Strategic Innovative Processes and Safety Management Performance at The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority

Abstract

In an effort to mitigate accidents and incidents in the aviation industry, various institutional measures have been implemented over time for safety management. The aviation industry regulator often lags in providing technical guidance, performance standards and operational regulations to guide the activities of industry operators within a robust and resilient safety management system. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of strategic innovative processes and safety management performance at the KCAA. The objectives of the study were to: establish the effect of standardization, oversight, and digitization on safety management performance at the KCAA, and determine the moderating effect of safety policy on the relationship between strategic innovative processes and safety management performance at the KCAA. This study was underpinned by the Schumpeter’s Innovation Theory. This study applied both descriptive and explanatory research designs. The population of this study included the staff of KCAA nationwide, totaling 805 employees. The target population of this study was 288 senior staff in the Aviation Safety Security and Regulation (ASSR) Directorate of Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. The sample size of this study was 167 respondents selected using Yamane Taro (1967) formula. The study collected data using a structured questionnaire. Pretesting of the data collection instrument was conducted at the Air Navigation Services Directorate of the KCAA with senior air traffic controllers and engineers. The study determined reliability using Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.7 indicative of strong consistency. The study used both descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS version 27.0. The descriptive statistics used were means and standard deviations, while the inferential statistics analysis was used to determine the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Results were presented in Tables. The study found that all the variables under study had positive and statistically significant relationship with safety management performance of KCAA. The study established that the moderating effect of safety policy on the relationship between strategic innovative processes and safety management performance was found to be significant, with respondents scoring an average mean of 4.32 (SD = 0.49). The regression analysis revealed that safety policy acts as a significant moderating variable, with a coefficient of ß = 0.283 (p < 0.01). This indicates that safety policies enhance the effectiveness of standardization and oversight in promoting safety management performance. The study concluded that safety policies significantly and statistically moderate the relationship between the strategic innovative processes and safety management performance of aviation sector, specifically at KCAA. Furthermore, the study recommends a concerted effort in capacity development in the area of personnel training and technological integration of operational processes. Additionally, continuous stakeholder engagement will provide KCAA with timely awareness of the dynamic changes and stakeholder requirements towards optimal service delivery.