Moderating Effect of Regulatory Framework on Road Assets Maintenance and the Performance of Road Agencies in Kenya

Abstract

Road assets stakeholders especially the public and road users do have a vested interest in road assets maintenance and standards, as poor road conditions can lead to fatalities, vehicle damage, increased fuel costs, and job loss. Latest ranking of Kenya’s road quality as assessed by World Economic Forum’s road quality indictors survey - in 2019 stood at 4.1 with a decline in trend from 2017 clearly demonstrating the reducing road assets maintenance resulting in high vehicle operating costs and restraining socioeconomic growth. If the current situation on road asset maintenance is not addressed, it will be difficult for Kenya to achieve SDG 11.2 and the Kenya Vision 2030; therefore, a study on the performance of road agencies in Kenya charged with road asset maintenance is crucial. This research intends to bridge the existing gaps by establishing the nexus between road assets maintenance, and regulatory framework on the performance of Kenyan road agencies. The study objective was to examine the moderating effect of regulatory framework on the relationship between road assets maintenance and the performance of road agencies in Kenya. The study was guided by Administrative management theory, The Public Interest Theory of Regulation and the Agency theory. Positivism research philosophy and cross-sectional research design was used. The study target population comprised of the five road agencies in Kenya. The unit of observation comprised of 251 staff from the five road agencies in Kenya. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires and used SPSS version 26 for diagnostic tests, descriptive, and regression analysis. The correlation analysis results showed that there is moderate positive and significant correlation (=0.594, p<0.05) between Regulatory Framework and performance of road agency. Result of test of higher order unconditional interaction(s) to estimate the contribution of regulatory framework showed that Change in R-Square was 0.0065, p=0.02645. These results implied that the proportion of total variation in the outcome attributable to the interaction is 6.5%, that is interaction between road assets maintenance and regulatory framework would contribute 6.5% significant variation on performance of road agencies in Kenya. The paper proposes that the Kenya Road Board should enhance its regulatory framework for road agencies in Kenya. It is advisable that the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) should contemplate the adoption of a complete and integrated regulatory policy approach in order to augment the efficacy of road sub-sector regulation. The successful attainment and execution of this goal need an inclusive and collaborative strategy that engages relevant players in the field of transportation, inclu