Effect Of Critical Success Factors On Project Delivery In Project-based Organizations, Nairobi County

Abstract

The project delivery process is complex, “usually requiring simultaneous attention to a wide variety of human, budgetary, and technical variables. “As a result, the organizational project manager is faced with a difficult job characterized by role overload, frenetic activity, fragmentation, and superficiality. The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of critical success factors on project delivery in project-based organizations. The study categorizes the critical success factors as competence, resource mobilization, organizational culture and change leadership which form the specific objectives. The study population was the project based organizations in Nairobi County. A total of 11 project based organizations in Kenya were used and were differentiated by respective industry. The unit of observation was 66 top managers and project supervisors in the 11 project based organizations. Primary data was obtained using questionnaires. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study conducted normality test, multicollinearity and heteroscedasticity. A regression model was used to test the relationship between the critical success factors on project delivery. The results indicated that competence, resource mobilization, organizational culture and change leadership explain 88.1% of the variations on project delivery in project-based organizations. The results showed that competence and project delivery is positively and significantly related. The results further indicated that resource mobilization and project delivery are positively and significantly related. Organizational culture and project delivery is positive and significant. Lastly, results showed that change leadership and project delivery is positive and significant. The test for hypotheses at a significance level of 0.05 led to rejection of the entire null hypotheses that competence, resource mobilization, organizational culture and change leadership have no significant effect on project delivery. The study recommends and emphasizes the development of competencies of all project managers by involving them in training and development programs in order to develop both their soft and hard skills. The study recommends that organizations should have clear outlined vision and objectives which prioritize on mobilizing resources for all the projects. The project structure should be tailored towards the resource dimensions and capacity of the organization with substantial focus on successful completion. The study recommends that the leadership should strengthen the project operating culture by identifying well-defined mission and vision statements and sharing them with the project staff, clients, and relevant stakeholders.”