Effect of Strategic Change on Strategic Choice of International Non-governmental Organisations in Kenya

Abstract

Environmental forces continue to define how organisations behave. Strategic change has been adopted by organizations to respond to these forces. Organizations must understand the circumstances under which strategic change is to be implemented (Van de Ven & Poole, 1995). The study aimed establishing how strategic choice of INGOs in Kenya is influenced by strategic change. The study is anchored on Behavioural Theory and supported by Strategic Choice Theory and Kotter 8-Step Change Model. Descriptive cross-sectional research design was applied. The population of study included 1079 international non-governmental organizations in Kenya from which a sample of 108 organizations was drawn using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. A questionnaire with closed-ended and open-ended questions was applied as the research instrument. The study revealed that international non-governmental organizations in Kenya practise strategic change to a high extent. The study determined that the relationship between strategic change and strategic choice was positive but of a moderate strength with correlation coefficient of 0.589. The data was statistically significant with F-Value of 9.703 and p-value of 0.000<0.05. International non-governmental organizations in Kenya have experienced success after implementing strategic change by forming powerful coalitions with their employees. From the findings, the study recommends that international non-governmental organizations in Kenya should only focus on strategic change programs that will ensure organizational success in order to maximise on the scarce resources. The regulator should digitize records and automate key processes such as registration and dissolution to increase efficiency in the sector. NGOs should focus on programs that are critical to the society. They should push the government to put in more resources and formulate effective policies in important sectors such as education and health. This will ensure long-term sustainability of NGOs as they channel their scarce resources towards other important and neglected areas.