THE INFLUENCE OF EMPLOYEE PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT ON JOB PERFORMANCE IN NATIONAL POLYTECHNICS IN KENYA
Abstract
Empowerment has elicited a lot of attention lately as employees’ mobility has increased and organisations have had problems attracting and retaining talented employees. Organisations have therefore realized the importance of workforce empowerment and enshrined the concept in their policies although they hardly practice the empowerment or practice just a few element of empowerment. This study investigated the influence of psychological empowerment on job performance in National Polytechnics in Kenya. Psychological empowerment was considered as the independent variable, Job performance as the dependent variable and the moderating variable as job characteristics. The target population consisted of 2993 staff from the ten National Polytechnics in Kenya. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The researcher used disproportionate stratified sampling in selecting the respondents. The sample size consisted of 337 respondents. Data was collected by use of questionnaires. Validity was established by pretesting and experts’ verification. To determine the document’s reliability, Cronbach’s alpha score was computed, realizing a score of 0.724. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used. Out of the 337 questionnaires issued, 302 valid questionnaires were received translating to 89.6% response rate. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were done. To determine whether psychological empowerment influences job performance, regression analysis was conducted. The study established that psychological empowerment significantly influenced job performance. The study also established that job characteristics affected the relationship between psychological empowerment and job performance. Data was presented in tables and figures. This study was expected to be useful to managers in designing empowerment plans; to the National Polytechnics managements, the public and the government in policy making. It would also contribute to knowledge and serve as a source of literature for further research.
Keywords: Employee empowerment, Psychological Empowerment, Job performance.
CITATION: Kagucia, C. N., Mukanzi, C. M., & Kihoro, J. M. (2019). The influence of employee psychological empowerment on job performance in national polytechnics in Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 6 (4), 1678 – 1690.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.61426/sjbcm.v6i4.1498
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