From Resource Allocation to Mobility Outcomes: Examining the Role of Strategic Financial Configuration in Nairobi’s Urban Transport System

Effective urban mobility requires more than the availability of financial resources; it also depends on how funds, grants and debt are planned, allocated, monitored and aligned with transport priorities. Anchored in the Resource-Based View and complemented by Resource Orchestration Theory, this study examined the association between strategic financial resource configuration, defined as the deliberate structuring of fund, grant and debt resources, and perceived urban mobility outcomes (safety, reliability and efficiency) in Nairobi City, Kenya. A positivist, cross-sectional descriptive correlational survey design was used. The target population comprised 765 organisational actors in 25 public, private and international development institutions. A sample of 263, computed with Yamane’s formula, was allocated proportionally across the three stakeholder strata, and respondents within strata were selected purposively. Of 220 returned questionnaires (83.7%), 214 usable responses were analysed in SPSS version 30 using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and simple linear regression. Financial resource configuration showed a moderate-to-strong positive association with urban mobility outcomes (r = .635, p < .001) and accounted for 40.4% of their variance, F(1, 212) = 143.42, p < .001; B = 0.352, 95% CI [0.295, 0.409]. Planning, allocation, accountability and monitoring practices are therefore important correlates of perceived mobility performance.