Department of Business and Management Studies (DBMS)

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    ASSESSMENT OF THE LEVEL OF JOB PERFORMANCE (TEACHING AND RESEARCH) AMONG ACADEMIC EMPLOYEES IN HIGHER LEARNING PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS IN ZANZIBAR
    (2015-07-31) KEMBU, APOLLO
    The purpose of the study is to determine the level of job performance among academic employees in higher learning public institutions in Zanzibar.Despite the important role played by job satisfaction on academic employees’ performance, information about levels of academic employees’ job satisfaction factors and performance among higher learning public institutions in Zanzibar is not available. This has limited the ability of the institutions to address job performance related problems so as to meet accountability measures, such as Teaching and Research Performance Standards (TRPS) and institutions success and growth.The target population for this study consisted of all permanent academic staff (Senior Lecturers, Lecturers, Assistant Lecturers and Tutorial Assistants) working in the higher learning public institutions in Zanzibar. The total of 214 academic employees and 30 students were selected to avail information concerning the study. Data gathering methods involved both primary and secondary sources. The questionnaires about job satisfaction and academic employee performance were created based on a job description questionnaire
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    Attribution Theory: A Theoretical Framework for Understanding Information Systems Success
    (2015-08-03) Atieno, Ndede-Amadi
    Information systems research often employs user satisfaction with, use of, and perceived organizational benefits of, newly-developed systems as measures of information system success. Further, this stream of research attempts to associate these measures of success with a myriad of hypothesized determinants involving organizational, personal,task, and system characteristics, as well as characteristics of the implementation process. Initial research in this area was criticized for the dearth of theoretical underpinning employed. Subsequent to these criticisms, underlying theory from a variety of disciplines now guides much of this research. Of particular interest to this research effort are the tenets of a well-established theory in the area of social psychology-attribution theory. While attribution theory has been employed in some of the more recent works investigating factors related to information system success, none of these works simultaneously consider the theory’s information and motivational antecedents along with the success/failure nature of the system’s outcomes, users’ perceptions of the causes of the outcomes (attributions), and the reported level of user satisfaction with the system. In response, the current study develops a model for the simultaneous empirical examination of these issues by incorporating them into a behavioral decision making methodology administered to Professional MBA students. The study’s results support the relevance of attribution theory as a theoretical framework for understanding those factors determining users’ attributions for information system-related outcomes, as well as the influence of these attributions and the nature of the system outcome on the level of users’ satisfaction with the system.
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    CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AMONG DOMESTIC TOURISTS: A CASE STUDY OF TRAVEL AGENCIES IN NAIROBI, KENYA.
    (2023-01-13) Kambaga, Dunstan; Mongare, Omare; Muriuki, Lawrence
    The Consumer Behaviors is a combination of acts, attitudes and decisions made concerning the buying and consuming of the tourism products and services offered to tourists in destination areas and its post- buying reactions. Consumer behavior plays a key role in marketing activities of tourist products especially in promoting and selling tourism products and services in tourist destinations. The purpose of this research study is to establish factors affecting consumer behavior among Domestic tourists in travel agents in Nairobi, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the extent to which price, product and safety affects consumer behavior among Domestic tourists in travelling agents. The research adopted descriptive design. The target population was 306 (KATA,2019) employees involved in travelling agents and sample size of 75 employees were selected using Fisher, Laing & Stoeckel (1983) formula. The study used both systematic techniques and stratification methods from each stratum in sampling employees. Convenient method was used to select 35 travel agents out of 114 (KATA, 2019) in Nairobi (Appendix II). The study used both primary and secondary data which was collected by use of questionnaire survey. The analyzing of qualitative data was done by use of the format in the thematic content analysis, while, quantitative data was done by use of descriptive and inferential statistics through the use of statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS), Chi-square (χ2 ), ANOVA and descriptive tests were performed. The data were presented by use of graphs, pie charts and table. Employees were asked to respond to a set of statements on the Likert scale where 5=strongly agreed, 4= agreed 3= neutral, 2= disagree, 1= strongly disagree and they had enough knowledge about travel agents in order to understand and respond to the questions. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize data regarding product, price and safety and Consumer Behavior in tourism destination. It’s evident that majority of the respondents strongly agreed that product, price and safety influence a tourist in decision-making to consume a product. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the existence and nature of relationship between Product, Pricing, Safety and consumer behavior among Domestic tourists. The study concludes that tourist behaviors is strongly influenced by price with 41.4% change followed by product and safety respectively as indicated by a Pearson correlation coefficient of .653**,.611** and .633** These relationships were found to be statistically significant as the significant value was 0.000 which is less than 0.05 threshold. Since, price, product and safety affects tourists, further research for Safety should be carried on to ascertain the individual safety of tourists in destination areas, especially this era of Al-Shabaab which is a security challenge to Kenya and the horn of East Africa as a whole. The study will benefit travel agents and tourism industry as a whole since the sector continues to be one of the largest industries in the world. Also, further research with wider scope to be carried on as this study could not exhaust all the factors affecting consumer behavior among Domestic tourists.
