LINKING UNIVERSITY RESEARCH STRATEGY AND INDUSTRY NEEDS: COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA
Dr. Orucho M. Ngala - School of Business and Economics, Co-operative University of Kenya, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The need for sharing knowledge between universities and industry has become increasingly evident in recent years. Historically, research institutions have been a source of new ideas and innovations and industry has been a natural route for optimising the use of such ideas. Never the less, the past decade has experienced a significant dynamism in the roles of both parties. This study sought to contribute to knowledge by assessing the extent to which linking university research activities to the needs of the industry would influence performance of universities in Kenya. The main anchoring theory for this study is resource based view. Cross-Sectional survey research design was used in the study. The population of the study consists of sixty five (65) public and private universities incorporated in Kenya. Out of this, a sample of forty seven (47) universities which had undergone at least one graduation cycle was taken. Primary and secondary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and review of existing university documents and regulatory bodies websites respectively. The reliability test was carried out on the questionnaire was and was found fit. Correlation analysis was undertaken to determine correlations between variables. In order to undertake comparative analysis between private and public universities, independent sample t-test, standard deviation, arithmetic mean and coefficient of variation (CV) were used. Out of the targeted forty seven (47) respondents from forty seven (47) universities, a total of forty four (44) questionnaires were returned, representing 94% response rate. It was established that positive and significant correlations existed between collaborative research and university performance. The findings have valuable contributions to policy formulation, body of theory and practice. The significance of firm resources as collaborative components in University research cannot be overlooked. The findings offer insights to university authorities and policy makers by answering the question on the role of collaborative strategies when conducting research. The key recommendation that the study offers to researchers is the need to enhance collaboration with the industry in order to substantially exploit the synergies resulting from enhanced symbiotic correlations between university and the industry. The major limitation that was faced during this study is that collection of primary data was only from one respondent in each university. However, common methods bias was mitigated by the use of secondary data for validation of primary data. Thus, the limitation did not affect the credence of the results as presented and discussed. Secondly, although it was not possible to include all the determinants of institutional performance, balanced score card was appropriately used to represent financial and non-financial aspects that constitute performance indicators.
