Beyond Survival: How Does Organisational Support Mediate between Intrapreneurial Strategies and Performance of Public Universities in Kenya?

Abstract

Intrapreneurship is critical for public universities as it helps the universities obtain a competitive advantage. For intrapreneurship to thrive, it should be inculcated in the public university culture, mission, obligations and goals. Studies posit that management support, reward systems, social relationships, knowledge-sharing and work discretion spur intrapreneurial activities in an organisation. It is against this backdrop that this study sought to establish the mediating effect of organisational support on the relationship between intrapreneurial strategies and the performance of public universities in Kenya. The research was guided by the resource dependency theory and utilised a positivist philosophy. A combination of descriptive and explanatory research designs was used. The unit of analysis was 20 public universities, and the unit of observation was 400 participants. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data. With the help of SPSS Version 23, quantitative data was analysed, using descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis and the findings were expressed guided by the objectives of the study. Multiple regression models were used to test the association between variables, and the results obtained were presented using figures and tables. A statistically significant (β-0.760, p=0.000<0.05) and partially mediating influence of organisational support on the relationship between intrapreneurial strategies and the performance of public universities in Kenya, was observed. The study concluded that organisational support mediates the relationship between intrapreneurial strategies and the performance of public universities in Kenya. Therefore, the study recommends that public university vice-chancellors create an enabling environment for the adoption of intrapreneurial strategies.