INFLUENCE OF PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING ON SERVICE DELIVERY IN STATE CORPORATIONS IN KENYA: A CASE OF THE KENYA NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL (KNEC)

Abstract

Public institutions encounter challenges in the process of service delivery to the satisfaction of citizens. Consequently various governments have introduced performance contracting as one of the effective and promising means of improving the performance of public institutions as well as departments and state agencies since it defines responsibilities and expectations of the parties to achieve mutually agreed targets. However, it is still unclear whether the introduction of performance contracting strategies improved service delivery to customers. The objective of this study sought to find out the influences of organizational commitment, performance measurement, organizational efficiency and performance incentive system on service delivery in state corporations in Kenya with special reference to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC). Relevant literature was reviewed based on the variables and related theories and were summarized diagrammatically using a conceptual framework to broaden the view of the study. The study adopted descriptive research design to collect information where the total population is four hundred and nine (409). Primary and secondary sources of data was used to obtain information for the study where a closed and open ended questionnaire was deployed in collecting primary data while interaction with relevant documents/publications on performance contracting aided in collecting secondary data. Quantitative data was summarized and analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Multiple regression analysis was used to establish the degree of statistical relationships between the study variables. Key Words: Organizational Commitment, Performance Measurement, Organizational Efficiency, Performance Incentive System, Service Delivery