Lundi, Patrick Mwemba2026-02-202026-02-202025-10https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/32525A Research Project Submitted to the School of Business, Economics and Tourism in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Award of Degree in Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management) of Kenyatta University, October, 2025 Supervisor: 1.Anne Wambui MuchemiKenya’s commercial banks play a vital role in driving economic growth and supporting the attainment of Vision 2030. However, many have experienced declining profitability, reduced customer satisfaction, shrinking market share, and increasing levels of non-performing loans. This study sought to examine the effects of strategic management practices on the performance of commercial banks in Mombasa City, Kenya. Specifically, it focused on strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and strategy evaluation and control. The study was anchored on the Resource-Based View, McKinsey 7S model, Resource Dependence Theory, and the Balanced Scorecard. A descriptive research design was employed, targeting 110 staff members from 22 commercial banks in Mombasa City. A census approach was adopted, involving five top management staff from each bank. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires with closed-ended items, achieving a response rate of 95%. Validity was tested using face, content, and construct approaches, while reliability was confirmed through Cronbach’s alpha, which yielded a score of 0.839. The findings revealed that strategy formulation and strategy implementation had a significant positive effect on bank performance. Although strategy evaluation and control did not show a strong direct effect, it remained essential for tracking progress, identifying gaps, and ensuring accountability in the overall strategy process. The model used was statistically significant at a 95% confidence level (P-Value = 0.000 < 0.05) and explained 41.8% of the variance in performance. The study recommends that commercial banks in Mombasa prioritize robust strategy formulation and effective implementation to enhance competitiveness and performance. Equally, greater emphasis should be placed on strengthening strategy evaluation and control mechanisms, as they provide critical feedback for refining strategies and sustaining long-term growth. Overall, the study concludes that strategic management practices are indispensable to improving the performance of commercial banks, with particular implications for top management in decision-making and executionenThesis