OUT SOURCING ON PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ACASE STUDY OF K.C.C.A

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

The topic of study is to investigate the influence of outsourcing on public procurement performance; Background to the study, Statement of the Problems, Research objectives or purpose of the study, Research questions, Conceptual Framework, Significance of the study, Scope of the study, Content scope (content to be collected on the independent and dependent variables), Geographical scope (place/locality where the study will be done), Time scope and Limitations of the study.

1.1 Background of the study

This section includes; Historical background (Global outlook of the study), Conceptual background (key concepts of the study both independent and dependent variables and their indicators), Theoretical background (one or two theories that informed the study) and Contextual background (about the industry or the company or the case study).

1.1.1 Historical Background

The term outsourcing was introduced in the rnid-1980s. However, the idea of hiring someone else to do specific jobs or of dividing labor had existed for over hundreds of years. In business, outsourcing can be found everywhere; whether big or small, simple or complex (Feng, Ren, & Zhang, 2019). And although outsourcing has been around as long as work specialization has existed, in recent history, companies began employing the outsourcing model to carry out narrow functions, such as payroll, billing and data entry. Those processes could be done more efficiently and therefore more cost-effectively, by other companies with specialized tools and facilities and specially trained personnel (McCorry, Bakshi, Bentoy, Meitkejohn, & Miller, 2019).

Today, outsourcing is the norm in industries ranging from electronics to telecommunications to biotechnology, and outsourcing of primary supply chain activities has been common in industries (Fouladi, et al., 2019).

Some outsourcers even offer services, such as assembly, packaging and distribution, to ship customer’s goods anywhere in the world. The essence of outsourcing is to look for expertise to handle certain business functions outside the existing firm. The decision making process that management must undergo when considering outsourcing hinges on a “make or buy” philosophy. Outsourcing emerged from the moribund economy of the 1980s and 1990s, with emphasis on cutting costs driving the primary focus of successful firms. The renewed focus on outsourcing has mainly been driven by changes in information technology, communication and reengineering organizations (Kuriloya, Lysenko, Pronkin, Mukhin, & Syromyatnikov, 2019). In the past, outsourcing initiatives were considered as a sign of corporate weakness. However, outsourcing is now undertaken because of its large effect on the organization’s bottom line.

Outsourcing activities suggest a strategic way to improve organizational performance (Lee, Park, Straub, & Koo, 2019) have found that outsourcing has positive effects on organization performance and effectiveness. Outsourcing strategies are believed to help organizations to improve operation through increasing access to international markets and leading-edge technologies, and enhancing responsiveness to customer needs.

According to  (Lee, Lee, Malatesta, & Fernadez, 2019) outsourcing helps organizations to realize increased efficiency, reduced costs, and reduced cycle time, and improve the quality of goods and services, thus contributing toward achieving organizational goals. However, some scholars (Liu & Jayaraman, 2019) have indicated that outsourcing strategy can be subject to obstacles that can effect on organization’s effectiveness. One of these is that it often eliminates direct communication between a company and its clients. This may prevent a company from building solid relationships with their customers, and often leads to dissatisfaction on one or both sides. Barthelemy (2003) argues that there is also the danger of not being able to control some aspects of the company, as outsourcing may lead to delayed communications and project implementation.

Outsourcing strategies have proved to play an important role in boosting an organization’s profitability by increasing access to external resources and specialized knowledge although challenges that exist in the outsourcing strategy like limited communication between the organization and its clients could affect organizational efficiency. Unfortunate preferences of sourcing allies, deficient arrangement and training/skills considered compulsory to administer outsourcing projects and weak organizational communication have as well been notorious as affecting the victory of outsourcing activities (Chawla, 2019).

1.1.2 Theoretical background

A theory is a set of related ideas that come together to explain a phenomenon (Martin & Guerin, 2006). According to (Johnston & Vanderstoep, 2009) theory is a set of organizing principles that help researchers to describe and predict events. These theories have their roots in economics, management, sociology, psychology and anthropology (Nyarko & Kwabena, 2011).

Systems Theory

Systems theory by Berthalanyand Bouldingas cited by Kerzner, (1987), applied to organization , considers the organizations to be made of different sub-systems which are intergraded into whole , for example sub-systems in an out sourcing to having an influence on the performance of public procurement, (Krozner & Rajan, 1997) advance that systems operate as an open systems having a dynamic interplay with its sub components and also the environment  where it gets resources for production thus it is influenced by other systems, due to the interaction that occurs at the interface, maintenance of stability is crucial during these interaction.

1.1.3 Conceptual background

Outsourcing is defined by the Outsourcing Institute (2001) as “the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources. It is a management strategy by which an organization outsources major, non-core functions to specialized, efficient service providers (Wei & Ho, 2019). Performance is defined as the accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known standards of accuracy, completeness, cost, and speed (Zhou, Wang, Goh, & He, 2019).

