Differentiation strategies used by the formal private security industry in Kenya.

Abstract

The private security industry in Kenya is slightly in excess of forty years old. Securicor, one of the member firms of the Kenya Security Industry Association was the pioneer firm followed closely by others to develop the young Kenya Security Industry to become what it is today, With about 2000 firms in operation. Competition in the industry has increased considerably and in such a crowded market, firms need to stand out and draw customer attention to themselves and create repeat buying patterns leading to loyal customers. Differentiation strategies are essential for firms to be able to distinguish themselves from their competitors services. As the security industry becomes more sophisticated, with technology also taking a center stage in its progress, firms need to offer differentatiated security products which will enable them retain their market share and growth. This study was to determine the extent to which differentiation strategies are used by the formal private security industry in Kenya to develop and sustain competitive advantage. To establish whether there are differences in strategies used by small, medium and large firms and finally to determine the factors that influence the choice of differentiation used. There was a census survey targeting the 20 firms which form the Kenya Security Industry Association. Survey data was collected with the aid of semi structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were dropped and picked later from the respondents. To assist in the tabulation of the large amount of data, computer software was used to collate percentages, frequencies mean, variances, standard deviation and coefficient of variation,. The findings of the study were that all the thirty five differentiation strategies are used to a very large extent. While there are relatively minor differences between large, medium and small firms, large and medium firms on average had a higher extent of usage of the differentiation strategies than small firms. This was on account of resource limitation experienced by small firms. As is generally known, firms undergo higher costs in an effort to differentiate themselves. Factors including the choice of strategies used included the need for professionalism, retention and growth of market stance, business growth, customer satisfaction, brand differentiation, legal and legislative compliance, technology and risk minimization. The limitations of this research were that the research applied to the 20 firms who are members of the Kenya Security Industry Association while the industry is estimated to have about 2000 registered and unreported firms. The study did not make consideration for factors influencing the use of individual strategies. Account of these two factors would have yielded a more conclusive result. It is suggested that a research to determine the extent of differentiation strategies used by all security firms in Kenya be done. It would also be valuable to determine the factors that influence the choice of each individual strategy