Change Management Strategies and Project Implementation in Kenya: A Case of Kenya Investment Authority

Abstract

Despite the essential role that the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) has played in fostering economic growth in Kenya, it has demonstrated a relative show in project implementation over the past five years due to several factors which included inadequate revenue from investments, insufficient developed strategies to manage changes, inefficient business redesign as well as poor integration process. Therefore, this study sought to determine the effect of change management strategies on project implementation in the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest). It was guided by three objectives namely, examine the effect of organizational structure on project implementation, assess the effect of process redesign on project implementation, and establish the effect of organizational innovation on project implementation at KenInvest. The study was underpinned by Lewin Three-step Change Theory, Institutional Theory and Lewin Three-step Change Theory. The study adopted descriptive research. The population of the study was all the employees of KenInvest, who were 303 employees from various departments of KenInvest. Therefore, the study targeted all the 91 managers and supervisors who had been employed at KenInvest for over three years. This study carried out a census approach, where all the 91 directors, senior managers and supervisors were studied. This study therefore used stratified random sampling to select the population based on management and supervisors. The study used a semi-structured questionnaire to collect primary data. The study conducted a census whereby all the 91 respondents were considered. The pretesting was at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), whose 10% was represented by 9 staff members of KRA. Content and face to face tested the validity of the instrument, to determine its effectiveness. The reliability to determine the internal consistency adopted Cronbach's Alpha coefficient which was 0.764. The study analysed both descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS version 26.0. Pearson Moment Product Correlation and multiple regression analysis were performed. The study considered voluntary participation, safety and rights were not infringed upon. No identification of the respondents as well as confidentiality was considered. The study found that organizational innovation had a strongly positive and statistically significant relationship (r=.773, p=.000) with project implementation at KenInvest. Also, the study established that organizational structure was ineffective and statistically non-significant predictor (r=-0.009, p=0.885). The study recommended that priority be given to clarity in roles and responsibilities, regular reviews of the organizational structure, allocation of enough resources towards innovation. Also, promote communication flow and decision-making processes, continuous training programs to equip employees with relevant skills for better innovation and new workflows and processes.