(Mussapiro, et al., 2019) Categorize organizational performance under three specific areas of firm outcomes: financial. Outsourcing known as a good technique for management can be defined as the strategy of using outside resources to implement activities traditionally managed by internal staff. According to (Sigala & Wakolbinger, 2019) Outsourcing is a strategy by which an organization pact out some of their main services to specialize and efficient service providers, who turn into valued business partners.

(Kolawole & Agatha, 2015) Defined outsourcing as a decision by organizations to have an external supplier to perform a function that would have otherwise been performed internally by organization staff. Generally, most of the organizations search for the best service providers to whom to outsource their function, this gives them an opportunity to get their work done by professional which means good quality work.

Outsourcing has become one of the most important approach a business should adopt due to the increase of globalization and through this strategy, organizations can acquire a competitive advantage if products or services are implemented more effectively by outside service providers (Yang, Kim, Nam, & Min, 2007) For an organization to be able to adapt on market change and complications of anticipating the direction of such   changes means that they have to emphasize on their core competencies and abilities. Customarily, outsourcing is an abbreviation for” outside resource using. Outside means to create value from external, not within the organization (Hsu & Liou, 2013) Outsourcing is allocation of services that should  be performed inside the company to an external service provide and has become one of the essential factors in several business  strategies.

Outsourcing, he broadly describes it as a different kind of corporate action related to all subcontracting relationships between firms and the hiring of workers in a non-traditional jobs. Outsourcing may provide a viable strategy if firms aim to save on labour costs, exploit production differentials both within the services sectors and between services and manufacturing (Yang, Wecker, & Sheu, 2012) in his survey points out that there is no general definition or measurement of Outsourcing is a strategic management tool that involve contracting of a company‟s non-core, non-revenue generating activities to a third party, commonly referred to as service provider. The process of outsourcing entails a long relationship between the supplier and the beneficiary, with a high degree of risk sharing.

1.1.4 Contextual Background

A statutory internal audit report for the second quarter of Financial Year 2018/2019                                                     has unearthed rot in the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)’s procurement process. The report, published on January 31, was compiled by KCCA director of internal audit Moses Canon Bwire basing on the period between October and December last year. Mr Bwire’s report was backed by reviewing the contracts signed between July 10, 2016, and June 30, 2018. The audit findings indicate failure to submit performance securities by some contractors, inadequate usage of the existing contracts management system, calling off orders issued to contractors with higher unit prices under frame contracts and failure to prepare management plans for some contracts.

1.2 Statement of the problem

A statutory internal audit report for the second quarter of Financial Year 2018/2019                                                     has unearthed rot in the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)’s procurement process. The report, published on January 31, was compiled by KCCA director of internal audit Moses Canon Bwire basing on the period between October and December last year. Mr Bwire’s report was backed by reviewing the contracts signed between July 10, 2016, and June 30, 2018. The audit findings indicate failure to submit performance securities by some contractors, inadequate usage of the existing contracts management system, calling off orders issued to contractors with higher unit prices under frame contracts and failure to prepare management plans for some contracts.

Others are failure to provide for retention during the defects liability period, delays in payment for certified works, payment of value added tax components to unregistered contractors and unclear land boundaries affecting project implementation, The PPDA Report, (2019) further indicates that there a lot of challenges in regards to public procurement performance in K.C.C.A this study therefore further intends to investigate into the influence of out sourcing on performance of public procurement a case study of K.C.C.A.

1.3 Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study is to examine the influence of out sourcing on performance of public procurement.

1.4 Specific objectives of the study

1. To determine the relationship between Process specific out sourcing on public procurement performance.
2. To examine the effects of Operational outsourcing on public procurement performance.

• To investigate the relationship between Business process outsourcing on public procurement performances.

1.5 Research questions of the study

1. What are the relationship between Processes specific out sourcing on public procurement performance?
2. What are the effects of Operational outsourcing on public procurement performance?

• What is the relationship between Business process outsourcing on public procurement performance?

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study is significant to the management of K.C.C.A. For it will make them to know the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing to the organization.

The study will enable the corporate policy makers in the organization to develop a fair equality policy when contracting the suppliers, to ensure proper and systematic operation to improve the performance.

The study will help both supplier and the company the positive and negative effect of outsourcing. This will give light to both parties while entering into the contract.

The study findings will help to inform the organizations in the same field as K.C.C.A on the different ways of how outsourcing can be made relevant to organizational performance.

The study will help other researchers carrying out the research on other related problems as references.

1.7 Scope of the Study

Conceptual Scope

The study examines; to determine the relationship between Process specific out sourcing on public procurement performance, to examine the effects of Operational outsourcing on public procurement performance and to investigate the relationship between Business process outsourcing on public procurement performances.

Time Scope

The study take the duration on one month starting from May to June 2021.

Geographical Scope

The study was conducted in the K.C.C.A Headquarters Kampala.

1.8 Conceptual frame work

Outsourcing                                                               Public Procurement Performance

pp

                         Moderating variables

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

This chapter reviews a related literature following sub-headings in line with the study objectives; to find out whether organizations are outsourcing in their operations, to identify the challenges faced while using outsourcing, to establish the relationship between outsourcing and profitability in the organization and strategies for effective outsourcing.

