An investigation of the role of middle level management in the implementation of strategic change in development finance institutions in Kenya

Abstract

The study aimed at investigating the role of middle level management in the implementation of strategic change in development finance institutions in Kenya. The study focused on staff drawn from each of the five DFIs in Kenya. The research adopted the objective of investigating the role of middle level management in the implementation of strategic change in DFIs in Kenya. The study could benefit Kenyan DFIs, the government, private sector organizations and other researchers given that it provides them with a good model for implementation of strategic change. The researcher adopted a descriptive research design since the independent variables under investigation could not be quantified but could only be described. The data collected was thoroughly checked for consistency, completeness and comprehensibility. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the quantitative data that was collected. Descriptive statistics which consisted of percentages, mean scores and standard deviation were used to analyse the quantitative data. The data was tabulated, summarized and presented using frequency tables. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data on the respondent’s views on the role of middle level managers in the implementation of strategic change. The study found that middle level management play the role of communicators, interpreters change agents, sense makers, advisors, implementers, bridge and leaders in the implementation of strategic change in DFIs in Kenya. However the study found that middle level managers may not require playing the role of politicians during implementation of strategic change. A recommendation for policy and theory is that organizations should incorporate and/or consult middle level managers during the formulation; design and implementation of strategic change to enable them play these roles effectively. Lack of middle level management support scuttles implementation of strategic change. The researcher encountered several limitations which included the fact that the findings accuracy was limited to the extent to which respondents were honest and objective in answering the questions. The study was also limited only to the five development finance institutions in Kenya and may not truly represent the roles of middle level managers in companies in other sectors of the economy. As for recommendations for further research the researcher recommends a replicate research be carried out to investigate the role of middle level management in implementation of strategic change in other institutions in other sectors of the economy. This is because development finance institutions in Kenya are primarily government controlled and owned and has cultures that are limited or unique to government institutions. The researcher also recommends that new research be carried out to find out the relevance of middle level managers in achievement of long term organizational sustainability in Kenya