COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE OF ACCREDITED UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA: MODERATING ROLE OF CORPORATE REPUTATION

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the moderating effect of corporate reputation on the relationship between competitive strategies and performance of accredited universities in Kenya.The corresponding null hypothesis stated that corporate reputation has no significant moderating effect on the relationship between competitive strategies and the performance of accredited universities in Kenya. Corporate reputation was measured using its six dimensions, namely,quality programs, quality services, quality management, quality leadership and capacity to attract and retain talented staff. The study was guided by two theories, namely, Industrial Organization (IO) and Resource based theory. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. Primary data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire which was administered to academic registrars from 53 accredited universities in Kenya. The response rate was 66.6%. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to summarize and make inference from the research findings. The moderating effect of corporate reputation was tested using step wise
regression method advanced by Baron and Kenny (1986). The study concluded that corporate reputation did not moderate the relationship between competitive strategies and performance of accredited universities in Kenya. However, descriptive statistics on measures of corporate reputation had an average mean score of 3.99 which indicates that managers in accredited universities agreed to a great extent on the importance of applying corporate reputation measures.
Thus, emphasis on four measures whose mean scores ranged from, 4.031 to 4.156, above the average means score was recommended, namely, quality programs or quality services, strong management and leadership, capacity to attract and retain talented staff, benchmarking academic
program/services with other highly rated universities and the perception that accredited universities are reliable institutions for academic training and research. Future research could explore different functional forms or non-linear relationships between variables since corporate reputation did not have sufficient evidence to conclude a significant linear relationship between competitive strategies and performance of accredited universities.

Key words: competitive strategies, corporate reputation and performance of accredited universities in Kenya