http://repository.mut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2873 2026-04-05T20:13:34Z http://repository.mut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/6727 WORK-LIFE BALANCE PRACTICES AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN FIVE- STAR HOTELS IN KENYA Kathukya, Christine Syombua In the last five years, hotels in Kenya have recorded an employee turnover rate of more than 50% suggesting dissatisfaction and disengagement. As a result, low engagement has led to poor productivity, high pressure on employees, poor customer service, high recruitment and training costs which negatively affect customer satisfaction and overall success of these hotels. This study examined the effect of work-life balance practices on employee engagement in five-star hotels in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to establish the effect of flexible work arrangements, corporate wellness programs, leave programs and employee assistance programs on employee engagement in five-star hotels in Kenya. Further, the study sought to examine the moderating effect of organizational support on the relationship between work life balance practices and employee engagement in five-star hotels in Kenya. The study was guided by the Social exchange theory as the main theory. It was also supported by Spillover theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory, and Organizational Support Theory. The study adopted a positivism research philosophy and a descriptive research design. The study had a target population of 25 five-star hotels in Kenya. Multistage sampling technique was employed. Purposive sampling was adopted to select seven five-star hotels in Kenya then stratified random sampling was used to distribute the sample size among the selected five star hotels. Slovin’s formula was employed to obtain a sample size of 369 employees. A structured five-point Likert questionnaire was adopted in data collection. Descriptive statistics employed percentages, mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation. Correlation and regression analysis were applied in inferential statistics. A pilot study was conducted in two five-star hotels which represent 8% of the entire population. Cronbach's Alpha was used to measure the reliability of the research instrument and all variables had coefficients above 0.7 which is considered as high reliability. Factor analysis, expert reviews and pilot test were conducted to ensure validity of the instrument. The results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that work life balance practices account for 84.4% of the variance in employee engagement. Organizational support increased R2 by 3.2% and was found to have a moderating effect on the relationship between work life balance practices and employee engagement. The findings of this study contribute to the development of existing theories, provide meaningful insights to policy makers to enhance employee engagement and will give researchers crucial empirical evidence in future studies. Findings of this study contribute to empirical evidence, and fill both contextual and theoretical gaps. The study concluded that there was a significant relationship between work life balance practices and employee engagement. The study recommended that five-star hotels should provide necessary tools and technology to support remote working. Further, the study recommended that the medical insurance cover should be expanded, that safety training should be regular, that employees should be allowed to use recreational facilities availed in the hotels and that employees should be given paid time off. Further research is recommended to explore the generalizability of these findings to other sectors such as health, education, manufacturing and retail. Future studies can consider other determinants of employee engagement, conduct comparative studies across different regions and employ other tools; interviews and focus groups in data collection. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.mut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/6398 An Assessment of Social Media Platforms on Guests’ Choice of Fine Dining Restaurants in Selected Cities in Kenya Kung’u, Samson Kuria Despite the popularity of Social Media Platforms, limited data and studies have assessed the influence of Social Media Platforms on guests' choice of fine dining restaurants. Fine dining restaurants are defined as exceptional restaurants from regular restaurants in terms of food, pricing, staff training, and level of service. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of Social Media Platforms on guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu Cities. Four specific objectives of the study were formulated. The first objective was to assess the influence of Social Media Platforms on guests' choice of fine dining restaurants. The second objective was to assess the moderating influence of socio-demographic factors on Social Media Platforms on guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants. The third objective was to investigate the moderating influence of individual factors on Social Media Platforms on guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants. The fourth objective was to determine the joint influence of Social Media Platforms, socio-demographic factors, and individual factors on guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants. The Pragmatism philosophical stance influenced doing a mixed-method (concurrent nested/embedded) survey. The study was carried out in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu Cities. These locations have the highest number of fine dining restaurants besides being a metropolitan tourist destination. Both Mombasa and Kisumu cities had four fine dining restaurants each and were included in the study. Nairobi city had 36 fine dining restaurants and a simple random sampling technique was used to select four study units. Data were collected using questionnaires from 307 guests and 36 managers. All the respondents were purposively sampled. A combination of scheduled online and physical interviews were conducted with the 36 managers. Four null hypotheses were formulated and either accepted or rejected at 0.05p-value with corresponding t-statistics at n-1 degree of freedom. To enhance the reliability and validity of the research instruments, piloting was done in similar study units but not included in the actual study. Ethical considerations were observed to protect the rights and confidentiality of the respondents. Qualitative data were organized into categories, themes, sub-themes, and concepts for interpretation. The qualitative results revealed the most popular Social Media Platforms. Further verified was the presence of influence of Social Media Platforms on guests' choice of fine dining restaurants with about two-thirds of the guests, as middle-aged married men. The Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 to generate descriptive statistics, inferential, statistics, and regression analysis. Revealed were significant positive effects of Social Media Platforms on explained variations of about 32% on guests' choice of fine dining restaurants. Also revealed were insignificant effects of social demographic factors on guests' use of Social Media Platforms to choose fine dining restaurants but significant positive effects of individual factors on guests’ use of Social Media Platforms in the choice of fine dining restaurants. The study concluded that Social Media Platforms significantly influence guests' choice of fine-dining restaurants. Potential guests are likely to trust reviews and comments posted by previous customers to make decisions Managers and owners of fine dining restaurants should install infrastructure that enables guests to use Social Media Platforms. This study contributes to the understanding of theories of consumer behavior from the perspective of fine dining restaurants. Also provided is knowledge for sharing with stakeholders and for policy developments. Doctor of Philosophy in Hospitality and Tourism Management, 2022 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.mut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/6397 Effect of Moderated Internal Audit Practices on Financial Performance of NSE-Listed Banks in Kenya Mokono, Ruth Mwende The application of ongoing financial management reforms seeks to enhance and improve the performance of various organizations. In the last decade, performance of Kenyan banks, in terms of rate of increase in profits before tax has been 20% below the industry average. The banks' capacity to improve this level of performance has proven to be an area of concern and therefore, banks have enhanced the use of internal audit practices. The research investigated the effect of moderated internal audit practices on the financial performance in the NSE listed banks in Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were to; analyze the effect of adoption of ISAs; evaluate the effect of independence of internal audit; assess the effect of audit committees’ operations; examine the effect of internal control systems on financial performance of NSE listed banks in Kenya; and to investigate the moderating effect of CBK regulations on the effect of internal audit practices and financial performance of NSE-listed banks in Kenya. The study was anchored on the attribution theory, and further supported by the contingency and agency theories. The research adopted descriptive and correlational research approaches. The regression and structural equation models were adopted. A census survey was used for the banks. Stratified sampling was done to identify the different departments in the listed banks, while purposeful sampling was applied to deduce a representation of the participant departments of 44. Questionnaires were used to collect the main data from the 11 NSElisted banks in Kenya, while data extraction techniques were used to obtain secondary data to collect data for financial performance from the CBK annual supervisory reports. Likert collected responses from questionnaires were analyzed while quantitative data analysis was deduced using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research findings showed that independence and internal controls have a statistical effect on financial performance in Kenya's NSE-listed banks, while the unmoderated ISAS and the audit committee had no statistically significant effect. The R squared for the independent variables showed a good fit with relatively low values of ROA and ROE at 20.2% and 19.5% respectively. The F statistic was also significant for the two variables on independence and internal controls. The R squared for the CBK regulations moderating effect also showed a good fit with relatively high values of 76.2% and 61.1% respectively for ROA and ROE. It was also evident that the moderating effect of the CBK regulations affected the internal audit practices, and