INFLUENCE OF STRATEGY CONTROL ON THE PERFORMANCE OF AIRLINES IN KENYA

Abstract

Strategic control focuses on achievement of future goals rather than the evaluation of past performance. The point for strategic control is not to bring to light past errors but to identify needed corrections so as to steer the firm in the desired direction. The general objective of the study was to determine the influence of strategy control on performance of Airlines in Kenya.  The specific objectives were to examine influence of; premise control and special alert control on firm performance. The study was guided by two theories; dynamic capability theory and enterprise risk management theory. The study employed a descriptive research design. The target was  12 airlines in Kenya which formed the study’s unity of analysis. The unit of observation was hence   24  in operations ,  24 finance,     24  marketing, 24  customer  service,  and 24  safety management staff. The study used census hence 120  strategic management staff were sampled. The study used primary data which was collected using questionnaires that consisted of structured closed-ended questions in which a Likert Scale was used. The close ended questions provide more structured responses while the open-ended questions provided additional information that may not have been captured in the close-ended questions.. A pilot study was collected with 10% hence 12 heads of strategy who were not  included in the actual data collection. The study used content and construct validity. To test the questionnaire reliability, Cronbach’s alpha was used. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, and mean. Correlation and regression was used to establish the relationship between the study variables. Findings were tabulated. Findings show that the Pearson correlation coefficient for premise control, and firm performance was (r= 0.390, p-value=0.000), correlation between special alert control and firm performance was (r = 0.619, p-value=0.000). This shows that the correlation between premise control, and firm performance was moderate and significant. Premise control involves checking out the environment in which a firm operates in. The companies conducts assessment of the routes they operate in to forecast the demand as well as competition in the industry. Special alert control influence firm performance. Special control involves implementing safety issues, preparing for risky events such as pandemics, natural disasters, and break downs. The study recommends that there should be proper assessment of economic and environment  factors that affect firm’s performance. Proper assessment of these factors would help to determine the effects of these factors on performance. Managers need to be proactive in dealing with the pace and trend of invention to easily adopt to new route of operations.

 Key Words: Strategy Control, Premise Control, Special Alert Control And Performance Of Airlines In Kenya