Abstract:
Supplier selection criteria has in the recent years presented dilemma in the public and private procurement
processes. Water Resource Authority (WRA), a public corporation in Kenya has experienced shortfalls in
performance amidst the implementation of procurement plans over the past several years. This study
established the influence of supplier selection criteria on the performance of public corporations in Kenya,
using a case of the WRA. The specific objectives of the study were: to establish the influence of supplier
regulatory compliance assessment on performance of the WRA, to find out the influence of E-procurement
capacity, to determine the influence of supplier quality assurance and to establish the influence of
management capacity on organizational performance of the Water Resources Authority (WRA). The study
adopted a descriptive case study design and a census survey methodology targeting all the 55 members of
the target population which included all the senior WRA departmental heads and other administrative staff.
A closed ended questionnaire was used for primary data collection. The researcher carried out a pilot test of
the study involving 10 research subjects on the research instrument before administering the instrument to
the entire study population. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in Kenya, the questionnaires were emailed to
the respondents through their official emails. The respondents filled and returned back the filled
questionnaires through the same format. Data collected was analysed using SPSS and presented using tables
and descriptive statistics. The study findings showed a significant influence of supplier regulation compliance
on the performance of the Water Resources Authority. The study also established a significant correlation
between E-procurement compliance and performance of the Water Resources Authority. Additionally, the
study established that there existed a significant influence of supplier quality assurance and supplier
management capacity on the performance of the Water Resources Authority. The study would inform the
WRA’s board of management decision making. Additionally, the knowledge derived would be cascaded
downwards to the regional implementing WRA branches for sound supplier selection criteria practices.
