INFLUENCE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ENABLERS ON KENGEN PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENT, NAIVASHA
Peter Mwangi Karanja - Master of Business Administration, Laikipia University, Kenya
Dr. Peter Mwaura - Lecturer, School of Business, Laikipia University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
For effective knowledge management implementation in organizations which may have profound influence on the organizational performance, it is crucial for anorganization to identify and understand some of the major factors that will influence the success ofknowledge management. These factors are the driving force in carrying out knowledge management, they do not just generate knowledge in the organization by stimulating the creation of knowledge, but they also motivate the group members to share their knowledge and experiences with one another, allowing organizational knowledge to grow concurrently and systematically. Unfortunately, most organizations especially in the energy sector are not clear about such factors and their influence on knowledge management hence the need for this study. The general objective of this study was to determine the influence ofknowledge management enablers on organization performance with a particular emphasison electricity sector. Specifically, the study sought to evaluate the influence of leadership, organizational culture, and employee involvement and information technology on the performance of KenGen using Geothermal Development Project, Naivasha as a case study. The social exchange theory, the resource-based view theory and the organizational learning theory were used as underlying theories for this research. The study was carried out in OlkariaGeothermal Development Project in Naivasha using descriptive research design. The target population was 102 employees. A sample size of 81 was picked using Yamane’s simplified formula. Questionnaires were used to collect the primary data while secondary data was collected from KenGen documents and company website documentary. A pilot test was conducted to pretest the reliability of the research instrument where the instrument had a computed Cronbach’s coefficient alpha of 0.942 which was considered reliable as it was more than 0.7.The primary data was carried out using a structured questionnaire that was administered directly to the respondents. A total of 57 questionnaires were received from the respondents which represented a response rate of 71%. The data wasanalyzed through descriptive statistics in the form of frequency counts, percentages, mean, standard deviation and variance. Pearson’s Correlation, Chi square tests as well as regression analysis were used to gather as much information as possible regarding influence of knowledge management enablers in the performance of KenGen. The study established that43.7% of the variations in performance of KenGenis explained by leadership, organizational culture, Information Technology and employee involvement leaving 56.3% percent unexplained. Therefore, further studies should be done to establish the other factors (56.3%) affecting the performance of KenGen. Additionally, very little has been undertaken to explore knowledge management enablers on organizational performance of the electricity sector thus the researcher call for similar studies to be undertaken in Kenya for generalization of the findings of the study.
