Assessment Of Factors Leading To Strategy Implementation Gaps In Kenyan Commercial Banks

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors leading to strategy implementation gaps in Kenyan commercial banks. The specific objectives of the study were to find out how organizational policy framework leads to strategy implementation gaps, assess the relationship between environmental dynamism and strategy implementation gaps and establish how Performance Management leads to strategy implementation gaps. The study also sought to examine how Organizational Resources contribute to strategy implementation gaps, and to assess the role of Organizational Leadership in strategy implementation gaps. The study used agency theory, theory of multiple intelligences, resource based view, structural theory, theory of change and implementation theory to understand why the research problem under study exists. The study also adopted both positivism and interpretivism philosophies and descriptive, correlation and regression design was used to conduct the study. The descriptive statistic, correlation and regression designs were the best for this study because they focused on the relationship between organizational policy framework, environmental dynamism, performance management, organizational resources, Organizational Leadership and strategy implementation gaps in Kenyan commercial banks. The target population of the study was made up of 25,250 individuals working in the Kenyan banking industry. The study population was made up of management and support staff of Kenyan commercial banks. The study employed the use of questionnaires to obtain relevant data from respondents. The study used both purposive and random sampling techniques. The study focused on 250 top, middle and lower level employees from Kenyan commercial banks. The researcher contracted the use of research assistants to help in data collection by administering the questionnaires to the sampled population. The study managed a response rate of 86%. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics used include mean and standard deviation. The inferential statistics used in the study include Pearson correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and coefficients. The research data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and Microsoft Excel programs. Tables were used in data presentation. The study found that organizational policy framework significantly affects strategy implementation with a mean range of 3.47 to 4.19, standard deviation range of 0.844 to 2.960, correlation analysis of (r = 0.535**, p< 0.01, N = 215) and a regression analysis that indicated that F (10,194) = 95.8, p< 0.000. The study also found that environmental dynamism significantly affects strategy implementation with a statistical mean  range of

3.01 to 4.28, a standard deviation range of 0.799 to 1.137, correlation analysis of (r =0.553**, p< 0.01, N = 215), and  a regression analysis that indicated that F (10,187) =14.2, p< 0.000. The study indicates that performance management had a mean range of 3.47 to 4.17, a standard deviation range of 0.793 to 0.979, correlational analysis of (r = 0.614**, p< 0.01, N = 215), and  a regression analysis that indicated that F (9,191) = 5.2, p< 0.000. The study found that organizational resources significantly contribute to strategy implementation gaps with a statistical mean of 3.14 to 4.35, the standard deviation ranged of 0.769 to 3.657, correlational analysis of (r = 0.677**, p< 0.01, N = 215), and  a regression analysis that indicated that F (10,190) = 5.6, p< 0.000. The study found that organizational leadership had a mean range of 3.95 to 4.47 and a standard deviation range of 0.700 to 2.829, correlational analysis of (r = 0.560**, p< 0.01, N = 215), and  a regression analysis that indicated that F (10,197) = 5.6, p< 0.000. The study concludes that organizational policy framework, environmental dynamism, performance management, organizational resources, and organizational leadership statistically affect strategy implementation gaps. Based on the findings, the study recommends organizations especially Kenya commercial banks to carry out due diligence on the organizational policy framework and identify factors that hinder effective strategy implementation. The study also recommends the consideration of environmental dynamism in the strategy implementation process. To enhance employee skills and boost performance, the study recommends management to enhance employee coaching. The study recommends that organizations to effectively utilize employee skills, training, employee expertise, organization equipment and retained earnings in the strategy implementation process. To achieve an effective strategy implementation process, the study recommends that a leader should be committed, should communicate to all parties and should effectively coordinate all activities taking place in an organization.