Challenges of Strategy Implementation of Agricultural Research Institutes in Kenya

Abstract

Strategic management entails scanning the environment, formulating and implementing strategies that would give the organization a competitive advantage over other organizations operating in the same industry. This study sought to identify the challenges faced by agricultural research institutes in strategy implementation in Kenya. The study applied cross - sectional surv ey. Cross - sectional research design was chosen because it appeals for generalization within a particular parameter. The data obtained was standardized to allow easy comparison. The population of the study was 23 agricultural research institutes in Kenya. T he study collected primary data using a questionnaire. The questionnaire contained both open and closed ended questions. Quantitative data collected was analyzed by the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and presented through percentages , means, standard deviations and frequencies. From the findings, the top major challenge was lack of feelings of ownership of a strategy or execution plans among key employees followed by p oor communication in the organization . Another major challenge was whether problems requiring top management involvement were communicated early enough . The researcher found out that a majority of the respondents agreed that to a moderate extent, the indicated challenges affected the various strategy implementations in th e respective research institutes. The study recommends a participatory organization structure whereby employees are adequately represented in policy making. This will ensure that they obtain a sense of ownership of the strategy. The agricultural sector bei ng a significant contributor of the country’s GDP and being the sector that employ s the majority of the country’s population, its enhancement is crucial and highly welcomed. This study proposes that further studies should be done in the processing and pack aging of agricultural commodities to add on the literature in agricultural sector. The study should look at how the strategies adopted influenced the productivity and overall performance of the research centers