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    THE DETERMINANTS FOR MEDICAL TOURISM IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS: A CASE STUDY OF NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA
    (2023-01-13) Kambaga, Dunstan; Mongare, Omare; Ondara, R. O
    The Kenya government is expected to lead in developing medical experts and facilities to take care of the well-being of its citizens and beyond the borders, since health is one of the pillars in the government’s agenda of Vision 2030. Therefore, the study is to find out determinants for medical tourism for private hospitals in Nairobi County, with a view of improving medical tourism in Kenya. The study examined a sample of cross-section of the tourist stakeholders to establish the impact of quality medical treatment facility, service delivery offered, competent doctors and the cost for medical treatments for private hospitals in Nairobi County. A descriptive and exploratory strategy were used for the study, whereby, the population was 400 medical tourists per month visiting the 25 private hospitals (Table 4) using census method. While, Krejcie and Morgan Table (1970) was used to sample 196 respondents, by use of convenient sampling to select medical tourists in each hospital selected. The data was collected by a structured questionnaire and analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The presentations and conclusions of the study was done after descriptive and inferential 36 statistics was investigated. The findings revealed that predictors were statistically significant at α=0.05 and the p-values < 0.05 (Quality medical treatment facility, p=0.00; Service delivery, p=0.00; Competent doctors, p=0.03; Costs, p=0.00). This is an indication that Quality medical treatment facility, Service delivery and Competence of doctors all have a significant outcome on medical tourists coming to Kenya. The study recommended that the management of private hospitals ensure that they have quality medical treatment equipment/facilities and competent medical doctors who will offer quality services to motivate more tourists to visit hospitals. The government to put in place policies to protect medical tourists from being exploited by private hospitals as well as to manage public hospitals to compete favorably with private hospitals. In such a scenario, medical tourism would expand and lead to the creation of employment and generate revenues for the country. Finally, the study will assist the government and tourism stakeholders in addressing the obstacles facing local and international medical tourism in the country. The researcher suggested a comparative study between private and public hospitals on medical tourism in Nairobi, Kenya.
