Sustainability strategies and performance of public universities in Kenya

Abstract

The current operational setup in Kenya’s Universities is a turbulent one and highly competitive market condition. To ensure survival and sustainability, public universities require to adopt and implement competitive strategies. Many scholars have investigated sustainability efforts by Universities in pursuit of performance, however, it is still not clear how sustainable strategies have the greatest influence on the performance of Public Universities.  Thus, the study set to establish the influence of sustainability strategies on the performance of Public Universities in Kenya. The study was anchored on resource-based theory. To achieve the objectives, the study was anchored on a pragmatic philosophy and mixed research design with a target population of 234 University top managers. Primary data was collected using a 5 point Likert-type questionnaire and an interview guide. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that sustainability strategies had a significantly statistical influence on the performance of public universities in Kenya. The regression analysis for composite results revealed that sustainability strategies (SS) alone account for 53% of the variation of performance of Public Universities (R2=0.53, (t=7.68, p<0.05). Regression analysis for individual results, cost reduction (CR) (R2 0.518, t=18.07 p, <0.05), collaboration (C) (R2=0.418, t=2.7 p, <0.05) and diversification (D) (R2=0.218, t=8.07 p, <0.05). This study concluded that implementation of sustainability strategies (cost reduction, diversification, and collaboration) are essential strategies Public Universities can use in their endeavor to improve their performance.