Learning orientation and competitive advantage: the case of insurance firms in Kenya

Abstract

Explaining how firms operating within an industry can vary in their performance outcomes continue to generate debate among strategic management scholars. The objective of this study was to examine whether learning orientation influenced competitive advantage. The population of study comprised all the 56 insurance firms in Kenya. Primary data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The data was tested for reliability, validity and sampling adequacy. Simple regression analysis was carried out to understand the relationships among the variables. The findings established that learning orientation had a statistically significant effect on competitive advantage. The study concludes that for insurance firms to gain and sustain competitive advantage, they need to embrace a culture of learning orientation. The study contributes to knowledge by providing empirical evidence that learning orientation significantly influence competitive advantage. This study presents opportunities for future research. For instance, the study used cross-sectional survey design and therefore future studies could consider use of longitudinal research design using the same study variables. Further, the study used a questionnaire to collect data from a single respondent. Future studies could consider using both questionnaires and an interview guide and with at least two respondents so as to cure both common method and respondent bias.