Adoption of Growth Strategies by African Merchant Assurance Company Kenya Limited

Abstract

Growth means change and proactive change is essential in a dynamic business environment. The growth of a business firm is similar to that of a human being who passes through the stages of infancy, childhood, adulthood and maturity. Growth Strategy refers to a strategic plan formulated and implemented for expanding firm’s business. For smaller businesses, growth plans are especially important because these businesses get easily affected even by smallest changes in the market place in that case well established insurance companies develops some barriers and create unfavorable competitive strategies as a barrier to entry by new or small companies. The research objectives were to find out the extent to which African Merchant Assurance Company had adopted growth strategies and how they are dealing with the challenges. This study was modeled on a case study design. The research targeted the top management who are the strategy formulators and implementers in the institution. The research instrument was an interview guide consisting of open ended questions. The guides were administered to five top managers of African Merchant Assurance Company Limited in who were deliberately chosen to ensure that only those at the strategy development and implementation level were selected as they had the information required. The primary data collected was analyzed using content analysis. The research findings from the organization were that they used market development, product development, market penetration and market positioning strategies in their operations as the main growth strategies. The insurance’s main challenge while adopting growth strategies was generating sufficient running capital to counter environmental challenges. The researcher further realized through the study findings that not all growth strategies that an organization pursue is profitable or yields success .Sometimes it becomes a big burden to organization. The study recommended that African Merchant Assurance Company Limited make intensive but strategic use of the three Ansoff’ growth opportunities of market penetration, market development and product development. It was possible for the firm to increase its market presence in Kenya through market penetration that may entail increasing market coverage in growth areas locally.