Assessment of the Factors Influencing Strategic Planning In Commercial Banks of Kenya

Abstract

Strategic planning is a process for creating a shared vision of the future and developing a plan to achieve it. It is a tool for organizations to use to make better decisions, allocate resources more efficiently, and improve performance. In Kenya, over 60% of local banking institutions lack automated strategic planning systems, which hinders effective formulation and implementation of banks' growth and development strategies. Only fewer than ten commercial banks (25%) have effectively executed strategic planning processes. The study sought to assessment of the factors influencing strategic planning in Commercial Banks of Kenya. Specifically, the study aimed to achieve the following specific research objectives; to determine the effect of resources on strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya; to determine the influence of top management attention on strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya; to evaluate the influence of the business life cycle on strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya and to assess the effects of environment turbulence on strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya. The study was guided by four theories includes; Resource-based view theory, Business Cycle Model, Industrial Organization Theory and Resource Dependency Theory. This study conducted a census of 42 Commercial managers to collect data from a total of 126 target respondents. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 and Excel, and descriptive statistics were used to provide summaries of the data. Frequencies and percentages were also reported. The determinants affecting strategic planning in Kenyan Commercial Banks were identified using multivariate regression. From the analysis, the study revealed a strong significant positive relationship between resources and strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya (r = 0.645, p < 0.000). The study also showed that there was a strong significant positive relationship between top management attention and strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya (r = 0.742, p < 0.000). The study further showed that there was a strong significant positive relationship between business life cycle and strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya (r = 0.767, p < 0.001). Lastly, the study showed that there was a strong significant positive relationship between environment turbulence and significant on strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya (r = 0.617, p < 0.00). Therefore, the study hypothesis which states that resources, top management attention, business life cycle and environmental turbulence has significant influence on significant on strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya was accepted. The study therefore concluded that resources, top management attention, business life cycle and environmental turbulence played a significant role on strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya This is because there existed a positive and significant relationship between the independent and strategic planning in commercial Banks of Kenya. The study therefore recommended that banks need to utilize the financial resources in a resourceful manner. Banks should also increase their human resource base to ensure enough human resources to do the necessary tasks.