2.1 Process specific out sourcing on public procurement performance.

The traditional concept of firm, in which the different value chain activities are carried out internally, is being replaced by the idea of a network organization or even a virtual organization, in which fewer and fewer operations are performed within the firm. An organization will always outsource some activities such as the supply of water and electricity (Kahraman, Engin, Kabak, & Kaya, 2009).

Outsourcing as a key business strategy has been used by companies in various industries for many decades. Competitive pressures have forced companies to look objectively and critically at business processes. Companies have been outsourcing manufacturing operations, business services and even entire business lines successfully for a long time now. Recently, contract manufacturing sector has benefited with considerable outsourcing, initiated by the electronics and pharmaceutical industries. Business processes such as information technology (IT), payroll, logistics and human resources (HR) management are among the common ones regularly outsourced in most of the industries. Outsourcing of core functions like engineering, research and development (R&D), manufacturing and marketing are being considered by corporations (Yang, Zhao, & Yeung, 2016) only those functions which generate added value and represent the firm’s competitive advantage must be performed internally, the rest of their functions are outsourced. Some of the activities in which firms most often opt for outsourcing at present are those related to information management.

Outsourcing is defined as “procuring of services or products from an outside supplier or manufacturer in order to cut costs”. According to (Gonzalez, Gasco, & Llopis)  outsourcing means that the physical and/or human resources related to an organisation’s functions or departments are going to be provided and/or managed by an external specialised supplier. (Gossler, Sigala, Wakolbinger, & Buber) also define outsourcing as having work that was formerly done inside the organization performed by an external organization. The vendor, hereafter the outsourcer and outsource are, respectively, referred to as vendor and client may be an independent entity or a wholly owned subsidiary. The outsourced situation can be temporary or permanent, and can affect the client firm’s whole structure or only a part of it.

(Johnston & Vanderstoep, 2009) Asserts that outsourcing might seem to be a simple cost reduction option, but there are challenges to getting it right. Knowing what benefits to expect in the first instance and setting measurable performance indicators for both the client and the outsourcer are important starting points. Also, incorporating critical success factors such as finding a supplier with the right cultural fit, defining the contract precisely, obtaining senior management buy-in, clarifying roles and educating employees, and installing a layered governance structure will help increase the odds of having a successful Human Resource (HR) outsourcing relationship. Outsourcing is been embraced all over the world by firms that wants to cut cost and maximize profit.

Outsourcing has experienced a considerable growth in recent years, so much that some authors suggest we find ourselves in the . The reasons why companies outsourced for services is varied. According to Fulford and Love (2004) development costs of training talent for specific functions in an organization is often cited in the literature as a major factor influencing outsourcing. The high price tag of training certain professionals has led many organizations to seek help outside their organization. The shortage of certain professionals in certain countries such as Information Technology (IT) professionals is another main reason in global outsourcing (Kolawole & Agatha, 2015).

The high quality of professionals of vendors as compared to those of the customer organization is another reason why companies outsourced. He asserts that tax incentives offered by some countries can influence certain companies in some countries to outsource in these countries. For example many US companies are taking advantage of attractive tax incentives offered by other countries such as Ireland.

According to (Nyarko & Kwabena, 2011)organizations turn to outsourcing for a number of reasons, the most prominent of which is cost cutting.

(Buldeo, Verlinde, Macharis, Schouteet, & Varnhaver1) supports this assertion when he stated that companies make the decision to outsource for a variety of reasons but cost reduction tends to be one of the primary drivers.

Consequently, outsourcing is thought to be successful when such financial-economic expectations as the achievement of a cash infusion, cost reduction, production and transaction cost economies, lower prizes for consumers’ financial slack or even tax advantages are covered . Other benefits of outsourcing to companies as according to (Buldeo, Verlinde, Marcharis, Schoutteet, & Vanhaverbeke, 2019) include maximizing resources, making service improvements and freeing up in-house staff to focus on more strategic staffing issues such as workforce productivity, leadership development and succession planning. Another common reason for resorting to outsourcing is a firm’s desire to focus its resources on those activities that are considered its strengths, often referred to as core competencies (Zhou, Wang, Goh, & He, 2019).

2.2 Effects of Operational outsourcing on public procurement performance

The decision to outsource business-critical functions is always accompanied by several risks and challenges. (Hsu & Liou, 2013)  Notes that when business-critical functions are outsourced to offshore organizations, the outsourcing firm faces an increased amount of risks and costs when contrasted against solutions that entail on-shore resources. Even though outsourcing has the advantage of being highly cost-effective, it has a number of challenges that include several hidden costs including costly and drawn out phase of vendor selection, prolonged duration taken to accomplish the work and hand it over to the outsourcing firm, severance, as well as cost linked to the laying off of the local workforce who cannot be relocated globally, and increased turnover costs, as well as the expenses that are linked to the tackling of cultural, communication and language challenges.

