A survey of strategy-structure relationship in multinational banks operating in Kenya

Abstract

Consumer services are being established worldwide and increasingly business services are becoming globalized in much the same way that manufacturing is outsourcing overseas. The manager of a banking organization can no longer ignore international competition in services, especially the globalization of back-room operations. Service managers need a framework in which to develop a global service strategy. The multinational banks operating in Kenya have been largely affected by factors such as relative cost advantage, which could be due, to different operating strategies, different organizational structures, differences in regulatory requirements, and/or support from home governments. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship that exist between strategy and structure in the multinational Banks (MNBs) found in Kenya and to identify the factors influencing strategy and structure relationship in the Multinational Banks (MNBs) operating in Kenya. The research was based on descriptive survey on multinational banks operating in Kenya. The study population was the lead managers of the respondents' bank. A sample size of 12 banks was selected. Questionnaires were used to collect data. The findings show that majority of Multinational Banks operating in Kenya are foreign owned since Kenya as a developing country has not been able to establish its own multinational banks. These banks have had good experience in industry due to the good strategies employed by the banks. The banks are well spread in every province in Kenya due to the availability of resources from the foreigners. However, there is lack of a large scope of knowledge of corporate plan by the employees. Multinational Banks operating in Kenya also contributes greatly to the growth of the country through provision of employment opportunities. As part of researcher's recommendations, multinational organization should establish an organization structure committee, and should come up with a system that will ensure maximum cooperation from all the employees. Changes in organization structure should be done with ownership and the area of operation in mind.