Influence of Project-team Selection on Core Banking Solution Implementation Project in Financial Institutions in Kenya- a Case of the State Bank of Mauritius - Kenya.

Abstract

The purpose of this project research study was to determine the influential bearing of project-team selection on Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’ in Kenya a case of the State Bank of Mauritius - Kenya. Four objectives have guided the research work, namely; to determine the influential bearing of project-team interconnectivity on Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’, to examine the influential bearing of project-team complexity on Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’; to investigate the influential bearing of project-team structure on Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’ and to establish the influential bearing of Government policy as a moderating variable on Core Banking Solution implementation project. The study was anchored on the social identity theory, organization control theory and the ecosystem theory. In this study a descriptive research survey design was adopted. A questionnaire method was used to collect data and the generated quantitative data evaluated through use of descriptive and inferential statistics for ease of interpretation. A pre-test of the adopted questionnaire was done on a trial basis at the Consolidated Bank of Kenya (Project Management Unit) to ascertain the validity and reliability of the data collection instrument. The Cronbach's alpha measure of scale consistency was computed and applied to measure the validity and reliability of the data collection tools. A target population of 50 staff members working in the project management unit at State Bank of Mauritius – Kenya formed basis of the population under study through a census approach. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected and results presented using tables. From the correlation matrix results, it was established that Core Banking Solution implementation project was positively related to all project-team attributes with the project-team complexity having the highest degree of relationship with the Core Banking Solution implementation project of 51.69 percent, followed by Government policy at 50.41 percent, project-team interconnectivity at 47.22 percent and finally project-team structure at 20.11 percent. Further, the review of correlation matrix coefficient indicated that there were no two independent variables that were highly correlated given that all the correlation coefficients are less than 0.7, the overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.905, thus ruling out the possibility of multicollinearity in the regression model. The study findings established that project-team interconnectivity, project-team structure, project-team complexity and Government policy had significant influence on Core Banking Solution implementation project as applied in financial institutions’ in Kenya. Project-team interconnectivity had the highest positive influence (χ1= 0.8532; p<5), followed by Government policy (χ4=0.4868; p<5), then project-team structure (χ3=0.4806; p<5). On the other hand, project-team complexity exhibited a negative influence of (χ2= -0.5105; p<5). Based on these findings, the study recommends some key findings that policy makers and planners would incorporate to inform policy decisions on team interconnectivity values of teamwork while implementing projects in order to achieve optimal Core Banking Solution implementation project rate within financial institutions’ in Kenya. In addition, the study findings recommend policy makers to consider putting in place mechanisms that ensure the existence of a well-defined project-team structure that eliminates team ambiguities. Further, the study recommends stringent compliance to Government policies through the Central bank of Kenya (CBK); these should be referenced and incorporated in the institutions’ internal project management policies and procedures for prudent governance purposes. These recommendations, as supported by this study, if applied would improve significantly the rate of Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’ in Kenya.