Organizational Cohesion, Generational Diversity and Performance of County Governments in Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.68050/JAMS.2026.427Keywords:
generational diversity, organizational cohesion, moderation, organizational performance, county governments, KenyaAbstract
This study examined the relationship between generational diversity and the organizational performance of county governments in Kenya, and tested whether organizational cohesion moderates that relationship. The study was anchored on Generational Cohort Theory and Social Identity Theory and adopted a positivist philosophy and an explanatory correlational design. The target population comprised 1,645 employees drawn from the Chief Executive Committee Member, Chief Officer, and Director/Departmental Head cadres across Kenya's 47 county governments, from which a sample of 384 respondents was drawn using Fisher's formula and stratified random sampling with proportionate allocation. A structured questionnaire was administered, and 307 usable responses were returned, representing a 79.9% response rate. The generational diversity and organizational cohesion constructs recorded Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.797 and 0.857, respectively, confirming acceptable internal consistency. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression. The findings revealed a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between generational diversity and organizational performance (r = 0.609, p < 0.01; R = 0.615, Adjusted R² = 0.372, F(3, 303) = 61.337, p < 0.001), with age distribution, career expectations, and cohort membership all emerging as significant predictors. Organizational cohesion itself had a significant positive direct effect on performance and, together with employee diversity, explained a significant share of the variance in performance. However, the specific interaction between generational diversity and organizational cohesion was not statistically significant (β = -0.171, t = -1.871, p = 0.062), indicating that, unlike tenure diversity, the benefits of generational diversity for county government performance in this study were not significantly amplified by organizational cohesion. The study recommends that county governments treat generational diversity as a strategic resource in its own right, through structured career-progression frameworks, mentorship, and mixed-generation teams, while pursuing organizational cohesion as an independent driver of performance.
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