Influence of Knowledge Capabilities on Performance of Kenyan Fintech Companies

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of knowledge capability on performance in Kenyan fintech companies. The research questions that guided the study were to establish the influence of knowledge acquisition, knowledge assimilation, knowledge transformation and knowledge exploitation on performance of Kenyan fintech companies. The theoretical review of the study used the dynamic capabilities theory. Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive research design with a target population of 850 employees at management level working at 85 Kenyan fintech companies. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 272 management level employees. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The statistical package for the Social Science was used as a data analysis tool and thereafter the data was presented in figures and tables. Findings: Findings on the first research question, indicated that there was a negative correlation between fintech performance and knowledge acquisition capability. The multiple linear regression results revealed that knowledge acquisition had no statistically significant influence on the performance of fintech. The results from the regression coefficients indicated that knowledge acquisition capability did not significantly predict the performance of fintech firms in Kenya. For the second research question, the correlation analysis findings indicated that knowledge assimilation capability had a negative relationship with performance of the fintech companies. The regression coefficient results indicated that knowledge assimilation capability did not significantly predict the performance of fintech organizations in Kenya. Regarding the third research question, correlation results noted that knowledge transformation capability had a negative relationship with performance of fintech firms. Findings of the regression coefficients indicated that knowledge transformation capability significantly did not predict performance of fintech organizations in Kenya. On the last research question, correlation results revealed that knowledge exploitation capability had a negative relationship with performance of fintech firms. Regression coefficients result indicated that knowledge exploitation capabilities did not significantly predict the performance of fintech firms in Kenya. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The study concluded that knowledge capabilities did not significantly influence the performance of Kenyan fintech companies. This is mainly attributed to the other elements and factors that influence performance more. The study recommends that fintech institutions should increase their focus on knowledge capabilities to compete sustainably in turbulent business environments. Fintech organizations can fully exploit the knowledge they receive to effectively achieve strategic objectives. Additionally, due to other factors being more influential in predicting performance, further research is required with these additional variables considered.