Another notable challenge of outsourcing business-critical functions regards the management of the actual offshore relationship with the providers given that such associations tend to attract key extra and at times unexpected costs. Thus, Dhar and Balakrishnan (2006) observe that on the whole, an organization might end up paying more than 50 percent with regards to front end expenses than was originally anticipated while only attaining a cost saving of between 15% to 25% in the initial year, which is way below the anticipated 35% to 40% savings. Therefore, the increment in the front-end expenditures might result in the outsourcing firm agreeing to lengthen the initial contract term so as to produce the desired fiscal advantages that eventually entails arriving at a larger commitment, which in turn increases the risks.

(Vazifedan & Darestani, 2019) Notes that one of the risks affecting the outsourcing of business-critical functions is the fluctuations in productivity. Studies carried out by (Vazifedan & Darestani, 2019)  have indicated that a large percentage of organizations tend to experience approximately 20 percent reduction in productivity in the course of the first year of a contract, mainly as a consequence of the overall amount of time used in transferring business and technical knowledge to the vendors. Moreover, the cost savings accomplishments made as a consequence of outsourcing of business-critical functions normally involves the laying off of workers by the client firm. Such layoffs bring about considerable morale challenges amongst the remaining workers and might, therefore, lead to discontentment, as well as work slowdowns.

The other notable risk associated with the outsourcing of business-critical functions regards knowledge. 75 Percent of the respondents in the study conducted by (Vazifedan & Darestani, 2019) with the view of determining the risks, benefits and challenges of outsourcing business-critical functions acknowledged knowledge as the most critical and a major risk aspect in outsourcing. Thus, from the consumer’s viewpoint, the risk of outsourcing functions entails the loss of knowledge in outsourcing activities owing to the concentration on the core competencies, challenges in outsourcing the best and dependable outsourcing vendor resulting from rapid changes in technology and the possibility of information leakage. Additionally,  the failure to make use of a satisfactory knowledge transfer approach along with poor comprehension of how knowledge management may disallow the outsourcing firm from acquiring the know-how to resolve novel challenges through the reuse of the same information.

2.3 Relationship between outsourcing and profitability in the organization.

Essentially outsourcing addresses the issue as to whether a firm should make or buy intermediate inputs; an issue that has a long tradition in economics, dating back to the seminal work by (Zhou, Wang, Goh, & He, 2019) on the boundaries of a firm. Since then, a large body of literature has been concerned with analysing the determinants of this “make-or-buy decision”, focusing on the role of incomplete contracts, specific assets and transactions costs (Davenport, 2014).

Firms would prefer to “buy” as opposed to “make” as long as the cost of outsourcing is lower than in-house production. Hence, outsourcing can be used to economize on production cost, in particular labour cost (Davenport, 2014) by substituting in-house production with the buying-in of components. The cost of outsourcing is not only determined by the price of the bought-in components, but also by transaction costs due to transport and incomplete contracting costs, and the possible implications of asset specificity for supplier and/or customer.

(Liu & Jayaraman, 2019) Provided a comprehensive theoretical analysis of firms’ outsourcing decisions. In their model, firms decide whether to be vertically integrated or to outsource production of components to specialised producers. This involves a search process, whereby final good producers search for subcontractors and vice versa. There is incomplete information – subcontractors cannot easily signal their quality and therefore a potential for a hold-up problem arises.

Taking this as a theoretical background, one may expect that the benefits from outsourcing are not always the same, but in particular depend on the characteristics of the firm and industry in question. Large firms may be in a better position to achieve high bargaining power vis-à-vis suppliers and may hence be better able to benefit from outsourcing. Also, large firms may face lower search costs as they may be better established in the market and have better knowledge of competitors and suppliers than small establishments (Mussapiro, et al., 2019).

In terms of industry characteristics, if there are more potential subcontractors in the industry, if the bargaining power is tilted towards the final good producers, or if the level of competition is high among subcontractors, final good producers are more likely to find outsourcing a viable strategy (Nyarko & Kwabena, 2011).

In another studies by Görzig and Stephan (2002) who use German data for a sample of large companies to examine the benefits of outsourcing. They find that firms that engage in materials outsourcing experience benefits, in terms of increased returns per employee, while services outsourcing induces a negative effect on measured returns. This, they infer, is due to the non-transparent way in which outsourced services are priced vis-à-vis more tangible inputs. They conclude that while the markets for intermediate products appear to function, outsourced services may be subject to certain inefficiencies.

In related work, (Grant, 2019) discovers that poorly performing firms (low surplus to sales and low value added to sales) are more likely to use subcontractors, in an analysis of the Japanese machinery manufacturing industry. He concludes that profits are highest for those firms that do not get involved in any type of subcontracting, whether as a supplier or as an outsourcer.

