Abstract:
As publicly funded institutions, public universities are expected to follow where
appropriate a competitive and systematic tendering process when procuring goods or
services. Many public institutions struggle with establishing robust internal control
systems. These controls are critical for preventing fraud, waste, and abuse. Despite
legislation and regulations aimed at ensuring adherence to international best practices and
promoting integrity and accountability, there have been instances of inefficiencies in the
tendering process, particularly within public universities in Kenya. The purpose of this
study was to assess the moderating effect of internal controls on the relationship between
the tendering process and procurement performance of public universities in Kenya.
Specifically, the study sought to examine the moderating effect of internal controls on the
relationship between supplier pre-qualification, supplier evaluation, competitive
negotiation, supplier management and procurement performance of public universities in
the country. The study was anchored on Stakeholder Theory, Fuzzy Set Theory (FST),
Game Theory and Commitment Trust Theory. A positivist research philosophy and a
correlational research design was adopted. Target population of the study was 1,016
employees from the selected public universities. The study adopted stratified and simple
random sampling to select a sample of 287 respondents. Primary data was obtained using
a structured questionnaire, which was self-administered using a drop-and-pick later
technique. The validity of the research instrument was ensured through an extensive
literature review and consultation with subject experts and supervisors from the
procurement department. The reliability of the instrument was examined through a pilot
study involving 29 respondents from the University of Kabianga where a Cronbach alpha
coefficient of 0.834 was obtained. The obtained quantitative data was analyzed
descriptively using means, frequencies and standard deviation, and inferentially,
correlation and regression analysis were used. The study established that internal controls
had a positive moderating effect on the relationship between pre-qualification (R2
, change
of 0.075; p<0.05), supplier evaluation (R2
, change of 0.127; p<0.05), competitive
negotiation (R2
, change of 0.142; p<0.05), and procurement performance. However,
internal controls had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between supplier
management (R2
, change of 0.004; p<0.05), and procurement performance. The study
concluded that pre-qualification of suppliers, supplier evaluation, competitive
negotiation, and supplier management were important factors in enhancing procurement
performance in public universities because they significantly explained the change in
procurement performance and that internal controls enhances the relationship between
tendering process and procurement performance of public universities in Kenya.
Therefore, the study recommends that public universities improve internal controls to
ensure efficiency in the tendering process as well as the procurement performance in
public universities in Kenya.
