Inventory Management Practices and Performance of Siaya County Government Referral Hospital, Kenya

This study examined the effect of inventory management practices on the performance of Siaya County Government Referral Hospital, Kenya. Specifically, it assessed the effects of inventory planning, stock control, inventory disposal and inventory auditing. The study was anchored on Resource-Based View, Systems Theory, Institutional Theory and Control Theory and adopted a correlational cross-sectional research design. The target population comprised 173 staff involved in inventory-related activities, from which a sample of 121 respondents was selected using Yamane's formula. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. A total of 108 responses were analysed. All inventory management practices had positive and significant relationships with hospital performance: inventory planning (r = .432, p < .001), stock control (r = .586, p < .001), inventory disposal (r = .358, p < .001) and inventory auditing (r = .401, p < .001). The regression model was statistically significant, F(4,103) = 88.512, p < .001, explaining 77.5% of the variation in hospital performance (R² = .775). Stock control had the strongest effect (B = .458, β = .270, p < .001), followed by inventory planning (B = .294, β = .247, p = .001), inventory auditing (B = .152, β = .182, p = .004) and inventory disposal (B = .157, β = .130, p = .003). The study concludes that strengthening inventory management practices significantly enhances hospital performance. It recommends improved digital stock controls, structured inventory planning, formal disposal procedures and regular inventory audits.

Inventory Management, Inventory Planning, Stock Control, Inventory Auditing, Hospital Performance.

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