INFLUENCE OF GREEN PROCUREMENT ON PERFORMANCE OF PRIVATE OIL AND GAS FIRMS IN KENYA: MODERATING ROLE OF GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
Evans Isaac Obiso - Department of Management Science, School of Business and Economics, Kisii University, Kenya
Dr. Densford Maendo, PhD - School of Business and Economics, Kisii University, Kenya
Dr. Enock Musau, PhD - School of Business and Economics, Kisii University, Kenya
Dr. James Waribu, PhD - School of Business and Economics, Kisii University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Globally, the oil and gas industry account for the major environmental tragedies leading to creation of reliability issues from policy makers and trust concerns from the community. Kenya’s carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions increased from 7.82 million tonnes to 16.15 million tonnes, recording the highest levels of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases in the country in 2021. Kenya’s private oil and gas sector, churns out 60 million litres of waste oil annually but only 5% of the waste is handled and disposed of properly. The purpose of this research was to establish the influence of green procurement on performance of private oil and gas firms in Kenya. Rationale of the study was to mitigate the adverse effects of private oil and gas activities on the environment through adoption of green procurement. The guiding theories included; the resource-based view and the natural resource-based view. The study was guided by the positivist philosophy. The research utilized a descriptive design. Target population was one thousand eight hundred and fifty employees working for the seventy-two private oil and gas firms in Kenya. The study used stratified random sampling that gave a representative sample. Primary information was gathered using a sample size of four hundred and seventy employees, using self-constructed questionnaires which were dropped and collected after two weeks. A pilot test was conducted at National oil corporation of Kenya, using ten percent of the sample size. Validity was ensured by the experts’ review. Reliability of the tools was tested using Cronbach’s alpha value. An alpha value of 0.7 or above gave a suitable and satisfactory reliability. To test the strength of the relationship amongst variables, the Pearson’s product moment correlation was employed. Quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive (minimum, maximum, mean, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis) and inferential statistics. Simple linear regression analysis measured direct effects of variables. Hierarchical regression analysis tested the moderation effect of variables. Analyzed information was presented through statistical parameter estimates and tables. The study findings showed that green procurement bore a positive and significant influence on firm performance. The study concluded that private oil and gas firms should invest in green procurement to enhance performance. The study recommended that private oil and gas firms should adopt green procurement to improve their environmental performance.