Examining the Role of Information Technology in Strategy Implementation within Kenya's Government

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the role of information technology in strategy implementation within Kenya's Government Tourism Agencies Materials and Methods: The study adopted a positivist research philosophy and utilized explanatory and descriptive research designs. The target population for the study consisted of the tourism industry, including the ministry of tourism, which oversees the operations of tourism agencies. This resulted in a total of 10 areas of study. To determine the sample size, a total of 327 participants were selected using a specific formula. The study collected primary data through the use of questionnaires and interview guides, allowing for the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data was analyzed using scientific methods using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS version 22), while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The analysis began with descriptive statistics, which examined the demographic factors of the respondents through the use of frequencies and charts. Additionally, inferential statistics such as correlation and multiple linear regression analysis were employed to test the relationships among the variables as hypothesized in the study. Findings: Adopting information technology in functions and organizational decision making processes was also found to have significant effect on the process of strategy implementation. In


INTRODUCTION
Organizations in all sectors are striving to succeed despite the many challenges they face including issues of globalization, rapid changes, especially changes in technology and increased competition among others.Furthermore, organizations' perspective today especially in the third world are striving to maximize on their merger resources to develop and grow their entities by use of their strategic managers.The success of most organizations largely depends on the availability of resources, organizational culture and the general management practices meant to compete with the other economies (Mbaka and Mugambi, 2014).
Strategy is a term that originates from the Greek "strategia" meaning "generalship" (Bass, 1985).
Since the 1950s been used in business to achieve organizational objectives and particularly to achieve competitive advantage through improved performance and various strategic paradigms have been embraced and put into practice.The critical actions move a strategic plan from a document that sits on the shelf to actions that drive business growth (Viseras, Baines, & Sweeney, 2005).Sadly, the majority of companies who have strategic plans fail to implement them.The organizations especially those in the tourism sector thus may fail to realize their objectives including; not attaining the profits or surplus targeted, low returns on investment, employment is lost and many exists may be experienced while many projects fail to be implemented or are not implemented in time.
Although implementing strategy is a key driver of the emergence of strategic management in late 20th century (Cater and Pucko, 2010), it is however considered complicated and time consuming part of the entire strategic management while formulating a strategy is seen as intellectual and creative which mainly involves analysis and synthesis (Bell, Dean, &Gottschalk, 2010).In relation to the tourism industry, Pechlaner and Elmar (2009) note that "tourist regions with long tradition and years of experience often have a hard time implementing strategic management concepts.This is due to decision-making and management processes at the level of tourism policy and the different levels of the tourism organization.Mbaka and Mugambi (2014) study in the water sector in Kenya identified several factors that affect strategy implementation as; the strategy formulation process, relationship among different units or departments and different strategy levels, executors, communication, implementing tactics, consensus, commitment, organization structure, employees and inadequate resources among others.Denning (1989) in his study also identified the several problems of implementing strategic decisions: too much time taken in implementation, lack of capabilities of employees, lack of training and other problems cropping up during the implementation that had not been identified beforehand as well as lack of proper coordination of staff.Sterling (2003) contends that although the reasons for strategy failure are varied, fortunately the causes can be anticipated and the pitfalls can be avoided.In their study on factors for strategy implementation in Latin America, Brenes, Mena, and Molina, (2008) attribute successful implementation in the public sector to a myriad of internal and external factors including the consideration of resources to be used, human training needs, organizational innovativeness, top management skills and commitment, clear activities to be carried out, existing legal requirements, existence of budgetary allocations and internal control mechanisms.
In Japan, which is a highly competitive industrial market, it has been recognized that, servitization is one of the key strategic choices for many leading manufacturers to gain differentiation from competitors by offering value-added services.To do so, however, require a service-oriented strategy and the active implementation of this strategy and this comprises a significant shift in the underlying business model, management philosophy and approach.Organizational factors, such as leadership, vision, and marketing influences the effectiveness of implementing servitization strategy (Mutindi, Namusonge & Obwogi, 2013).
In Africa, just like other parts of the world, implementation of strategy remains a major challenge.Most of public sector organizations fail to deliver.Agagu (2008) states that there is a general opinion that most of the Nigerian public enterprises have failed to deliver on the purposes for which they were established.
Public sector reforms, a common global phenomenon, have taken root in Kenya with the implementation of reforms beginning in 1993.A significant aspect of these reforms is the introduction of performance contracting, part of broader efforts aimed at enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in managing public affairs (Kobia & Mohammed, 2006).The Kenyan government has acknowledged challenges in the public sector, particularly poor management of public resources, which has impeded sustainable economic growth.Consequently, performance contracting was introduced as one of the strategies to improve public service delivery, with a focus on result-oriented culture, efficient resource utilization, and accountability at all levels (GoK, 2015).
