Author(s): Christocent Okumu
Steel plays a crucial role in today's economy, serving as an indicator of a country's economic strength and reflecting investments in infrastructure. In Kenya, the steel industry accounts for approximately 13% of the manufacturing sector and is interconnected with complementary sectors such as housing, construction, energy, electronics, and chemicals. However, the steel industry in Kenya faces various challenges that hinder its ability to adapt to changing market dynamics and emerging technologies. Key among these challenges are high electricity costs, inadequate infrastructure, expensive inputs, heavy taxes competition from well established brands, volatile market prices, political instability and significant capital requirements. Previous research has not explored strategic agility as a potential solution to mitigate the effects of these challenges, specifically examining the impact of strategic agility moderators such as organizational culture, leadership, flexibility, and strategic sensitivity. Therefore, the study’s objective was to investigate the effect of organizational culture on performance of Kenyan Steel Manufacturing Firms. The study was anchored on Dynamic Capabilities Theory to understand organizational adaptability. Using a correlational research design, the study targeted 33 steel industries in Kenya, with respondents of 132 individuals. Census method was used to study the respondents with primary data collected through structured questionnaires, which constituted of quantitative questions. Reliability tests was conducted using Cronbach's Alpha with a threshold value of 0.7. To ensure validity, the study sought expert opinions and conducted a comprehensive literature review. Multiple regression analysis was employed to examine the relationship between the variables. It is evident from the results that organization culture (B = .393, p <.05) had positive significant effect on performance. It was therefore concluded that organization culture, had a positive significant effect on performance. The study recommends that firms should invest in cultivating a strong and positive organizational culture, within the organization.