Strategic Control Systems and Organization Performance of Shipping Companies in Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

Due to the importance of shipping companies in facilitating the international movement of goods and services, businesses in these sectors must operate economically. Kenya National Shipping Line (KNSL) is said to be struggling to exist due to incapacity to compete globally. Furthermore, due to poor performance, a number of shipping companies have continued to fire workers. The specific focus of the study was to examine the effects of strategic surveillance control system, premise control system, special alert control system and implementation control system on performance of shipping companies in Mombasa County. System theory, control theory, and resource-based view theory served as the study's guiding theories. This study combined a cross-sectional survey research design with a descriptive research approach. The sample size will be 81 personnel, with the target population being all 22 registered shipping lines with headquarters in Mombasa. The questionnaires, which were semi-structured, were used. Using Cronbach's alpha, the questionnaire's dependability was assessed. The construct and content validity were tested in this research. The descriptive analysis approach was used to analyze the quantitative data, and regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the variables. The effectiveness of shipping businesses in Mombasa County was shown to be significantly and favorably impacted by the strategic surveillance control system, premises control system, special alert control system, and implementation control system. The study came to the conclusion that strategic surveillance controls enable the management of the business to keep an eye on various sources for hazards. Premise control enables the management of the organization to determine whether the assumptions established are still true after implementing their ideas. In light of these new developments, special alert controls enable the organization to reevaluate the strategy's applicability, and implementation controls make sure that no changes to the strategy are required. The study suggested that in order to identify events that are likely to have an impact on an organization's strategy, the company should implement strategic surveillance systems through a broad-based, general monitoring based on chosen information sources. Instead of continuing with a strategy based on false assumptions, the businesses should employ premise control systems to take corrective action as necessary. Organizations should utilize special alert control based on a trigger mechanism for rapid response and immediate revision of strategy in the case of a sudden and unexpected incident known as a crisis. Implementation control should be put into action by the organization by identifying and tracking strategic thrusts like gauging the market acceptance of a new product after pre-testing or gauging the viability of a diversification program after making initial efforts to seek technological collaboration.