Strategic Responses by Jubilee Insurance to Changing Competitive Environment

Abstract

Organizations are faced with a myriad of challenges emanating from the environment. In order to survive, strategies have to be devised to respond to the forces that threaten to halt survival. Companies that do not respond appropriately are usually driven out of business. Companies respond to the challenges in terms of devising cost cutting strategies, adopting new technologies, competing on low prices or on high quality products or services, differentiating the products or focus strategies. The insurance industry has had a number of environmental changes over the years. Previous studies on the industry found out that most companies within the industry had to devise ways of responding to these changes in order to survive. Jubilee insurance has been a player in the industry for many years and is expected to have formulated strategies to enable it respond to these changes. This research was carried out to examine how Jubilee insurance company of Kenya is strategically responding to challenges posed by the competitive environment. The research was a case study of Jubilee insurance company of Kenya, a local company with subsidiaries in East Africa. The researcher used an interview guide as the primary data collection instrument. The interview guide was administered using face to face interviews to the departmental heads and other employees in management positions at Jubilee Insurance. Data collected was analyzed based on content analysis. The study found out that the operating environment in the insurance industry is very dynamic and volatile. The study further concludes that Jubilee Insurance had adopted various strategies to respond to the environmental changes such as improved customer service, expansion into new regions, operation cost reduction, restructuring and outsourcing of non core activities. The study recommends that Jubilee Insurance should engage in more cost reduction as a response to its competitor’s strategies whose products and services are much cheaper. The government should also reduce some of the regulatory measures to give the industry the power to regulate itself since the industry is heavily regulated. Further research should be undertaken to establish the strategic responses to competitive changes employed by other companies within the insurance industry. The study was limited in that it included respondents from one company and conclusions drawn may not be representative of the whole industry. It also captured members of one focus group excluding other important stakeholders from the study.