Strategic responses by Airtel Kenya to challenges of globalization

Abstract

ABSTRACT Strategic response is a reaction to what is happening in the economic environment of organizations. This study focused on strategic responses to the challenges of globalization by Airtel Kenya. The main objective of the study is to assess the strategic responses by Airtel Kenya to challenges of globalization. The main focus of this study was qualitative research and adopted a case research design which was meant to investigate the strategic responses adopted by Airtel Kenya to challenges of globalization. The researcher used primary data. An interview guide with open-ended questions was used to collect in depth. The staff in the Airtel Kenya included managers, middle level managers, directors and other staff. This involved in-depth discussion through individual meetings with the senior managers. The data collected using interview guides which is qualitative in nature, was analyzed using conceptual content analysis which is the best suited method of analysis. The study targeted 50 respondents in collecting data. This comprised of the three levels of management at Airtel Kenya; the top management, middle level management, and the lower level management. The researcher interviewed all the 50 sample respondents with regard to strategic responses adapted by Airtel Kenya Limited to challenges of globalization. The study found out that the resulting productivity growth at Airtel Kenya is the key source of wealth of Airtel, which is moving ever-faster away from natural to human capital; that wealth creation at Airtel depends on the ability to access and make productive use of the expanding stocks of knowledge and information, and to build on them through creative research and development to design highly flexible production methods; that the management of Airtel Kenya cannot eliminate this uncertainty or provide a fail-safe means for predicting the future. The study recommends that Airtel Kenya should emphasize on productivity growth. Airtel Kenya should develop a privacy policy to safeguard the customers’ privacy and interests. The study was limited to Airtel Kenya. Not all respondents were committal to answer questions because the company withholds some information as confidential. Some employees may not answer all the questions in the questionnaire while others did not try at all. The study was only carried out in Airtel Kenya Limited thus the same study should be carried out in the other telecommunications industry to find out if the same results will be obtained.