Management Competence and Performance of County Governments in Kenya: Does Strategic Alignment Matter?

The study focuses on investigating the role of strategic alignment in the relationship between management competence and the performance of county governments in Kenya. Positivist approach was used in the study. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was applied to gather the data. The 47 county governments of Kenya, made up the population of interest for the study. The study used both primary and secondary data. The target respondents were at least one senior member of Top Management Teams in each of the 47 counties in Kenya, as enumerated in the Competency Framework for the County Public Service. The analysis of the variables showed that there is a significant relationship between management competence and the performance of county governments in Kenya. However, the hypothesis that strategic alignment mediates the relationship between management competence and performance in the county government was not supported, though it indicated some significant influence. In addition, the study established that there was joint significant effect of the variables on performance of County Governments. In furtherance of management theory, the study’s findings reveal novel connections and ties between the many aspects of management that were examined. The results supported the institutional theory, that espouses that organizations build internal norms and culture, which inform on how to achieve performance targets for social and economic stability. Decision makers and managers in the county governments, will benefit from the study as it highlights the interaction levels of the variables. The study utilized Gross County Product values as a measure of performance and this may be enhanced by use of more performance indicators to measure performance. In addition, use of longitudinal design rather than cross-sectional design may be used in future to understand if it could bring out similar results and for inference.