Competitive strategies adopted by Insurance brokers in Kenya to enhance competitive advantage

Abstract

The main aim of the study was to establish the competitive strategies adopted by insurance brokers in Kenya to enhance competitive advantage. The study had specific objectives that included; to establish the competitive strategies adopted by insurance brokers to gain competitive advantage in Kenya and to determine the challenges faced by Kenyan insurance brokers in adoption of the strategies. The study was grounded on two theories; resource based theory and competency-based theory. The study employed a descriptive research design. The study population involved all the 196 insurance brokers in Kenya and the list obtained from the Insurance Regulatory Authority and Association of Insurance Brokers of Kenya. The relevant data which was required for this research was gathered from primary sources, through the use of a questionnaire which consisted of both open ended and close ended questions. The primary data was collected from the insurance broker firms’ top executives who formed the study respondents. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the data collected. The findings were presented using charts and tables. Qualitative data drawn from open-ended question in the questionnaire were analyzed by summarising the set of observations drawn from the respondents. The study findings established that competitive strategies adopted by insurance brokers in Kenya have contributed to the enhancement of its competitive advantage and is the main reason why the majority of the firms indicated that they develop competitive strategies. The main competitive strategy adopted by the firms is service differentiation. The study also concludes that insurance broker firms often achieve the strategies formulated and firms in the industry should constantly evaluate their competitive strategies with an aim of staying ahead of the competition