Abstract:
Savings and Credit Cooperatives have always struggled to keep pace with the rapid
changing technological advancement and stiff competition from larger financial
institutions like commercial banks. The way in which deposit taking, savings and Credit
Cooperatives (SACCOs) and financial institutions utilize strategic resources defines
their competitive advantage and consequently their performance. This study sought to
investigate the influence of Strategic organisational resources on performance of
deposit taking SACCOs in Kiambu County. Specifically, the study sought to establish
the influence of human capital, financial resources, intellectual property, and physical
resources on performance of deposit taking SACCOs in Kiambu County. The study was
hinged on resource-based view theory, organisational learning theory and balanced
scorecard theory. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. The target
population for this study was 227 management staff comprising of 26 top level, 67
middle level, and 134 lower-level management staff in Kiambu County. Stratified
sampling technique was used to select a sample of 14 top level, 36 middle level, and 71
lower-level management staff in Kiambu County. Primary data was utilised in the study
collected through a semi-structured questionnaire. Drop and pick method was adopted
in administering the questionnaire. Face and content validity of the research instrument
was tested by subjecting it to expert opinion, while reliability was tested using
Cronbach’s alpha (α) coefficient. A coefficient of 0.7 or above was considered adequate
in the study. Collected data was analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis.
Ordinary least squares regression model was used in this study. R
2 was used to measure
the predictive power of the model, while F-statistic was used to determine the fitness
of the model. The significance of the study variables in influencing performance of
SACCOs was based on the P-values of each variable at 0.05 significance level. Results
of the study indicated that strategic intellectual resources were emphasised to a greater
extent while strategic human resources, strategic financial resources, and strategic
physical resources were deployed to a moderate extent. Results also showed that a
positive correlation existed between performance and each independent variable.
Further, strategic human resources, strategic financial resources, strategic intellectual
resources, and strategic physical resources were statistically significant in predicting
performance of DTS in Kiambu County. The study thus concluded that strategic
resources had a significant influence on performance of DTS in Kiambu County. Based
on these conclusions the study recommends that the management of DTS should
emphasise on acquiring and optimally configure strategic resources in a manner that
enables them to efficiently utilise them to maximise performance