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    DETERMINANTS OF CHILD SEX EXPLOITATION BY TOURISTS IN KENYA: A CASE STUDY OF MOMBASA NORTH COAST
    (2023-01-13) Kambaga, Dunstan; Mongare, Omare; Ipara, Hellen
    Kenya is synonymous with Safari destination in tourism circles internationally because of its main two products namely; wildlife and Coastal beach. However, cultural and sex tourism products are becoming prevalent to tourist, such that the tourism industry is facing different challenges towards child sex exploitation by tourists (CSET) in Kenya. The purpose of this research was to find the determinants of CSET in Mombasa North Coast, Kenya (MNCK). The research adopted descriptive design. The target population was 108,778 (County government of Kilifi and Mombasa, 2017) children involved in sex tourism industry and sample size of 384 children were selected using Krejcie and Morgan Table (1970). The study used both purposive sampling and stratification methods in sampling the children. Convenient method was used to select 22 tourist hotels out of 44 tourist hotels (KAHC, 2018) in MNCK. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study with the use of Purposive sampling method to sample the population both primary and secondary data which was collected by use of questionnaire survey and direct observation. and Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the data collected. With help of statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) whereby chi-square (χ2 ), ANOVA and descriptive tests were performed. The researcher conducted a Correlation analysis to investigate the existence and nature of relationship between dependent variable (CSET) and in dependent variable (poverty, illiteracy, culture, modern technology, peer pressure). The study established that CSET is strongly influenced 2 by poverty, illiteracy, culture, modern technology, peer pressure respectively as indicated by a Pearson correlation coefficient of .726** .4311** .648** and. 618** This relationship was found to be statistically significant as the significant value of 0.000 which is less than 0.05 threshold. The study concluded that poverty is the major factor leading to the widespread of CSET in MNCK followed by peer pressure, illiteracy, modern technology and finally culture. This study recommends that In order to eradicate CSET at Mombasa North Coast, there is need to adopt deterrent measures apart from curative measures and may be adopted at different levels. The government should have a tourism policy on sustainable tourism to local community focusing on children which is tourism sustainability and intendeds to involve and improve the living standard of the children by generating and retaining revenue in the local community through employment. There should be skills training and entrepreneurship activities within the community to the children by assisting them to go back to learning schools/institutions and have programs to retain them for future life. Further research should be done to establish the relationship between child drug abuse and child sex exploitation; entrepreneurship opportunities for children at Mombasa North Coast; and, development of tourist education/learning programmes for the children at Mombasa North Coast.
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    Determinants of technology innovation implementation effectiveness in higher education institutions
    (2013) Kandiri, J; Muganda, N
    Higher education institutions have continued to acquire technologies with alacrity. However, the transition from adoption to application in teaching and learning has been below expectations. This exploratory study investigated the lack of cadence between adoption and effective implementation of educational technology initiatives. The study was based on PHEA-ETI projects that ran between June 2008 and June 2012. The projects entailed implementation of technology initiatives for example animating science content among others. A questionnaire was sent to all persons involved in the implementation of the projects. Out of the 163 targeted respondents, 105 usable responses were received. Team leaders were interviewed with focus groups held with implementation teams. The study adopted: top management, financial motivation, organizational culture. The new model added the variables: team leadership, monitoring and evaluation and innovation efficacy. When the data was analysed using SPSS version 17, the results confirmed determinants from earlier studies while also showing that team leadership and project efficacy were significant factors to consider in technology innovation implementation.
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    THE EFFECT OF FOOD QUALITY ON CUSTOMER CHOICE OF DINING DESTINATION IN KENYA.
    (2023-01-13) Ondara, R. O; Fwaya, E. V. O.; Gesage, B; Kambaga, D
    Food quality has received attention by hoteliers because of its effect on customer choice of dining destination in Kenya. Achieving food quality (FQ) management standards across the hospitality industry presents a challenge for governments worldwide and Kenya in particular. Despite the important role that FQ play in hospitality industry, few studies have been conducted to assess the 2 effect of food quality on customers’ choice of dining destination in 4 and 5 star Hotels in Kenya The main objective of the study was to assess the effect of food quality and safety on customer’s choice of dining destination in Kenya. The specific objective was to assess the relationship between FQ and customer choice of dining destination in Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design where total number of guests sampled were 1058 based on 2016 data provided by the Kenya Tourism Board bed occupancy calculated at 49% and 54 Hotel staff (managers and sous chef) randomly selected from 4-star and 5-star hotels in Nairobi and Mombasa. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from guests while interview schedules were employed to collect data from employees. Qualitative data collected through interview schedules was analyzed thematically. Quantitative data collected was coded in SPSS version 21 and analyzed using multiple regression. The results revealed that the top three aspects that were considered to be highly important while referring to food quality included taste (n = 426), freshness (n = 393) and good condition (n = 330). Results of the study indicated that the odds ratio of a restaurant with good food quality being selected over that with average food quality was 3.387 to 1, while the odds of a restaurant with poor food quality had the odds of 0.091 to 1 of being selected over a restaurant with average food quality. The overall effect of food quality was found to be significant since the corresponding –value for 2 R was 0.025, which was less than 0.05 ( P-value = 0.005< 0.05).
