Moderating Effect of Macro Environment on the Intervening Effect of Capital Structure on the Relationship Between Strategy Implementation and Performance of Energy Sector Institutions in Kenya

Abstract

Objective of the Study: The study sought to establish the moderating effect of macro environment on the intervening effect of capital structure on the relationship between strategy implementation and performance of energy sector institutions in Kenya. Financing decisions and its effect on firm value continues to attract the attention of researchers who have explored several internal and external factors that influence the financing decisions of the firm and how it affects firm value. The influence of macro environment factors on capital structure of firms is one of the issues currently confronted by the financial managers as they make decisions on monetary and real market frameworks within which firms operate. The macro environment factors are expected to exert a significant influence on all of the financial and investment decisions. A firm’s selection of sources of financing is determined by the external environment, which consists of the degree of economic development of the country, the political environment, the level of capital market development, the monetary policy of the country, the level of interest and tax rates, the state support of entrepreneurship, the legislation in force, the level of competition in the particular sector, the degree of information asymmetry and other factors. This study was anchored on open system theory and supported by the pecking order theory and resource-based view theory.

Research Methodology: This study adopted positivism philosophy. The target population was the 68 institutions under the energy sector. The pilot test was carried out on twenty managers from different departments of the selected firms. The quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22).

Findings: The study revealed that there was a statistically significant moderating effect of macro environment on the intervening effect of capital structure. The joint effect of macro environment and capital structure was higher and significant compared to the individual effect of individual variables therefore rejecting the hypothesis that there is no significant moderating effect of macro environment on the intervening effect of capital structure on the relationship between strategy implementation and performance of energy sector institutions in Kenya. The findings also revealed that when the interaction term was introduced, indicated a significant relationship, thus macro environment was found to moderate the relationship between capital structure and performance confirming phenomenon of moderated mediation.

Conclusions and recommendations: Therefore, it was concluded that, the introduction of macro environment had an enhancing moderating effect on the relationship between capital structure and performance. The study recommends that Energy sector institutions ought to be keen on developing policy guidelines to support their organizations to access capital, build capacity and adopt appropriate technology and earn a fair return on their investment. In addition, policy makers should enhance political support and develop enabling laws, policies and regulations which facilitate investment for superior performance by Energy sector institutions. Finally, the study recommends that Energy sector institutions be keen on current and trending issues, emerging technologies, new legal regulations, inflation, customer behavior, competition, supplier challenges, sponsor demands, political shifts among other issues when sourcing for funds and also when making crucial financial decisions.