AIR MARKET PROJECTS IN NYERI COUNTY, KENYA
MAINA MUMBI SUSAN D53/PT/CTY/31587/2015
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE IN MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF KENYATTA
UNIVERSITY
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DECLARATION
This research project is my original work and has not been presented for a degree or other
award in any other University. No part of this research project should be reproduced
without authority of the author or/and Kenyatta University.
Signature………..Date:………
……
Name: Susan Mumbi Maina Reg. No: D53/31587/2015
This research project has been submitted for examination with my approval as the
university supervisor.
Signature………Date………
…..
Gladys Kimutai
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DEDICATION
I dedicate this study to the people who have added profound meaning to my life: my little
angels Ivy Njeri and Maya Wanjiku, Mother Mary Wanjiku, Sister Keziah Wambui,
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am grateful to the almighty God for the good health, provision and intellectual health. I
wish to acknowledge the support of my supervisor Ms Gladys Kimutai for her intellectual
input into the study. She stretched her limits from her busy schedule to review my work.
Her vast experience coupled with knowledge brought useful insights into my study.
I extend a special thanks to Dr Paul Sang for advising on the general structure of my
research and taking time to review my progress. Finally, I am grateful to my family and
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TABLE OF CONTENT
DECLARATION ... ii
DEDICATION ... iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... iv
TABLE OF CONTENT ... v
LIST OF TABLES ... ix
LIST OF FIGURES ... x
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ... xi
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS ... xii
ABSTRACT ... xiii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1 Background of the study ... 1
1.1.1 Project performance ... 2
1.1.2 Stakeholder management ... 3
1.1.3 Open air market in Nyeri County... 4
1.2 Statement of the problem ... 6
1.3 Research objectives ... 7
1.3.1 Objectives. ... 7
1.3.2 Specific Objectives ... 7
1.4 Research Question ... 7
1.5 Significance of the Study ... 8
1.6 Scope of the study ... 8
1.7 Limitation of the study ... 9
1.8 Organization of the study ... 9
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2.1 Introduction ... 10
2.2 Theoretical Review ... 10
2.2.1 Theory of Performance ... 10
2.2.2 Expectancy Theory ... 11
2.2.3 System Theory ... 12
2.2.4 Stakeholder Theory ... 12
2.3 Empirical Review... 13
2.3.1 Project Performance ... 14
2.3.2 Stakeholder’s needs and expectation identification and project performance ... 16
2.3.3 Communication and project Performance ... 18
2.3.4 Conflict management and Project Performance ... 19
2.3.5 Stakeholder participation and Project Performance ... 22
2.4 Summary of literature and Research Gaps... 26
2.5 Conceptual framework ... 27
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 29
3.1 Introduction ... 29
3.2 Research design ... 29
3.3 Target population ... 29
3.4 Sampling design ... 30
3.5 Data collection Procedure ... 30
3.5.1 Validity of the data... 31
3.5.2 Reliability of data ... 31
3.6 Data analysis and presentation ... 32
3.7 Ethical considerations ... 33
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4.1.1 Response Rate ... 34
4.2 Demographic Information ... 35
4.2.1 Gender ... 35
4.2.2 Residence ... 35
4.2.3 Duration of Residence... 36
4.2.4 Academic Qualifications of the Respondents ... 37
4.3 Stakeholder’s needs and expectations identification ... 38
4.3.1 Needs and Expectation in the project ... 40
4.4 Communication ... 41
4.4.1 Communication Strategy adequacy ... 43
4.5 Conflict Management... 44
4.5.1 Court Cases ... 46
4.6 Stakeholders Participation ... 47
4.7 Project performance ... 49
4.8 Diagnostic Tests ... 52
4.8.1 Multicollinearity Test... 52
4.8.2 Correlation Analysis ... 53
4.9 Regression Model ... 55
4.9.1 Model summary ... 55
4.9.2 ANOVA ... 56
CHAPTER FIVE:SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 60
5.1 Introduction ... 60
5.2 Summary ... 60
5.2.1 Stakeholder’s needs and expectation identification and project performance ... 61
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5.2.3 Conflict Management and project performance ... 63
5.2.4 Stakeholder Participation and project performance ... 63
5.3 Conclusions ... 64
5.4 Recommendations ... 65
5.5 Recommendations of further research ... 66
REFERENCE ... 67
APPENDIX I: INTRODUCTION LETTER ... 71
APPENDIX 2: RESEARCH INSTRUMENT ... 72
APPENDIX 3: RESEARCH AUTHORIZATION ... 79
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1 Sample size ... 30
Table 3.2 Reliability Statistics ... 32
Table 4.1 Response Rate ... 34
Table 4.2 Stakeholder needs and expectations identification ... 39
Table 4.3 Communications ... 42
Table 4.4 Communication Strategy adequacy ... 44
Table 4.5 Conflict Management ... 45
Table 4.6 Court Cases ... 46
Table 4.7 Stakeholders Participation ... 47
Table 4.8 Stakeholder Participation Satisfactions ... 49
Table 4.9 Project performances ... 50
Table 4.10 Multicollinearity Test Results ... 52
Table 4.11 Correlation Results ... 54
Table 4.12 Model summary ... 55
Table 4.13 ANOVA Results for Model Significance ... 56
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Arnstein participation ladder. ... 24
Figure 2.3 Conceptual Frame work ... 28
Figure 4.1 Gender ... 35
Figure 4.2 Residencies ... 36
Figure 4.3 Duration of Residence ... 37
Figure 4.4 Academic Qualifications of the Respondents... 38
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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
SMART Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely PMI Project Management Institute
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OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
Stakeholder Management This is the process of identification, monitoring and maintaining relationships, needs and expectation of various
interested parties in a project.
Project Performance Refers to accomplishing the project objectives and goals within the defined timeline, budget and cost
Open Air Market This is a public marketplace where foodstuffs, livestock and general merchandise are sold often held on particular days
of a week and in a specific designated area.
Jua kali Refers to the informal sector of the economy comprising of the entrepreneurs or businessmen who can do any kind of
business to earn a living.
