Knowledge Capabilities and Performance of County Governments in Kenya: A Survey of County Departments of Kiambu County Government

There is a growing need for governments globally to develop and implement strategies of knowledge capabilities to take advantage of distributed knowledge assets to enhance the performance of their employees. Knowledge capabilities are viewed as a tool for harnessing the knowledge value and engaging it in integrative processes with organizational infrastructure, people, and processes. Organizations must leverage its existing knowledge capabilities and apply the knowledge in its operation to sustain competitiveness both locally and international. The county government systems are barely 10 years old and there is the growing need to leverage on the essential asset of human resource brought about by knowledge management for realization of fast growth. The main objective of this study was to determine how knowledge capabilities influence the performance of County governments in Kenya. The study determined the effect of knowledge acquisition capabilities, knowledge application capabilities, knowledge storage capabilities and knowledge protection capabilities on the performance of County governments in Kenya. The study adopted census method targeting 34 management staff of Kiambu County. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaire. The questionnaires were piloted with 4 staffs from the neighboring Nairobi County to determine their validity and reliability. Quantitative data was analyzed using Descriptive statistics analysis which was done by measuring central tendencies which included frequencies, means, standard deviations and regression. Descriptive statistics were carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Inferential statistics which included correlation (r) and regression (R2) through the use of Multiple Linear Regression model were employed to establish the significance of the independent variables on the dependent variable. The study found that knowledge acquisition capabilities have a positive and significant effect on the performance of county governments in Kenya (β1=0.690, p-value=0.000). Moreover, knowledge application capabilities have a positive and significant effect on the performance of county governments in Kenya (β2=0.596, p-value=0.000). Further, the study found that knowledge storage capabilities have a significant and positive effect on the performance of county governments in Kenya (β1=0.548, p-value=0.009). This study therefore recommends that County governments should develop proper strategies such as creating a suitable learning culture and facilitating innovativeness to encourage the acquisition of knowledge and skills. In addition, the county governments should use appropriate technology for application of knowledge as well as incorporate knowledge into organizational processes, procedures, culture and identity, routines, policies, systems, and documents, as well as individuals to aid in the application of knowledge. Keywords: Knowledge Capabilities, Acquisition, Application, Protection, Performance DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-6-08 Publication date:March 31st 202

FINANCIAL RESOURCES AS A STRATEGIC DRIVER ON PERFORMANCE OF AGENCY BANKING IN COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA

The study sought to establish the influence of financial resources on the performance of agency banking in commercial banks in Kenya. The study reviewed previous studies done to support the research objectives from which the research gaps were extracted. The study used descriptive survey research design. The target population for this study was the 18 commercial banks in Kenya licensed by Central Bank of Kenya to operate agency banking. The branch managers, ICT managers, operations managers, human resource managers and customer relations managers were the key targets respondents in the study. Primary and secondary data was collected using questionnaires and checklist guide respectively. Inferential analysis was carried out to establish the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The study established that Financial Resources had a positive significant influence on the performance of agency banking among the commercial banks in Kenya. The financial resources availed to agency banking through shareholders’ fund, liquidity ratio and value of assets also positively influenced the performance of agency banking. The study concluded that financial resources were essential in steering the performance of agency banking thus recommending that the commercial banks through the management ought to uphold these strategic drivers in order to enhance the performance of agency banking

Growth Strategies on Performance of Transport Service Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations in Nairobi City County, Kenya

The goal of this research was to evaluate how growth strategies affect the performance of Nairobi City County Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOs) that provide transportation services. The purpose of this research was to explore the effect of market penetration, market development, product development, diversification strategies effect on performance of transport service Savings and Credit Cooperative in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study adopted the following theories: Game theory, Porters competitive theory, Resource Based View Theory, and Portfolio management theory. The study used descriptive survey research approach. A total of 73 registered Matatu Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations were targeted. One manager from four categories of general manager, human resource manager, finance manager, and operations manager were purposively targeted yielding a total of 292 units of observation for the study. Primary data was collected using a 5-point slanting Likert scale questionnaire with closed ended questions. The information gathered was evaluated using descriptive and inferential statistics in MS Excel and the   SPSS program V24. The study tools were piloted to test its validity and reliability. The study results indicated that product development strategy had positive and significant effect on organizational performance. On the other hand, the regression analysis revealed that the growth strategies explained up to 65.8% change in organizational performance of transport service SACCOs in Nairobi County. The study concluded that growth strategies significantly influence performance of transport service SACCOs in Nairobi city county, Kenya. This study recommends that management of transport Sacco pursuing product development strategies to come up with products that meet the changing needs of their customers. In particular, the Saccos should offer services that are youth friendly and ability to accommodate persons with disability. Management of Sacco should strengthen the use of market development strategy. Management of Saccos should invest more in market development strategies so as to enhance their performance. Lastly, Sacco’s should offer boarding and lodging services which is closely related to transport services and at the same time they should also provide courier services. Keywords:Diversification, Market development, Market penetration, performance, Product development, Strategy. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-4-01 Publication date: February 28th 202