The mediating effect of effective decision making on the design of water resource management ICT model: The case of the management of Lake Victoria Basin

Abstract

Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS- SEM) technique was employed to evaluate the mediating effects of effective decision making on water resource management policies and water resource management frameworks in the design of water resource management ICT model for an integrated water resource management of Lake Victoria Basin (LVB). Researchers took a quantitative approach using smart-PLS version 3. The sample size of 152 respondents was computed from a population size of 245 persons across districts within LVB. This study received feedback from different experts involved in the management of water resources in LVB. The findings of the study discovered that water resource management policies and water resource management frameworks are significant and had positive effects on the design of water resource management ICT model when subjected to a mediation of effective decision making. The three exogenous latent constructs without mediation wholesomely explained 39.1% of the variance (R2) in the design of water resource management ICT model and 41.4% under the influence of a mediation. This study confirmed that effective decision making had a positive mediating effect in the relationship between the exogenous and endogenous variables. These findings can support practitioners and water managers engaged in the management of water resources in LVB and other water bodies elsewhere in the world.