Project stakeholders Is any individual, organization or group who may affect, be affected by or perceived to be affected by a decision,
activity, or outcome of a project’
xiii ABSTRACT
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Project management discipline focuses on managing the various activities in a project
intended to deliver the objectives of the intervention. Projects are temporary organizations
to the original organization; they operate within defined timeframes, budget and quality
and normally follow a chronological procedure in the inception through to the
implementation. A number of different project management approaches such as iterative,
lean, phased and incremental approaches may be used. Effective methodology employed
must put into considerations the overall objectives of the project, cost, time in addition to
roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders of the project. Generally, project
objectives express goals of a project in SMART terms. These project goals and objectives
are set on the onset of the project.
Whilst some goals can be defined in quantifiable terms others are difficult to define in
quantifiable parameter such as quality and soft project goals such as project reputation
(Ahmed & Fazel, 2016). Project objectives aids in the definition of a project in terms of
benefits perceived and project purpose. Project management main challenge is to achieve
all its set project goals within its given constraints in terms of time, quality, budget and
scope. Project goals and objectives can be viewed as contract between the project
sponsors and the project managers (Smith, 2016).A project attracts different stakeholders
with varying expectations of the outcome from the project. The level of urgency and
priorities by the stakeholders has a tendency to change during the lifecycle increasing the
project management challenge. Most cost overruns and delays in project are caused by
2 1.1.1 Project performance
Project performance metrics focuses on the impact of the project at a point in time or over
a fixed timeframe (Njogu, 2016).The value of the impact of the project should supersede
the cost of the intervention. Project performance is directly related to the project potential
success. Project success factor relies on the methodology principles used in project
management, the control mechanisms applied, and the expertise of the project teams
(Samuel, 2012). A project is considered to be successfully implemented if it is carried on
schedule; realizes the purpose the project was designed through achieving the goals and
objectives identified; the project is completed within the budgets commonly known as the
project Triangle (Hammad, 2013). Despite the many literatures educating the project
managers on the various tools and techniques aimed at increasing the likelihood of the
success of a project, 7 out of 10 projects are considered unsuccessful (Kelbessa, 2016).
These projects are considered unsuccessful either because they were not completed or
they are not seen as successful even though they were rolled-out as planned (Ayatah,
2012).
Successful project management takes into account any potential forces that may influence
the performance of a project. These forces may exhibit a negative or positive influence to
the project performance.
Monitoring performance of a project provides the project managers with vital information
of whether they are operating the project within the approved budget, time, scope, and
laws of the land in accordance to plan (Karanja, 2012). Performance measurement gives
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motivating the project team. Effective performance measurement tool must promote the
realization of the key project stakeholders’ expectation, project objectives as well as the
needs of the users. Project performance metrics include the cost, time and quality. These
major constrains cannot be achieved optimally hence trade-offs are required. (Samuel,
2012) (Karanja, 2012).Trade-offs normally occur at the various stages of the project
lifecycle especially in the planning and the execution phase.
Project performance is evaluated differently by various stakeholders of the project based
on their expectations in relation to the actual quality, cost and time. Project performance
can be measured in terms of the qualitative value the project has to the implementing
organization or quantitative in terms of the earned value systems for utility and large
government projects (Kelbessa, 2016). For any of the approach used small elements of
the project to indicate progress are identified and monitored throughout the project life
cycle. Project performance is enabled by the monitoring systems and the key indicators
identified. Project monitoring system thrive in the commitment of the management to;
management organization, definition of responsibility, assignment of the personnel,
SMART objectives, measurable indicators, data authentication and timely reports
(Alsulamy, 2015).Monitoring properly the key project indicators provide measurable
assessment of performance of the project. A vast number of project indicators may be
monitored in a given project. The key project indicators should be pre-established.
Involvement of the key project stakeholders in the identification and selection of the
indicators to monitor increases the likelihood of smooth running and implementation of
the project and hence success.
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Projects are very sensitive to decision and actions taken by any stakeholder (Aaltonen,
2010).Almost all the projects operate in a context where its respective stakeholders play a
primary role in the accomplishments of tasks (Hammad, 2013). Stakeholder support is
critical for the success of any project. Project stakeholders may be within or outside the
organization. A project stakeholder may be an entity that have sponsored the project, have
an influence in the project completion or have an interest in the completion of that
particular project. Stakeholders of a particular project will vary during the life cycle of the
project in terms of needs, numbers and influence. The interests, perception as well as the
motivation of all the project stakeholders that have an influence on the success of the
project should not be ignored. Stakeholder review and identification should be conducted
throughout the project life cycle (Njogu, 2016).
The project managers’ responsibility includes assigning resources to various tasks,
satisfying the needs of stakeholders, budget management and delivering on objectives of
the intervention (Project Management Institute, 2014). Project managers often deals with
difficult stakeholders, these normally are parties that will negatively be affected by the
project or parties with alternate goals and objectives. Responsible project managers
should consider the potential influence of the project stakeholders on the performance of
the project, and then put in place mechanism to maximize on the positive influence of the
respective project stakeholder while minimizing potential negative effects (Hammad,
2013).Project stakeholders have different levels of interests and influence in a given
project. Satisfying stakeholders of a project is not easy (Olander, 2006).
1.1.3 Open air market in Nyeri County
Open air markets play a key role in the world through the strengthening of the social and
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that creates wealth which consequently improves the standard of living of households.
Open air markets are very popular in developing countries selling a variety of fresh
produce, dry commodities and products among others. Great cities are made by existing
great markets in the world (Tangires, 2015). Most Open air markets are regulated by the
existing local government. Despite the importance of this markets most open air market in
developing countries are characterized by deplorable working conditions, poor drainage,
poor storage of fresh produce (Nedic, 2012). Poor performance and stakeholder
dissatisfaction has been flagged to be the order of the day in public projects in Nyeri
County.
