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Influence of Social Media on University Student Participation in Blood Donation: A Case of Mount Kenya University, Kenya
(School of Communication and Computer Studies – Master of Arts in Communication, 2026-11)
Nguru, Lynn Wanjiku
This study sought to determine the influence of social media on university student participation in blood donation drives, using Mount Kenya University (MKU), Thika Campus as a case study. Although social media has reshaped how health campaigns reach young people, there remained limited empirical evidence on how students’ awareness of, and engagement with, blood donation content on social media translated into actual donation behaviour. Guided by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the study adopted a mixed-methods design combining a cross-sectional survey of 348 students (from a target sample of 378, a 92.1% response rate) selected through stratified random sampling, with semi-structured interviews of 15 purposively selected participants. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation, multiple regression, and Friedman’s test) in SPSS version 28, while interview data were analysed thematically. The findings showed that students had only a moderate level of awareness of blood donation drives through social media (mean = 3.57) despite rating social media highly as an information channel (mean = 4.17), and that social media engagement, rather than awareness alone, was the strongest predictor of participation (β = 0.625, p < .001; r = 0.797, p < .01), with the regression model accounting for 66.2% of the variance in participation. Facebook and WhatsApp emerged as the most effective platforms for mobilising student donors. The study concluded that converting awareness into actual donation depends on sustained, interactive social media engagement rather than one-off informational posts, and that platform choice matters for reach and impact. It recommended that universities and blood transfusion services adopt consistent, multi-platform, and interactive social media campaigns—anchored on mainstream institutional accounts rather than specialised health-club pages alone—to convert student awareness into sustained donation behaviour.
Financial Management Practices and Bank Value of Listed Commercial Banks in Kenya
(School of Business and Leadership – Master of Business Administration (Finance), 2026-11)
Mwaluko, Lyn Kavuli
Despite the critical role that commercial banks play in Kenya’s financial system and capital markets, bank value among listed commercial banks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has exhibited uneven performance therefore the study sought to examine the effect of financial management practices on bank value of commercial banks listed in Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to assess the effect of capital structure management practices, liquidity management practices, and corporate investment practices on the bank value of listed commercial banks in Kenya. Finally, the study sought to assess the moderating effect of inflation on the relationship between financial management practices and bank value among commercial banks in Kenya. The study was guided by trade off theory, Keynesian Liquidity preference theory, net present value theory and market power theory. The study employed a mixed research design. The target population included all the 10 listed commercial banks in Kenya. Since the target population was manageable the study adopted census technique. The study collected secondary data from the annual audited reports of commercial banks published by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) from 2019 to 2023. Before data analysis, the study conducted diagnostic tests for linearity, heteroscedasticity, and normality to determine whether the data met the key assumptions required for panel data regression analysis. Data was analyzed using panel data regression. After analysis data was presented using tables and charts and bar graphs. From the findings, the study concluded that there exists a statistically significant and positive relationship between capital structure management practices and liquidity management practices with bank value. In addition, the study concluded that there is no statistically significant relationship between corporate investment practices and the bank value of listed commercial banks in Kenya. Finally, the findings revealed that inflation significantly moderates the relationship between financial management practices and bank value. From the finding the study recommended that commercial banks in Kenya strategically increase the use of retained earnings and equity financing while minimizing overreliance on long-term debt. In addition, the study recommended that banks institutionalize continuous monitoring of liquidity ratios and adopt real-time cash flow forecasting tools to improve both short-term and long-term liquidity planning.
Strategic Repositioning and Performance of Insurance Companies in Nairobi County, Kenya
(School of Business and Leadership, 2026-11)
Simba, Lydia Kagendo
The dynamic business environment requires organizations to continuously adapt in order to remain competitive and ensure their survival and sustainability. Failure to adapt to these changes may lead organizations into strategic challenges that prevent their growth and sustainability. In Kenya, the insurance companies’ performance has remained relatively low, as reflected in the declining insurance penetration rate, which stood at 2.37% in 2020 compared to the peak performance of 3.44% recorded in 2013. Additionally, in 2020, twenty-four insurance companies held market shares of less than 3%, indicating persistent struggles to expand their market presence. The main aim of this research was to establish the effect of strategic repositioning on the performance of insurance companies in Nairobi County, Kenya. Particularly, the study sought to investigate the effect of market repositioning, determine the effect of product repositioning, examine the effect of competitive repositioning, and assess the effect of operational repositioning on the performance of insurance companies in Nairobi County, Kenya. This research was grounded in Product Life Cycle theory, Resource-Based View, Brand Equity, and Porter's theory of competitive advantage. The research utilized a descriptive research design. This study targeted 56 insurance companies. The observation unit comprised 336 management staff working in these firms at the lower, middle and top management levels. The research’s sample size was reached using a stratified random technique and calculated using Krejcie and Morgan's sample size determination formula, which resulted in a sample size of 179 participants. Questionnaires were administered for primary data collection, comprising closed- and open-ended questions. Quantitative data analysis was conducted through descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive analysis used percentages, standard deviations, frequencies, and means, while multiple linear regression was used to determine the effect of strategic repositioning on insurance companies’ performance in Kenya. The research found that market repositioning had a positive and significant effect on organizational performance in insurance companies, explaining 52.8% (R² = 0.528) of the variation in organizational performance. In addition, the study established that product repositioning had a positive and significant effect on organizational performance, explaining 53.0% (R² = 0.530) of the variation in organizational performance. Further, the study established that competitive repositioning had a positive and significant effect on organizational performance, accounting for 49.5% (R² = 0.495) of the variation in organizational performance. Moreover, the research established that operational repositioning had a positive and significant effect on organizational performance, explaining 54.8% (R² = 0.548) of the variation in organizational performance. The research recommends policymakers and the board of directors ensure market, product, competitive, and operational repositioning strategies are formalized and aligned with regulatory requirements and corporate objectives.
