Competitive Strategies Adopted by Television Broadcast Media Stations in Kenya

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. Competitive strategy specifies the distinctive approach which the firm intends to use in order to succeed in each of the strategic business area. Competitive strategy gives a company an advantage over its rival in attracting customers and defending against competitive forces. The objectives of this study were to determine the dimensions of competition faced by television media stations in Kenya and also establish the competitive strategies that television media stations has adopted to cope with the challenges of increased competition in the television broadcast media industry in Kenya. The researcher used cross- sectional survey in the study. The target population of interest in this study was the fully operational television channels in Kenya. There are currently over 16 fully operational television channels in Kenya. The researcher applied proportionate stratified sampling during data collection to select the managers from the study population. Proportionate stratified sampling was appropriate since it identifies sub groups in the population and in their proportions and selected from each subgroup a sample. A sample size of 14 was targeted and data was collected using a questionnaire that allowed for uniformity of responses of questions. Besides, secondary data was collected from documentations from these companies. Data collected was processed through computer software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Studies) and presented in the report in form of tables and graphs. The study found out that the competitive strategies used by television media stations were cost leadership and differentiation. The strategies according to the study findings have placed the companies in a favorable position relative to the competition. These strategies have also made television media stations to not only achieve high levels of efficiency and effectiveness, but to also gain and sustain competitive advantage. The study also found out that the dimensions of competition for television media stations were threats of new entrants, threat of substitutes, power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers and intensity of rivalry.