Management of strategic change at British American Tobacco Kenya Limited

Abstract

The tobacco industry in Kenya has experienced many challenges including legislation on smoking in public places, taxation and advertising restrictions. Product counterfeiting, dumping of cheap imports and diversion of export products has been on the increase and continues to threaten the industry. To grow market share and achieve higher returns for its shareholders, BAT‟s Kenya strategy hinges on innovative production practices along the supply chain as well as the firm‟s internal value chain.The study aimed to establish the drivers of strategic change and determine factors considered in the management of strategic change practices in BAT Kenya. Critical managerial variables assessed included goals and strategies, technologies, job design, organizational structure and people. Since the unit of analysis was one organization, this was a case study. Interview guides were designed and administered to key managers in BAT Kenya. Primary data was collected by use of interview guides which comprised both open ended and closed questions while secondary data sources were also used to provide additional information. Content analysis was used to analyze the data.