Abstract:
The study examined the effects of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices on the
organisational performance of food processing firms in Ghana. It specifically
investigated the M&E practices adopted by these firms and how major practices
comprising the baseline study, M&E budget and M&E planning affect their firms’
organisational performance. This quantitative and descriptive-based research was
underpinned by the stakeholder theory and the diffusion of innovations theory. The
study gathered primary data via structured questionnaires from 174 sampled managers
in a target population of 509 food processing firms operating in the Accra, Tema and
Cape Coast cities. It focused on and gathered data from only firms that currently adopt
the M&E practices. After the data collection, a data set of 157 was obtained and
processed via the IBM SPSS (v.26) and SmartPLS software. Data analysis was done
using the PLS-SEM technique. The study found that all the three key M&E practices
(baseline, planning and budget) significantly and positively affected these firms’
performance. It was concluded that adopting the M&E practices positively predict any
change in the firms’ performance. Hence, policy makers including the owners and
management of the food processing firms should pay maximum attention to their M&E
practices to attain higher organisational performance.
KEYWORDS: Baseline Study, Monitoring and Evaluation, M&E Planning, M&E
Budget, Organisational Performance
