INFLUENCE OF RESOURCE ALLOCATION ON PERFORMANCE OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN NORTH EASTERN KENYA

Road infrastructure remains a fundamental driver of economic development, regional integration, and access to essential public services. Despite substantial public investment in road infrastructure development, many projects in North Eastern Kenya continue to experience implementation challenges characterized by cost overruns, delayed completion, inefficient utilization of resources, and poor project outcomes. Although previous studies have examined various determinants of infrastructure performance, limited empirical attention has been devoted to the role of resource allocation in enhancing the performance of road infrastructure projects, particularly within geographically marginalized and resource-constrained regions. This study therefore examined the influence of resource allocation on the performance of road infrastructure projects in North Eastern Kenya. The study was anchored on Resource Dependency Theory and Resource-Based Theory and adopted a positivist research philosophy and an explanatory research design. The target population comprised 152 respondents drawn from project managers, contractors, government agencies, and other stakeholders involved in road infrastructure projects. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires, yielding a response rate of 92.36 percent. Reliability and validity tests confirmed the adequacy of the research instrument, with the resource allocation construct demonstrating satisfactory psychometric properties. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were employed in data analysis. The findings revealed that resource identification, budgeting practices, and allocation strategies were generally perceived to support effective implementation of road infrastructure projects. Further, resource allocation exerted a positive and statistically significant influence on road infrastructure performance (B = 0.337, p = 0.001, OR = 1.401), indicating that projects characterized by effective resource allocation practices were significantly more likely to achieve satisfactory performance outcomes than projects operating under weak resource allocation systems. The study concludes that resource allocation constitutes a critical strategic implementation capability that enhances road infrastructure performance through effective identification, planning, budgeting, and deployment of financial, human, and material resources. The study recommends that implementing agencies institutionalize comprehensive resource planning frameworks, strengthen budgeting processes, and adopt strategic resource allocation mechanisms to improve the implementation and performance of road infrastructure projects.