Abstract: In Kenya, the public sector has come under increasing pressure to improve performance and demonstrate greater transparency and accountability. This pressure has resulted in public sector organizations facing shifts in ways of operating. Various institutional change management strategies have been adopted by different public sector agencies, many of these cloning managerial practices from the private sector. This study sought to establish the influence of change management practices on performance of public sector organizations in Kenya, with special focus on Kenya National Highways Authority. The specific objectives were: to determine the influence of leadership support on performance of Kenya National Highways Authority; to establish the influence of external stakeholders the on performance of Kenya National Highways Authority; to assess the influence communication has on performance of Kenya National Highways Authority and to examine the influence of employee participation on performance of Kenya National Highways Authority. A case study research design was adopted. The target population for this study was stratified through top management level, middle level managers and low level management. The study population composed of 486 members of staff in different managerial levels currently working at Kenya National Highways Authority. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample of 215 respondents. The research used questionnaires. This was done to enhance its validity and accuracy of data to be collected. The research carried out a pilot study to pretest and validates the questionnaire. Quantitative data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics using SPSS (Version, 21) and presented through percentages, means, standard deviations and frequencies. The information was displayed by use of bar charts, graphs and pie charts and in prose-form. Content analysis was used to test data that is qualitative in nature or aspect of the data collected from the open-ended questions. The study conducted a correlation analysis to establish the strength of the relationship between the independent and the dependent variable. Multiple regressions were done to establish the influence of change management practices on performance of public sector organizations in Kenya, with special focus on Kenya National Highways Authority. The study found that leadership support had significant positive relationship with performance of Kenya National Highways Authority; external stakeholders involvement had significant positive relationship with performance of Kenya National Highways Authority; communication had significant positive relationship with performance of Kenya National Highways Authority, and employee participation had significant positive relationship with performance of Kenya National Highways Authority. The study recommends that KeNHA should ensure that their leaders are competent to ensure that they are able to develop strategy, create mission and motivate its employees to achieve the objectives of the company and build organizational culture, this will ensure that the performance of the company is improved; KeNHA should ensure that they involve all the stakeholders, both internal and external, in their activities; KeNHA should ensure that there is efficient and sufficient communication within the organization; KeNHA should ensure that they involve their employees in decision making and planning. The study recommends replication of the study in other public sectors in the country.
Keywords: leadership support, communication, external stakeholders involvement, employee participation.
Title: INFLUENCE OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS IN KENYA: A CASE OF KENYA NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY
Author: Paul Karicho Githumbi, Samson Nyang’au Paul
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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