Effect of customer focus on performance of Eldoret Water Sanitation Company, Kenya

Abstract

The economic development of any country is partly dependent on the performance of its organizations. By aligning organizational processes with customer expectations, organizations can enhance their competitiveness and improve their overall performance. However, studies on customer focus and organizational performance are inconclusive owing to the mixed findings. In this regard, this study was designed to assess the effect of customer focus on the performance of Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company, Kenya. The study was guided by Resource-Based View (RBV) and adopted a causal research design. The target population was 381 employees from Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company drawn from top management, technical department, finance and strategy department and commercial department of ELDOWAS. The study adopted Krejcie and Morgan table to arrive at a sample size of 245 respondents after considering a non-response adjustment of 20%. The researcher selected ELDOWAS purposively. The functional areas of ELDOWAS represented stratum from which a simple random sample was taken in proportion to the stratum size in comparison to the population by use of proportional allocation. Data was collected using a questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics of correlation and multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 25.0. The null hypothesis was tested at 5% significance level. From the findings, customer focus explained (R squared =0. 272) which is 27.2% percent variation in organizational performance at Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company, Kenya. The study concludes that customer focus as a TQM principles significantly contribute to ELDOWAS performance. ELDOWAS should develop customer knowledge, relationships, and customer-oriented routines as strategic capabilities that can enhance service quality, customer satisfaction, and overall organizational performance.