The tourism sector in Kenya, a significant contributor to the country's economy, has been a key beneficiary of these reforms.Performance contracts are used by tourism government agencies to accelerate performance, and the sector's contribution to employment has grown annually.Despite this progress, the sector has grappled with internal and external challenges, such as insecurity issues, that have negatively impacted its performance (Mutindi, Namusonge & Obwogi, 2013).
However, despite the high potential for tourism development in Kenya, the sector has underperformed.International tourist numbers have not significantly increased, and the tourism product remains concentrated in a few areas.The decline in tourist arrivals and subsequent decline in tourism receipts have led to job losses and business closures (GoK, 2014).A lack of a comprehensive approach to managing strengths and opportunities to overcome threats and weaknesses seems to be a significant challenge towards achieving sustainable tourism in the country.Moreover, sub-sectors of tourism including accommodation, tourist attractions, food and beverage facilities, ground transport, tour services, etc., have also faced various challenges (Frost & Shanka, 2004).Hence, further work is needed to harness the full potential of the sector in the context of the public sector reforms.
One of the problems cited in the current national tourism strategy is the problem of lack of implementation of plans by the various agencies of tourism thus affecting the realization of set goals of the sector.Furthermore, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) (2013) Economic survey advocates for the implementation of strategies to accelerate growth of the sector that including full operationalization of the Tourism Act 2011, increased investment in infrastructure, improved security, and implementation of Vision 2030 flagship projects such as development of resort cities, and continued diversification of source markets.
Government agencies in national economies play key role through the provision of public services and the purpose for their establishment was to foster wide social and economic developmental goals.They exist to correct market failure, to exploit political and social objectives, provide education, health and others.Sessional paper No. 10 of 1963 describes them as tools for the indigenization of the economy.There are over 200 parastatals and government agencies in Kenya and ten among these; ten are in the tourism sector.Despite their importance, most agencies do not meet their mandate fully, some make losses and others do not provide the expected quality of services (Atieno, 2009).Seen in this light, this paper seeks to establish what hails the agencies of Kenya and specifically the tourism agencies with focus on investigation of the key determinants of failure to implement their strategies." According to a report of the Presidential Task Force on parastatals (2013), in 2011/2012, eleven commercial state corporations made losses compared to twelve in 2010/2011 and sixteen in 2009/10 representing twenty one percent, twenty three percent, and thirty one percent respectively of all commercial oriented owned entities.The report cites various policy issues and challenges that affected these entities as: lacking clarity on the role they should play in the economy, poor linkage of its activities with the national development goals, conflict regarding the definition of a state corporation the Kenyan context and compounded by multiple legal and regulatory regimes creating significant ownership and oversight challenges.Further, there is inadequate policy and policy coordination which often lead to poor definition of mandates, poor governance which leads to resource loss which burdens the public purse, as well as multitude of legal and institutional frameworks seen to generate multiple accountability and reporting, further compounding the challenge of effectiveness of Boards and chief executive officers consequently affecting the performance of these agencies.
Additionally, the Presidential Task Force on parastatals (2013) report adds that's several Boards have not only been weak and/or ineffective, but have also failed to provide strategic direction, facilitating their emasculation; weak institutional capacity and human resource that has failed to attract and retain the skill sets needed for driving performance; Lack of a clear government policy in respect of government linked companies; and inadequate performance management framework that effectively link performance to national development goals and fails to adequately link individual performance to institutional performance.These policy and management problems hailing tourism agencies in Kenya form part of the basis for this study focusing on agencies in the tourism sector specifically.
Information technology plays a pivotal role in strategy implementation, acting as both an enabler and a catalyst in modern organizations.Conceptually, IT provides the necessary tools and platforms for efficient communication, data management, and decision-making processes, all of which are crucial for executing strategic plans effectively.By facilitating real-time data analysis and information flow, IT allows organizations to respond swiftly to market changes and align their operations with strategic objectives.Moreover, IT enhances collaboration and coordination among different departments and stakeholders, ensuring that everyone works towards a common goal.In the context of strategy implementation, IT is not just a support function but a strategic partner, enabling organizations to leverage digital capabilities for innovation, process optimization, and competitive advantage.Additionally, IT helps in overcoming resistance to change by providing transparent and interactive platforms for stakeholder engagement and change management.Thus, in the contemporary business landscape, the role of IT in strategy implementation is transformative, bridging the gap between strategic vision and operational reality (Pearce & Robinson, 2013).

