Positioning Strategy as a Source of Competitive Advantage to Private Universities in Kenya

Abstract

The business environment has become extremely competitive and complex. Organizations must be flexible in order to adapt to changes, to compete effectively and thus prosper and grow.A good corporate strategy should therefore integrate an organization’s goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole, and must be based on business realities.This is because one of the challenges facing business entities is choosing and implementing a good response strategy. It therefore means that effective respond strategies are a major determinant of the organizational performance and therefore the leadership of the organization should consider it a key duty to set. The objective of the study was to determine the response strategies adopted by mobile phone companies in Kenya to changes in the telecommunication industry. The research design adopted by the study wascross sectional survey design. The population of the study consisted of all the four mobile phone companies operating in Kenya. The study used primary data which was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software and presented using tables and figures. The study established that the there are changes that have taken place in the telecommunication industry and these changes included technological, customer preference, decrease in the interconnectivity charges, changes in socio-cultural dynamics, tax regime changes, financial regulations,increased cost of network infrastructure and consumer protection laws. The companies responded to the changes through information technology, marketing, change management, leadership and culture and restructuring. The response by the companies resulted in development new products, services, processes and capabilities that give a business a strategic advantage over the competitive forces, improve productivity and reduce costs, communicating with its clients and staff, respond to competition pressures without delays, nurture key themes or dominant values that reinforce the competitive advantages, shape the culture to fit with opportunities and challenges.The study concludes that the major positioning strategies used as a competitive advantage to private universities are cost leadership and quality of service to remain competitive. Positioning strategies that have been adopted by the private universities enables them to reduce operational cost, improve student loyalty, increase student population, increase revenue and increase student numbers.