Inter-organizational collaborations and performance of courier firms in Nairobi City County, Kenya
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Date
2018-04
Authors
Gachengo, Lydia Wanjiku
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kenyatta University
Abstract
The Communications Authority of Kenya (2016) indicated a 14.3% drop in courier
transactions from the year 2010 to 2015. Further, outgoing international transactions
experienced a 20.6% decline. This downward trend has been attributed to development
of communication technology and organisational competitiveness which has immensely
affected the performance of the firms in this business portfolio. This has led most
organisations to embrace certain corporate strategies and partnering with other
organizations to strengthen their market positions and improve on performance.
This study sought to investigate the effect of inter-organizational collaboration and
performance of courier firms in Nairobi City County, Kenya. Specifically, the study
sought to: determine the effect of resource-based collaborations on performance of
firms courier firms in Nairobi City County; establish the ef fect of cost-based
collaborations on performance of courier firms in Nairobi city county; determine the
effect of relational-based collaborations on the performance of courier firms in
Nairobi City County; assess the moderating effect of organizational characteristics
on the relationship between inter-organizational collaborations and performance of
Courier firms in Nairobi City County and finally assess the mediating effect of
organizational competitiveness on the relationship between inter-organizational
collaborations and performance of courier firms in Nairobi City County. The study was
anchored on the Transaction Cost Theory, Resource Based View Theory and Resource
Dependency Theory. The study adopted positivist philosophy that premises knowledge
is based on facts and that no abstractions or subjective status of individuals is
considered. To achieve the objectives, the study used both descriptive and explanatory
research designs. The unit of analysis was 141 courier firms and the stratified sampling
design was used to group the firms into strata using the licensing category. Secondly,
using the Krejce and Morgan sampling table (1970) the researcher arrived at 103
organisations which were included in the study. In each firm 3 managers were picked
who included the Finance Manager, Operations Manager and Customer Service
Manager to arrive at 309 managers. The study used mainly Primary data which was
collected using self-administered questionnaire. Quantitative data was analyzed using
both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize
data while inferential statistics applied multiple linear regression analysis to test
hypothesized relationships. Content analysis was also used for qualitative data.
Adjusted R2 was used to measure the amount of variation in the dependent variable
explained by the independent variables. An assessment of the underlying statistical
assumptions was conducted by testing for normality, homoscedasticity, linearity, multicollinearity
and autocorrelation. The study findings were that resource based, cost
based and relational based collaborations had a positive significant effect on the
performance of Courier firms in Nairobi City County. Organizational characteristics
were found to have a moderating effect on the relationship between inter-organizational
collaborations and performance of Courier Firms in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The
study recommended that firms should re-think on configuration of resources in
assessment of any collaborations the firm intends to engage itself in order to enhance
performance. Further, the study suggests that a similar study can be conducted in other
industries to determine the causal links
Description
A Thesis submitted to the School of Business for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business (Strategic Management), Kenyatta University. April, 2018