Organizational Resources And Performance Of Kwale County Government, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Kwale County government is among the counties that have experienced several performance challenges. The County’s Fiscal Strategy Paper notes that even though the county had bright growth prospects, this was constrained by among other factors, resource challenges. Nevertheless, scholarly studies assessing how county resources affected the county’s performance were scanty. The study aimed at assessing the effect of organizational resources on performance of Kwale County government. The study sought to establish the effect of tangible resources, human resource, technology and intangible resources on the performance of Kwale County government. The study was anchored on the resource based view theory, human capital theory, the technology acceptance model and the balanced scorecard model. A descriptive research design was adopted. The target population for the study was 600 county employees. Stratified sampling method was adopted in selecting a sample of 240 employees. The sample size was determined using a statistical formula. Semi-structured questionnaires were utilized in gathering primary data. The responses from the open-ended questions were summarized into themes and simple frequencies extracted, while for the quantitative data, both descriptive analysis and inferential analysis were conducted aided by the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Descriptive analysis was undertaken to summarize the basic characteristics of the data collected. Inferential statistics generated consisted of Pearson’s correlation coefficients and regression coefficients. A multiple linear regression model was utilized in showing the relationship between organizational resources and the performance of Kwale County government. The study findings were presented using tables and charts. The study findings revealed that tangible resources, human resource, technology and intangible resources had a positive and significant effect on the performance of Kwale County government. The study noted that the county’s intangible resources had the largest effect on the performance of the county government followed by the human resource. The study therefore, concluded that organizational resources were a major determinant of the performance of Kwale County Government. The study concluded that when the county government developed its bundle of organizational resources in particular tangible resources, human resource, technology and intangible resources, its performance was enhanced. Some of the recommendations pertained to enhanced investments towards the sustainable exploitation of the county governments natural resources that can generate sustainable incomes for the county government. The study also recommends for continuous review of the county’s human resource incentive policy/programs inorder to ensure that emerging dynamics in relation to their human resource are considered so as to maintain a highly motivated and committed workforce. The study further recommends that county government should increase the budgetary allocations to the county’s information and communication technology department to facilitate the continuous expansion and upgrade of existing information and communication technology infrastructure so as to support the full integration of the different functions and processes in the county. The study recommends that a similar study should be replicated across the different county governments in Kenya in order to explore their resource capacities and how these have affected the performance outcomes in the various county governments in Kenya.