Moderating Influence of Policy Framework on the Role of Strategic Leadership in the Execution of County Integrated Development Plans by County Governments in Kenya

Author: James kamau Waribu,

Date: 2026

Abstract: Kenya’s devolved system requires every county to plan and deliver development through a fiveyear County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), yet execution of these plans has remained uneven, with recurrent delays, budget overruns and incomplete projects. Execution is shaped not only by the strategic leadership exercised inside the county but also by the policy environment in which counties operate, chiefly intergovernmental relations and public finance management rules. This paper reports the fifth objective of a wider study: to establish the moderating influence of policy framework on the role of strategic leadership in the execution of CIDPs by county governments in Kenya. Anchored in strategic leadership (upper echelons) theory and the theory of constraints, the study adopted a positivist philosophy and a descriptive survey design. The target population comprised 123 senior county officials in five counties (Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga and Nyandarua), from whom a sample of 92 was drawn using purposive and simple random sampling; 66 usable questionnaires were returned (71.74%). Instrument reliability was high (Cronbach’s α = .769–.935). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and hierarchical multiple regression. Policy framework correlated positively and significantly with execution (r = .588, p < .001). The baseline strategic leadership model explained 52.0% of the variance in execution (F(6, 49) = 8.831, p < .001). Introducing policy framework raised the explained variance to 58.2% (ΔR² = .062; F-change(1, 48) = 7.12, p = .010), and the full model remained significant (F(7, 48) = 9.544, p < .001). Policy framework was a significant predictor (β = .331, p = .010); monitoring and evaluation remained robust (β = .503, p < .001), while the effect of innovation weakened and lost significance once policy framework entered the model. The null hypothesis was therefore rejected. The study concludes that the policy framework conditions how far strategic leadership translates into executed plans, and recommends stronger intergovernmental consultation, timely disbursement of funds, a review of the 30% development-expenditure threshold, and betterstructured executive–assembly relations.

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