Statement of the Problem
Government tourism agencies in Kenya would successfully implement their strategies to achieve the desired outcomes.Effective strategy implementation would involve the utilization of appropriate tools and resources, efficient communication channels, and the ability to track and evaluate performance.However, the strategy implementation within Kenya's government tourism agencies is facing significant challenges.There is evidence to suggest that strategies frequently fail not because of inadequate formulation but due to poor execution and implementation.The implementation of strategies in these agencies has been inadequate, incomplete, or abandoned altogether, leading to negative effects such as poor service delivery, increased internal inefficiencies, and negative financial performance.For instance, according to the Kenya Performance Contracting, government tourism agencies scored an average of seventy-eight percent of the targets set in the last two years.Furthermore, the tourism industry's performance in Kenya has been suboptimal.In 2014, international arrivals declined by 11.1 percent, tourism earnings decreased by 7.3 percent, and the number of bed-nights occupied reduced from 6,596.7 thousand to 6,281.6 thousand.Additionally, the number of international conferences and visitors to parks, game reserves, museums, and historical sites also declined significantly (GOK, 2013;GOK, 2014;GOK, 2015).The ineffective implementation of strategies is a problem for the government tourism agencies themselves as it hampers their ability to achieve their goals and fulfill their mandates.It also affects the overall performance of the tourism sector in Kenya, which is a significant contributor to the country's economy.The problem extends to various stakeholders, including tourists, local communities dependent on tourism, and the government, which relies on tourism revenue and job creation.The problem of ineffective strategy implementation in Kenya's government tourism agencies is a significant concern because it hinders the growth and development of the tourism sector.Previous research has indicated that strategy implementation is a key requirement for superior business performance (Zaribaf & Bayrami, 2010;Pearce & Robinson, 2013;Ritson, 2013).However, limited attention has been given to the role of information technology in strategy implementation within the government tourism agencies in Kenya.There is a research gap in comprehensively examining the utilization of information technology, its benefits, challenges, and effective adoption strategies within this context.Therefore, the study seeks to address this research gap by investigating the role of information technology on strategy implementation in Kenya's government tourism agencies.

Stakeholders Theory
The concept of Stakeholder Theory was profoundly developed and popularized by R. Edward Freeman in his landmark book "Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach," published in 1984.Stakeholders Theory emphasizes the importance of considering the diverse interests and perspectives of various stakeholders in strategic decision-making and implementation.It recognizes that government tourism agencies have multiple stakeholders, including tourists, local communities, government bodies, and industry partners (Cole, 2013).Stakeholders Theory would be relevant to the study as it would help identify and analyze the roles, expectations, and influence of different stakeholders in the implementation of IT strategies within government tourism agencies (Neely, Adams, &Kennerley2002).It would provide insights into how to effectively engage and address the needs of stakeholders to ensure successful strategy implementation.

Force Field Analysis
Force Field Analysis recognizes that there are driving forces that push for change and restraining forces that resist change.In the context of the study, Force Field Analysis can be applied to identify and analyze the factors that contribute to the successful adoption and utilization of information technology in strategy implementation within government tourism agencies (Well, 2006).It helps in understanding the forces that support or impede the implementation process, enabling researchers to develop strategies to strengthen driving forces and mitigate restraining forces for effective IT adoption (Swanson, 2013).By incorporating Force Field Analysis along with Implementation Theory, the study can gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing strategy implementation, including the role of information technology and the driving and restraining forces affecting its successful adoption within Kenya's government tourism agencies.

