Transparency Practices and Service Delivery in County Governments in Kenya

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined the influence of transparency practices on service delivery in county governments in Kenya, addressing the gap in empirical evidence on how open governance shapes public service outcomes under devolution. Methodology: Guided by Information Transparency Theory and Principal-Agent Theory and grounded in a pragmatist philosophy, a cross-sectional descriptive design targeted County Executive Committee Members, Members of County Assemblies, and Chairpersons of County Public Service Boards across Kenya's 47 counties. A sample of 310 respondents was drawn through stratified random sampling, with 296 usable questionnaires returned (95.5%). Data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using Pearson correlation and simple linear regression, complemented by thematic analysis of open-ended responses. Findings: Transparency had a strong, positive, and significant relationship with service delivery (r = 0.696, p < 0.001), explaining 48.5% of its variance (R² = 0.485, F = 276.554, p < 0.001; B = 0.697, p < 0.001), and the null hypothesis was rejected. Thematic analysis identified access to information, digitalization, public engagement, oversight, and citizen feedback as dominant transparency dimensions. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study integrates Information Transparency Theory with Principal-Agent Theory in Kenya's devolved context, provides county governments with empirical justification for investing in timely digital disclosure and open-procurement platforms, and informs policy on institutionalizing accessible citizen feedback and oversight mechanisms.