Competitive advantage through innovation strategies in united bank of Africa limited

Abstract

The need for innovation is obvious and crucial for commercial banks operating in a dynamic, uncertain and competitive environment particularly if they endeavor to survive and succeed in the current competitive global financial environment. In addition, commercial banks need to be innovative by producing a regular stream of innovations so as to gain competitive advantage. This study sought to investigate innovation strategies adopted by United Bank of Africa to achieve competitive advantage. The study adopted a case study research design since the unit of analysis was one commercial bank. Primary data was collected using an interview guide while secondary data was collected from published reports and other documents. Content analysis was used to analyze the interviewees‟ views about the achieving competitive advantage through innovation strategies in UBA. From the findings, the study concluded that United Bank of Africa had adopted product, process and market innovation strategies which had enabled the bank to offer distinct and superior products and services in the competitive markets. From the findings, the study also concluded that innovation enabled UBA achieve competitive advantage by increasing its return on investment and customer base. Competitive advantage was also achieved through improved bank network across the country which strategically positioned the bank to deliver financial services to the Kenya Market. Enhanced product differentiation lead to the development of new financial products which uniquely catered for different groups of customers in the market.