Accomplishing Organizational Performance through Strategic Planning Practices: Empirical Evidence from Selected Public Universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

Organizational performance is a phenomenon that has attracted the attention of scholars over time. Considering its importance, most organizations, especially those in the public sector, take adequate steps to ensure proper management of their performance. Universities are one of the most important social organizations and secular institutions that support the economy's growth in nations. The growing uncertainty and turbulence in the modern business environment also impact higher learning institutions. Kenyan Higher Education Institutions' (HEIs) dismal performance in academics has been a concern. Hence, the study established whether adopting strategic planning influence the organizational performance of selected public universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya. Precisely, the study aimed to examine the effect of innovation, resource allocation, stakeholder involvement, and institutional culture strategies. The study was grounded in the balance scorecard model, resource-based view theory and the McKinsey 7-S framework theories. A descriptive survey design was adopted. A population of 1,701 senior management, middle, and administrative staff employees from three public universities, including Kenyatta University, the University of Nairobi, and the Technical University of Kenya, was used. The sampling approach for the research was a proportionate stratified and random technique and was used to select a random sample size of 324 participants. Data were collected using a semi-structured and self-administered questionnaire. The reliability test for the instrument yielded Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the constructs ranging from 0.77 to 0.89. The instrument achieved a response rate of 93.8 %. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of SPSS software version 29.0. The findings revealed that strategic planning measured by innovation, resource allocation, stakeholder involvement, and organizational culture practices had a significant impact on the organizational performance of the selected universities in Nairobi County, Kenya (Adj R² = 0.761, F-stat = 41.052, p < 0.005). The study concluded that strategic planning positively impacted the performance of the university in terms of the index of the quality of services offered, the population of enrolled students and graduates, and the market share. The findings of the study contribute to the body of knowledge, thereby enriching the formulation of policies and core practices in the strategic planning process within higher learning institutions that can be adhered to and modified in case they interfere with the processes. Future researchers should focus on other sectors such as health, agriculture, water, and the private sector, considering the use of both financial and non- financial attributes of organizational performance.

Keywords: Organizational Performance, Strategic Innovation, Resource Allocation, Stakeholder Involvement, Culture