Influence of Last-Mile Delivery Strategies on the Performance of E-Commerce Companies in Nairobi County, Kenya
(School of Business and Leadership, 2026-11)
Wanjiru, Lucy Njoki
Last-mile delivery has become a decisive determinant of performance as e-commerce grows in Nairobi County, Kenya. Challenges related to delivery performance, delivery coverage capacity, flexible delivery services and parcel tracking systems continue to influence delivery costs, delivery timeliness and order fulfilment across e-commerce platforms. This study sought to establish the influence of last-mile delivery strategies on the performance of e-commerce companies in Nairobi County, where performance was narrowed to operational cost efficiency, delivery timeliness and order fulfilment rate. The specific objectives were to determine the influence of delivery performance strategy, delivery coverage capacity strategy, flexible parcel delivery services strategy and parcel tracking systems on performance. The study was underpinned by the service quality model, transaction cost theory and expectation confirmation theory. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted, with a census of all 61 e-commerce companies licensed in Nairobi County. Three respondents were targeted from every company, namely the operations manager, the delivery coordinator and the customer service manager, giving a total of 183 respondents, of whom 151 (82.5%) responded. A structured questionnaire with five-point Likert-type items was used to collect data. A pilot study was undertaken before the main survey in order to establish the reliability and validity of the instrument: internal consistency was tested using Cronbach’s alpha, and all constructs exceeded the 0.70 threshold (0.713 to 0.813), while content validity was established through expert review by the supervisors and logistics practitioners. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression) with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Ethical standards, including informed consent, confidentiality and a research licence from the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation, were observed. The four strategies jointly explained 65.4% of the variation in performance (R² = 0.654, F = 68.851, p < 0.001), and each strategy had a positive and statistically significant influence on performance. On the basis of the standardised coefficients, delivery coverage capacity strategy had the greatest influence (β = 0.297), followed by parcel tracking systems (β = 0.278), flexible parcel delivery services strategy (β = 0.230) and delivery performance strategy (β = 0.216). The study concluded that broader delivery networks, effective tracking technologies, flexible delivery arrangements and dependable delivery execution enhance operational cost efficiency, delivery timeliness and order fulfilment among e-commerce companies. The study recommends that the management of e-commerce companies expand delivery coverage, invest in reliable tracking technologies, widen delivery options and strengthen delivery execution, that policymakers and regulators support logistics, addressing and ICT infrastructure, and that researchers extend the model to other counties and to moderating and mediating variables.
Quality of Work Life Approaches and Employee Performance in Kenyan Public Universities
(School of Business and Leadership – Doctor of Philosophy in Human Resource Management, 2026-11)
Gikeri, Lucy
Public universities in Kenya have been facing declining employee performance, illustrated by their drop in global ranking. For instance, the best-ranked university in Kenya dropped 20 places in 2023. The problem is compounded by an increased workload reflected in a low staff-to-student ratio of 1:30 against the recommended maximum of 1:10. The foregoing partly informed this study, which sought to determine the link between the quality of work-life approaches and employee performance in public universities in Kenya. The specific objectives were to examine the nexus between flexible work arrangements, health and wellness programmes, workload management, technology adoption, and employee performance. The study also evaluated the moderating effect of governance on the relationship between quality of work-life approaches and employee performance. Atkinson’s flexible firm model, Roscoe’s model, work-life spillover theory, the technology adoption model, stakeholder theory, and Theory X and Theory Y anchored the study. A mix of cross-sectional survey and ex post facto designs was adopted. In addition to adopting a positivist philosophy, the study also adopted quantitative research methods as well as a deductive approach. The accessible population constituted the staff of 8 chartered public universities. A stratified random sampling technique was used to draw 385 sampled staff from 16,933 employees working with the aforementioned universities, constituting the accessible population. The sampled faculty and non-faculty respondents were 135 and 250, respectively. A semi-structured questionnaire was used in data collection. A pilot study was conducted at Laikipia University to determine the validity and reliability of the research questionnaire. The data analysis was aided by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Pertinent diagnostic tests were done before conducting inferential statistical analysis. The study findings indicated that flexible work arrangements (β1 = 0.425; t = 28.413; p < 0.05), health and wellness programmes (β2 = 0.403; t = 20.702; p < 0.05), workload management (β3 = 0.527; t = 23.979; p < 0.05), and technology adoption (β4 = 0.307; t = 23.724; p < 0.05) individually significantly influenced employee performance. When jointly regressed against employee performance, except technology adoption (p = 0.392 > 0.05), other work-life approaches, that is, flexible work arrangements (p = 0.004 < 0.05), health and wellness programmes (p = 0.003 < 0.05), and workload management (p = 0.000 < 0.05) had a statistically significant influence on employee performance. The moderating effect of corporate governance on the relationship between the quality of work-life approaches and employee performance was also found to be statistically significant (Sig. F Change = 0.000 < 0.05). It was concluded that the four quality of work-life approaches individually and jointly significantly affect the performance of employees in Kenya’s public universities. It is recommended that universities should recruit additional staff to ease the workload of the current employees. All universities should have a policy that requires them to have holistic mentorship programmes. Universities should have a policy to guide how technology can be integrated into the work environment by the staff. The heads of departments are recommended to assist staff in managing their workload.

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