Institutional Factors and Strategy Implementation in Public Secondary Schools in Selected Counties in Kenya

Abstract

Strategy implementation is arguably the most important phase of strategic management process because it is at this phase that benefits of the whole process should be reaped. In the same vein it is argued to be the most challenging phase and the least researched. This study therefore sought to find out the influence of institutional factors on strategy implementation in public secondary schools in the selected counties of Embu, Tharaka Nithi, Meru and Isiolo. The specific objectives of the study were; to assess the influence of regulative forces, normative forces and cognitive pressure on strategy implementation in public secondary schools in the selected counties in Kenya. Further, the effect of institutional factors combined on strategy implementation in public secondary schools in the selected counties was examined. Additionally, the moderating effect of mimetic pressure on the influence of institutional factors on strategy implementation was also assessed. The study was underpinned by the positivist philosophical paradigm and adopted a combination of correlational and descriptive research designs. A sample of 250 respondents was drawn from the 672 schools in the selected counties. Data was collected using closed ended items on a five point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviations, percentages and frequencies were obtained for the purposes of summarizing the data. Inferential statistics were obtained using spearman’s rank correlation and the binary logistic regression analysis. The study found out that the regulative pressure had statistically significant influence on strategy implementation (Exp(B)=3.31, p=.001˂.05), the cognitive pressure and institutional factors combined similarly had a significant positive influence on the odds for successful strategy implementation (Exp(B)=3.96, p=.003˂.05 and Exp(B)=4.433, p=.001˂.05) respectively. On the other hand normative pressure had no statistically significant influence on strategy implementation (Exp(B)=.664, p=.206˃.05). Similarly mimetic pressure had no statistically significant moderating effect on the influence of the institutional factors on strategy implementation (Exp(B)=.632, p=.565˃.05). The study made the following recommendations to the ministry of education; to ensure timely disbursement and sufficient free day secondary school funds to schools, intensify monitoring of strategy implementation by field officers, conduct in-service training for all school administrators on strategic management and establish a support system on strategy implementation.