Nyeri County is located in the central part of Kenya; it has a population of about 661,156
and occupies an area of 3356Km2.Nyeri county has six constituencies namely Tetu, kieni,
Mathira, Othaya, Mukurweini and Nyeri town. Mathira constituency houses Karatina
open air market which is the largest in Kenya and in East Africa and the second largest in
Africa. The Karatina open air market modification and upgrading project was begun in
year 2010 under Economic Stimulus Project (ESP) with a budget of Sh 265 Million. The
market was shifted from its original setting to allow for the construction. The traders
experienced poor drainage and shelter as the construction works continued. The project
experienced a halt of close to two years before a new contractor was engaged in 2016.
The new contractor modified the initial design pushing the cost to Sh 367 Million. The
initial blueprint of the project was to serve over 3000 traders operating in open trading
space, stalls, agro vet shops and a cold storage facility was to be mounted in the market.
Similarly other projects were launched in the respective constituencies to improve the
6 1.2 Statement of the problem
Nyeri County has 208 trading centres with 14,010 registered retail traders and 274
wholesalers. Majority of these traders are small scale dealing with locally produced
merchandise for households’ consumption. About 53% of Nyeri resident are involved in
farming hence Open Air Markets in Nyeri County plays a fundamental role in ensuring
food availability and accessibility both in the rural and urban areas. Despite many
interventions directed towards the upgrading of these Open air markets, deplorable
working condition coupled with poor sanitation and drainage have persisted in Nyeri
County. According to the auditor general reports the Nyeri county government would not
realize value for the money invested on some of Open Air market upgrading projects’
contracts it had entered (Auditor General, 2013). The Auditor general further flagged one
of the Open Air market projects where 66% payments of the project cost had been made
yet major works had not been undertaken. Non-consultation of traders in the design and
running of the projects of Open-air markets has contributed by 90% to open air markets
congestion, inadequate drainage, inadequate space and sanitation, insecurity, and lack of
modernized storage facilities (Cherono & Otieno, 2016).
Several researches have been conducted on Stakeholder Management on international
Projects (Kelbessa, 2016; Hammad, 2013; Olander, 2006; Aaltonen, 2010); however their
project environment differ in terms of the governance, social and cultural settings to the
local context. Locally stakeholder paticipation and project performance has been dealt
with in studies such as (Agyei, 2014; Njogu, 2016). Their studies focused on a narrow
aspect of stakeholder management that is stakeholder participation. However no adequate
information existed to explain the influence of stakeholder management to project
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determining the influence of stakeholder management on project performance of Open-air
market projects in Nyeri County, Kenya.
1.3 Research objectives
1.3.1 Objectives.
To determine the influence of stakeholder management on the project performance of
Open Air market projects in Nyeri County, Kenya.
1.3.2 Specific Objectives
The study was guided by the following specific objectives:
i. To assess the influence of stakeholder’s needs and expectation identification on
project performance of Open air Market projects in Nyeri County, Kenya.
ii. To investigate the influence of communication on project performance of Open air
Market projects in Nyeri County, Kenya.
iii. To investigate the role of conflict management on project performance of Open air
Market projects in Nyeri County, Kenya.
iv. To determine the extent stakeholder participation influences the project performance
Open air Market projects in Nyeri County, Kenya.
1.4 Research Question
The study was guided by the following research questions.
i. How does stakeholder need and expectation identification influence the project
performance of Open air Market projects in Nyeri County, Kenya?
ii. Does communication influence the project performance of Open air Market projects
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iii. What is the role of conflict management on project performance of Open air Market
projects in Nyeri County, Kenya?
iv. To what extent does stakeholder participation influence the project performance of
Open air Market projects in Nyeri County, Kenya?
1.5 Significance of the Study
The findings from this research would be used by the government to improve the
prevailing policy and regulation on the management of government interventions to
ensure high stakes in public project performance. The reports from this research will
challenge the project managers to reorganize their view and attitude towards stakeholder
management, identification of stakeholder, information sharing to improve the project
performance through development of strategies aimed at enhancing the implementation
and execution of already running interventions. The study recommends possible ways of
identifying the needs of project stakeholders, effective communication strategies, conflict
management of various project stakeholders which will provide reference source to aid
future researchers in their area of study.
1.6 Scope of the study
This research was conducted in Nyeri County. The research focused only on the influence
of: stakeholder need and expectation identification, communication, conflict management
process and stakeholder participation influence on the project performance. The research
focused on the performance of Open Air Market upgrading projects initiated under the
Economic Stimulus Programme in Nyeri county constituencies that is Nyeri Town,
Mathira, Tetu, Kieni, Othaya and Mukurweini. This scope was justified by the fact that
Nyeri County houses Karatina Open Air Market which is the largest Open Air market in
9 1.7 Limitation of the study
The researcher faced a drawback in collecting data from a vast number of dispersed
respondents. The researcher countered the challenge by use of research assistants to aid in
timely data collection. Further, there were some respondent who were unwilling to
cooperate in the study in fear of victimization. The researcher overcame the challenge
explaining to the respondents that their responses would be treated with anonymity and
confidentially.
1.8 Organization of the study
This research proposal is organized in five chapters. Chapter one covered the background
information to the research, the statement of the problem and the purpose of the study was
highlighted, the objectives of the study and the research questions were enumerated, the
significance of the study, the scope that the study covers as well as the limitation and the
assumption that the research study was based on were identified. Chapter two dealt with
the literature review under which the theoretical review, empirical review, the summary
of the review and the conceptual framework of the study were covered. Chapter three
contains: the research design used in the study; target population from which the sample
was drawn; the sampling design used in the study; data collection procedures and
instruments; the data analysis techniques used to analyse data and the ethical
considerations in the relationship of the researcher and the respondent were addressed.
Chapter four covers research findings and discussions and chapter five covers the
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CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This chapter puts the research into the broad perspective through the investigation of the
literatures on this subject. The review of the theories relating to stakeholders management
and project performance, areas dealt with by the researchers, a critique of what has been
dealt with, the existing gap in the body of knowledge and the conceptual framework.