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    The Effect of Human Resource Management Practices on Employee Outcomes: A Study of Firms Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange
    (2015-06-12) Sagwa, Evans Vidija; K’Obonyo, Peter; Ogutu, Martin
    Most empirical research on the link between Human Resource Management Practices (HRMP) and employee outcomes has concentrated on the private sector, yet understanding this relationship in publicly listed firms, in the Developing World context is equally important. The effect of HRMP on employee outcomes - has not been established amongst Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed firms, yet theory has demonstrated that HRMP can have an effect on employee outcomes. This study was motivated by the desire to fill this gap in knowledge. The study objective was to assess the relationship between HRMP and employee outcomes. The research design was cross sectional descriptive survey. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, from a population of 60 NSE listed firms. The response rate was 36(60%). Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression techniques were used to analyze the data. The results indicate that HRMP have a significant effect on employee outcomes. This study confirms the findings of previous studies that have found a significant link between HRMP and employee outcomes. It was recommended that firms have to ensure that they formulate Human Resource Management Practices that will lead to employee outcomes that can enhance employee commitment, competence and empowerment. This will assist the firms towards attainment and sustenance of superior and competitive advantage in their activities.
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    Evaluating Creative Mobile Applications Development Using Emotional Design
    (2014) Muganda, Nixon O; Villiers, Carina De; Twinomurinzi, Hossana; Pretorius, Jaco
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    Expectancy Theory as the basis for activity-based costing systems implementation by managers managers
    (2015-08-03) Atieno, Ndede-Amadi
    Many studies, motivated by concerns for activity-based costing (ABC) implementation efforts being less than successful, have suggested that the lack of success in this area stems more from behavioral, as opposed to technical, factors. This concern for the behavioral aspects of systems implementation has also emerged from much of the more general information systems research examining determinants of implementation success. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to determine if a popular process theory of motivation, expectancy theory, would be useful in explaining the motivation of managers to incorporate ABC information into their job. Data obtained from two experiments employing a judgment modeling methodology support the relevance of both the valence and force models of expectancy theory in this context. Further, the judgments provided by the subject managers suggest they perceive improved product cost accuracy as the most beneficial outcome of ABC use, followed by an equivalent appreciation for both an enhanced ability to communicate the underlying economics of the firm and to identify non-value-added activities. Additionally, subject managers exhibited a greater concern for the possibility that obtaining the data to maintain the ABC system would be difficult and costly than they did for concerns that the ABC information would increase the level of complexity of the information that they use.
