Individual Fundamentals and Financial Performance of Civil Contractors in Kirinyaga County, Kenya

Abstract

Civil contractors are entrepreneurs involved in the management of construction projects which are considered to be part of small businesses. 2016 annual budget implementation report for Kirinyaga County showed that the monitoring and evaluation of construction process was affected by various characteristics. Hence; the study focused on individual fundamentals of entrepreneurship and financial performance of civil contractors in Kirinyaga County, Kenya which had affected the monitoring and evaluation process. The specific objective was to establish how individual entrepreneurship competencies affect financial performance of civil contactors in the county. The study was affixed in the Kirzner's Theory of Entrepreneurship supported by Innovation Theory. The study used descriptive research design and the target population was the 500 civil contractors who had been awarded tenders by the County Government of Kirinyaga in the 2015/16 Financial Year. Stratified random sampling was used to get the desired number of respondents. The sample frame consisted of 100 main contractors, 18 women contractors, 27 youth contractors and 5 physically challenged contractors totaling to150 respondents. Data was collected using questionnaires which were administered using a drop and pick method and then analyzed using the Statistical Packages for the Social Studies. Data was presented using bar graphs and tables. Findings of the study indicated that individual fundamentals have a significant positive effect on financial performance of civil contactors in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. The study recommended that further study should be done on the effect of other entrepreneurship fundamentals on financial performance of civil contractors.