Empirical Literature
Chi-Hung, Lee and Pai, (2012) studied how information system capability affected e-business information technology strategy implementation.The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effect that information system capability had on e-business information technology (IT) implementation strategy; and to understand how the quality of the implementation process for IT strategy could affect e-business performance.This study performed a survey of chief information officers from 1,000 major firms in Taiwan.Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test for the validity of research hypotheses.Results showed that the capability of information systems could have a direct and significant effect on the quality of IT strategy implementation, and how the quality of this process could affect e-business performance.With the rapid development of information technology, the introduction of innovative strategy dealing with IT has become an important topic of research, and has become a focus in the era of e-business.As a result, organizations feel it is important to discover the shortcomings in information system capability factors that must be improved from the individual, group, or organization levels, and develop appropriate implementation frameworks for IT strategy based on this foundation.
Avison, Jones, Powell, and Wilson ( 2004) suggest that technology is at the centre of systems considered for finding customers' needs and satisfaction.Successful implementation of strategies entails the integration and coordination of technologic innovations, production processes, marketing, financing and personnel.Through this, defined goals are achieved.Information is the blood which flow into the organization's vessels and brings it to life therefore, during the implementing process information technology ensures there is internal circulation of information.
A study by Omboi, Messah and Mucai (2015) which sought to find out the factors that affect implementation of strategic plans in selected government tertiary institutions of Kenya recommends that that the agencies should have practical programs for building capacity and also ensure a high level of sensitization among faculty members.There is a potential lack of empirical studies focusing on the role of IT in actual strategy implementation processes in the public sector.This study aims to contribute valuable empirical data and analysis in this area.Quantitative data was analyzed using scientific methods, including descriptive statistics to examine demographic factors, and inferential statistics such as correlation and multiple linear regression analysis to test the relationships between variables based on the study's hypotheses.Qualitative data was analyzed thematically to identify patterns and themes in the responses.The study adhered to appropriate research procedures, ensuring the acknowledgement of all sources of information whenever possible.The questionnaires underwent a thorough validation process to ensure completeness, and data analysis was conducted using appropriate statistical techniques to draw meaningful insights from the collected data.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
A total of 327 participants were approached for the study.Out of the 327 research instruments distributed, 259 were completed and returned, resulting in a response rate of 79.2%.The remaining 68 questionnaires were left unanswered due to reasons such as time limitations and the absence of the intended respondents.In terms of participant demographics, the largest proportion (39.4%) fell within the age range of 31-39 years, closely followed by 31.1% in the 40-49 years age bracket.Those aged 50 years and above accounted for 14.7% of the participants.Education-wise, 44.7% held master's degrees, 37.3% had undergraduate degrees, and 16.5% had attained diplomas.Regarding organizational positions, a significant majority (57.5%) of the participants held senior management positions within their respective organizations.Lower-level managers constituted 33.7% of the participants, while top managers and executives made up 9.2%.In terms of tenure in their current positions, 34.95% of the participants had served between 5-10 years.Approximately 31.0%had a tenure of 5 years or less, while 16.9% had been in their current positions for 11-15 years.

Correlation Analysis
Table 1 shows that all the correlation values were at a very high confidence level of 99%.The results shows that objective realization and function goals (r=0.384) and decision making (r=0.522)had a weak and strong positive correlation respectively.Also, the values of firm goals and decision making had positive correlation too with profit realization.

Regression Analysis Information Technology and Strategy Implementation (Objective Realization)
A multiple regression was adopted to determine the effect of Information Technology on realization of Objectives in organization.The researcher further considered the regression coefficients to establish the effect of each of the sub variables of Information Technology on objective realization.Table 4 shows that integrating Information Technology in financial and goals of an organization as well as in decision making affect realization of organizational objectives differently.The results shows that Information technology integration in decision making contributes highly to objective realization compared to when IT is integrated in financial goals of an organizations.The resulting SEM is given as: IS_ObjectiveRealization= (0.207)*IT_FGoals + (0.367 * IT_Dmaking +1.309   Table 6 shows the ANOVA results which was done to ascertain the hypothesis of the study on the effect of Information Technology on Profit realization.The resulting F statistic was F (2,235) = 248.550,p<0.001.The p value was less than 0.05 meaning that the effect of Information Technology on Profit realization was consistent and did not occur through chance.Consequently, the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternative one accepted that Information Technology positively influences the realization of profits in organizations.The researcher further looked at the coefficients of regressions to establish the extent to which each independent variable was affecting the dependent variable.Table 7 shows that both IT in financial goals and IT integration in decision making were significant in influencing the realization of profits in organization.Integration of IT in organizational functions and goals was found to have the highest effect on profit realization as shown in the resulting SEM given by: IS_ProfitRealization= (0.503)*IT_FGoals + (0.254) * IT_Dmaking +0.906The adoption and advancement of information technology has made work in organizations easy and productive.Lewis and Bryan (2006) argued that technology enhanced and maintained communication and accountability for the managers involved in implementation process throughout the strategy implementation process.The integration of IT in organizational function and goals and in decision making have a direct relationship with objective and profit realization.
The integration of IT in organizational function and goals and in decision making influences positively the realization of objectives.The integration of IT in decision making was found to have the highest influence on objective realization while integration of IT in organizational functions and goals was found to have the highest influence on profit realization.This shows that both IT integration in functions and in decision making were critical complements in implementation of strategies.
This study found Information technology having several contributions to the organizations.Firstly, information technology has improved workflow, facilitated competitive advantage, and supported decision making capacity in organizations, promoted financial goals and enhanced internal processes.According to Kenworthy ( 2012) training all staff to use new systems and programs is key for successful implementation of strategies.Information technology covers products, processes, knowledge, instruments, procedures and systems which facilitate the production of goods and services (Arvanitis & Loukis, 2009).Thus such aspects should be strengthened in the organizations to enhance the contributions of Information technology on the success of information technology.
The relationship between strategy implementation and information technology was found to be direct and very strong.This was further confirmed by the regression test which found a significant effect of information technology on strategy implementation.This shows that use of technology is key in the organizations implementing strategies.Digitizing everything from employee design to accounts receivables to product design cuts costs, time and payroll resulting in cost savings and vast improvements in speed (Pearce and Robinson, 2013).
The tourism agencies in Kenya require the modern automated technology to perform exceptionally.Lack of systems that support transaction of processes or doing work manually hinders strategy execution in a number of agencies.Some of the agencies are still operating manually in checking guests in and out, in billing; others do not have the necessary soft wares such as Fidelio or modern Management Systems for operations.A number of staff are also not adequately trained to in the various systems.The speed of performance and thus of implementation of strategies is affected.The problem of information is seen to be in two categories; the limitation of the necessary facilities and also outdated hardware and secondly, the refinement and development of the software applications.

