Corporate governance and performance of universities in Kenya

Abstract

Although strategic management literature strongly acknowledge the existence of a relationship between corporate governance and the overall organizational performance, some studies have reported mixed results about the relationship between the variables. The inconsistency in findings point to the need for further investigations on the ongoing debate about this relationship. This study therefore sought to establish the effect of corporate governance on performance of universities in Kenya. We adopted an explanatory survey research design with 248 respondents formed of universities’ management board members and senior management academic staff (deans/directors/HoDs). Structured questionnaire was used to collect data analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that corporate governance significantly influences organizational performance at 𝑅 2= 0.213, F= 43.410, p-value<0.05. We, thus, concluded that putting in place an effective corporate governance framework enhances corporate performance. The results present important implications to managers of higher learning institutions, other corporate entities, policy makers, and stakeholders in the higher education sector in Kenya and beyond.