Effect of production strategies on the performance of public water service provider firms in the Western Region, Kenya

Abstract

Production strategy is a critical aspect of the operational and financial sustainability of public water utilities, as the quality control of these water utilities, loss prevention, and security of infrastructure have a direct impact on service reliability and the value that can be derived from treated water. This study examined the effect of production strategies on the performance of public water service provider firms in Western Kenya. The study was guided by the product life cycle theory. The study was causal-explanatory and involved five public water service providers in Bungoma, Busia, Vihiga, Kakamega, and Trans-Nzoia. The sample consisted of 89 usable questionnaires out of 90, which gave a 98.9% response rate, with stratified random sampling and purposive sampling used to select the sample. The target population comprised employees of the five selected public water service provider firms drawn from production, customer service, human resource management, and different management levels. The data were collected by a structured questionnaire on a five-point Likert scale. The production-strategy scale had an acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .798). Descriptive statistics and simple linear regression were used for analysis. Respondents consistently reported that water quality testing, traceability of quality indicators, risk identification, infrastructure security, and timely repairs were being practiced, but risk reporting and evaluation were relatively underdeveloped. Regression results showed that production strategies had a positive and statistically significant effect on organizational performance (B = .268, beta = .341, t = 2.761, p = .008), with the model explaining 11.6% of the variation in performance (R² = .116). The study findings show that stronger production practices that are stronger will lead to better utility performance, but in parallel with other organizational determinants. Water service providers need to enhance their ongoing water quality monitoring, water loss control, preventative maintenance, rapid repair, and security of critical water infrastructure.