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    Forms of power, politics and leadership in asynchronous virtual project environment: An exploratory analysis in South Africa
    (2013) Muganda, Nixon; Pillay, Kiyashen
    Purpose – The paper aims to investigate the forms of power, politics and leadership exercised by project leaders within asynchronous virtual project environments (VPEs). The purpose of this paper is to link effective project leadership to particular forms of power and politics within a VPE. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data are based on a quantitative telecommunications sector case study, complemented with some interviews, following a semi‐structured approach. The research was approached based from a positivistic philosophical paradigm and using a survey research strategy. The questionnaire‐based survey consisted of a sample of 28 respondents split between project managers (39.3 percent) and team members (60.7 percent). Findings – The research results indicated a significant finding which linked leadership effectiveness to asynchronous VPE usage and communication. Factor analysis of the type of leadership exercised within an asynchronous VPE revealed two forms of effective leadership. The first one, named, Structured Charismatic Exchange, is underpinned by three forms of leadership styles: charismatic, virtual and transactional leadership. The second insight from the factor analysis also revealed significant loadings for two forms of leadership: Participative and Shared leadership. The common strand in both is the need to elevate the ethos of teams, which effectively implies that control in VPE ought to be decentralized responsibly to enhance sharing. This is possibly relevant in a bid to minimize conflicts and thus develop a project organization that encourages teamwork. Therefore, this factor was named Decentralized Team Leadership. Unlike the first factor, where the focus is on how the project leader projects his/her personality to influence people, the realization is that for a project organization to succeed, project goals and decisions emerge from bargaining, negotiating, and jockeying for position among members of different coalitions. Research limitations/implications – Reported limitations are based on the sample size, effect of sectoral culture on the findings and constrained view of the virtuality construct. Future research should investigate other sectors with a large sample and expand the dimensions of the virtuality as a construct. Practical implications – The paper concludes that project leaders should re‐orient leadership practices to fit virtual project environments, taking into account the need for a more decentralized form of leadership and systematic trust building. Originality/value – The recognition of the uniqueness of particular forms of power and politics relevant for the exercise of effective leadership in asynchronous virtual environments is emphasized in this research paper.
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    Gendered Perspectives on the Digital Divide, IT Education, and Workforce Participation in Kenya
    (2015-08-03) Atieno, Ndede-Amadi
    The purpose of this study was to examine gendered perspectives on the digital divide, motivations for engaging in information technology (IT) education, and expectations regarding IT workforce participation in Kenya. Researchers interviewed 32 women and 31 men matriculating in an undergraduate IT-focused program at a Kenyan university. Interviewees reported that IT careers demand technical expertise, and a strong educational background in technology and business. However, their ability to meet these demands was hindered by significant national challenges such as restrictive IT policies, inadequate access to technology and educational resources, and a limited number of local firms that demonstrate the ability to manage advanced technology and IT workers. Women were particularly concerned about gender discrimination in the workplace. These finding simply that IT education and workforce entry require a complex mix of digital technologies, organizational capacity building, gender equity, and IT policy remedies.
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    Global Diffusion of the InternetXIII:Internet Diffusion in Kenya and ItsDeterminants– A Longitudinal Analysis
    (2008) Muganda, Nixon; Belle, Jean-Paul Van; Brown, Irwin
    This paper assesses Internet diffusion and its determinants in Kenya using the Global Diffusion of the Internet (GDI) framework. Kenya was selected due to its strategic importance for the economic progress of the great lakes region of Africa. An understanding of Internet diffusion in Kenya provides preliminary insight in to how the process might unfold in Eastern Africa. Theanalysisshowsthatin2008,lessthan10percentofthepopulationaccessedtheInternet,with a majority of users clustered around two major urban centers. There is an indication that across the sectors of education, commerce, health, and public service, the Internet is being embraced, with potential for further diffusion. The underlying national Internet connectivity infrastructure is well established, but skewed in favor of urban centers that have high levels of electricity penetration. Vibrant competition exists between Internet service providers despite a persistent monopoly in national fixedlinetelecommunicationsprovision. A few sophisticated applications of the Internet were found in several sectors. A snap shot of the state of Internet diffusion in Kenya reflects, on average, good performance on the various dimensions of the GDI framework. However, this overall picture masks the reality that the majority of the population, mostly in rural areas, lack access to basic amenities such as electricity,and hence infrastructure to support the Internet. The trajectory along which the Internet is diffusing has therefore led to the exclusion of this majority. The critical role that governments in developing countries play needs to be brought to the fore in order to ensure that the Internet diffusion trajectory is not left entirely to the commercial sector. The government’s ability to marshal resources, execute telecommunications regulation, as well as enable change remains pivotal to ensuring inclusive Internet diffusion.
