Moderating Influence of Manager Discretion on the Relationship between Manager Characteristics and Strategy Implementation by Private Universities in Kenya

Abstract

A manager's discretion informs whether managers have influence on their firms' outcome or whether there are other factors restraining their actions and efforts toward successfully implementing organizational strategies. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating influence of manager discretion on the relationship between manager characteristics and strategy implementation by private universities in Kenya. Data was collected from 360 managers in the 23 private universities accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE) in Kenya. The population was drawn from top level managers, middle level managers and lecturers. Hypothesis were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) to construct the linkage the moderating influence of manager discretion on the relationship between manager characteristics and strategy implementation. The study used the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 23 to construct a conceptual model linking the variables under study. The study concluded that manager discretion has a positive and significant moderating influence on the relationship between manager characteristics and strategy implementation by private universities in Kenya.