specifically the ISAs. Internal audit aids boards of directors in carrying out their governance responsibilities, resulting in enhanced performance and competitiveness. Corporate success and a well-governance structure are inextricably intertwined. This study therefore recommends the continuous adoption of ISAs and ensuring independence of internal audits to keep improving the NSE-listed bank’s financial performance. The internal auditors’ members should be hired on merit, receive regular training, and include a reporting channel identified that will protect independence and objectivity. Further, the study recommends that there should be policies to guide audit functions, remunerations and fees charged to improve NSE-listed banks performance. The study also recommends on adoption and employment of internal control systems. A recommendation to study other internal audit practices apart from these studied on the financial performance of the NSE-listed banks in Kenya is imperative and another field that can be explored. Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (Finance Option), 2022 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.mut.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/6396 Environmental Commitment and Adoption of Green Practices Among Star-Rated Hotels Along the Kenyan Coast Irungu, Robert Wachira The hospitality and tourism industry is one of the key economic sectors expected to take a leadership role in transforming the emerging green economy. The economic pillar of Vision 2030 in Kenya acknowledges the crucial function of natural resources. Direct promotion of these resources relate to environmental protection and efficient utilization of resources. Kenya stands to secure more incredible benefits from hospitality and tourism by 2030. Policy and strategy framework must be established to move away from intensive material and carbon approaches to delivering visitor experiences by implanting green practices. The stakeholders’ role in adopting green practices has seldom been investigated. In Kenyan hotels going green is a recent phenomenon that hotel sector management longs to adopt. Limited research studies have been undertaken to establish how environmental commitment influences the adoption of green practices in the Kenyan hotel sector. This study primarily sought to establish the effect of environmental commitment on adoption of green practices in star-rated hotels along the Kenyan Coast. To achieve this, the study sought to 1) establish current and potential green practices adopted in star-rated hotels along the Kenyan Coast, 2) determine the role of stakeholder engagement in the adoption of green practices, 3) establish the current and potential benefits of green practices adopted by star rated hotels, and 4) determine the moderating effect of environmental leadership on the relationship between environmental commitment and adoption of green practices among star-rated hotels along the Kenyan Coast. Using an embedded mixed methods design, quantitative and qualitative approaches were embraced. Sample hotels for the study were identified using stratified random selection. Stratification of management tiers for the choice of experts, general managers and heads of the section was applied. Data was obtained using semi-structured questionnaires, interview schedules and an observation checklist. Analysis of quantitative data included descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression, one sample t-test and moderated multiple regression using SPSS 21. Qualitative data were analysed thematically using NVivo 12. The results revealed a growing recognition and adoption of green practices among star-rated hotels along the Kenyan Coast (p=≤0.000≤0.05). The regression model with stakeholders’ engagement and perceived benefits was statistically significant [F (2,103) =151.736, p<.000]. The regression model explained 74.7% of the variation in the adoption of sustainable practices by the star-rated hotels in this study (R=.864, R2=.747). The effect of the stakeholders’ engagement (β =.760) and perceived benefits (β =.242) on the adoption of green practices was positive and statistically significant (p<.001 and p<.05, respectively). The regression model with the moderator (environmental leadership) explained 80.9% of the variation in the adoption of green practices by the hotels in this study (R=.900, R2=.809), demonstrating that the moderating variable accounted for an additional 6.3% of the variation, which was statistically significant (p<.001). Therefore, this study makes several recommendations. The results of this study suggest that stakeholder engagement, stakeholder perceived benefits, and the moderating effect of environmental leadership have a statistically significant effect on the adoption of sustainable practices among star-rated hotels in Coastal Kenya. In addition, this study has contributed to developing a statistical model with predictor variables that starrated hotels and capacity-building institutions can use to predict the adoption of green practices. This study recommends that star-rated hotels, in partnership with hotel associations and related capacity-building institutions, develop a standard framework for monitoring and evaluating stakeholders’ environmental expectations in adopting green practices by providing minimum performance indicators. Doctor of Philosophy in Hospitality and Tourism Management, 2022 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z