An investigation of the competitive strategies adopted by the National Bank of Kenya in dealing with its competitive environment

Abstract

The changes in business environment brought about by globalization and liberalization has increased competition in the Banking sector reducing market share of most banks. Customers have become increasingly aware and demanding and the successful survival by any single bank depends on production, packaging and delivering products and services which offer superior value then competitor’s products. Creating and maintaining a competitive edge over rival firms requires embracing strategic management practices. Consequently, the National Bank of Kenya ltd has adopted strategies aimed assisting the Bank to maintain its competitive position in the financial market. The objective of this research project was to establish the competitive strategies adopted by the National Bank to deal with its competitive environment. The study used a case study research design. The research utilized the primary data collection method mainly personal interview technique with the National Bank of Kenya General Manager Operation, General Manager Business development and General Manager Marketing. This was an in depth and comprehensive inquiry on the competitive strategies adopted by the National Bank to deal with its competitive environment. Primary data was collected through an interview using an interview guide and posing of mostly open-ended questions. The questions were administered through personal interviews of the respondents. This was a qualitative study and data was analyzed using content analysis. The study found that strategic planning practices exist at the Bank that are geared to ensure the Bank maintains a competitive edge. The results showed that the cost leadership and expansion strategies are used to a large extent while differentiation was the least used strategy. Strategic management 6 practices have impact on performance of the Bank as was depicted by notable improvement in sales and profits due to adequate strategy formulation. It was recommended that the firm invest more on differentiation. This is because the Banking industry tends to offer similar products and differentiation would be appropriate in order to ensure the Bank attracts a larger number of customers. The study showed that strategy formulation was also dependent on customers’ needs and wants. There are systems in place to ensure that all the customers need were taken care of despite the challenge of rapid technological changes and continuous change in customer need. The feedback systems put in place were: suggestion boxes, workshop with clients, customer visits, personalized customer service and an online questionnaire for the customer to fill.