Internal Environmental Scanning Techniques and Organizational Performance of Real Estate Firms in Kenya: A Case of Cytonn Investments Limited.

Abstract

Many real estate firms in Kenya are in danger of near collapse due to various challenges they are currently facing, ranging from customer dissatisfaction to management issues. The latter has severely affected their performance in terms of sales volume, a situation that calls for urgent intervention measures. Internal environmental scanning techniques are one example of indispensable intervention for turning around the performance of any organization as they inform decision-making in many crucial areas. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine the relationship between internal environmental scanning techniques and the organizational performance of real estate firms in Kenya with a focus on Cytonn Investment Limited. This study’s specific research objectives were (i) to determine the extent to which internal environmental scanning techniques have been implemented by real estate firms in Kenya, (ii) to evaluate the level of organizational performance of real estate firms in Kenya (iii) to analyze the relationship between internal environmental scanning techniques and organizational performance of real estate firms in Kenya and (iv) to assess the moderating effect of market conditions on the relationship between internal environmental scanning techniques and organizational performance of real estate firms in Kenya. The study was guided by three theories, including the Resource-Based View, the Dynamics Capability Theory, and the Contingency Theory. The study adopted a correlational survey research design and targeted a population of the 470 employees of Cytonn investments from which a sample of 423 was selected by stratified sampling technique. Data was collected using structured questionnaires whose validity and reliability were assessed beforehand using expert advice and internal consistency methods. Data was analyzed both descriptively (using frequencies, mean and standard deviation) and inferentially using correlation and multiple linear regression analysis. Findings revealed that internal environmental scanning techniques at cytonn investments were applied at four levels thus; organizational structure, capability assessment, resource auditing and organizational culture. It was also revealed that the organizational performance of cytonn was low, given that majority of the respondents were non-affirmative of the statements concerning organizational performance therein, from the positively worded statements. Findings also indicated that there was a non-significant weak positive relationship between internal two internal environmental scanning techniques (capability assessment and resource auditing) and organizational performance at cytonn. Moreover, a significant moderate positive association was found between organizational structure and organizational culture with respect to organizational performance. Market conditions were on the other hand found to improve the relationship between internal environmental scanning techniques and organizational performance of real estate firms in Kenya. It is therefore recommended that real estate firms, especially cytonn investments reviews their capability assessment and resource auditing policies, so as to improve their organizational performance.