Determinants of Public Procurement Procedures Implementation in Universities: A Case of Public Universities in Kiambu County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish the determinants of public procurement procedures implementation in universities in Kiambu County. Various countries have instituted procurement reforms involving laws and regulations. Procurement in Kenyan public universities has been recognized as essential in service delivery. The major obstacle, however, has been inadequate regulatory compliance. The study’s objectives were to find out the effect of strategic planning on implementation of public procurement procedures; the effect of organizational culture on implementation of public procurement procedures; the role of staff competence on implementation of public procurement procedures; the effect of top management support on implementation of public procurement procedures and to assess the effect of organizational culture on implementation of public procurement procedures by public universities. A conceptual framework was developed to guide the study. The study was grounded on Rational Model of Decision Making and Resource Dependence Theory. The study used descriptive survey design and sampled 21 participants. Questionnaires were used to collect data which was analyzed according to the research objectives. The study found out that the strategic planning, staff competence, support from top management and organizational culture plays an important role in enhancing implementation of procurement procedures in public universities. The study recommends that management of public universities to accord staff maximum support in order to enhance procurement procedures implementation. Top management also need to steer head cultural practices in their organizations and frequently monitor the practices so as to effectively manage them so as to boost its implementation of procurement procedures.