Strategic management practices and mobile money transfer services in the telephony industry in Kenya

Abstract

Through the use of strategic management, firms are presently reengineering the way in which they conduct their business and market their products and services. However, in spite of the crucial role played by strategic management in the success of businesses, the role of strategic management in the success of the local MMT sector has not been clearly delineated. The study sought to establish the role of strategic management practices in the mobile money transfer services in the telephony industry in Kenya. In order to satisfy the objective of the study, a descriptive survey research design was adopted and data was collected from strategy personnel from the relevant cross-functional departments of the five MMT players in Kenya. The findings revealed that most MMT players considered strategic management to be very imp ortant when analyzing and understanding the competition. Moreover, product intelligence techniques arid practices were very highly effective in creating a competitive advantage for the company in the MMT industry. It was also established that new market intelligence was a very important strategy used to boost MMT service competitive advantage. The study therefore recommends that management and the cross-functional strategy teams within the target firms need to pay a lot of attention to strategic management for their firms to be competitive. Additionally the industry regulator, the Communications Commission of Kenya and the Central Bank of Kenya, will use the study findings to implement relevant policy framework to guide market intelligence and product intelligence in the MMT sector in Kenya.