URI http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/162845 Publisher University of Nairobi Rights Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States Usage Rights http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ Collections Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Law, Business Mgt (FoA&SS / FoL / FBM) [24361]

Foreign direct investments have been associated with the streamlining the local economy, through provision of new technology, providing increased employment opportunities as well as enhancing that provision of exemplary and unique services that the local economy would not obtain the expertise or the resources to undertake. However, FDI inflows on the other hand, means that the local industry is faced with stiff competition and may be required to increase their investments and their standards, to compete with the multinational companies. The increased borrowing of funds is expected to increase demand for loans and increase interest rate spread. This study therefore sought to determine the effect of FDI on interest rate spread in Kenya. These factors included, inflation rate, real interest rate, GDP and exchange rate volatility. Quarterly data for these variables was collected for the period of 10 years (2012-2022). The study adopted correlation analysis as well as regression analysis that sought to determine the relationship between the study variables. The regression analysis that was undertaken by the study indicated that FDI had significant negative effect on interest rate spread. The Spearman’s correlation that was undertaken by the study was -0.05, but insignificant. The regression analysis however indicated that FDI had a significant coefficient of -0.494. The correlation coefficient of inflation rate with interest rate spread was negative and close to zero at -0.034. This indicated that increasing inflation rate would reduce interest rate spread, although the correlation was insignificant. Real interest rates, however, did not have significant effect on interest rate spread. The regression coefficient had a p-value greater than 0.05 and therefore despite the coefficient being negative indicating that increasing real interest rates would have a negative impact on interest rate spread, the impact was not significant. Increasing GDP in the economy increased economic activity and therefore less people need to borrow loans from commercial banks. The xii commercial banks, therefore, reduce their interest rates, and thereby reducing the interest rate spread. The regression analysis had a similar finding where the coefficient of GDP was significant but negative at -1.17. Exchange rate volatility on the other hand measured the exchange rate between the Ksh and USD. The volatility had negative and insignificant correlation while at the same time the regression coefficient was negative and insignificant. The study recommended that the government improves FDI inflows, as well as enhance opportunities that would improve GDP. Inflation rate in the short run was also encouraged and recommended by the study.

The purpose of the study was to look into the impact of internal control systems on the financial performance of Kenyan state enterprises that fall under the authority of the national treasury. Internal control systems were the study's independent variable, while financial success was the dependent variable. It used a descriptive research method. All five of Kenya's state-owned sugar firms were represented in the population. The study used primary data obtained using a standardized questionnaire, which was processed on SPSS version 22 using descriptive and inferential statistics. Senior management workers in several departments of the organization, such as accounting, human resource, procurement, and security, were the target responses. The information was gathered and analyzed from 112 respondents from the target population. 101 respondents (90%) completed the questionnaire correctly, whereas 11 respondents (10%) did not complete the form correctly. The R-square value for the model summary was 0.520, indicating that the predictor variables used for this study explain 52 percent of variations in the dependent variable. Internal control systems have a positive substantial effect on the financial performance of state-owned enterprises in Kenya, according to the study. The study stated that, in order to manage its risks, the company has to ensure that risks are assessed in relation to changes in the operating environment, based on the risk assessment. Furthermore, the study found that the organization has established a positive working connection among employees, that they are dedicated to their duties, that all employees have work schedules and thus no employment conflicts, and that there is a mechanism in place to check regular attendance of employees. According to the report, management should constantly put in place procedures that allow it to recognize risks that could jeopardize the company's financial goals. URI

