Influence of growth strategies on performance of public universities in Kenya
Date
2019
Authors
Sande, Nancy Auma
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
The study’s main objective was to investigate the influence of growth strategies on performance of public universities in Kenya. Ansoff’s growth strategies were explored. The study was grounded on Ansoff’s growth-vector matrix, the resource based view and the structure-conduct-performance framework. The study employed a cross sectional survey design involving the total population (census) of the 33 public universities in Kenya. The cross sectional survey design was used because of the comparative analysis across the universities. The cross sectional survey also helped to prove and/or disprove assumptions. The respondents were staff from marketing, planning and strategy, finance and administration departments of the universities. Data was collected through semi-structured research questionnaires, which were self-administered by the respondents with the assistance of the researcher. They were dropped and picked from the respective respondents. Data was evaluated through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The study findings were presented through frequency distribution tables. The study found that market penetration strategy has a positive influence on the performance of public universities. Product development has a positive influence on the performance of public universities. The study found that market development strategy has a positive influence on the performance of public universities. The study found that diversification strategy positively influenced the performance of public universities in Kenya. The study recommended that emphasis be put on the mainstream media advertising and social media to attract more students. The public universities should also ensure that their organization structure does not limit accessibility to its services and as a result, negatively influence customer satisfaction. Public universities should establish academic exchange programs with international universities to boost positive word of mouth as only few public universities have established exchange programs. Public universities should also continue implementing diversification strategy by developing new and relevant courses based on the market needs. Further studies may focus on the influence of growth strategies on organizational performance of other sectors such as the manufacturing, agriculture, aviation and health sectors in Kenya. Future studies may focus on other balance scorecard performance measures such as internal processes perspective, organizational capacity/learning and growth perspective or financial perspective. Similar studies may be conducted focusing on private universities for comparability.
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Commerce at Strathmore University
Keywords
Growth strategies, Performance, Public universities_Kenya