STRATEGIC PLANNING AND PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC ENTITIES: THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF FIRM CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

Performance of any organization is in actual sense a function of many other factors. A
review of literature relating to corporate performance show that strategic planning is an
important factor in performance of organizations, however, it is not strategic planning
alone that influence the performance of a corporation, firm characteristics, also come
into play. The broad objectives of the study was to establish the influence of firm
characteristics on the relationship between strategic planning and performance. The
study was oriented by the positivist view which uses surveys to verify hypotheses and
statistics, especially quantitative statistics for analysis. The population of interest was all
state corporations in Kenya . The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional survey
design. Data was collected from the top managers using questionnaires. Hierarchical
regression analysis, specifically interaction analysis was conducted on the collected data.
The study found that firm characteristics have moderating effects on the relationship
between strategic planning and performance of state corporations in Kenya. The study
has made important theoretical contributions by highlighting the factors that moderate
the relationship between strategic planning and performance of state corporations in
Kenya. The study has further provided important insight to policy makers, strategic
management practitioners and to academicians.