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Adopting information technology in functions and organizational decision-making processes was also found to have significant effect on the process of strategy implementation.In a nutshell, the organizational leadership, organizational structure, organizational culture, resource allocation and extent of IT integration in an organization influence the way strategies are implemented in organizations.
Implementing strategies in organizations would be difficult without the use of some technologies to ease labour intensive activities, quicken processes and improve efficiency of the operations.The study notes that information technology contributes to the effectiveness of implementing strategies in tourist agencies.Technology improves the decision-making procedures and the functioning of organizations which in turn increase the efficiency of the internal processes leading to increased rate at which organizations achieve objectives and profits.
The contribution of information technology on implementation of strategy is equally important in tourism organizations.The information technologies need to be made such that they meet the satisfaction of the customers, growth of the organizations, improve on the communication, reliability and performance planning and budgeting.
Mbaka and Mugambi (2014) conducted a study on Factors affecting successful strategy implementation in the Water Sector in Kenya.The study used a desk study where secondary data was analyzed which explored factors that affect the implementation of strategy.Several factors that affect strategy implementation were identified which included: strategy formulation process, relationship among different units/departments and different strategy levels, executors, communication, implementing tactics, consensus, commitment, organization structure, employees and inadequate resources among others.Some of the recommendations that have been recommended which if implemented would ensure successful implementation of strategies are involving the employees during the strategy implementation process, engaging employees through frequent updates, providing adequate resources, aligning of organization structure with the new strategy, proper structures, clear and well-developed strategies, motivation, support by top level management, technological infrastructure among others.The study concluded that the most important reason for the failure of the strategy implementation in the water sector in Kenya is operational plan of the implementation.

Figure
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

Table 1 : Correlation Test for Information Technology and Strategy Implementation IT_FGoals IT_Dmaking IS_Objective Realization
Table 2 shows an R value of 0.548.This means that Information Technology was strongly positively correlated with strategy implementation.The R European Journal of Technology ISSN 2520-0712 (online) Vol.7, Issue 4, pp 11 -23, 2023 www.ajpojournals.org19 Square value was 0.300 implying that Information Technology accounted for 30% of variations in objective realization.The rest 70% of variation is accounted for by other variables.

Table 2 : Model Summary of Information Technology and Objective Realization
The p value is less than the threshold of 0.05 and thus the model is fit and the predictors of the model (Information Technology) are significant in influencing the dependent variable (Objective realization).Consequently, the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis is accepted that Information Technology influences objective realization which in this study was used as a measure of strategy implementation.

Table 4 : Regression Coefficients for Information Technology and Strategy Implementation (Objective Realization)
Table5shows the model summary of the regression test done.From the table, the value of R was 0.824 meaning that Information Technology and profit realization had a strong positive correlation.The value of R Square was 0.679 implying that Information Technology accounted for 67.9% of variation in profit realization and the rest 32.3% was accounted for by other factors not in the model.