Influence of Board Role on the Performance of State Owned Enterprises in Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to establish the influence of board role on the performance of state owned enterprises in Kenya. Specifically the study:  analyzed the effect of board leadership, assessed the effect of board monitoring, determined the effect of board stewardship, and evaluated the effect of board reporting on performance of state owned corporation in Kenya. The research used descriptive research design. The study population consisted of 130 state owned corporations by Taskforce on Corporation Reforms. A sample of 97 state owned corporations was selected using stratified random sampling. A questionnaire composed of open and closed ended questions was used to collect primary data. Quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (Version 24). In addition, a multivariate regression model was generated to assist in determination of the relative importance of each of the four variables to performance. The regression showed that board reporting had the highest influence on performance with a coefficient of 0.514, followed by board leadership with a coefficient of 0.507, followed by board monitoring with a coefficient of 0.4332, and board stewardship with a coefficient 0.269. The study recommends that board of directors in state owned corporations to use the four variables of board role in improving performance of the organizations.