Abstract
Given the highly competitive nature of the world, organizations are fast embracing modern
approaches in management as a way of enhancing their competitiveness. However, one of the
areas that has not been fully exploited is the involvement of the board of directors in strategic
planning, particularly in SACCOs. With this background, the study objective was to establish
the function of the board of directors in strategic planning within deposit-taking Saccos of the
County of Nairobi, Kenya. This study was directed on the stewardship theory, the agency
theory, managerial hegemony theory, and the stakeholder theory. The study adopted a
purposive sampling technique, specifically the total population sampling, which in this
context, constituted 44 SACCOs that were licensed to undertake business within the County
of Nairobi, Kenya. The data was gathered by administering strutured questionnaires to the
respondents. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics by the assistance of
SPSS version 23. The study established that the BOD performs important functions in the
strategic planning process of SACCOS including the creation of mission, vision and core
values, continuously review proposed strategic decisions and the conditions under which they
operate, assessing financial and human resource capabilities needed to plan and execute
strategies, questioning managers to stimulate thought and promote better strategic decision
making, and approving strategic plans. The study concluded that board of directors performs
an essential part in strategic planning within an organization. The study recommended that
organizations take the role of BOD more seriously to improve the strategic planning process.
One underlying limitation of the study was that it concentrated on SACCOs alone. The study
suggested that future research should adopt other advanced statistical analysis techniques to
test the relationship between the BOD and strategic planning.