This study's goal was to determine how outsourcing strategy affected Kenyan insurance firms' performance. Core competence theory and agency theory served as the study's foundations. A total of 56 respondents were sampled for the cross-sectional descriptive survey that was utilized for the research. Structured questionnaires were used to gather primary data, which was then coded and entered into the SPSS analytic program. A sample of 56 people received the surveys, with an overall response rate of 85.70%. It was determined through descriptive statistical analysis that the measures of strategic outsourcing and performance were adequate predictors of the two variables. The result of the regression analysis revealed 87% of the variance in organizational performance was ascribed to external variables, whereas 13% of the variation was related to the outsourcing approach. F (1, 16) = 3.551, p > 0.05, which indicates a connection that is not statistically significant, was the result of the ANOVA study. The overall conclusion is that company performance is not significantly predicted by outsourcing strategy. In accordance with further examination of the regression coefficients, performance changed by 0.46 for every unit change in outsourcing approach. The results indicated that an incremental change in outsourcing approach resulted in a corresponding change in performance, but the total effect was not statistically significant. According to the study's results, outsourcing is not widely used by companies in Kenya's insurance sector as a strategic means of enhancing organizational performance. However, according to some research, strategic outsourcing enhances a company's success. As a result, this study sheds light on the outsourcing strategy relationship with performance in the context of Kenyan insurance sector, thus managers need to take an educated decision when adopting an outsourcing strategy to improve the performance of their organization.

High commitment work system is managerial set of activities and policies directed at enhancing employee’s commitment to the organization and to their work. The system generates performance through bonding organizations with employees psychologically as well as providing a conducive environment for employee to commit themselves to the achievement of organization’s objectives. Increase of tea warehouses in Mombasa has brought with it acute competition for tea storage facilities and handling sector. This has necessitated management of tea warehouses to adopt competitive strategies such as high commitment work systems to gain distinctive competence by leveraging on employee’s commitment. Tea business in Mombasa has created a need for more tea warehousing facilities in the recent past accompanied by job opportunities. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of high commitment work systems on the performance of employees in tea warehouses in Mombasa County. The specific objectives were to investigate the effect of performance based compensation, to establish the effect of training and development, to investigate the effect of performance appraisal and to assess the effect of communication on employee performance. The study was anchored on social exchange theory and resource based theory. This study used descriptive cross-sectional design. The study targeted all 17 active tea warehouses licensed by the Tea Board of Kenya. Since this number was small, a census of the tea warehouses used. The study utilized primary data which was collected from randomly selected employees of the warehouses using a semi- structured questionnaire with a five point Likert scale that were applied to all variables. Multiple regression and correlation analysis techniques were utilized. Results were presented in frequency distributions, charts and tables. The findings of the study confirmed that there is a positive association between high commitment works systems and employee performance. The regression results showed that high commitment works systems account for 89.1% of the change in employee performance and the regression coefficients results revealed that performance based pay, training & development, communication and performance appraisal had a positive and significant effect on employee performance since the p-values were less than 0.05. 12

Volatility of corporate cashflows exacerbates reduction in investments, increases external cost of finance and causes a deviation of leverage from the target leading to adverse effects on firm value. There is a dearth of studies on cashflow volatility and its impact on leverage, corporate investment, and firm value. Furthermore, extant literature on the relations presents mixed findings and majority of the studies are from developed economies which are culturally and economically different from developing economies. This study sought to examine the interrelationships among cashflow volatility, corporate investments, leverage deviation and value of nonfinancial companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. It seeks to evaluate whether investors price smooth cashflows. Specifically, the study analysed the impact of cashflow volatility on corporate value, the mediating effect of leverage deviation and corporate investments on the cashflow volatility and firm value link and the joint effect of cashflow volatility, leverage deviation, corporate investments on firm value. The study was anchored on the theory of information asymmetry which explains the interrelations among the four study variables by linking signalling effect of corporate financial information on firm value. Dynamic trade off theory, free cashflow theory and underinvestment theory were also applied in the study and a positivist philosophy used to evaluate research hypotheses. A census was conducted on a population of 42 nonfinancial companies listed at the NSE for the period 2002 to 2019 and data collected from 36 companies which had consistent listing for at least three consecutive years. Descriptive longitudinal research design was applied to analyse the secondary data and descriptive analysis including mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum were carried out to visualize the distribution of data, detect outliers and identify associations among variables. Correlation test was conducted to examine the intensity and direction of relationships among the study variables. Diagnostic tests of normality, multicollinearity, heteroskedasticity, stationarity, and autocorrelation were conducted prior to carrying out inferential analysis. Furthermore, panel specification tests indicated that random effects model was the most suitable for the study. To cater for non-normality log transformation of variables was done and robust standard errors applied as a remedial measure for heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation. Results from hypothesis testing showed an inverse and statistically significant correlation between cashflow volatility and corporate value. Secondly, results from a four-step mediation analysis provided evidence that leverage deviation does not mediate the cashflow volatility and firm value relationship however, it was observed that corporate investment has a mediating effect. Finally, the study findings provided evidence of a joint effect of cashflow volatility, leverage deviation, corporate investments on value of nonfinancial companies listed at the NSE. Thus, findings contribute to literature by reducing controversy on cashflow volatility and firm value link by introducing leverage deviation as an alternative measure of financial risk and providing evidence against optimal capital structure theory. The study cautions management to monitor closely their operational costs and enhance risk management measures to minimize cashflow volatility which impacts negatively on investments and firm value. The study recommends future research on antecedents of cashflow volatility and leverage deviation to obtain a holistic view of the effects of cashflow uncertainty on corporate value.

