Sustainable competitive advantage under conditions of change at East African Packaging Industries (EAPI)

Abstract

The research study was undertaken to understand sustainable competitive advantage at East African Packaging Industries Limited (EAPI). The objective of the study was to investigate the development of sustainable competitive advantage under conditions of change at East African Packaging Industries Ltd, Kenya. EAPI once controlled a huge market share in the paper packaging industry in Kenya. Over time this control was heavily eroded by various competitive forces, subsequently leading to loss in profitability year after year. However, the firm embarked on numerous strategic responses that reversed the trend and returned the firm to profitability in a sustainable manner. It was therefore deemed necessary to understand the sort of strategies EAPI had developed to sustain her competitive advantage. Personal in-depth interviews were conducted where twelve respondents, of senior management level, provided the primary qualitative data for the case study. Most of the respondents had been in the company for over five years and participated in the development and operationalization of the competitive strategies under review. They were therefore best placed to discuss the issues under review. A Content analysis was carried out on the data which indicated that the company had identified and exploited its key resources and market opportunities, and developed them for a sustainable competitive advantage. It was evident from the research that EAPI had put in place strategies that gave the firm sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, operations in all functions within the firm had a unique focus on customer service aimed at building loyalty and lasting relationships with all the firm's customers. Other factors, such as, product development, continuous improvement, consistency, unique resources and shared competencies featured prominently in ensuring that the firm's competitive advantages were sustainable in the long term. Developing of sustainable competitive advantage at EAPI was very challenging. This was due to the dynamic nature of the firms operating environment. Factors that were at one stage a source of competitive advantage had, at another stage, become irrelevant and thus no longer provided any form of competitive advantage. This study concludes that by creating superior value to her customers, that exceeds that of the competition have a long term superior performance in the market place. However, further studies must be done to determine how a firm can sustain its competitive advantage in a state of rapid or turbulent environmental situations.