Agility Strategies and Competitve Advantage of Coca-cola Beverages Africa-Kenya

Abstract

The operating environment for a modern firm is volatile and non-static. Its continued existence and success thus depends on strategies it employs to curb the dynamic changes that if not managed well may contribute to loss of competitiveness in the industry. This study aimed at establishing the agility strategies employed by CCBA-K and their contribution to sustaining CCBA-K’s competitive advantage in the beverage industry in Kenya. With CCBA-K as the unit of study, case study design was adopted. The research relied on industrial organization view, resource based theory and dynamic capability theory for its theoretical underpinnings and foundational basis. Data collected was analyzed using content analysis and presented. Innovation, operation dexterity, resource fluidity and strategic quality management were established as the four main agility strategies employed by CCBA-K to sustain its competitive advantage in the Kenyan beverage industry. These strategies help the organization move with speed and be flexible to not only the local environment but also in the international space. The study found out that these strategies are as a result of environmental scanning and a thoughtful process resulting to strategies that have an impact to the organization’s competitiveness in the industry. These agility strategies enable CCBA-K to focus on fast and innovative responses to changes in its operating environment, making it able to troubleshoot on possible uncertainties and take on available opportunities in ensuring it achieves or sustains its competitiveness. Innovation as established involves product innovation, package innovation, systems and information technology improvements, innovations to facilitate execution and business sustainability. Speed and flexibility strategies addresses how fast CCBA-K responds to changes in the industry, how fast and flexible resources are deployed to implement and close on established changes or risks in the operating environment and lead time to actualize sales to the customers. A comprehensive quality management system was also established as a competitive strategy that has significantly contributed to the CCBA-K’s competitiveness in the industry. The study concludes that competitiveness of an organization in the market is dependent on the strategies it employs and how well they are executed. The study notes that the organization’s top leadership has the responsibility of identifying and making decisions on which of these agility strategies it will employ and have them well aligned to the overall organizational objective(s) and goal(s). One of the study’s recommendations include the organization should document the implementation of these agility strategies for reference and learning. The study further recommends a holistic approach to identification to implementation of these strategies by incorporating views of frontline staff and drive an organizational wide implementation as opposed to limiting to departmental level.