Joint Moderating Effect of Competitive Forces on the Relationship between Linkage Strategies and University Performance

Abstract

This study sought to assess the joint moderating effect of competitive forces on the relationship between linkage strategies and performance of universities in Kenya. Resource based view and Porter’s five forces model were used as the main theories anchoring the study. Cross-Sectional survey was adopted as the research design. The study population consisted of sixty-five (65) public and private universities incorporated in Kenya. Of these, forty-seven (47) universities which had undergone at least one graduation cycle were sampled. Primary and secondary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and review of existing university documents and regulatory bodies’ websites respectively. Correlation and regression analyses were carried out to analyze data and to test hypotheses. Although it was not possible to include all the determinants of institutional performance, balanced score card was appropriately used to represent financial and non-financial aspects that constitute performance indicators. It was established that joint moderating effect of resources and industry forces on the relationship between linkage strategies and organizational` performance is different from their separate effects. The key recommendation that the study offers as insight to theory, university authorities and policy makers, is the need to consider firm resource conditions and industry forces as critical determinants during strategy formulation and implementation process in order to enhance university performance and linkage with economic sector. The main limitation of this study is that primary data was collected from only one respondent per university but common methods bias was mitigated through use of additional secondary data to validate primary data.