MBA Theses and Dissertations (2021)
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Browsing MBA Theses and Dissertations (2021) by Subject "Competitive advantage"
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- ItemAn Analysis of service differentiation strategies adopted by top law firms in Kenya(Strathmore University, 2021) Kariuki, Esther GathoniThe increasing pressure on businesses to curtail their costs has led to a challenging business environment for law firms, characterised by demand for reduction in legal spend, the demand for more use of technology, and more efficiency in legal service delivery. This study sought to examine how top law firms in Kenya have sought to differentiate themselves in a changing marketplace in the manner in which they price their services, harness technology to improve their processes, and endeavour to achieve efficiency in their operations. The study was premised on the market-based view that firm performance is primarily based on industry and market factors; and the survival based theory that companies have to find ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors in order to survive. The study adopted a cross-sectional and descriptive research design to identify the strategies that law firms had adopted and to examine the impact of the strategies on competitive advantage. The study population were the partners and senior associates from each of the 11 top law firms ranked as leading law firms by all of IFLR 1000, Chambers and Partners and Legal 500. Purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used to identify respondents with the requisite experience. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The study established that top law firms perceive that there exists a moderate to strong positive relationship between pricing and efficiency strategies adopted and an improvement in the firm’s competitive advantage; but that the relationship between the use of technology and competitive advantage is negligible. The study recommends that law firms invest in the development of pricing strategy and integrate pricing strategy in overall strategic planning and the continued use of strategies that improve efficiency in service delivery. The study recommends that further research be carried out on a bigger population of law firms and that numerical measures of competitive advantage be used in further research.
- ItemEffects of logistics effectiveness on competitive advantage of Kenyan importers of durable consumer goods from Brazil(Strathmore University, 2021) Mutuku, Ruth NzilaniPursuance of business is meant to optimize shareholders’ wealth and profitability. However, organisations often fail to adopt measures that are aimed at achieving competitive advantage in order to improve their profitability. Competitive advantage would lead to an increase in their market share, sales, profitability and minimize advertising costs. To explore the benefits of competitive advantage, this study examined the effect of logistics effectiveness on competitive advantage of Kenyan importers of durable consumer goods from Brazil. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the effect of customs, infrastructure, shipment and timeliness on the competitive advantage of Kenyan importers of durable consumer goods from Brazil. The study was based on Resource based view and Game theory. The study adopted correlation research design. Simple random sampling was adopted in selection of 67 importers. Primary data was gathered through issue of questionnaires. Reliability was examined through Cronbach’s Alpha. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The former had mean, frequencies, standard deviation and percentages while the later had correlation and multiple regression. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 22. Study findings indicated positive and significant influence of customs, infrastructure, shipment and timeliness on competitive advantage of Kenyan importers of durable goods from Brazil. Hence, there is need for optimization of customs, infrastructure, shipment and timeliness so as to enhance competitiveness of Kenyan importers of durable goods from Brazil. The study was limited on the choice of the target population. This was managed through seeking of importers of goods from Brazil embassy and a list of 205 firms was compiled. Importers of durable goods are located in different parts, to locate them snowball approach was adopted.
- ItemThe Extent to which competitive strategies influence competitive advantage of private security firms in Nairobi County(Strathmore University, 2021) Mutunga, Nicholas Kisyang'aThe main aim of this study was to examine the extent to which competitive strategies influence competitive advantage of Private Security Firms in Nairobi County. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the extent to which cost leadership strategy influences competitive advantage of private security firms in Nairobi County, assess the extent to which differentiation strategy influences competitive advantage of private security firms in Nairobi County and to determine the extent to which focus strategy influences competitive advantage of private security firms in Nairobi County. The study was based on the Porter’s competitive theory and the Resource-based view. Descriptive research design was applied in the study. The target population was 71 Private Security Firms in Nairobi County. The study used census method, which applied statistical enumeration whereby all the 71 firms were considered. The study utilized a questionnaire as the instrument of data collection. The researcher used descriptive statistics such as the mean and standard deviation to present the collected data. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 24 was utilized to get the output of the collected data. Further, the study applied inferential statistics such as multiple regression analysis to establish the relationship between competitive strategies and competitive advantage. Correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. The study found that there was a significant and a positive association between cost leadership strategy and competitive advantage. Further, the study found that most of the firms have devised ways through which they can differentiate their services in order to have a reputation of offering the best services as compared to other firms in the sector. Additionally, the study found that firms targeted a particular market segment with specific products of high quality and which are appealing to the customers. The study concluded that there was a significant positive association between cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy and focus strategy; and competitive advantage. It was recommended that the firms should adopt strategies that propel them towards achieving competitive advantage and an edge over their competitors. Since the study focused on major PSFs in Nairobi County, further study on competitive strategies and their impact on competitive advantage of the small PSFs in Kenya is recommended.
- ItemInfluence of digital marketing strategies on the competitive advantage of commercial banks in Kenya(Strathmore University, 2021) Makau, Gratia MbitheThe local banking industry has been facing intense competition from various players in the financial industry, such as Saccos, Microfinance firms, and digital lending platforms in competing for customers. Further, increasing changes in the regulatory and business climate have increased the pressure on local banks to enhance their capacity to remain competitive. The emergence of new technologies and digital disruption has presented the commercial banks with new tools that can be adapted to enhance their competitiveness. Despite this, there is scant literature examining the nature of the influence of various digital marketing strategies on the competitive advantage of commercial banks. The research sought to establish the influence of social media marketing, search engine optimization, and e-mail marketing on the competitive advantage of commercial banks in Kenya. The research was grounded on the technology acceptance model and the competitive advantage theory. The study relied on a quantitative research approach using a descriptive research design. The target population of the study was drawn from the 41 commercial banks. The study sampled five respondents; operations manager, chief technology officers, human resource manager, digital marketing managers, and finance managers drawn from the commercial banks. The sample size for the research was 136 respondents. The study used a structured questionnaire to collect data. The study conducted a pretest of the research tool, with 10% of the sample respondents. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The findings of the study were presented graphically and interpreted in line with the research objectives. The study results indicate that most of the banks had deployed the use of social media marketing, e-mail marketing, and interactive websites. The correlation result established there is a positive and significant effect of social media marketing, search engine optimization, and e-mail marketing on the competitive advantage of commercial banks. The regression results showed that digital marketing strategies determined 67.2% of the variations in the competitive advantage of banks. The study concludes that deploying social media marketing, search engine optimization, and e-mail marketing will positively influence the competitive advantage of commercial banks. The research recommends that commercial bank should enhance their investment in new technologies to drive the development of digital-only bank branches and online platforms. The study also recommends that commercial banks should foster their e-mail and social media marketing tools. The main contribution of my study will be to commercial banks since it offers critical knowledge on the effect of specific digital marketing strategies on their institutional competitiveness, which can be essential to their future decision making. The study was also limited by respondents who were unwilling to participate in the research due to fear of their anonymity not being upheld. This was mitigated by producing a letter from the University which indicated that the research was purely for academic purposes.