Sustainable Procurement Practices and Performance of State Corporations in Nairobi City County, Kenya
Abstract
State corporations play a critical role in Kenya's economic development, yet their performance continues to be undermined by inefficiencies in procurement management, corruption, lack of transparency, and weak supplier governance frameworks. Despite the existence of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act and related regulatory frameworks, sustainable procurement practices remain inconsistently implemented across state corporations in Nairobi City County, creating significant performance gaps in service delivery, cost management, and organizational accountability. This study examined the effect of sustainable procurement practices on the performance of state corporations in Nairobi City County, Kenya, focusing on four key dimensions: procurement planning, information technology, supplier selection, and procurement ethical issues. The study was grounded in Principal-Agency Theory, Institutional Theory, and Legitimacy Theory. A descriptive research design was adopted, targeting 187 employees across 243 state corporations drawn from procurement, top management, marketing, accounts and finance, and human resource departments. Using Yamane's formula, a sample of 151 respondents was selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 29 through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The study established that all four sustainable procurement practice dimensions positively and significantly influence state corporation performance, collectively explaining 87.7% of the variance in organizational performance. Procurement planning emerged as the strongest individual predictor, followed by procurement ethical issues, supplier selection, and information technology. While procurement planning and supplier management contributed positively to efficiency and cost savings, gaps remained in stakeholder engagement and policy clarity. Information technology enhanced data management and strategic decision-making, though its full potential in resource allocation remained inconsistently realized. Ethical procurement practices were recognized as critical for transparency and organizational integrity, but oversight mechanisms and ethics training effectiveness appeared inconsistent. The study recommends strengthening stakeholder engagement frameworks, institutionalizing advanced IT systems, establishing robust ethical oversight mechanisms, and refining supplier collaboration strategies to drive sustainable procurement success in Nairobi City County state corporations.
Keywords: Sustainable procurement practices, performance, state corporations, Nairobi City County, Kenya
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