Strategic planning is a critical area that influences sustainable development of a firm by ensuring proper allocation of the available resources in accordance with the achievement of the objective. This effect also depends on the policy adopted from one hotel to the other. When firms proactively formulate sound and well-planned strategies, they increase their capability of tackling challenges such as the advancement of technology, globalization, emergence of new markets and deregulation which influences the sustainability of development project. However, when the hotel fails to incorporate strategic planning in their development projects challenges such as insufficient funds, lack of proper order of procedures and activities, unprecedented occurrences and other emerging factors may cripple down the project leading to its termination. Therefore, a sustainable development requires a strategic plan which is lucrative in sustaining the development and achieving the targeted goals. The study sought to examine the effect of strategic planning on sustainable development within the hotel industry in Nairobi Kenya. The study targeted hotels that are within Nairobi in Kenya since they are easily accessible. The study used factors of sustainable development which are strategic planning, social sustainability, economic factors and environmental factors as independent variables of the study. The study identified 105 hotels across Nairobi County and was able to collect primary data through questionnaires which were issued via online survey whose link was sent to all the hotel managers. The study therefore obtained 105 responses which were found adequate for data analysis. This study undertook descriptive statistics that described the data collected for each variable in form of mean, Std. deviation and also Coefficient of variation. In summary the performance of sustainable development of hotels was found to be good as it recorded a mean of 16.77. The hotels highly incorporated strategic planning in their developments as indicated by a high mean of 26.53. Although the hotels adopted social sustainability and improved economic and environmental factors to enhance sustainability of their development the hotels put more effort in social and economic improvement than in environmental improvement when doing so as indicated by the means of 14.87, 15.85 and 13.16 respectively. The correlation that was undertaken indicated that all the independent variables had significant effect on sustainable development. The regression analysis was employed in determining the significance of the effect of strategic planning on sustainable development of hotels in Nairobi County. The regression model adopted by the model was only able to describe 50.5%. The adjusted R square on the other hand was smaller than R square that indicates that there were some elements in the model that did not help to improve the model. The study found that strategic planning has a significant impact on the sustainable development of hotel industry within Nairobi in Kenya. The p-value of the F-test was less than 0.05 and therefore the study found statistically significant effect of strategic planning on sustainable development of hotel industry within Nairobi in Kenya. The regression coefficients indicated that strategic planning social sustainable and economic factors had positive significant effect on sustainable development while environmental factors had a positive insignificant impact on sustainable development.

