ABSTRACT

Strategic communications management is essential in county governments not only in terms of communicating policy directions, but also to disclaim un-authoritative communications that seek to misinform the public and undermine the devolution process. However, years after establishment of the county governments, the strategic communication function in these governments is still wanting and its power in promoting devolution is not yet evident. Therefore, the main objective of the study was to examine influence of strategic communication management on devolution in Taita Taveta County. Specifically, it sought to examine how audience segmentation, communication content control, communication medium choice and communication feedback mechanisms used in strategic communications management influence devolution in Taita Taveta County. The study was intended to be of immense benefit to the management and administration of Taita Taveta County Government on the importance of employing strategic communication so as to achieve devolution. Other stakeholders in the devolution process such as NGOs, and the business community, policy makers and the academic community are also expected to draw considerable benefits from the outcome of the study. The study was guided by the Agenda Setting Theory, the Impression Management Theory and the Media Richness Theory. The study used descriptive survey research design targeting management members at various levels in the devolved ministries in the county. Stratified random sampling was used to obtain a sample size of 91 respondents out of which 82 participated in the study. Data was collected using questionnaire and was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The results revealed that use of audience segmentation in strategic communication strongly influenced effective devolution in the study area. Communication content control was also found to strongly influence effective devolution in the area. However, the findings revealed that choice of communication medium had a weak but significant impact on devolution in the study area. Lastly, it was established that communication feedback mechanisms moderately influenced effective devolution in the study area. Therefore, the study concludes that strategic communication management significantly influenced devolution in Taita Taveta County. Thus, the study recommends that the county communications department invest more in studying the demographic characteristics of the area residents so as to enable it not only to invest in the appropriate media technology, but also to create targeted messages that can be rapidly disseminated among these groups. It is also recommended that the communications team undergoes regular training on social media communications management. In addition, the study recommends that the county develops its own media like a local radio station, publication or TV station as these could help improve strategic communications. Finally, it is recommended that the communications teams learn how to contact the administrations of other social networking sites whenever the county is under attack on their social media handles.