2.4 Business process outsourcing on public procurement performances.

Organizations need to pay careful attention in evaluating whether out-sourcing is beneficial and if so, in what areas. Once a decision to outsource is made, selecting an appropriate vendor and defining the relationship and performance parameters need to be carefully managed. Failure to manage the out-sourcing process can result in serious consequences, such as decline in revenue, customer backlash, and employee demotivation. The success of outsourcing is in its governance. It is not a silver bullet to solve the internal organizational problems (Govindan, Kadzinski, Enhling, & Miebs, 2019) to solve a problem change management, a comprehensive programme should be developed and disseminated to all stake holders who was affected by the Outsourcing process. The message should be personalized for different levels of employees. Employees should be given the opportunity to ask questions and be heard.

(Grant, 2019) Postulates that if you understand your company’s purpose then you can start implementing the process necessary to achieve your objectives and ensure that every contributor to the business is engaged in achieving these goals. In essence, corporate objective setting should relate to key factors for business success such as profitability, market share, growth, cash flow, customer satisfaction or quality of the firms products.  It is fascinating that the growth of Google was the focus on product and customer satisfaction and not on profitability, the principal being if we can develop a superior product to the likes of Yahoo then market share, revenue and profitability will follow,  (Logman, Lacerda, Camergo, & Dresch, 2019). The corporate objectives require specific unit objectives, such as increasing your number of customers by 10% or reducing the length of time in producing the product or delivering the service. By deciding on the most important or primary objectives then all else will follow.  Trade-offs between objectives will occur, for example a company’s objective of achieving significant profit growth may be at the expense of the quality of the firm’s product or marketing expenditure for future year’s sales.

James Bucki, diversity multi-cultural awareness training programme will assist the employees and the client company to understand the culture of the service provider employees’ norms and customs. Often Outsourcing service providers already have such awareness training in place for their own staff and was happy to share materials and content with their clients. The Outsourcing provider on the other hand may be trained in the corporate culture of the client (Jaris, 2012).

NSW Business Chamber regularly runs educational seminars and workshops around topical business issues which are impacting businesses around our state.  These events are not only a source of practical and useful business information for owners, operators and managers of small to medium sized business, but are also a wonderful opportunity to network.  Setting goals without specific plans to reach them is like taking an address with you on a trip without looking up the directions to get there. Goals and objectives are important to help take small businesses to the next level, but each department’s strategy should be supported by specific tactics LaForge, (2007).

Jaris (2012), in order to mitigate this risk it is necessary to develop stringent safe guards and protocols governing access to information, physical safe guards will protect buildings and equipment from unauthorized access and administrative safe guards stipulates policies and procedures for operation, the conduct of employees and  the use of security controls. An Outsourcing service provider should adopt an information security risk management strategy that complies with the best. Simon Wagner (2014)

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This section presents the research methods that will be used to carry out the study. It covers the research design, Introduction, Research Design, Sampling Methods, Sampling Techniques, Data Collection Methods, Data Collection Tools, Data Quality Control, Data Analysis, Measurement of Variables, Procedures of data collection and ethical considerations

3.2 Research Design

The study will adopt a descriptive survey design which provides descriptions of the variables to answer the research questions. This study will use two approaches; the qualitative and quantitative research design.  Kothari (2004) notes that quantitative design is based on measurement of quantity hence this will be used in calculating simple percentages and the number of respondents. Bryman et al., (2003) reiterates that quantitative design also allows comparisons between respondents, giving the right perspective on the variables under study. The choice of this technique is also guided by the fact that the study aims at generating findings, which will facilitate a general understanding and interpretation of the problem. The quantitative data will be triangulated with Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interviews to provide explanatory information t o the statistical data. Quantitative research consists of those studies in which the data concerned can be analyzed in terms of numbers while qualitative describes events, persons and so forth scientifically without the use of numerical data. Quantitative research is based more directly on its original plans and its results are more readily analyzed and interpreted. Qualitative research is more open and responsive to its subject. (Christina Hughes, 2006).

3.3 Sampling Methods

This study will employ both probability and non-probability sampling methods. Probability sampling techniques will include simple and stratified random sampling which will be used to select employees of K.C.C.A. This will ensure that there are representativeness. Besides, it provides an equal chance to all of being selected. Non-probability sampling techniques will include purposive; namely key informants to ensure people with particular information about the subject under study are selected.

3.4 Sampling Techniques

The study will use simple random sampling technique, this technique will be used in selecting the Employees of K.C.C.A. According to Cai, Qin, Rao, & Winiszewska, (2019). Indicates that Simple random sampling is the basic sampling technique where we select a group of subjects (a sample) for study from a larger group (a population). Each individual is chosen entirely by chance and each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. Major advantages of simple random sampling include; its simplicity and lack of bias. Among the disadvantages are difficulty gaining access to a list of a larger population, time, costs, and that bias can still occur under certain circumstances. The study will also use purposive sampling technique in choosing the Top management Employees of K.C.C.A, according to Ames, Glenton,  Lewin, (2019) indicates that Purposive sampling  is a sampling technique in which researcher relies on his or her own judgment when choosing members of population to participate in the study. This technique will be chosen because of Purposive sampling enables researchers to squeeze a lot of information out of the data that they have collected. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), argue that it is impossible to study the whole targeted population and therefore the researcher shall take a sample of the population. A sample is a subset of the population that comprises members selected from the population. Using Krejcie and Morgan’s (1970) table for sample size determination approach, a sample size of 217 employees will be selected from the total population of  520 employees.

