The university education sector in Kenya has become very attractive due to changes in the environment. Quality has become an essential business strategy for all sectors and the implementation of quality management practices has become popular. In actual fact, quality management is an integrative management strategy aimed at the continuous improvement of universities performance. The purpose of this study is to establish the effects of quality management practices on performance of Kenyan universities. Deming’s theory of quality management provided a theoretical basis for the study. The study adopted explanatory survey research design. The target population was the employees of public and private universities from which 321 respondents were selected using stratified random sampling techniques. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics Pearson correlations and structural equation modelling. The study unveiled that employee involvement in the university activities, leadership commitment and continuous improvement and customer focus have a significant effect on the university performance. Top management should facilitate employees for any successful implementation of quality management practices. The study recommended that universities operating in Kenya should embrace quality management system to improve their performance.
Keywords: Customer Focus, Employee Involvement, Leadership Commitment, Performance, Quality Management Practices, Universities