Monitoring and evaluation of WASH practices and activities has always been project driven in the developing world. In the present time, quite a number of organization think of M&E as a donor precondition in lieu of a management tool that is task with evaluating progress, and tracking and fixing issues. Less organisations have confidence in M&E mostly on the grounds that its impact on project performance isn't surely known in spite of numerous empirical researches having been done. Against this background, the study examined the M&E practices influence on performance of WASH projects in Kenya at the Kenya Red Cross Society. The specific aims of this study was to determine planning, capacity building, stakeholder involvement and data dissemination and use in M&E on performance of WASH projects in Kenya. The research preferred descriptive survey design. The study population was 56 respondents working on the 2 WASH projects completed in 2020. The study employed census sampling. Questionnaire was the main instrument of data collection. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The presentation of data was in form of tables. With a combined mean of 2.7114, it was established that slightly more than half of project staff at KRCS strongly-agreed that M&E planning in project implementation led to improved performance of WASH projects carried by KRCS. For the composite mean of 4.3284, it meant that majority of staff at KRCS strongly-agreed that integration of capacity building lead to better performance of WASH projects carried out by KRC. Also, a combined mean of 4.0943 meant that majority of staff at KRCS strongly-agreed that stakeholders’ involvement in M&E led to improved performance of WASH projects carried out by KRCS. Finally, with a composite mean of 4.2014, majority of respondents strongly-agreed that integration of data dissemination led to better performance of WASH projects carried out by KRCS. Therefore, the study concluded planning in M&E, capacity building in M&E, Stakeholders’ Involvement, data dissemination and use in M&E affects all performance of WASH projects in Kenya at the Kenya Red Cross Society. The study recommended that M&E personnel should express higher qualification in order to guide the units in attaining its roles.

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of innovation capabilities on the performance of fintech firms in nairobi. The specific objectives were to investigate the influence of product innovation, market innovation, organizational innovation and process innovation as independent variables on firm performance, the dependent variable. This study was based on dynamic capability, diffusion of innovation theory and resource based View perspectives to explain how innovation capability influnces the performance of fintech firms. A descriptive research technique was used in this study in identifying the existing link between the independent variables (product innovation, market innovation, organizational innovation, and process innovation) and the dependent variable, firm performance. The study was a census approach involving 91 registered fintech companies in Kenya in which a 81% response rate was achieved. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaire in which the respondents were business development managers or marketing managers or strategy managers in these fintech companies. Data was analyzed using SPSS 26. A simple linear regression analysis was done, which established that product innovation, market innovation, organizational innovation and process innovation had a statistically significant and positive effect on frm performance (R square = 0.884, p < 0.100). Adjusted R square value showed that 87.7% of the variation in firm performance was explained by product innovation, market innovation, organizational innovation and process innovation. The results of regression ANOVA test, showed that there was a significant difference between the variable [F (4, 69) = 131.519, P < 0.01 ]. The analysis of regression coefficients revealed that firm performance is negatively influenced by indicators of product innovation (B = -0.033), similarly process innovation (B = -0.011). On the other hand firm performance is positively influenced by market innovation (B = 0.002) as well as organizational innovation ( B = 0.858), however, onlythe effect of organizational innovation is stattistically significant ( p < 0.01). The study established that four types of innovation capabilities: product innovation, market innovation, organizational innovation, and process innovation affect diverse firm performance aspects

This study sought to assess the effect of interest rates on credit access in SMEs in the fisheries sector in Kisumu County, Kenya. In order to achieve this, the study adopted the use of mixed research design. The study collected primary data from a sample of 209 SMEs. In addition, the study collected secondary data from a sample of ten Commercial Banks, Ten Micro Finance Banks and ten Microfinance Institutions. The study collected time series data for a period of 22 years between 2000 and 2022. The findings from the multiple linear regression supported the hypothesis about the negative impact of interest rates on credit accessibility among SMEs in the fisheries sectors. Offering higher interest rates has a negative effect of introducing more restrictive measures hence leading to the increased rejection of credit application from SMEs. In addition, the study showed negative relationship between credit accessibility and different levels of interest rates.