DECISION QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF PROJECT BASED NON- GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN KENYA

Abstract

In the present globalized economy marked by fast-changing technologies, revolving
consumer preferences and a volatile market environment, continuous improvement
is requisite for organizations seeking survival, growth and success. This can only be
informed by availing a pool of options from which an informed decision is made.
This is increasingly the case in the non-profit sector, with a majority of NonGovernmental

Organizations (NGOs) taking up strategies that were traditionally
the reserve of commercial corporations. This study analyses the effect of decision
quality on performance of project based non-governmental organizations in Kenya.
A variety of investigated studies show a positive and significant association between
the variables although restricted to the commercial contexts. Studies of the
foregoing variables with a focus on the non-for-profit sphere remain scanty,
prompting the present study. Anchored on the dynamic capability theory (DCT),
the study was conducted based on the positivism school of thought and the
descriptive cross-sectional research design. A census survey of all the 161 ProjectBased

NGOs (PBNGOs) was conducted and data collected using a structured
questionnaire. Regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis. Results indicate
that the concept of decision quality is both unidimensional and multidimensional,
with each dimension influencing organizational performance differently. Taking the
multidimensional approach, only three dimensions (decision makers competency,
concordance of decisions to organizational goals and decision yield intended impact)
had a significant effect on organizational performance, while one did not (decisionmaking
process
inclusivity).
Taking
the
unidimensional
approach,
the
study
found
a

statistically

significant and positive influence of decision quality on organizational
performance. It is thus concluded that decision quality exerts a positive and
significant influence on organizational performance among PBNGOs in Kenya.
DCT is supported in the findings, in that, PBNGO managers ought to constantly
take quality decisions informed by changes in the dynamic operating environment
in order to realize desirable organizational performance. It is therefore