STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION DETERMINANTS AND PERFORMANCE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA
STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION DETERMINANTS AND PERFORMANCE OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KENYA
Glory Kanana Mwiti - Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology, Kenya
Dr. Samson Nyang’au Paul - Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The increasing competition in the national and international banking market has prompted the need for a comprehensive search for effective strategic management practices to be adopted by commercial banks. Over the past two years, Kenya's financial sector has experienced remarkable growth, notwithstanding some significant challenges. Nevertheless, these gains were offset by steep declines in trade and project financing deals last year, suggesting a decrease in the number of companies seeking to establish a presence in Kenya compared to 2019. This study aimed at finding the strategy implementation determinants and performance of international commercial banks in Kenya. This study purposed to analyze how strategic communication, strategic planning, action plan, and strategy monitoring affected the performance of international commercial banks in Kenya. The study was guided by agency theory, theory of planning, goal setting theory and Ansoff strategic success theory. This study used descriptive research design. The targeted population of this study was international commercial banks in Kenya. The unit of analysis was the 14 international commercial banks found in Nairobi since they are easily accessible being that it is their headquarters. The unit of observation was the senior managers (branch managers, service/operations managers), middle level managers (senior service desk officers, cash officers), and bank clerks (service desk officers, business bankers, personal bankers, sales executive). The sample size of 172 respondents was determined using stratified proportionate random sampling technique. The study used primary data collection methods. The primary data was collected through interviews and questionnaires. Qualitative data obtained from the interviews was transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis using NVivo 13. The quantitative data in this research was analyzed by descriptive statistics using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27. Descriptive statistics included mean, frequency, standard deviation and percentages to profile sample characteristics and major patterns emerging from the data. In addition to measures of central tendencies, measures of dispersion and graphical representations was used to tabulate the information. To facilitate this Likert Scale was used to enable easier presentation and interpretation of data. In addition, the researcher conducted a multiple regression analysis. The analyzed data was then interpreted and presented in frequency tables. The study found that the organization's communication strategy enhances transparency and trust, and the communication channels used by the organization facilitate easy access to information. Further, the study found that employees have a clear understanding of the organization's strategic objectives, and employee engagement initiatives align with the organization's strategic goals. The study also found that the resources are not allocated efficiently, and they are not effectively utilized to achieve strategic goals. The study found also that clear accountability for strategic tasks are not established and adhered to. The research concluded that strategic communication had the greatest influence on performance of international commercial banks in Kenya, followed by action plan, then strategic planning, while strategy monitoring had the least influence on the performance of international commercial banks in Kenya. The study recommended that for the organization to perform effectively on its performance clear strategies that guides it operation should be formulated and guidelines be provided to all the concerned departments in order to eradicate occurrence of compromise. International commercial banks need to enhance communication in strategy implementation throughout the organization and improve on senior managers commitment towards the same.
