The study recommends that NGOs need to restructure their funding models to include own-source revenue from established income-generating projects. The attention of the study was drawn to NGOs in the ASAL region, like Samburu County. Other studies could consider other ASAL regions like Mandera, Garissa, Isiolo, and Turkana with the aim of establishing how strategic management drivers enhance performance.