Economics and Business
Quarterly Reviews
ISSN 2775-9237 (Online)
Published: 01 December 2024
Organizational Agility: Does it Play a Role in the Nexus Between Restructuring Strategies and Performance of Selected Public Universities in Kenya
Sabbena Nthenya Kivindo, Stephen M.A. Muathe, Anne W. Muchemi
Kenyatta University
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10.31014/aior.1992.07.04.628
Pages: 161-180
Keywords: Organizational Agility, Restructuring Strategies, Operations Redesign, Downsizing, Governance Reform, Organization Performance
Abstract
Every country needs public universities because education's transformative power advances the nation by fostering social cohesion, expanding opportunities, and fostering sustainable economic growth. Public universities are instrumental in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by promoting knowledge generation and leading research that results in innovative discoveries. These organizations play a crucial role in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals by producing knowledge and conducting research that leads to innovative advancements. Although they play a vital role, public universities in Kenya encounter numerous challenges, including feedback from stakeholders regarding inadequate services, which impacts the overall performance of these institutions. This research aimed to examine how restructuring strategies influence the outcomes of certain public universities in Kenya. Specifically, to determine how operations redesign restructuring, downsizing restructuring, and governance reform affect the performance of selected public universities in Kenya. It also aimed to examine the mediating effect of organizational agility on the relationship between restructuring strategies and the performance of selected public universities in Kenya. The investigation used balanced scorecard, dynamic capabilities, and contingency theory. A semi-structured questionnaire was distributed to 341 public university management team members. To evaluate the study hypothesis, a multiple linear regression model was used, with a significance level of 95%. The results of the study showed that downsizing and operations redesign significantly enhanced the performance of the selected public universities while the restructuring of the governance reform resulted in a decline in performance at the selected public universities in Kenya. Moreover, organizational agility was identified as a partial mediator in the relationship between restructuring strategies and the performance of selected public universities in Kenya. The study suggests that university management should carefully reevaluate the approach to governance reform restructuring in order to lessen its negative effects, while concentrating on bolstering operations redesign and downsizing strategies to improve performance in the chosen public universities. In order to achieve better performance in the chosen public universities, university management should also be well-versed in how to combine organizational agility with restructuring strategies while abiding by the rules governing the higher education sector.
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