Optimizing humanitarian aid in Kenya: The synergy between lean-agile supply chains and organizational characteristics
Date
2025Author
Shale, Noor Ismail
Nyile, Erastus Kiswili
Osoro, Anthony
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This study examines the implementation of lean-agile
(leagile) supply chain strategies in Kenyan humanitarian
organizations, assessing their impact on operational
performance with organizational characteristics as moderators.
A census survey of 330 humanitarian aid organizations in Kenya
was conducted, achieving an 87.88% response rate (290
organizations). Using moderated multiple regression and Grey
Incidence Analysis, the research tested five hypotheses linking
supply chain responsiveness, resilience, efficiency, integration,
and organizational characteristics to performance outcomes.
Results revealed that leagile dimensions collectively explain
71.9% of performance variance (R²=0.719), with
responsiveness (β=0.532), efficiency (β=0.415), and integration
(β=0.458) showing strong positive effects. Organizational
characteristics—size, structure, and age—moderated these
relationships, increasing the explanatory power to 82.7% (R² =
0.827). The study validates Grey Incidence Analysis as a robust
framework for managing uncertainties in humanitarian "grey
systems" and integrates organizational theory into supply chain
leagility research. Practically, it advocates for full leagile
adoption, emphasizing decentralized decision-making, AIdriven forecasting, and technologies like IoT and blockchain to
enhance coordination and resilience. Despite high donor
funding, Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) face
persistent inefficiencies, underscoring the need for localized
capacity-building and multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Limitations include reliance on self-reported data and a crosssectional design, suggesting future longitudinal studies and
beneficiary feedback integration. This work contributes
empirical evidence on hybrid supply chain strategies in
humanitarian contexts, offering actionable insights
policymakers and practitioners to optimize disaster response in
resource-constrained environments.
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- Journal Articles (BE) [393]