Table showing the sample size of the respondents

Source: developed by the researcher 2021

3.5 Data Collection Methods

The study will adopt a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative data will be collected using interview guides for FDGs and KIIs. The use of interview guides to enable data collection on feelings, beliefs and attitudes regarding the subject under study. While quantitative data will be collected using a questionnaire.

3.5.1    Questionnaire

Ahuja (2009) defines a questionnaire as a structured set of questions that are given to people in order to collect facts or opinions about something. The researcher will use closed-ended questions because they are easy and quick to answer, and they will be helpful in improving consistence of the responses.

3.5.2    Interviews

According to Ahuja (2009), an interview is a two-person conversation initiated by the interviewer for the specific purpose of obtaining research-related information. It focuses on the content specified by the research objectives, description and explanation. An interview guide, which is referred to as a set of questions for which answers, will be used by a researcher to interview respondents. The use of the tool give the researcher control over the line of questioning hence time saving.

Interviews will be conducted in a quiet place without noise with the key informants like officials. The purpose of the interview will be explained, including reassuring respondents of confidentiality of the information provided. The format of the interview will be informal conversation where questions are asked, and answers recorded by the interviewer. The 20 respondents, including Executive director and employees of K.C.C.A at the senior management level will be selected.

3.6 Data Collection Tools

For each deployed data collection method, there is a corresponding data collection instrument that will be used. The study will use Questionnaire Guides and Interview Guide

3.6.1 Self-administered Questionnaire

The questionnaire shall be designed in a manner that motivates respondents with simple structured questions with the option of providing any addition information to the structured questionnaire as an option to obtain relevant data from them. The questionnaire is structured with both close-ended and open-ended questions. It has aLikert scale 1-5 indicating the level of a respondents’ agreement or disagreement, where 1 represents Strongly Disagree and 5 strongly Agree.

3.6.2 Interview Guide

The researcher will use an interview guide to collect data in order to find out the vivid picture of the participants’ perspective of the topic. Interviews are an effective qualitative method for getting people to talk about their feelings, opinions and experiences. They are also an opportunity for us to gain insight into how people interpret the out sourcing on performance of public procurement a case study of K.C.C.A. The views of the respondents will be a personal reflection of their personal experience relating to the study topic. Open ended questions will allow ease of expression and capture of vast information from study participants.

3.7 Data Quality Control

The study will use both validity and reliability to ensure better data quality control; The data a collection tools shall be pre-tested on a smaller number of respondents from each category of the population to ensure that the questions are accurate clear and in line with each objective of the study.

3.7.1 Validity

Validity is defined as the extent to which results can be accurately interpreted and generalized to other populations (Oso & Onen, 2008). While Borg & Gall, 1989 as cited in Onyinkwa, (2013) validity is defined as the degree to which results obtained by the research instrument correctly represented to the phenomenon understudy and Mugenda & Mugenda, (1999) as the accuracy and meaningfulness of inferences which are based on the research results.

Amin, (2005) recommended minimum CVI of 0.7 to be used. Validity will be tested using content validity index which involves judges scoring the relevancy of the questions in the instruments in relation to the study variables.

The formula for Content Validity Index will be;

CVI =

Where CVI = content validity

n= number of items indicated relevant.

N = total no. of items in the instrument

In this study, validity will be achieved by establishing content validity. The researcher will achieve content validity by using the experts to assess the validity of the research instrument. The experts especially research supervisors and consultants from UMI will be given data collection tools to assess whether the items in the instruments are valid in relation to research topic, objectives, and questions. From the instruments will be declared some items valid and others invalid. Those declared invalid will be dropped, others adjusted, while the valid ones will be maintained.  Then content validity index (CVI) will be computed by dividing the number of items declared valid by total number of items/questions in the data collection instrument.

3.7.2 Reliability

According to Mugenda and Mugenda, (2003) reliability is the measure of the extent to which research instruments are able to provide the same results upon being tested repeatedly. Crobach’s coefficient alpha (a) as recommended by Amin, (2005, P.302) will be used to test the reliability of the research instrument. The instrument is deemed reliable if reliable of 0.7 and above is obtained and therefore, it will be adopted for use in the data collection.

Formula for reliability is

=       ( )

Where  = alpha reliability co efficiency.

K=Number of items included in the questionnaire

= sum of variance of individual items

= variance of all items in the instrument.

To ensure credibility and trust worthiness of qualitative data the researcher will ensure that only the officials who are employees of K.C.C.A owners are given questionnaires and interviewed.