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    GROUP THINK DECISION MAKIN G DEFICIENCY IN THE REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING PROCESS: TOWARDS A CROWDSOURC ING MODEL
    (2012) Muganda, Nixon; Asmelash, Dawit; Samal, Mlay
    We make an argument that requirements engineering, as a primer to information technology deployment in organizations, is largely failing because decision making in the requirements engineering (RE) process empathizes with the ethos of 'group think' which 'fuels' inefficient 'control indeterminacy.' We make this argument from the premise that technological artifacts that get inscribed within organizational culture and design do so through an initial process that involves prioritization, which in itself is theorized as an outcome of organizational discourse. We draw on critical realism's retroductive approach and the practice of 'group think' for grounding crowdsourcing in IT project prioritization. Our choice of crowdsourcing as a remedy for inefficiencies in IT Project prioritization is deliberate: it elevates the notion of group think as a theoretical lens; and is in line with the positioning of organizational decision making as deliberately constitutive and representative of stakeholder interests. However, we remain attentive guard against utopianism, but still make the claim that crowdsourcing provides us with some traction for seeking alternatives that can lead to a re-invigoration in RE research for effective practices in IT projects. The analyses links RE decision making deficiency to the prevalence of Organizational Resistance, Technical Incompetence, Lack of a Moral and Ethical Code and Inappropriate Leadership for Creativity
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    HOTEL GUESTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS TOURISM TRAINING IN MIDDLE LEVEL COLLEGES IN KENYA
    (2023-01-12) Kambaga, Dunstan; Wasilwa, Sitati N.; Ipara, Hellen; Omare, Mongare d
    The aim of this study was to highlight tourism sector’s human resource training and development which depends on middle level colleges (MLCs) in Kenya’s tourism sector. With the growing tourism industry in Kenya, however, there has been no study to assess the demonstration of MLC trainees in tourism hotels under the universal changing tourism environment in Kenya. Hence, the study, specifically, attempted to determine the relationship between variables accessible in the hotel (amenities, customer care, cognition; and, effectiveness and efficiency) and satisfaction levels of services offered to hotel guests by tourism trainees in the hotel industry. The study adopted description research designs primarily targeting hotel guests in hotels. A total of 116 questionnaires were administered randomly to hotel guests from 21 randomly selected hotels in Nairobi for the study. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics including; means, percentages, frequencies, ANOVA and chi-square tests. Findings revealed that most hotel guests were satisfied by ‘front office staff services’, since it was the only ‘service’ related to each of the four accessible variables in hotels and which implied that hotel guests were influenced with the employees’ warm welcome, friendly nature and better knowledge in solving some of their personal problems. Further, the information center in the ‘front office’ gave hotel guests full information about the hotels like the availability of brochures. The study recommends that the government coordinates all MLCs tourism training programmes to ensure quality graduates for tourism promotion and development. Finally, further study is to be undertaken to determine security on female hotel guests (amenities) in hotels relating to individual differences among hotel guests.
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    Human Resource Management Practices and Performance of Firms Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchang
    (2015-06-12) Sagwa, Evans Vidija; K’Obonyo, Peter; Ogutu, Martin
    Most research demonstrating the link between Human Resource Management Practices (HRMP) and firm performance has focused on the private sector, yet understanding this relationship in publicly listed firms, in the Developing World setting is equally important. The role of HRMP on firm performance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed firms has not been established using the selected variable, yet theory has demonstrates that HRMP can have an effect on firm performance. This study was motivated by the desire to fill this gap in knowledge. The objective of the study was to establish the relationship between HRMP and firm performance. The research design was cross sectional descriptive survey. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, from a population of 60 NSE listed firms. The response rate was 60%. Simple linear regression was used to analyze the data. The results of the study show a statistically significant relationship between HRMP and performance of firms listed on the NSE. The findings of the study are consistent with the findings of other empirical studies which have established a significant link between HRMP and firm performance. It was recommended that firms have to ensure that the HRMP that they adopt assist them to attain and sustain a superior competitive advantage in their operations.