2.2 Theoretical Review
2.2.1 Theory of Performance
Human beings are capable of extraordinary accomplishments through high-level of
performance (Neu, 2013). The Theory of Performance (ToP) is the guiding theory of this
study. According to Don Elger, the proponent of this theory, Performance is a journey
while as location is the level of performance. A performer can be an individual or a group
of distinct entities engaging in a collaborative effort (Elger, 2011). This theory of
performance further defines the indicators of higher levels of performance by Increase in;
Quality, Level of knowledge and skills, Capacity, Identity and Motivation, Capability and
Cost effectiveness. This theory further asserts that some factors influencing performance
of an intervention are immutable while others can be influenced to produce favourable
results. The theory of performance informs the project performance indicators which
include scope, quality, time and cost. Performing at high level produces quality results
that are more effective in meeting or exceeding the needs and the expectation of the
stakeholders. Cost decreases at higher levels of performance due to the reduction of
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performance an entity’s capacity and capability to generate more throughput is increased.
According to this theory of Performance the time taken to complete a task in a project
indicates the level of performance in relation to the stated scope as outlined in the project
charter.
2.2.2 Expectancy Theory
Performance is affected by the expectations of future outcomes of events (Elger, 2011).
According to Vroom the proponent of this theory , people choose their behaviour based
on their estimation that the behaviour so adopted will lead to their valued outcomes. This
theory of motivation explains that people can be motivated to choose one behavioural
option if they believe the outcome of the intervention is worth the effort and the resource
dedicated. This theory is based on the fact that we all make decisions about how we
behave or act, and these decisions are influenced greatly by the anticipated outcomes in
relation to our own goals and needs. Vroom expectancy theory outlines three main
components of motivation which are valence, instrumentality and expectancy.
Expectancy is the belief that effort dedicated to the intervention will result to the
performance desired. Instrumentality is the belief on achievement of the performance
desired a reward would be received. The project stakeholders say project teams efforts
must commensurate to their gains. Valence on the other hand is the value a person
attaches to the reward of the desired outcome. The stakeholder’s perceived reward for
performance at a desired level can be associated with their level of involvement in the
12 2.2.3 System Theory
System Theory is one of the major theories in management. A system is a group of
interrelated distinct parts forming and influencing the functioning of a unified whole. An
element in a system will be affected by the changes in one or another element in the
system and thereby influencing the whole system. The underlying fundamental
assumption of a system is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A system is
defined by the boundaries and the parts of a system interact to accomplish a common
purpose. A system cannot exist in isolation and hence its performance will be defined by
its adaptation to its environment (Neu, 2013). A system adaptation to the outside
environment occurs as the system takes inputs from the environment and as it discharges
the transformed outputs to the environment. All the parts in the system interact with each
other inside the boundary as well as with the outside environment.
A project can be considered as a system as it involves an interaction of interdependent
parts that form a whole to achieve a specific objective. (Sankaran, Haslett, & Sheffied,
2010) works advocates for the application of system thinking approach by the project
managers in managing complex projects. Project stakeholders are parts forming the
unified whole of a system. These project stakeholders must work together to ensure
success of the project.
2.2.4 Stakeholder Theory
Stakeholder theory evolved from Freeman’s works of “A stakeholder Approach”
(Freeman, 1984). The stakeholder theory has grown to various taxonomies (normative
stakeholder theory, descriptive stakeholder theory and instrumental stakeholder theory)
(Donaldson, 1995). The normative Stakeholder theory contains the principles and
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should view the purpose of the existence of the organization guided by some ethical
principles. The other approach of stakeholder concept is known as the Instrumental
Stakeholder Theory which contains theories of how managers should act if they want to
work for the interest of the organization. The descriptive stakeholder theory deals with the
actual behaviour of the managers in addition to how they view their roles and actions
(Mahmoud R., 2014).
The purpose of any intervention is to deliver benefits to its stakeholders. These
stakeholder benefits are the key drivers of the project and the realization of the
stakeholders’ objectives drives the project success. A stakeholder is any individual or
group of individuals that can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization’s
objectives (Freeman, 1984). Project stakeholders can either be internal or external the
organization. Whether an individual or a group of individuals is external or internal to a
project is determined by the point of view of the observer. The stakeholders of a project
perceive that they have a stake in the project or the task and as a result of the perceived
stake in the project they have certain expectations and hence they adopt a certain type of
behaviour which is sometimes constructive or destructive.
2.3 Empirical Review
Several studies have identified project performance indicators as time, cost and quality
(Alsulamy, 2015; Institute, 2008; Njogu 2016), Identified stakeholder involvement in
project identification;project planning; project implementation and project monitoring as
influencing project performance.Other indicators identified includes management style,
salary package and benefit payment as affecting project performance of the team
working in Open air Market upgrading project but this variables considered only one
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In this section studies relating to stakeholder management and project performance of
Open Air Market projects was reviewed. The review was organised in accordance to the
research variables.
2.3.1 Project Performance
Project Management literatures have discussed widely the subject of project success and
no consensus has been reached on the project success criteria. According to PMI, the
project success indicators include time, scope, cost and quality (Institute, 2008). These
parameters relate such that if scope, time or cost changes then at least one of the other
parameter will be also be affected. Project performance has been defined by most
researchers (Aaltonen, 2010;Karanja, 2012) using the iron triangle of project management
that is time, cost, scope and quality. The scope constrain refers to the project deliverables
defined in the project charter. Many projects fail on this parameter especially when the
project scope is not adequately defined and understood at the early stages of the project
lifecycle. According to (Alsulamy, 2015: Shenhar & Dvir, 2017) Scope parameter can be
measured through Variance Analysis. In this approach the variance of the actual project
performance against the scope baselines, in the scope statement and the Work Breakdown
Structure, is investigated and corrective action is taken.
Time criterion refers to the specific amount of time set to complete the project. The
project schedule defines the dates for various project task and milestones. Reduction of
the project’s time means either an increase in cost or a reduction of the project scope
(Nduta, 2011; Karanja, 2012). Project management tools such as PERT and CPM charts
are often used in planning and controlling activities necessary to the completion of the
project on time. These tools normally define graphically the tasks that must be performed
15
parameter is predetermined in the project’s budget. The budgeting process involves
estimating the cost of the project activities and tasks which serves as the baseline against
which the actual cost is compared and the variance investigated. To reduce the project
cost will attract a reduction in the project scope or an increase in the time (Smith, 2016).
