PurposeThe primary purpose of this literature review paper is to address the question why it is difficult to define entrepreneurship despite the amount of research that has taken place in the field. In addition, the paper also aims to demonstrate how the struggle to define entrepreneurship has impacted on entrepreneurial careers in Kenya.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviewed literature on different approaches used by researchers in the struggle to define entrepreneurship. It focused mainly on the trait, behavioral and opportunity identification approaches. It critically examined the extent to which each approach has attempted to explain what entrepreneurship is, and suggests research questions, methodologies and techniques that will do justice to the complexity of defining entrepreneurship.FindingsThe findings of the literature review showed that none of the approaches used to define entrepreneurship gives a comprehensive picture of entrepreneurship. There is a lack of a common definition of entrepreneurship. Following the absence of this common definition, professionals in Kenya do not see themselves as entrepreneurs. The researchers and educators must define what they mean when attempting to define entrepreneurship. Rather than concentrate on one part – the entrepreneur; behavior or opportunity identification – they must focus on the whole entrepreneurial process. In addition, researchers and educators need to study the entrepreneur before, during and after the entrepreneurial process.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research should be conducted to relate entrepreneurship to other occupations. Each approach needs to expand in this direction.Originality/valueResearch on the impact of the meaning of entrepreneurship on careers in Kenya and other contexts so far has not been conducted.

The research objectives of this study were two. The first one was to determine the influence of idealizing influence on employee job performance. The second objective of the study was to determine if employee work value congruence moderated the relationship between transformational leadership style and employee job performance. This study adopted the positivism research philosophy and correlation research design. The target population of the study was 676 lower-level managers from 52 insurance companies operating in Kenya as of 2017. A sample size of 245 was drawn using a stratified random sampling technique and systematic sampling. 245 questionnaires were distributed out of which 211 were completed and returned representing a response rate of 86% which was deemed as adequate for a correlation research design. The analysis of variance was used to test the hypothesis. The study concluded that idealized influence significantly predicted employee job performance. In addition, the study inferred that employee work value congruence had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and employee job performance among lower-level managers in the Insurance sector in Kenya. The study recommended that leaders should observe values that are congruent with that of their organization and socialize their employees on the same so that there is enhanced transformational leadership effectiveness.

Parastatals continue to experience difficulties in trying to achieve employee engagement. Consequently, governments have transitioned to the transformational leadership style to effectively achieve employee engagement. Nevertheless, it is still ambiguous whether the institution of transformational leadership style dimensions has boosted employee engagement levels in parastatals in Kenya. The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of idealized influence on employee engagement in parastatals in the energy sector in Kenya. Also, the study sought to determine the moderating influence of employee motivation on the relationship between idealized influence and employee engagement. This study targeted the 10 parastatals within the energy sector in Kenya with a population of 315 middle-level managers. The study adopted a positivist research philosophy to examine how idealized influence influences employee engagement and data were collected using structured questionnaires. A correlational research design was conducted with the purpose of determining the strength of the relationship between parameters of idealized influence and employee engagement in parastatals in the energy sector in Kenya. The findings showed that employee engagement has a statistical significant relationship with charisma, r(166) = 0.590, p < 0.01; ethical leadership, r(165) = 0.553, p < 0.01; teamwork, r(166) = 0.531, p < 0.01. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that employee motivation positively and significantly moderates the relationship between idealized influence and employee engagement, R2= 0.405, F(2, 159) = 54.100, p <0.05, β = 0.225,  p < 0.05. The study concluded that charisma, ethical leadership, teamwork, and employee motivation positively enhance employee engagement.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether women employees are visible in their organizations in Kenya. The study was a cross-sectional survey carried out among women employees of the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) member organizations. Stratified and random sampling was used to select a sample of 400 women employees. Data were collected using a self administered questionnaire and analysed using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results indicate that the visibility of women in their organizations is low.

From a broad perspective, a work environment can be defined as the location in which a task is performed. However, from an employment perspective, the work environment entails the physical geographical location of the job as well as its immediate surroundings (typically the tools and equipment required for the performance of the different tasks required for the job, work processes and procedures, quality of the air, noise level and any additional perks). As known, the work environment in an organization plays a crucial role in determining the productivity levels of its workforce and the organization’s ability to sustain these productivity levels and retain its workforce and may determine, how well the employees get along with the organization, the employees’ error rate/s and level of innovation and collaboration with other employees, levels of absenteeism, and ultimately, the duration of time the employee choose to stay with the organization. The purpose of this study was to determine how productivity levels among extension officers in the Ministry of Agriculture, Kilifi District have been influenced by their work environment. This was a case study which sought to identify the effects of the work environment with an aim of opening doors for further research on the same and recommending strategies for addressing the problems to ensure that the country (Kenya) becomes (once again) self sufficient in food production.At the time of the study, there were a total of 45 extension officers in Bahari District, which had just been annexed from Kilifi District. Due to the small number of officers, a census was done and all officers involved in a focus group discussion for triangulation purposes. This is because it was only through a census that more comprehensive and accurate information could be gotten. The data collected was analyzed for any causal-effect relationships, correlations and variances, by use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and the results presented in pie charts and tables to give a picture of the research findings at a glance.The findings on how the work environment influences extension officers’ productivity in the Ministry of Agriculture showed that extension officers feel that their work environment is not conducive to provide for job enjoyment and consequently enable them become productive in their work. It is thus safe to conclude at thispoint that, an overwhelming majority of the extension officers in the Ministry of Agriculture are not satisfied with their work environment, citing lack of sufficient work infrastructure, a large work area and a poor supervision system as their main reasons for dissatisfaction with the general work environment.