Abstract
of a myriad of challenges experienced. Academic staff are regarded as the key resource of any institution of higher learning in the achievement of its goals. Despite the empowerment strategies adopted, concerns on quality education in universities has been in the public domain. These include: low output of quality research, teaching competency, unethical practices and few innovations impacting on quality of graduates and ranking of Kenyan universities globally. In view of the foregoing, this study investigated employee empowerment practices on service delivery among the academic staff in public universities in Western Kenya. Specifically, the study established the effect of coaching, delegation of authority, employee participation and examined university factors as the moderating variable on service delivery among the academic staff in Public universities in Western Kenya. This study employed a descriptive survey research design and anchored on Kanter’s theory as the main theory. Transformational leadership was also used in guiding the development of theoretical and empirical review. The study targeted 2,311 academic staff drawn from the nine (9) public universities in Western Kenya. Stratified, purposive and random sampling was used to select and apportion respondents in the public universities. The sample size of 341 respondents was determined from the target population in accordance with Yamane’s formula and 17 respondents was then calculated and added to the sample size to determine an appropriate size and cater for the non-response. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used in data collection. Data analysis and interpretation was based on descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics entailed frequencies, mean, percentages and standard deviation while inferential statistics used correlations and regression (Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation test, ANOVA, linear regression, hierarchical and multiple regressions). Themizing and content analysis was used to analyse interview schedules and face/content validity was explored to assess whether there was a logical link between employee empowerment and service delivery. The study findings revealed that employee empowerment practices had a significant influence on service delivery among the academic staff in the Kenyan public universities; coaching (r=0.657, p=0.002< 0.05), delegation of authority (r=0.722, p=0.013< 0.05) and employee participation (r=0.790, p=0.000< 0.05). It was also observed that coaching accounted for 43.1% of the variability in service delivery while delegation of authority and employee participation accounted for 52.2% and 62.4% respectively. It can also be concluded that employee participation results to a higher contribution in service delivery followed by delegation of authority and then by coaching. The study recommended that public universities should prioritized coaching, entrust academic staff with authority, allow academic staff to participate in all the key academic functions and increase sensitization of academic staff on empowerment practices to enable them embrace and appreciate its importance.”