Universities in Kenya are facing increasing challenges stemming from reduced public funding and intensifying global competition. These pressures have forced the institutions to adopt more strategic approaches to enhance performance. Although Ansoff growth strategies are commonly utilized in corporate settings, the application of Ansoff’s framework within higher education particularly in developing countries such as Kenya is an emerging focus of academic research. This study aimed to examine the relationship between Ansoff Growth Strategies and performance of chartered universities in Kenya, with a focus on how strategic choices influence key performance indicators such as academic output, research innovation and institutional collaboration. The study was anchored on Strategic Fit Theory offering a theoretical foundation for understanding how strategic alignment affects institutional outcomes. A cross-sectional research design was adopted, targeting all 54 chartered universities in Kenya comprising 32 public and 22 private institutions. Primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire administered to vice-chancellors or designated senior management representatives. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) results confirmed that the overall model comprising market penetration, product development, market development, and diversification was statistically significant (F = 4.596, p < 0.05). Among the strategies, market development exhibited a positive and statistically significant influence on the performance of chartered universities in Kenya (? = 0.417, t = 2.789, p < 0.05), whereas diversification had a significant negative effect (? = -0.349, t = -2.510, p < 0.05). In contrast, market penetration (? = 0.185, t = 1.311, p > 0.05) and product development (? = 0.084, t = 0.638, p > 0.05) did not show statistically significant effects on performance. These study findings demonstrate that the joint implementation of Ansoff growth strategies significantly influences the performance of chartered universities in Kenya. The study concludes that the implementation of joint Ansoff growth strategies comprising of market penetration, product development, market development and diversification has a significant positive impact on the performance of chartered universities in Kenya. The study recommends for a shift away from fragmented initiatives toward a comprehensive, multi-pronged growth approach. By integrating diverse strategic actions, universities will be better positioned to address the complex and evolving challenges facing the higher education sector in Kenya and similar contexts, hence improvement in performance.
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