Risk Response Approaches and Project Delivery among Non-Governmental Organizations in the Humanitarian Sector in Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2025-12
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
Project success depends on how projects perform, influenced by aspects such as project complexity, contractual timelines, stakeholder capabilities, project manager competencies, and interpersonal relationships among project parties. The research was motivated by persistent challenges in NGO project implementation, including cost overruns, delays, and unmet objectives. This study examined the influence of risk response approaches and project delivery among non-governmental organizations in the humanitarian sector in Nairobi City County, Kenya. Key risk response strategies assessed included risk transfer, risk prevention, risk control, and risk retention. The study was grounded in expectation theory, enterprise risk management theory (ERM), network theory, and resource-based theory (RBT). A descriptive research design was employed for a population of 1,252 humanitarian NGOs, with 125 NGOs randomly selected and data collected from 375 project managers and technical staff using structured questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 24, employing descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. Descriptive results showed moderate to high reliance on risk response strategies: risk prevention had the highest aggregate mean of 3.9561 (SD = 0.47697), followed by risk control (mean = 3.7848, SD = 0.53485), risk transfer (mean = 3.7181, SD = 0.54035), and risk retention (mean = 3.6921, SD = 0.55630). Project delivery scored a mean of 3.7793 (SD = 0.56465), indicating overall effective implementation. Correlation analysis revealed positive relationships between all risk strategies and project delivery, with risk control showing the strongest correlation (r = 0.603, p < 0.01) and risk transfer the lowest (r = 0.475, p < 0.01). Multiple linear regression indicated that the model significantly predicted project delivery (R² = 0.752, F (4,296) = 228.916, p < 0.001). Specifically, risk transfer (β = 0.673, p < 0.001), risk prevention (β = 1.296, p < 0.001), and risk retention (β = 1.490, p < 0.001) had positive and significant effects on project delivery, while risk control had a negative but marginally insignificant effect (β = -0.470, p = 0.053). These findings demonstrate that effective risk management, particularly in prevention, transfer, and retention, enhances NGO project performance by improving cost control, timely completion, scope adherence, and output quality. The study contributes to knowledge on risk management in humanitarian projects and provides practical guidance for NGO managers, policymakers, and donors. It recommends continuous improvement of risk management systems, emphasizing risk prevention and transfer, and calls for future research on integrating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and predictive analytics into NGO project management.
Description
A Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of Degree of Master of Businesss Administration (Project Management) of Kenyatta University. December, 2025
Supervisor
Lucy Ngugi