DRIVING STRATEGY INTO ACTION: HOW PARTY STRUCTURES SHAPE STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION OF SELECTED POLITICAL PARTIES IN KENYA
Langat Jonathan Kipronoh - Kenya Methodist University, Kenya
Dr. Peter Kihara - Kenya Methodist University, Kenya
Nzili Mbele James - Kenya Methodist University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Political parties across the globe continue to grapple with institutional and structural challenges with the potential to compromise their legitimacy, effective functioning and eventual survival. These challenges include declining membership, poor institutionalization, weak internal organization, serious internal conflicts and inferior electoral performance which are mainly caused by lack of strategy implementation. Therefore, the aim of the study was to establish the effect of party structure on strategy implementation of political parties in Kenya based on Thompson and Strickland Model. Descriptive research design was adopted in the study targeting fifty-four registered political parties in Kenya whose head offices are within Nairobi, whereby a sample size of eleven parties were selected through purposive sampling technique comprising of executive director, director of strategy, director of membership recruitment and services, director of financial services and director of policy making a sample of fifty-five respondents. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The study established that that party structure significantly influenced strategy implementation. The study found that stringent control systems, clear mission and vision, functional autonomy, coordination of roles, and documented procedures supported strategy implementation in political parties. Regression results further indicated that party structure had a positive and significant effect on strategy implementation, with a unit increase in party structure leading to a 0.845 increase in strategy implementation. The study concluded that effective party structures are critical in transforming political strategies into coordinated action. The study recommended that political parties should strengthen control systems, clarify strategic mission and vision, improve coordination among functional units, document operational procedures and reduce unnecessary hierarchical delays in decision-making.