Regulative Intervention on the Relationship between Quality Management and Operational Performance of Third Party Port-Centric Logistics Firms in Kenya

This research paper explores the effect of regulated environment under which third-party port-centric logistics (3PL) firms in Kenya operate by looking at the relationship between quality management and operational performance. The study tested the conceptual model of the relationship between quality management and operational performance variables. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of the regulative intervention on the relationship between customer orientation and operational performance of third party port-centric logistics firms in Kenya. Port-centric logistics services providers are highly regulated firms and therefore critical to find out the effect of this regulated context on the operational performance of these firms. The relationship between quality and operational performance has been tested and documented in numerous environments in varied studies. A survey design based on disproportionate-stratified sampling approach consisting of 164 firms (18% of the population) guided the methodology of this study. The sampled firms (164) were served with questionnaires and a response rate of 75.6% (124 firms) was achieved. Data analysis was carried out using moderated multiple regression (MMR) analysis where relationship between the quality and other variables and the dependent variable was computed. Test of internal consistency, validity test, reliability, and normality test, were conducted, all indicating appropriateness of data. The strength of the regression model was 53.6% (adjusted R2) which was considered good enough, appreciating the fact that operational performance is also affected by myriad factors outside the model. The null hypothesis (H0) was tested, and the results indicated that there was statistically significant evidence that regulative context affects the relationship between quality and operational performance. The results indicate that R = 0.709, R² = 0.502 and [F (2, 120) = 60.582, p = 0.000] with the value of R² showing that 60.582% of the variance in the third-party port-centric logistics firms’ performance can be accounted for by quality management scores and regulation and statistically significant. The results detected an R² change of 0.022, [F (1, 119) = 0.022, p = 0.022], indicating presence of moderation effect, in such levels that are statistically significant (p