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    Influence of Strategic Human Resource Management Practices on Performance of Public Universities in Kenya
    (Journal of Human Resource and Leadership, 2022-10-16) Sagwa, Evans Vidija; Ruga, Stephen Njuguna Mwaura; Kiruja, Esther Kanyua
    Purpose: The objective of the study was to determine the effect of Strategic Human Resource Management Practices (SHRMPs) on performance of public universities. Methodology: This study was essentially guided by the Resource Based Theory, as exemplified by the philosophical inclination of the study was positivist ontology. The research used a descriptive research design, in a census approach. The target population of the study were all public universities in Kenya. Data was collected from 31 public universities in Kenya with the aid of a self-administered questionnaire. Out of the 117 questionnaires that were distributed, 110 were returned and were found to be usable providing a 71% response rate. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Findings: The main finding of the study indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between the bundle of SHRMPs (rigorous recruitment, staff training, reward management and performance management), and performance of public universities in Kenya. The hypothesis of the study was that SHRMPs do not have an effect on the performance of public universities in Kenya. This finding was determined to be in tandem with the Resource Based Theory (Barney, 2001), which, among other points of emphasis, stresses the centrality of leveraging on people as key resources of an enterprise. The finding also resonated with empirical literature, including Al-Khaled & Chung (2020), who found that that entities which adopted strategic human resource management practices were able to sustainably improve their performance, and Mathushan & Kengatharan (2022), who found that the bundle of strategic human resource management practices, consisting of training, rewarding and performance management practices did positively impact on organizational performance. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The finding of this study, that SHRM practices positively and significantly influence the performance of public universities, are arguably expansionary to the Resource Based Theory (RBT), as proponed by Barney (2001). Although the Resource Based Theory does not directly address strategic human resource management practices as elements of performance, it postulated that business entities needed to focus internally to activate resources, the most important one of which is the people resource. It is the people resource which enables such entities to achieve competitive advantage in their operations, given that it is the human resource which mobilizes, and creates value from the other resources within the enterprise. In this respect, therefore, it follows that every intervention made towards creating and enhancing the human resource capacity, including, as conceptualized in this study; rigorous recruitment, staff training, rewarding them and strategically managing their performance, does count, towards enhancing the contribution of the human resources, as exemplified by the Resource Based Theory, and consequently, activating the essential asset, towards competitive organizational performance. More directly, this empirical finding, regarding the positive influence of strategic human resource management practices on performance of public universities in Kenya has implications with respect to the public universities in Kenya. The main one is that, the public universities ought to take deliberate measures in determining and selecting appropriate SHRMPs. Such practices, according to the Resource Based Theory (Barney, 2001), are expected to be valuable, inimitable, and rare and may not be substitutable, in ensuring that public universities, like any other organizations, are able to sustainably achieve competitive advantage in their markets. This is further corroborated by the findings of Sagwa, K’Obonyo and Ogutu (2014), who averred that investing in human resources was crucial in promoting organizational performance. It is also the considered opinion of this study that, the finding that SHRMPs positively influenced the performance of public universities in Kenya, constituted new knowledge, at least, in extending the Resource Based Theory, as well as adding to the empirical literature with regard to strategic human resource management practices. Furthermore, the implications of the finding made, are more than likely to be relevant beyond the public universities sub-sector, and probably to include the entire public sector and, indeed, all organizations in general. To this end, therefore; human resource managers, HR departments, and units within public universities and other public and private entities, other human resource management practitioners, policy makers in HR-oriented public and private sector, as well as the community of researchers in human resource management and the related other disciplines, are likely to find the finding of this study useful. This is particularly considering the study’s recommendation that organizations have to identify and adopt appropriate bundles of SHRMPs that would reliably enable them to attain and sustain their competitive levels of performance.