Corporate governance in Kenya's public universities

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the corporate governance practices adopted by public universities in Kenya, itself a developing country. Corporate governance practices in Africa, especially the sub-Saharan part, are weak and limited research has been done in this area. Design/methodology/approach – The researcher adopted the realism paradigm and relied on qualitative data obtained from five case study organizations. A total of 15 informants were interviewed. The data were recorded, transcribed and subjected to content analysis using the NVIVO software. Findings – The researcher established that the governance of the said institutions is constrained by numerous challenges that include, among many others, large student numbers, overstretched facilities, insufficient government support, inadequate induction of new staff, resistance to change and cultures that support impunity on the part of some non-performing employees. Practical implications – This research recommends several strategies that can be used to improve the governance of the said institutions and, by extension, that of similar institutions in developing countries. Originality/value – The study provides empirical evidence to support the proposition that different corporate governance theories, such as the stakeholders theory, political theory and resource dependency theory, can be used simultaneously by the same firm. On this basis, the research suggests the adoption of a combined theory of corporate governance.

Electronic Human Resource Training and Service Quality Delivery in Public Universities in Western Kenya

“…There have been widespread concerns that rapid expansion of higher education has led to a degradation of quality, particularly in the lower-income countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America as manifested variously in poor physical infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, curricula that do not respond to market needs, academic staff without the required qualifications, or moonlighting in multiple institutions (Tilak, 2013;Altbach et al 2009;Tetty & PHEA 2009). Mulili, (2014), observed that constrained service delivery contributes to increased customer complaints which are an indicator of customer dissatisfaction. Widespread dissatisfaction of both internal and external customers affects the reputation of universities and its ability to attract and retain customers leading to poor performance (Agarwal 2009;Oketch 2016;Pitan & Adedeji 2012;McCowan et al 2017).…”

Teoria dos Escalões Superiores Explica a Governança nas Universidades Públicas?

“…As universidades públicas têm sido submetidas a vários desafios nos últimos anos, tais como urgência de orçamento e oferta de vagas sem destinação proporcional de pessoal e A governança nas universidades públicas é um tema pouco explorado (SILVEIRA et al, 2017). A maioria dos estudos encontrados limita-se à análise e a levantamentos sobre o nível de aderência das Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) às práticas de boa governança (SALES; PETER; MACHADO; NASCIMENTO, 2020;BARBOSA, 2019;HONG, 2018;ZORZAL, 2015;MULILI, 2014). Portanto, não buscaram identificar fatores que motivem as variações da qualidade da governança.…”