DETERMINANTS OF SUCCESSFUL OUTSOURCING PROCESS IN THE PARASTATALS IN KENYA: A CASE OF KENYA POWER AND LIGHTING COMPANY

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to assess the determinants of successful outsourcing process in the parastatals in Kenya, a case of Kenya Power and Lighting Company. The study specifically aimed at; determining the extent of the influence of employees competence, outsourcing policies, top management support and technology on successful outsourcing in the parastatals. The study adopted a descriptive research design and the study population will be a total of 199supply chain staff at Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC). The study appliedstratified random sampling technique to select a sample size of 132 respondents. The main data collection instrumentwas questionnaire containing both open ended and close ended questions with the quantitative section of the instrument utilizing both a nominal and a Likert-type scale format. Descriptive statistics data analysis method wasapplied to analyze data aided by Statistical Correlation analysis results revealed that there was a positive correlation between successful outsourcing process and employees’ competence, outsourcing policies, top management support and technology based on Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.516, 0.383, 0.607 and 0.726 respectively. Coefficient of determination (R2) obtained from the regression analysis showed that independent variables explained 70.5% of the variations in successful outsourcing process. Further findings were that when all the factors are held constant, one unit change in employees competence, outsourcing policies, top management support and technology would change successful outsourcing process by 0.280, 0.236, 0.298 and 0.500 units in each case. The researcher recommends to KPLC management to hold training programs and seminars on outsourcing regularly and ensure that such training are conducted without discrimination.