Ethical practices and procurement performance In Parastatals in Kenya: The Case of Kenya Ports Authority

Abstract

Ethical logistics practices are acceptable norms that supply chain professionals and institutions should adopt to ensure flawless procurement process. The study general objective was ethical practices and their effect on procurement performance in state parastatals in Kenya, the case of Kenya Ports Authority. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the effect of transparency, to determine the effect of integrity, to assess the effect of integrity and to establish the effect of transparency on procurement performance at Kenya Port Authority. The study was guided by the deontological theory, the teleological theory and the transaction cost theory (the anchor theory). The study adopted an explanatory research design. The target population of the study was 154 employees of Kenya ports authority. A sample size of 110 respondents was selected using Borg and Gall sampling formulae and simple random sampling method was used to select the 110 respondents. The main data source was primary sources and data was collected by using structured questionnaires that were administered through drop and pick technique. Pilot study was conducted on ten procurement employees at the county assembly of Mombasa. The validity and reliability of the research instrument was tested and was confirmed both valid and reliable. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 and descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were reported. Descriptive results established that transparency, integrity, accountability and confidentiality to a great extend affected procurement performance at Kenya ports authority. Correlation results revealed that accountability (R=.362, p=.001), confidentiality (R=.400, p=.000), integrity (R=.601, p=.000) and transparency (R=.529, p=.00) had positive significant correlation with procurement performance at Kenya ports authority. Multiple regression results revealed that accountability (β=.073, p=.782), confidentiality (β=.066, p=.024), integrity (β=.092, p=.000), and transparency (β=.074, p=.044) had positive significant relationship with procurement performance at Kenya ports authority. Adjusted R2 was 45.3% and ANOVA (F 16.340, p=.000) was significant. The study concluded that confidentiality, integrity and transparency positively influences procurement performance at Kenya ports authority. The study further recommended that managers should implement confidentiality, integrity and transparency to increase procurement performance at Kenya ports authority. Lastly, the government need to institute a culture of ethical practices in state parastatals to improve on procurement performance.