The Iron triangle in project management has been criticized by researchers (Sundarasen,
2013; Shenhar et al., 2017) citing insufficiency in defining project success. The iron
triangle also referred to as project management triangle or the triple constrain omits the
key dimension of success such as user satisfaction, impact of intervention to stakeholders
as well as the learning. The project management diamond framework has recently
overtaken the iron triangle. The project management diamond has four vertices (time,
cost, quality and scope) and customer expectations at the central focus of the intervention.
According to (Shenhar et al., 2017) meeting the customers’ needs and expectation is more
important that mere meeting the project deadlines or budget. According to this diamond
framewiork no two project stakeholders expectatation are same and hence the project
managers must understand the expectation of each stakeholder.
Project performance report is a detailed statement that measurers the project in terms of
its success criteria. Project performance reports provide information on the project
implementation as well as the progress in achieving the project objectives in all the stages
of the project cycle. Project performance reports should be verifiable performance targets
that reflect the progress towards achieving the project objectives. They highlight
performance assessments for project supervision, key assumptions and risks, major
problems encountered, actual or proposed remedial actions and the projects ratings for
16
2012). The initial project performance report should indicate the baseline indicators to be
monitored during the project lifecycle. Factors such as lack of skills and experience of the
project team, constant changes on the project requirements, communication hitches, and
stakeholder management issues also influences the project performance (Alsulamy,
2015).
2.3.2 Stakeholder’s needs and expectation identification and project performance Stakeholder management keeps decision-makers and influencers engaged and on-track
which is the pathway for a successful project (Mahmoud R., 2014). According to
(Olander, 2006) any intervention attracts a vast number of interested parties. These
interested parties in a project have different needs, expectations, motivation, power,
influence, behaviours, traits, literacy levels etc. (Sankaran et al., 2010). These interested
parties of project are referred as stakeholders. Stakeholder definition is wider than that of
a shareholder. A shareholder is a stakeholder, but a stakeholder is not necessarily a
shareholder. A shareholder is interested on the going concern of the organization and the
security of their returns of their investments in the entity. A stakeholder on the other hand
is perceived to have a stake in the project whether they have monetarily invested in the
project or not (Sutterfield, Friday-Stroud, & ShiversBlackwell, 2016). According to
(Ayatah, 2012) while developing an appropriate Project Stakeholder Management
Strategy, one should start by identifying the stakeholders of the project. This list
developed should be re-visited during the project life-cycle to ensure relevance and the
sufficiency of the Stakeholder Management Strategy adopted.
Project Managers are faced with challenges in the process of identification of the
potential project stakeholders, their needs as well as their expectations (Kelbessa, 2016).
17
stakeholders that would include: Employees, vendors, customers, government, designers,
contractors, general public, pressure groups, press, politicians etc. The nature and the
number of stakeholders interested or involved in a certain project could increase the
complexity of managing the project as well as the uncertainties of the project situation.
The different needs and interests of the stakeholders can conflict with the project (Njogu,
2016). Traditionally a lot emphasis in the construction project was strongly focused only
on the internal stakeholder relations such as the procurement issues and the construction
site management (Alsulamy, 2015). The external stakeholder management was taken as
public officials’ task.
In PMBOK 2013 Stakeholder management process should entail the identification of the
stakeholders; plan stakeholder management; manage stakeholder engagement and control
stakeholder management. According to PMBOK 2013 the stakeholder identification
should be followed by an analysis and documentation of information covering their
interests in the project; their interdependencies; their involvement in the project and their
potential impact on the performance of the project. (Mitchell, Agle, & Wood, 1997) in
the Salience Model suggested that stakeholders’ claims should be prioritized based on the
cumulative number of the attributes of the stakeholders in terms of power, urgency and
legitimacy.
Stakeholder identification should be informed by the procurement documents, project
charter, and company information in addition to the lessons learnt from a similar previous
project (Ayatah, 2012). Ayatah further proposed a need for a brainstorming forum
between the project manager and the team in coming up and analysing the list of project
18
which cannot be defined in this stakeholder identification approach. This approach may
result to a narrow definition of the project stakeholders. Stakeholder identification should
not be limited only to the formal structures of the project settings but rather consider the
informal relations that may exist (Sutterfield et al., 2016). Limiting the stakeholder
identification to the formal structures may lead to an oversight of the negative
stakeholders existing in the informal relations. Stakeholder identification informs the
development of an equally relevant strategy to manage the different classes of
stakeholders.
2.3.3 Communication and project Performance
Projects do not fail at the last stage of the project lifecycle; failure occurs in the planning
and the execution stages (Wang & Qiang, 2012). Projects are all about communication
(Alatalo, 2012). A project is a supplier of different kind of information to the respective
project stakeholders. Communication is a continuous process and a dynamic interaction
(Affare, 2012). According to (Alatalo, 2012) Communication should be enough but not
too much nor too little. Communication process involves the sender and receiver of the
message encoded inform of symbols, pictures, words etc. by the sender. The message is
transmitted to the receiver via a communication channel. The receiver of the message
decodes the message. The message can only add value if the intended meaning is decoded
and understood by the recipient. The receiver decides how they will respond by sending
their feedback through the communication channel back to the sender. The sender of the
message must be in position to analyse the audience before encoding the message by
considering how the receiver can decode the message. Shaping the message according to
the receiver of the message is easier where the recipients are only one or few recipients,
19
one way such communication are normally intended for informing example through
memos, newsletter, brochures etc. Communication can be classified as written or oral;
external or internal communication based on the proximity of the recipient to the project
organization; formal or informal communication depending on the channel utilised in
delivering the message; and vertical (up or down the organization) or horizontal (between
peers) based on the flow of the message (Affare, 2012).
