Competitive strategies adopted by Nation Media Group Limited

Abstract

One of the challenges presented by a dynamic environment is increased competition. Competition is indeed a very complex phenomenon that is manifested not only in other industry players but also in form of customers, suppliers, potential entrants, and substitute products. It is therefore necessary for a firm to understand the underlying sources of competitive pressure in its industry in order to formulate appropriate strategies to respond to competitive forces. It is against this background that this study was designed to determine the unique underlying characteristics in Nation Media Group Ltd and establish the competitive strategies adopted by the company to cope with competition in the media industry in Kenya. From the research findings, it was revealed that the Nation Media Group possesses unique underlying characteristics which are exhibited by the way the company is organized and structured. The company is organized around its core business, making the company a highly divisionalized organization, a characteristic which makes it responsive to developments in the wider business and competitive environment and uphold a high degree of flexibility with regard to strategy formulation, implementation, evaluation and control. The results also revealed that the company has adopted a number of competitive strategies to cope with increasing competition in the media industry. The strategies include cost leadership strategy, concentric diversification strategy; and grand strategies of consortia and joint ventures. The strategies, according to the study findings, have placed the company in a favorable position relative to the competition. The strategies have made the Nation Media Group to not only achieve high levels of efficiency and effectiveness but also gain and sustain competitive advantage.