The coefficient ranges between a=0.00 for no reliability, a =1.00 for perfect reliability. The closer alpha gets to 1.0 the better. If the study findings result to Cronbanch’s Alpha of 0.7 and above, this will signify that research instrument is good enough for the study. According to Amin (2005), all the measurements in the instrument that show adequate levels of internal consistency of cronbach’s alpha of 0.77 and above are accepted as reliable.

3.8 Data Analysis

Mugenda and Mugenda (1999) and Mbaaga (2000) both defined data analysis as a process of bringing order, structure and meaning to the data gathered to create information out of it. Data analysis will therefore be done with quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative (Questionnaires) and qualitative (interviews) will be analyzed separately and then combined during discussion of the findings.

3.8.1    Quantitative Data Analysis

Data processing will be done by entering the data into a statistics package for social sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 in line with the research questions. Data analysis will be done by also using this statistics package for social sciences (SPSS) to formulate frequency tables where the percentages, frequency, mean, variance and standard deviation will be obtained.

Under quantitative analysis, process will include; editing, classification, coding and presentation. Data will be summarized in frequency tables, percentage; data will be analyzed with the use of statistical package for social scientist (SPSS). Quantitative data will be collected through structured questionnaires and it will be cantered into a computer, tabulated and analyzed.

Spearman’s correlation coefficient and regression analysis is recommended by Amin (2005, P.378) will be used during data analysis in order to test the strength, degree and direction of the out sourcing on performance of public procurement a case study of K.C.C.A. The formula will be used for this study because it will be compatible with SPSS program in addition to being appreciated in analyzing data under which the data will be arranged.

3.8.2 Qualitative Analysis

Qualitative data will be analyzed using content analysis, this will involve gathering and analyzing data based on the content, where by the raw data collected from the field will be read through to enable the researcher to get familiar with the data. At this process the study will use noted cards to organize the available data to accelerate further analysis. Data will then be evaluated and analyzed to determine its accuracy, credibility, usefulness and consistency which will aide acceptance or rejection of the research hypothesis.

3.9 Measurement of Variables

A five point Likert ordinal scales ranging from; strongly agree which shall be assigned 5, strongly Agree, 4 agree, Not Sure assigned 3, Disagree allocated 2 and strongly disagree allotted 1 to obtain responses on the variables. The Likert ordinal scale has been used by numerous scholars who have conducted similar studies such as Bowling, (1997).

Nominal scale of the variables

In determining the scale; the structured questions will be measured using the following variables; out sourcing on performance of public procurement a case study of K.C.C.A.

The key dimensions of Out Sourcing include; Process specific out sourcing, Operational outsourcing and Business process outsourcing. On the other note it was also further revealed that public procurement performance was measured using; Achieving value for money, Reduced costs and Service delivery quality

3.10 Procedures of data collection

The researcher will obtain an introductory letter from UMI to seek permission and enable easy access of information by the researcher from K.C.C.A after the permission is granted from

In K.C.C.A, the researcher will go ahead and administer interviews to selected respondents however the consent of the respondents will be sought before being given the Interviews and the respondents will be informed that the study will be strictly for academic purpose.

3.11 Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations will be taken care of by, first seeking authorization from the UMI and other relevant authorities. Questionnaires Will be structured in such a way that there is no mention of the interviewee’s name which ensures strict confidentiality in data.

Further, responses will be optional and respondents will not be given any inducements to participate in the study. Ethical considerations will also be taken care by the researcher by briefing the respondents on the purpose of the research, their relevance in the research process, and expectations from them as explained by Lloyd Bevan (2009).

Informed consent will be ascertained from informants/respondents. They will be promised confidentiality about the information they provide. The researcher will explain to the respondents the purpose of the study as purely academic and that the information obtained will be treated with utmost confidentiality. If anybody other than the University authority are to have access the information, the researcher will first seek the consent of the respondents. All the participants who take part in the study have to sign a consent form to confirm willingness before inclusion.

Further, the researcher will explain to respondents that this being an academic work, they are no financial inducements but encourages them to provide the information on their willingness to support knowledge generation. To address the issue of anonymity and privacy, information received will be aggregated and reported in percentages.

The researcher will avail his telephone contact to the respondents for inquiry relating to the research ethical issues.

REFERENCES

Buldeo, R., Verlinde, S., Macharis, C., Schouteet, p., & Varnhaver1, L. (n.d.). Logistics outsourcing in omnichannel retail: State of practice and service recommendations. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 49(3), 267-286.

Buldeo, R., Verlinde, S., Marcharis, C., Schoutteet, P., & Vanhaverbeke, L. (2019). Logistics outsourcing in omnichannel retail: State of practice and service recommendations. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management,, 49(3), 267-286.

Chawla, P. (2019). Impact of employer branding on employee engagement in business process outsourcing (BPO) sector in India: mediating effect of person–organization fit. I. ndustrial and Commercial Training.

Feng, T., Ren, Z., & Zhang, F. (2019). Service outsourcing: Capacity, quality and correlated costs. Production and Operations Management,, 28(3), 682-699.