According to (Wang et al., 2012) communication can either ruin or save a project. Project
managers have a central role in project communication. Project management is built on
team work between the various stakeholders as work performed by one party is
contributes to the achievement of the overall project goals. The communication and
leadership skills of the project management is key to effective control of the various
project stakeholders while ensuring the project is running towards the achievement of its
project objectives (Alatalo, 2012). Efficient exchange of information doesn’t just occur in
an organization but rather proficient communication is well planned and organized.
Project communication is influenced by data management systems adopted by project.
The message to external project stakeholders needs to be a presentation of facts in an
understandable format; the internal communication needs to be timely, precise and
detailed to ensure operation efficiency (Alatalo, 2012).
2.3.4 Conflict management and Project Performance
Conflicts in projects are normally inevitable. The cause of conflict can be traced to the
difference in the level of expectations, needs, perception, personalities, attitudes and
values. The underlying cause of conflict in projects lies in breakdown of the project
communication to stakeholders. Traditionally, conflict has a negative connotation but
20
the individuals thereby improving the project organization. Constructive conflicts can
force people to look for a better solution to issues raised; it can make people to learn from
the conflict and grow personally. A certain level of conflict is necessary in a project
environment to increase performance. According to (Kinnander, 2011) Performance
normally increases with conflict up to a certain level then declines if conflict remains
unresolved or if it increases further. Where conflict is not managed well it can threaten
the achievement of the project goal and the mere existence of the project such conflicts
becomes destructive.
Destructive conflicts normally occur where the issue has not been resolved amicably
between the parties in conflict hence diverting the energy from the key activities of the
project. Managing conflict is an important skill that any project manager should possess
considering the significance conflict has on the success of a project. Sources of project
conflicts includes conflict over project priorities, conflict over the administration and
procedures, conflict over technical opinions and performance trade-offs, personality
conflicts, conflict over human-resource, conflict over cost and budget and conflict over
schedules. Conflict over project priorities is as a result of the difference in the
perspectives of the project stakeholders over the appropriate sequence of the project
activities and tasks. This conflict can be avoided by developing a blueprint that is in line
with the long-term goals and strategies. (Alatalo, 2012).
Another project conflict involves the disagreements over the administration procedures to
apply in the project. These disagreements may escalate and make the project
management impossible if not tackled well. Conflict over administration procedures can
21
clarified before the project begins. (Wang Y. , 2015) The other conflict that may occur in
a project is over the technical issues, technical trade-offs and the performance
specifications. This conflict can be tackled by use of steering committees to review the
specifications and design (Uju, 2014). Conflict over schedules occurs from disagreements
over sequencing of project activities, scheduling and timings of project tasks as well as
monitoring of the project schedules. This conflict over schedules can be solved by
developing schedules that matches the various project tasks to staffing and other project
constrains (Verma, 2014).
Conflict over budgets and cost normally is triggered by cost estimates and estimating
techniques employed in estimating the budgets. This conflict can be avoided by
developing and overall project budget that is supported by detailed sub-budgets for each
project task and activity. Personality conflict naturally is caused by the disagreements on
interpersonal issues between parties. This conflict can be smoothened by promoting a
work environment that emphasizes on team work, equality, diversity and respect (Affare,
2012). Conflict over human resources normally is triggered by concerns on staffing issues
on the procedures of allocation, recruitment and section of the project staff. This conflict
if not resolved may jeopardise the team work of the project teams hence affecting the
performance of the project. This conflict can be resolved by preparing a project work
breakdown structure specifying the responsibility matrix to apply in the project
organization (Mahmoud R., 2014).
Various researchers such as (Uju, 2014; Verma, 2014; Wang et al., 2012) have identified
the following conflict management styles such as withdrawing/avoiding,
22
confronting/problem solving. In confrontation conflict is treated as a problem that
requires to be solved by examining the various alternatives between the disagreeing
parties. This approach normally provides a resolution that is ultimate and it the best
solution to managing project conflicts as it aims at for a win-win strategy. In
collaborating the different viewpoints are incorporated to generate a solution to the
conflict. This approach provides a long term resolution to the conflict. Forcing approach
ignores the viewpoint of the conflicting party and provides a win-lose situations.
Compromising approach normally each party gives up their hard lines and neither of the
parties gets exactly what they want leaving the unhappy with the final verdict.
Accommodating approach normally provides short term solution but fails to deal with the
cause of the conflict. In this approach the areas of agreements are emphasized more than
the areas of disagreement. The avoidance approach does not deal with the conflict; this
approach should never be used in a key important issue to project success.
There is no best conflict resolution approach to be used to solve conflicts; this is because
conflict situation and factors are dynamic (Kinnander, 2011). The choice of the conflict
resolution is based on the time pressure to resolve the issue; importance of the goals
versus relationship; relative importance of conflict to the project success and the position
of the conflicting parties (Wang Y. , 2015). Effective conflict management strategies that
can be employed by managers include preparing for conflict before it occurs; facing the
conflict when it occurs and resolving the conflict using the appropriate conflict resolution
mechanism (Alatalo, 2012).
2.3.5 Stakeholder participation and Project Performance
Researchers have acknowledged stakeholder participation in any intervention as
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(Agyei, 2014; Emilie, 2014; Komalawati, 2013). Participation has been defined by World
Bank as ‘A process through which project stakeholders share control and influence
initiatives, resources as well as the decisions that affects them’. The aim of the concept of
participation is to create the sense of self-reliance in the community and inculcating the
aspect of ownership of the intervention (Oduor, Macharia, & Mbassana, 2015).
Participation is a deliberate interaction of different stakeholders with distinct needs and
expectations. According to (Njogu, 2016) Stakeholder participation in the project can
take different forms from project identification; contribution of inputs; sharing of
information; decision making; consultation; partnerships among others. The stakeholder
participations take place at different times of the project life cycle.
In his study of fostering civic engagement (Agyei, 2014) noted that the opportunities and
the challenges of participation of the locals in public projects lies on the priorities of
social development and greater participation of the stakeholders is contextual.
