Influence of Board Attributes on the Performance of State Owned Enterprises in Kenya

This study sought to assess the influence of board attributes on the performance of state owned enterprises in Kenya applying an integrated analytical framework. The population of the study was the 130 state owned enterprises that had participated in performance contracting over the five year period 2010 to 2015 in Kenya. A sample of 97 state owned corporation was selected. The main instrument of primary data collection was self-administered semi-structured questionnaire, administered on a stratified sample comprising senior managers. Secondary data was collected from the State Corporations Advisory Committee Secretariat as well as from company secretaries of selected corporations.  Descriptive statistics of means and standard deviation of were calculated. Regression analysis established that board structure and board operating environment had statistically significant influence on performance of state owned enterprises in Kenya. However, board demographics did not statistically significantly influence performance of state owned enterprises. The study recommends that board attributes that support performance be adopted and considered in development of new codes for governance.