Factors Influencing Strategic Information Systems Implementation In Government Parastatals: A Case Of Kenya Forest Service, Mau Forest Conservancy

Abstract

The operations of parastatals could be greatly enhanced by the wellfocused application of information systems to support improvements in productivity, management effectiveness and ultimately, the quality of services offered to citizens. Assessing the strategies of information systems (ISs) implementation has been identified as one of the most critical issues in IS field. However, studies relating to this issue within the context of kenyan parastatals are few and lack the ability to propose a major set of factors influencing the strategic IS implementation. The study sought to determine the influence of top management support, expertise, infrastructure and enduser training on strategic information systems implementation at Kenya Forest Service. The study adopted descriptive research design using a sample of 262 drawn from a population of 831 staff of the Kenya Forest Service, Head of Conservancy Mau selected using stratified and simple random sampling technique. Data was collected by questionnaires and analysed by descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that the relationship of top management support, expertise, end-user training and infrastructure explain a strong change in strategic information systems implementation. The study concluded that to ensure strategy is implemented as intended, senior executives must endevour to persuade the employees of their ideas and that IT professionals' technical backgrounds is critical both during the selection and acquisition of complex IT system and for the implementation of information system into adopting organizations.

Critical Review of Literature on the Influence of Organizational Culture on Strategy Implementation in Kenya

“…In the studies contacted by Koech and Were (2016) on the factors influencing strategy implementation at the National Treasury-Kenya. The study concluded that organizational culture and organizational structure have a direct influence on strategy implementation.…”

“…The content analysis regarding the papers in the literature review provides detailed overview of main issues covered by the research on influence of organization culture on strategy implementation and has enabled the identification of principal research gap on the topic. From the literature review its apparent that several scholars have established that is positive and significance influence of organization culture on strategy implementation (Cheruiyot, Kihara & Senaji, 2018;Koech & Were ,2016;Tele & Gachunga, 2019). In contrast, (Ngigi & Namusonge, 2019;Mohamed & Olweny, 2019;Akuei, Katuse & Njenga, 2016;Kagumu & Njuguna, 2016;Isaboke, 2015;Kinyua, Njoroge, Wanyoike & Kiiru, 2015) indicates that some studies contended that it is very difficult to examine the relationship between organization culture and implementation of strategies, there was devoid of empirical studies and theories, how organization culture constructs were measured for the utilization of inferential statistics and conceptualization of organizational culture as compared to the study which has conceptualized organizational culture in terms of values and beliefs.…”

“…Koech and Were (2016) investigated factors influencing strategy implementation at the National Treasury-Kenya. Its specific objectives were to establish the influence of organizational culture and the organizational structure on strategy implementation at the National Treasury.…”

Contribution of Stakeholder Management to the Sustainability of Community Based Tourism in the Coast Region of Kenya

“…Making the plan happen is as critical as the actual execution that leads to results. In addition, all organization members should know why the plan was developed, what it means to the organisation, who will be involved in its implementation and how they can contribute to the organisation's success (Koech & Were, 2016). Stakeholder analysis helps an organisation to identify interests of all stakeholders who may affect or be affected by a project.…”

Factors impacting Strategic Management Practices Among SMEs in Nigeria

“…The mix of strategic management practices adopted by organizations vary and lend themselves to the influence of what decision makers in the firm believe the definition of strategy imply and the domains that should be addressed. To illustrate, Branislav (2014) noted that such domains include the formulation, implementation and evaluation of cross-functional decisions while Koech and Were (2016) asserted that strategic practices should emphasize such domains as formation of strategy, goal-setting, implementation, monitoring and analysis. Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in their economies; however, a sustained observation is that their survival and sustainability are threatened by the competitive and turbulent nature of the environment they have to operate in (Sandada, 2015).…”