Researchers such as (Alsulamy, 2015) views participation as an end on itself in
supporting projects while as others viewed participation as a means to an end through
participatory need identification in; formulation of an intervention as well as
participatory budgeting. To the proponent of the school of thought viewing participation
as “means”, stakeholder participation is a form of mobilization to get the project done.
The school of thought viewing stakeholder participation as an “end by itself”;
participation goal is not a fixed development goal but an increasingly useful participation
of the stakeholders in the intervention (Agyei, 2014).
There are various typologies that are set to distinguish the levels of citizen participation in
24
(Arnstein 1969 as cited by Emilie, 2014) , citizen participation can be categorized into
eight levels that is manipulation, therapy, informing, consultation, Placation, Partnership,
delegated power and finally citizen control. These levels are further categorized into three
classes that is; Non participation category which is composed of the manipulation and the
therapy level. The citizens falling in this “non-participation” class are instructed or
educated by the powerful authorities and has little or no influence on the decision being
made. The middle class is referred to as the “tokenism” and it is composed of the
informing, consultation and the placation levels. In this class of tokenism the less
powerful are consulted but their views are not acted upon by the power holders. The last
class is referred to as the “citizen power” and it carries the partnership, delegated power
and the citizen control. The citizens in this class can negotiate with power holders and can
influence the decisions being made.
Figure 2.1 Arnstein participation ladder. Source: Arnstein (1969)
Pretty topology (1995 as cited in Komalawati, 2013) argues that partcipation can be
categorized as manipulative;passive; consultative; material incentives; functional;
25
representatives are not dully elected to do so and hence carry no power. In passive
participation people are jusst informed what has been decide and thee peoples’ responses
are not cosidered. In partcipation by consultation; people are consulted but the definition
of the problem or the need is done by the external agents. In partcipation by consultation
the respective stakeholders do not share in decision making process and there is nor
responsibility or duty on the part of the professionals to account for the peoples’ view.
Partcipation for material incentives is characterized by the people partcipating through
contributing their resources to the project in return for monetary incentive, food or other
material incentives. Functional partcipation arises after the major decisions have been
made by the professional/external agents. In this the stakeholders partcipate through focus
groups to meet the objectives of the intervention. In Interactive partcipation people
partcipate in major intervention plans through involvement in the joint analysis of the
sitution atbhand andte development of the actionable intervention. In this category
participation of the stakeholders is a right. The groups from the interaction take charge of
the decisions at the local level and monitors the utilisation of the available resources
through the maintainance of the structures and good practice. In self mobilisation people
partcipate through taking independent initiatives away from the external agents to
mainstream the systems. These people seek resources and technical advice they need
from the external institutions but they retain their influence and control over the
utilisation of the resources.
Generally participation can be categorised as either passive(lower level) or active (highest
level)partcipation. Passive partcipation means that the stakeholders contributes towards
26
project resources and the decsion making process. The external institutions educates the
stakeholders’ solution to their need. Passive participation goal is to legitimize the
intervention by creating the sense of ownership of the project to the people and not
necessarily an intention of involving the participants. This means that passive
participation is treated as a means of achieving project objectives. According to
(Komalawati, 2013) where participation is viewed as a means it will not be sustainable in
the long run after the handover of the project. Active participation generally means that
the stakeholders have information necessary to the betterment of the lives and they have a
stake in the decision making processes in the project life cycle. The views and the
perspectives of the stakeholders and the external agents are considered equally through
the process of negotiation, compromise and consensus.
2.4 Summary of literature and Research Gaps
Researchers have analysed the influence of stakeholder management on project
performance (Ayatah, 2012; Hammad, 2013; Kelbessa, 2016; Zakharova & Jäger, 2013).
Stakeholder management has been agreed to be very key in project performance (Ayatah,
2012; Mahmoud R., 2014).In the research of stakeholder participation to improve societal
acceptance for mega projects (Zakharova et al., 2013) noted that stakeholder participation
influence the acceptance of project. In his study he focused on mega projects but this
study relates to relatively smaller projects with different societal structure of management
and variance in stakeholders specific situations. It is worth noting that projects are faced
with different challenges in their implementation environment. A similar study was
conducted in Karatina Open air market project by (Mwakio, 2009). His study focused on
only project staff failing to assess the impact of all the project stakeholders on the
27
of Open Air Market in Nyeri County assessed the impact of project stakeholders
generally.
Njogu (2016) study of influence of stakeholder involvement on project performance in
Nema Automobile Emission control project analysed the involvement of the stakeholders
in the various stages of the project lifecycle. His study failed to adequately cover other
critical stakeholder management issues of the different stakeholders such as conflict,
communication and identification of needs which are covered in this study.
2.5 Conceptual framework
The following conceptual framework defines the link between the stakeholder
management independent variables and the dependent variable Project performance. The
independent variables in this research are stakeholders’ needs and expectation
identification; communication; conflict management process and stakeholder
28 Figure 2.2 Conceptual Frame work
29
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This section describes the research design that the researcher used, the target population
of the research, the sampling procedures used, data collection techniques, data analysis as
well as the ethical considerations observed.
3.2 Research design
Research design, according to (Leedy, 2010) is a program that guides the researcher in the
process of collecting, analysing and the interpretation of the data. In this study the
researcher used a cross-sectional survey to collect both the qualitative and quantitative
data. The researcher used both descriptive and exploratory research design. According to
(Sang, 2015) a mixed research design offers important insights that may be missed in the
study of the phenomenon under study. Data was gathered then organized; frequencies
were then tabulated on the research variables. Descriptive research design was
appropriate for the study as it describe the affairs as they are, without manipulation,
which was the aim of the study (Rimui, 2011) on the other hand exploratory research
design will enable better formulation of the research problem for a more focused and
precise investigation (Nduta, 2011). This data was then analysed and interpreted to
determine the influence of stakeholder management on project performance.
3.3 Target population
According to (Gareis, Huemann, & Martinuzzi, 2011) target population is the entire
30
findings. The target population of the research was all the Open air Market upgrading
projects in Nyeri County. Nyeri has a population of 693,558 according to (KNBS, 2010)
with 6 constituencies and the unit of observation includes the project stakeholders from
project staffs, vendors, suppliers, and contractors, general public and local authorities.
