Competitive Strategies Adopted by Early Childhood Education Institutions in Dealing With External Environment in Nairobi County

Abstract

Business organizations operate in environment that is complex and dynamic. Environmental changes shape opportunities and challenges facing business firms. Early Childhood Education institutions are not exceptional and like any other open organization they are affected by the complexity and dynamism of the environment. In order to cope with continuously changing environment, firms develop and implement appropriate strategies. The purpose of this study was to identify the external environmental challenges facing preschools and the competitive strategies adopted by these institutions to deal with thee challenges. The study employed sample survey design. The study population was comprised of all the 300 private Early Childhood Education institutions in Nairobi County and from this population a random sample of 10% was selected for this study. Data collection instrument used was a questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The strategies which were mostly adopted included negotiating for great discounts with suppliers, retaining customers and offering high quality services. Ever changing customer needs and preferences and high cost of maintaining quality services were the major challenges facing ECE institutions.