Influence of Local Demographics Cognition on Organizational Performance of Rated Hotels in Kenya

Abstract

Though cognition, which we refer to in this study as “native thoughts” is an important disposition of managers, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on the relationship between cognition and performance of organizations. Drawing from the social cognitive theory, we investigated the influence of local demographics cognition on organizational performance of rated hotels in Kenya using a descriptive. Cross-sectional survey of 249 managers from 150 three, four and five-star hotels was used. A psychometrically validated questionnaire with items anchored on a five-point Likert type scale was used to collect quantitative data which were analyzed using SPSS software version 26. A binary logistic regression model was used to test the study hypothesis. The model fit the data that was collected with a Hosmer Lemeshow statistic that was insignificant t 5% level of significant (p.05) suggesting that the observed odd ratios were not by chance but as a result of the local demographics cognition. Overall, the logit model result was that local demographics cognition significantly predicted the odds for performance of the rated hotels (β = 1.189, Wald = 32.162, p<.05, OR=3.282). Further, on a scale of 1 to 5 the modal score for local demographics cognition was 3.282. This implied that managers’ cognition of local demographics was high and hence the use of this in strategy decisions increased the likelihood of satisfactory organizational performance of hotels. Consequently, null hypothesis that local demographics do not influence performance of rated hotels in Kenya was rejected. The conclusion was that managers of rated hotels in Kenya practised local demographics cognition - the “native thoughts” of demography and that it had a significant influence on organizational performance of hotels