Knowledge Creation and Sharing for the Efficiency of Service Delivery in the Hospitality Industry Within the Five Star Hotels in Naivasha, Nakuru County

The hospitality industry in Kenya has experienced a period of serious economic hardship ranging from poor room occupancy rates impacting expected revenues to poor service delivery. This difficulty could be due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which has completely shut down the hotel industry. The main aim of this research was to investigate the impact of knowledge management on the efficiency of hospitality service delivery in a five-star hotel in Naivasha, Nakuru County. The specific purpose was to determine how information generation, knowledge exchange, knowledge application, and knowledge storage affect the hotel industry's service delivery efficiency. This research was based on the theory of knowledge-based view. This study used a descriptive research design and collect primary data using a semi-structured questionnaire. This study will target 250 management staff of 13 five-star hotels in Naivasha. The sample size of 154 respondents was selected by stratified random selection. To explain the data's properties, descriptive statistics was used in the analysis. Correlation and regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between the research variables. Tables and graphs were used to present the findings. The findings indicated that knowledge creation and efficiency of service delivery were positively and significantly related (β=0.340, p<0.05).  Further results showed that knowledge sharing and efficiency of service delivery were positively and significantly related (β=0.297, p<0.05).  In addition, results showed that knowledge application and efficiency of service delivery were positively and significantly related (β=0.197, p<0.05). Further results showed that knowledge storage and efficiency of service delivery were positively and significantly related (β=0.143, p<0.05). The study concluded that creating opportunities for capacity building enhances service delivery in the hotels. Further, sourcing out knowledge from external sources helps in knowledge creation which enhances service delivery. The study also concluded that utilization of institutional knowledge as well as having a knowledge sharing policy in the hotels aids in improving service delivery in the hotel. The study also concluded that storage of information through documentation, record keeping, classifying information and training enhances service delivery. The study further recommends that hotels should utilize knowledge to enhance efficiency of service delivery through development of knowledge creation policies and to encourage employees to utilize the knowledge gained on service delivery to develop new innovations and come up with new products and services. It is important for policy makers in five star hotels to develop robust and dedicated knowledge management capabilities. This is because knowledge management leads to growth and expansion of hotels internationally and subsequently improve the service delivery. This research contributes significantly to the subject of knowledge management. It informs changes to be made in the hospitality industry in regard to implementation of knowledge management.