The Effect of Top Management Team Characteristics and Organizational Learning on the Strategic Choices of Accredited Universities in Kenya

Abstract

Organizational performance is critical for both empirical and conceptual research in strategy. Strategic choice serves as a major connection between the organization and the environment in which it operates and involves decisions on the mix of business portfolio. Organizational learning on the other hand, is central to organization’s ability to adapt to changes, which take place in both the internal and external environment and at the same time attain competitiveness in times of uncertainty. Scholars attribute the strategic choices, which determine organizational performance to the top management team members with different characteristics, yet there is no agreement on the extent to which the variations in top management team characteristics affect performance. This study sought to assess the extent to which organizational learning and top management team characteristics influence the relationship between strategic choice and performance of accredited universities in Kenya. The study premised on the view that establishing the role of organizational learning and top management team characteristics would maximize the capabilities and competitive advantage in the performance of accredited universities in Kenya. The main objective of this study was to establish the influence of strategic choice, organizational learning, top management team characteristics on performance of accredited universities in Kenya. The study had four specific objectives and the first objective was to establish the influence of strategic choices on performance, while the second objective was to determine the influence of top management team characteristics on the relationship between strategic choice and performance. The third objective was to establish the influence of organizational learning on the relationship between strategic choice and performance and the fourth objective was to establish the joint effect of organizational learning on the relationship between strategic choice and performance. The study was anchored in the industrial organizations economics theory as the main theory including resource dependency theory and the upper echelons theory and adopted a positivistic orientation. The study used a cross sectional survey of 52 private and public accredited universities in Kenya where primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Secondary data was also collected for the study. An analysis was done using correlation and linear regression analysis and from the results strategic choice influenced performance; top management team characteristics negatively moderated the relationship between strategic choice and performance; organizational learning mediated the relationship between strategic choice and performance; and strategic choice, organizational learning and top management teams jointly influenced performance. These findings are consistent with most of the previous studies and this study therefore extends the knowledge frontiers in strategic management In addition, the findings provide a diversity of implications on theory, policy and practice. Policy makers will, for example utilize the findings as a guide in the policy formulation and implementation of strategic choices aimed at the success of the accredited universities in Kenya with focus on the requisite top management characteristics. Future studies may need to focus on external environment and other top management characteristics, psychological and behavioral characteristics as moderators. A replication study after five years and a longitudinal case study of a few accredited universities for at least ten years is also recommended for in-depth results, which can be generalized to the other accredited universities in Kenya. A major limitation of this study was that primary data was collected from only one respondent from each accredited university. However, common methods bias was mitigated by use of additional secondary data to validate the primary data. Therefore, this limitation did not affect the credibility of the results which were presented and discussed in this study. Future studies may involve more stakeholders, both internal and external, in their research.