Fouladi, S., Romero, F., Iter, D., Li, Q., Chatterjee, S., Kozyrakis, S., & Winstein, K. (2019). From laptop to lambda: Outsourcing everyday jobs to thousands of transient functional containers. In 2019 {USENIX}. Annual Technical Conference ({USENIX}{ATC} 19), (pp. 475-488).

Gonzalez, R., Gasco, J., & Llopis, J. (n.d.). Information systems outsourcing risks: a study of large firms. Industrial management & Data systems.

Gossler, T., Sigala, I., Wakolbinger, T., & Buber, R. (n.d.). Applying the Delphi method to determine best practices for outsourcing logistics in disaster relief. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

Govindan, K., Kadzinski, M., Enhling, R., & Miebs, G. (2019). Selection of a sustainable third-party reverse logistics provider based on the robustness analysis of an outranking graph kernel conducted with ELECTRE I and SMAA. Omega,, 85, 1-15.

Grant, D. (2019). Outsourcing integration and third party logistics services: An appreciation of two ‘classic’articles in industrial marketing management. Industrial Marketing Management,, 79, 21-26.

Hsu, C., & Liou, J. (2013). An outsourcing provider decision model for the airline industry. Journal of Air Transport Management,, 28, 40-46.

Johnston, D., & Vanderstoep, S. (2009). Research methods for everyday life: Blending qualitative and quantitative approaches. Jossey-Bass.

Kahraman, C., Engin, O., Kabak, O., & Kaya, I. (2009). Information systems outsourcing decisions using a group decision-making approach. Engineering Applications of artificial intelligence,, 22(6), 832-841.

Kolawole, I., & Agatha, E. (2015). Achieving organizational performance through business process outsourcing. European Scientific Journal, 11(4)., 11(4).

Krozner, R., & Rajan, R. (1997). Organization structure and credibility: Evidence from commercial bank securities activities before the Glass-Steagall Act. Journal of Monetary Economics,, 39(3), 475-516.

Kuriloya, A., Lysenko, E., Pronkin, N., Mukhin, K., & Syromyatnikov, D. (2019). The impact of strategic outsourcing on the interaction market in entrepreneurship education. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education,, 22(4), 1-11.

Lee, G., Lee, S., Malatesta, D., & Fernadez, S. (2019). Outsourcing and organizational performance: The employee perspective. The American Review of Public Administration,, 49(8), 973-986.

Lee, J., Park, Y., Straub, D., & Koo, Y. (2019). Holistic Archetypes of IT Outsourcing Strategy: A Contingency Fit and Configurational Approach. MIS Quarterly,, 43(4).

Liu, Z., & Jayaraman, V. (2019). Exploring the effect of internal and external integration on the performance of professional service outsourcing. Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing.

Logman, S., Lacerda, D., Camergo, L., & Dresch, A. (2019). Operations strategy and analysis of competitive criteria: a case study of a food business. Gestão & Produção, 26(3).

Martin, C., & Guerin, D. (2006). The interior design profession’s body of knowledge.

McCorry, P., Bakshi, S., Bentoy, I., Meitkejohn, S., & Miller, A. (2019). Pisa: Arbitration outsourcing for state channels. In Proceedings of the 1st ACM Conference on Advances in Financial Technologies, (pp. 16-30).

Mussapiro, K., Jalkibaeyey, J., Kurenkeyeya, G., Kadibergenoya, A., Petro, M., & Zhakyebek, L. (2019). Business scaling through outsourcing and networking: selected case studies. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability issues,, 7(2), 1480.

Nyarko, O., & Kwabena, J. (2011). Model test and numerical simulation for structural health monitoring of truss bridge.

Sigala, I., & Wakolbinger, T. (2019). Outsourcing of humanitarian logistics to commercial logistics service providers. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

Vazifedan, M., & Darestani, S. (2019). Green logistics outsourcing employing multi criteria decision making and quality function deployment in the petrochemical industry. The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics,, 35(4), 243-254.

Wei, C., & Ho, C. (2019). Exploring signaling roles of service providers’ reputation and competence in influencing perceptions of service quality and outsourcing intentions. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing (JOEUC),, 31(1), 86-109.

Yang, C., Wecker, J., & Sheu, C. (2012). What makes outsourcing effective? A transaction-cost economics analysis. International Journal of Production Research, 50(16), 4462-4476.

Yang, D., Kim, S., Nam, C., & Min, J. (2007). Developing a decision model for business process outsourcing. Computers & Operations Research,, 34(12), 3769-3778.

Yang, Q., Zhao, X., & Yeung, H. (2016). Improving logistics outsourcing performance through transactional and relational mechanisms under transaction uncertainties: Evidence from China. International Journal of Production Economics,, 175, 12-23.

Zhou, F., Wang, X., Goh, M., & He, Y. (2019). Supplier portfolio of key outsourcing parts selection using a two-stage decision making framework for Chinese domestic auto-maker. Computers & Industrial Engineering,, 128, 559-575.