3.4 Sampling design
To achieve the representation of all the subgroups the researcher used cluster sampling.
Cluster sampling frame provides an unbiased estimate of the population and it is more
efficient than simple random sampling in a large population. The researcher divided the
target population according to six (6) major open air markets in each constituency and
then selected a sample of 255 respondents. The sample contained a total of 20 vendors
and 20 general public in each of the open air market; 5 project officers; 5 local authority
and 5 project staffs of the open air upgrading projects in Nyeri County.
Table 3.1 Sample size
Sample Sub-groups Number of Sampled Members Percentage
General Public 120 47.76%
Vendors 120 47.76%
Project Staffs 5 1.49%
Local Authorities 5 1.49%
Project Officers 5 1.49%
Total 255 100%
Source: Author (2018)
3.5 Data collection Procedure
Before commencing with data collection activity, the researcher obtained a research
31
from National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI)
(Appendix 3). The researcher further obtained permission from local authority before
commencing with data collection activity. The researcher used questionnaires to collect
primary data as data was collected from a large sample. The contents, of the open ended
and close ended questions, were the same to enhance the uniformity and analysis of
responses. The questionnaires were administered by the researcher with the help of four
research assistants to assist in clarification of the questions to the respondents; no
questionnaire was left for collection.
3.5.1 Validity of the data
Validity of a research instrument refers to the extent to which it collects data that it is
meant to collect. There are various types of validity such as content validity; construct
validity; criterion-related and content validity. During the construction of the
questionnaires for this research the content validity was established through seeking the
opinion of my supervisor. Additionally the validity of the instrument was enhanced by
pre-testing the questionnaire on 8 randomly selected respondents before being applied on
a full scale. The pre-test respondents were drawn from two selected Open Air Market
upgrading project in Kerinyaga County (outside Nyeri county) regarded to have similar
characteristics as the target population.
3.5.2 Reliability of data
Reliability refers to the extent to which results obtained from a study are consistent over
time (Rimui, 2011).There are various reliability tests on research instrument i.e.
Equivalent form technique; test-retest reliability; internal consistency and split half
32
in the study with a 0.7 acceptable threshold. According to (Sang, 2015) an alpha between
0.7 and 1.00 indicates a strong internal consistency; an alpha between 0.3 and 0.69
indicates moderate internal consistency while an alpha less than 0.29 indicates a weak
reliability of the research instrument. The study achieved an alpha of 0.902 implying that
the research instrument was reliable.
Table 3.2 Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha Cronbach's Alpha Based
on Standardized Items
N of
Items
0.904 0.902 23
3.6 Data analysis and presentation
Qualitative and quantitative data analysis was used to analyse the research data. All the
data obtained from the field was edited before being coded for analysis in SPSS computer
package. Editing of the raw data detects errors and omissions and corrects them if it is
possible. Each questionnaire was checked to ensure that they are duly filled. Only
completed questionnaires were used for the analysis. Inferential analysis and multiple
regression models were used to establish the extent and the nature of the relationship
between the dependent and the independent variables. Both Multicollinearity and
correlation diagnostic tests were used to test the fitness of the model.
Performance (Y) =αi +β1X1+β2X2+β3X3+β4X4+µi
Where:
X1=Stakeholder Need and Expectation.
X2= Communication.
X3=Conflict Management.
X4=Stakeholder Participation.
33
βn..=Coefficient of determination explaining the change Performance as a
result of a unit change in the respective independent variable.
Descriptive statistics was applied for the quantitative data to generate frequency
distribution, measure of dispersion such as the percentages and measure of central
tendency such as mean, median and mode. Data was presented in tables, charts and
graphs.
3.7 Ethical considerations
In the introduction letter, attached to each questionnaire, the researcher explained the
purpose of the study to the respondents and asked them to voluntarily participate in the
research. The respondents were further assured that all information collected would be
34
CHAPTER FOUR
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Introductions
The main objective of the study was to determine the influence of stakeholder
management on the project performance of Open Air market projects in Nyeri County.
This chapter presents the research findings and discussions according to the research
questions.
4.1.1 Response Rate
Out of a sample of 255 respondents, two hundred and thirteen questionnaires (213) were
duly filled and returned. This therefore translates to 83.5% response rate. This response
rate was deemed to be sufficient and well representative for data analysis, conclusions
and making recommendations. According to (Cherono et al. , 2016) a response rate of
50% is reasonable for analysis and reporting while as a response rate of 70% and over is
excellent. Table 4.1 shows the distribution of the repondents.
Table 4.1 Response Rate
Respondents Targeted Responded
General Public 120 101
Vendors 120 97
Project Staffs 5 5
Local Authorities 5 5
Project Officers 5 5
Total 255 213
Source: Research Data (2018)
Table 4.1 shows that 47.4% of the respondents were the general public, 45.5% were
35
officers. The responses were then deemed representative and sufficient for data analysis
and drawing conclusions.
4.2 Demographic Information
The background information of the respondents was assessed to establish the
appropriateness of the respondents in filling the questionnaire on stakeholder
management and project performance of Open Air Upgrading Projects in Nyeri County.
4.2.1 Gender
The researcher sought to assess the gender distribution of the respondents and the
findings are illustrated in Figure 4.1.
Male, 59.62% Female,
40.38%
Gender
Male
Female
Figure 4.1 Gender
Source: Research Data (2018)
From Figure 4.1, Majority (60%) of the respondents were male with the rest (40%) being
female. Both genders were well represented in the study.
36
The researcher sought the residencies of the respondents in Nyeri County. The findings
are shown in the figure 4.2.
Yes 95%
No 5%
Residencies
Yes
No
Figure 4.2 Residencies Source: Research Data (2018)
Majority (95.3%) of the respondents are residents of Nyeri County and therefore they
would give reliable and valid information about the Open Air Upgrading projects.
4.2.3 Duration of Residence
